Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 tracker: Japan logs 97679 cases, up 20700 from week earlier
Japan reported 97,679 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, up about 20,700 from a week before, as the country appeared to be in the midst of an eighth wave of infections.
There were 96 fatal cases. The number of severely ill coronavirus patients rose by five from Saturday to 308. Tokyo confirmed 10,346 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, up by about 2,600 from a week before.
27th Nov 2022 - The Japan Times
China reports fourth straight daily record of new COVID cases
China reported its fourth straight daily record of 39,791 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 26, of which 3,709 were symptomatic and 36,082 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. That is compared with 35,183 new cases a day earlier – 3,474 symptomatic and 31,709 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported infections, China reported 39,506 new local cases, of which 3,648 were symptomatic and 35,858 were asymptomatic, up from 34,909 a day earlier.
27th Nov 2022 - Reuters
China's Central Bank Takes Action as Record Covid-19 Outbreak Hits Economy
China’s central bank moved to backstop growth by boosting lending to households and businesses, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles with its biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began. Economists said the shift in policy will likely have limited impact, as repeated lockdowns, a continuing real-estate crunch and fading demand for Chinese exports mean appetite for loans is weak.
Still, the move—telegraphed earlier in the week by China’s State Council, which acts as its cabinet—nonetheless underlines the darkening outlook for growth as authorities tighten restrictions across the country to stamp out record infections.
25th Nov 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
'We've totally confused residents': China's Covid policy flip-flop stokes frustration
City of Shijiazhuang has shut down, opened up and closed again in 9 days as country battles near record outbreak
23rd Nov 2022 - Financial Times
Novavax ends COVID vaccine sale agreement with Gavi
Novavax Inc said on Monday it had delivered a written notice to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, terminating with immediate effect an agreement for the sale of the company's COVID-19 vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. The company cited Gavi's failure to procure the 350 million doses it had agreed to buy in May last year for the COVAX facility.
The COVAX facility is a joint program between Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the equitable distribution of COVID vaccines in poorer countries.
22nd Nov 2022 - Reuters
China Covid Zero Returns as Deaths Emerge, Raising Reopening Doubt
Barely a week in, China’s lighter-touch Covid Zero policy is already running into trouble. Surging infections are threatening to overwhelm some of the country’s biggest and most important cities, with local officials stymied over how to control the contagion without the usual tools of mass citywide testing and snap lockdowns. Three Covid deaths in the capital Beijing, the first in more than six months, provided a reality check for a population that’s been shielded from the pathogen by the stringent approach.
21st Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
Breakingviews - Investors ignore China COVID spike at their peril
The blistering relief rally underway in Chinese equities is understandable. President Xi Jinping had implemented a mixture of harsh policies targeting Covid-19, technology entrepreneurs and real estate developers that kept equity indexes in the basement and aggravated capital flight – roughly $101 billion was pulled out the country, reading between the lines of official balance of payments data for the first six months of the year. Tentative relaxations on all the main fronts have investors cheering; the Golden Dragon index of New York-listed Chinese companies is up 37% since late October. Yet biology could ruin this party yet.
20th Nov 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullGuernsey's Covid autumn booster programme to end in December
Eligible islanders in Guernsey have until 21 December to have their Covid autumn booster. Those entitled to a vaccine include people over 50, frontline health workers, and anyone who is clinically at risk. Anyone eligible but yet to receive an invite will be sent a letter between now and the end of the month. This gives them around four weeks to make an appointment before the programme ends. If Covid or another illness stops someone from getting the jab before that date, temporary clinics will cater for them in the new year.
20th Nov 2022 - ITV News
China eases coronavirus restrictions, causing confusion and angst
Lockdown arrived in Shijiazhuang with little warning this month. At the time, the northern Chinese city had only a handful of covid cases. Then 12 days later — just as abruptly, even as infections continued to rise — the restrictions were lifted. The reaction to China’s most significant easing of coronavirus controls has been a jumble of conflicted priorities and public sentiment since Beijing announced the changes a week ago. City governments are facing renewed demands that they not respond in ways that disrupt daily life. At the same time, months of official warnings about disastrous consequences should the virus run wild have many people fearful of the country’s soaring case numbers.
20th Nov 2022 - The Washington Post
Majestic Princess: cruise ship passengers disembark in Sydney after mass Covid outbreak
The Majestic Princess cruise ship – carrying about 800 Covid-19 positive passengers – has docked in Sydney and passengers have disembarked in the city.
The ship docked at Circular Quay early Saturday morning, having sailed from New Zealand. It will depart Sydney for Melbourne on Saturday afternoon. The docking of the ship has raised the spectre of the arrival in Sydney of the Ruby Princess in March 2020 – early in Australia’s pandemic – which was ultimately linked to 28 deaths and more than 600 infections, sparking a NSW government special commission of inquiry and a class action case against the operator.
20th Nov 2022 - The Guardian
Big Pharma may have to reveal government deals in WHO's draft pandemic rules
Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future global health emergencies, under new rules that would govern a World Health Organization-backed pandemic accord reviewed by Reuters. A draft version of the WHO accord, which is being negotiated by the U.N. health agency's 194 member countries, calls for it to be compulsory for companies to reveal the terms of any public procurement contracts.
18th Nov 2022 - Reuters
Breakingviews - Investors ignore China Covid spike at their peril
The blistering relief rally underway in Chinese equities is understandable. President Xi Jinping had implemented a mixture of harsh policies targeting Covid-19, technology entrepreneurs and real estate developers that kept equity indexes in the basement and aggravated capital flight – roughly $101 billion was pulled out the country, reading between the lines of official balance of payments data for the first six months of the year. Tentative relaxations on all the main fronts have investors cheering; the Golden Dragon index (.HXC) of New York-listed Chinese companies is up 37% since late October. Yet biology could ruin this party yet.
18th Nov 2022 - Reuters
Flu, RSV and Covid-19 Add to Crunch on Pediatric Hospitals
Flu activity continued to rise across the U.S. in the past week, adding to a crunch on emergency departments and pediatric hospitals from an early surge in respiratory viruses. Flu has caused an estimated 4.4 million illnesses, 38,000 hospitalizations and 2,100 deaths so far this season including seven pediatric deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The highest flu hospitalization rates are among adults ages 65 and older, followed by children under the age of 5, the CDC said. Pediatric hospitals across the U.S. have been under strain for weeks from a rush of patients with RSV and other respiratory viruses. RSV amounts to a cold in most people, but the virus can be dangerous for younger children and older adults, especially those with other health concerns.
18th Nov 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullWHO reports 90% drop in global COVID-19 deaths since February
The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that there has been a 90% drop in global COVID-19 deaths since February, which he called a "cause for optimism" but still urged "caution" amid the ongoing pandemic. "Just over 9,400 COVID-19 deaths were reported to WHO last week -- almost 90% less than in February of this year, when weekly deaths topped 75,000," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual press briefing from the U.N. agency's Geneva headquarters. "We have come a long way, and this is definitely cause for optimism, but we continue to call on all governments, communities and individuals to remain vigilant," he added. "Almost 10,000 deaths a week is 10,000 too many, for a disease that can be prevented and treated."
13th Nov 2022 - ABC News
French medics say face masks are needed again, especially on transport
The French Académie de Médecine states that masks would protect against Covid, seasonal flu and bronchiolitis but stopped short of saying they should be ‘mandatory’
12th Nov 2022 - The Connexion
Call to raise daily cross-border quota of 1,000 for Hong Kong travellers
Hong Kong businesses could reap the benefits of Beijing’s latest easing of Covid-19 arrival curbs if the Shenzhen quarantine quota for cross-border travellers from the financial hub is raised from the current 1,000, according to a government adviser. Executive councillor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung pushed for an alignment in policies on Saturday after mainland China cut its week-long hotel quarantine for inbound travellers to five days. Lam and others also urged authorities to allow business owners and those needing to visit their families across the border to travel under a “closed-loop bubble” arrangement without isolation. Under the latest rule changes unveiled by the National Health Commission on Friday, incoming visitors will serve five days of hotel quarantine followed by three in home isolation according to a “5+3” model, applicable also to those from Hong Kong.
12th Nov 2022 - South China Morning Post
Covid infections fall across UK for first time in nearly three months
Covid-19 infections have fallen in all four UK countries for the first time in nearly three months, official figures show, while the number of people hospitalised continues to fall. The news provides fresh evidence the latest wave of the virus has peaked, while health experts have praised the autumn booster campaign for helping to prevent high levels of serious illness. “It is hugely encouraging that Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations are still in decline across the UK. This goes to show how effective the vaccine programme continues to be and we thank everyone who has come forward for their latest vaccination so far,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, the director of public health programmes at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
12th Nov 2022 - The Guardian
CanSino's inhalable COVID-19 vaccines to be available in Tianjin from Nov 10
Beijing residents can start making appointments for an inhalable COVID booster made by CanSino Biologics, media reported on Thursday, while those in Tianjin city can now get it as the Chinese pharmaceutical firm distributes more supplies. CanSino's vaccine, called Convidecia Air, is an aerosol version of an inactive shot and was approved as an emergency-use booster by Chinese health authorities in September
9th Nov 2022 - Reuters
China's Covid Zero and Lockdown Policy Struggle to Contain Growing Outbreaks
Some of China’s most persistent virus hotspots have been locked down for weeks, and in some cases months, showing the limitations of the country’s contentious Covid Zero policy. Xinjiang reported the fourth-highest number of new cases nationally for Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, despite some cities in the region in China’s northwest locked down for 90 days. Inner Mongolia, which was sealed off in early October, saw cases jump to almost 1,800 from 1,033 a day earlier, while Henan province’s infections more than doubled in a day to 747.
8th Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
China's COVID epicentre shifts to Guangzhou as outbreaks widen
New coronavirus cases surged in Guangzhou and other Chinese cities, official data showed on Tuesday, with the global manufacturing hub becoming China's latest COVID-19 epicentre and testing the city's ability to avoid a Shanghai-style lockdown. Nationwide, new locally transmitted infections climbed to 7,475 on Nov. 7, according to China's health authority, up from 5,496 the day before and the highest since May 1. Guangzhou accounted for nearly a third of the new infections.
8th Nov 2022 - Reuters
China's Guangzhou Warns of Covid-Spread Risks as Cases Climb
China’s southern city of Guangzhou reported 1,325 local Covid-19 cases for Saturday, compared with 746 a day earlier, and officials warned of risks of community spread in some areas of the factory hub. Most new infections were found in the Haizhu district of the Guangdong province capital, the municipal government said at a briefing on Sunday. Some residents in middle- and high-risk areas for Covid had violated movement restrictions, causing the virus to spread to nearly districts, officials said.
6th Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Nov 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina to make 'substantial' COVID policy changes soon - ex-govt expert
China will make substantial changes to its "dynamic-zero" COVID-19 policy in coming months, a former Chinese disease control official told a conference hosted by Citi on Friday, according to a recording of the session heard by Reuters. Separately, three sources familiar with the matter said China may soon further shorten quarantine requirements for inbound travellers. Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention who has remained outspoken on China's COVID fight, said the conditions for China opening up were "accumulating", citing new vaccines and progress the country had made in antiviral drug research.
6th Nov 2022 - Reuters
Moderna Cuts Forecast, Misses Estimates as Orders Delayed
Moderna Inc. earnings offered a preview into the future of Covid-19 vaccine sales, and so far it doesn’t look pretty. The company cut its vaccine sales forecast for the year and gave its first hint at 2023 as interest in immunization fades amid the fading pandemic concerns. While analysts were largely anticipating a disappointing quarter, the miss comes only days after rival Pfizer Inc. raised its vaccine guidance for the year.
5th Nov 2022 - Bloomberg
New Covid variants are circulating. What do we know and will the Omicron-specific booster be effective?
Despite driving an increase in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) says XBB and BQ.1 are not different enough from each other, or from other Omicron lineages, to warrant labelling them new variants of concern. Variants of concern are those that show increased transmissibility, virulence or change in clinical disease, and a decreased effectiveness of public health and social measures. XBB and BQ.1 are subvariants of Omicron, which continues to be a variant of concern. Examining global data available to date, WHO said there is early evidence that there is a higher risk of Covid-19 reinfection from XBB and BQ.1 compared to other circulating Omicron subvariants. However, cases of reinfection appear to be largely occurring in those previously infected with pre-Omicron strains, such as Delta, WHO says.
5th Nov 2022 - The Guardian
‘Vaccine apathy’ slowing down London’s Covid booster rollout
Vaccine “apathy” is slowing down the rollout of London's Covid-19 booster jab, a top health professor has warned, as figures revealed that the capital continues to lag behind other regions on vaccination. Just over a third (33.2 per cent) of people aged 50 and over had received their autumn booster jab in London as of October 26, by far the lowest proportion in England. In comparison, over half of adults aged over 50 in the South West had received their booster. London was at least ten per cent behind every other region, according to Government statistics. Azeem Majeed, professor of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, warned that patients were displaying signs of “vaccine apathy” and had complained they have “already had enough” Covid-19 jabs.
5th Nov 2022 - Evening Standard
Father blames China's COVID policy for son's death that sparked online anger
The father of a 3-year-old boy who died on Tuesday from carbon monoxide poisoning in northwest China said strict COVID-19 policies "indirectly killed" his son by causing delays obtaining treatment, in a case that has sparked social media outrage. The boy's death is the latest incident to trigger blowback over China's strict zero-COVID policy, with one critical hashtag racking up 380 million reads on Wednesday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
2nd Nov 2022 - Reuters
Covid inquiry promises to cover key Welsh issues
The UK Covid public inquiry will do all it can to ensure all issues the people of Wales want covered are investigated, its chair has said.Baroness Hallett made the pledge as it was revealed the inquiry will hold public hearings in Wales next autumn.
2nd Nov 2022 - BBC News on MSN.com
Covid remains deadly for half a million Britons, and the government isn’t talking about it
As immunocompromised people and their families face a third housebound winter, Charlotte Lytton asks why the government is dragging its feet when it comes to the possibly life-altering drug Evusheld. It remains punishingly out of reach… unless you cough up the money for it
2nd Nov 2022 - The Independent
Aid spending soared to record level in Pacific islands as COVID hit
A record $3.3 billion in aid flowed to the Pacific islands in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a 33% increase on the previous year, according to a report released by the Lowy Institute think-tank on Monday. The pandemic led to border closures, confronting governments reliant on tourism with economic crisis. It also brought a shift in how aid was delivered, with more loans than grants made, and more direct funding to help deliver critical services.
30th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 31st Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's 'Zero-COVID' Policy: An Economic Nightmare for Thailand
What will make or break the Thai economy, however, is the speed and extent of China’s economic reopening. Thailand is, after all, heavily reliant on China in all dimensions: exports and imports, tourism, and investment. Needless to say, Thailand is extremely vulnerable to the CCP’s sudden lockdown orders. Shanghai, for instance, accounts for 27 percent of Chinese exports to Thailand, and when the city was undergoing a strict two-month lockdown earlier this year, many Thai companies pretty much ran out of the materials necessary for the production of electric appliances such as air conditioners and cables. Similarly, the export of Thai durians – now one of Thailand’s top exported products – to China was temporarily stopped back in April after the Chinese border inspectors detected traces of COVID-19.
29th Oct 2022 - The Diplomat
Shanghai orders mass testing in downtown Yangpu even as China's citizens hope for relaxed COVID-19 protocols
The lockdown is an echo of previous measures which led to a two-month lockdown of the entire city of 25 million.
29th Oct 2022 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
U.S. business sentiment in China hits record low as zero-COVID persists, survey shows
Optimism among U.S. businesses in China has hit record low levels, an annual survey showed on Friday, as competitive, economic, and regulatory challenges compound the stresses already imposed by Beijing's ongoing zero-COVID policies.
Just 55% of 307 companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and consultancy PwC China described themselves as optimistic about the five-year business outlook. The reading is the lowest in the survey's 23-year history and worse than in 2020, when COVID-19 first surfaced, and during the trade standoff between Beijing and Washington in 2019.
28th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Coronavirus: Hong Kong to lift curbs on opening hours of restaurants, pubs and allow barbecue sites to resume operations from next Thursday
Hong Kong will lift its restrictions on the opening hours of restaurants, pubs and various other premises from next Thursday while barbecue sites under government management will also resume operations as the authorities further ease Covid-19 social-distancing measures. The announcement came as the city on Thursday logged 6,062 new coronavirus infections, the highest since September 19, while the number of serious cases and deaths remained stable.
26th Oct 2022 - South China Morning Post
Math Scores Dropped in Every State During Pandemic, Report Card Shows
The nation’s schools recorded the largest drop in math scores ever this year, with fourth- and eighth-grade students in nearly every state showing significant declines, according to Education Department data released Monday. In the most sweeping analysis of test scores since the start of the pandemic, the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, also revealed a nationwide plunge in reading that wiped out three decades of gains.
Prepandemic declines in academic achievement intensified nationwide, and many longstanding gaps in student achievement grew.
25th Oct 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Pfizer COVID vaccine price hike to boost revenue for years, rivals may follow
Pfizer's plan to as much as quadruple U.S. prices for its COVID-19 vaccine next year is beyond Wall Street's expectations and will spur its revenue for years despite weaker than anticipated demand for the new booster shot so far, analysts said.
The drugmaker, which developed and sells the vaccine with Germany's BioNTech, said on Thursday evening that it is targeting a range of $110 to $130 a dose for the vaccine once the United States moves to a commercial market next year.
23rd Oct 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina’s COVID lockdowns spell relief for Europe’s energy security worries
China’s President Xi Jinping has some good news for Europe — his country's draconian zero-COVID policies aren't likely to be dropped. That's a relief for European buyers of liquefied natural gas, as China's economic slowdown has freed up LNG cargos crucial to replacing the Russian gas that used to supply about 40 percent of European demand. “Regardless of what you think about the Chinese zero-COVID policy, simply looking at it only from the perspective of European gas supplies, it would be very helpful if China continued this policy,” said Dennis Hesseling, head of gas at the EU’s energy regulator agency ACER.
23rd Oct 2022 - POLITICO Europe
U.S. CDC director tests positive for COVID-19, experiencing mild symptoms
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday night and is experiencing mild symptoms, the CDC said in a statement on Saturday. A spokesperson said Walensky was not at the White House late this week and did not meet with any senior U.S. officials before testing positive.
23rd Oct 2022 - Reuters
Spain Drops COVID-19 Vaccine, Test Requirement For Entry — What To Know
Spain dropped all COVID-19-related entry rules on Friday, becoming one of the last European countries to do so. Going forward, Spain will no longer require travellers from outside the European Union to show proof of vaccination, a negative test, or proof of recovery to enter, according to the government. That puts Spain in line with nearly every other country in Europe that has dropped pandemic-era travel restrictions.
22nd Oct 2022 - Travel + Leisure India
New Omicron Subvariant Seen Driving Covid Cases in Europe
A new omicron subvariant is poised to become dominant in Europe and will probably drive another increase in Covid-19 cases, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said. The BQ.1 subvariant, and its sublineage BQ.1.1, will probably dominate in Europe by mid-November to the beginning of December and help send cases up in “coming weeks to months,” the agency said on Friday. The subvariants are also gaining ground in the US, where they are responsible for an estimated 16.6% of cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
22nd Oct 2022 - Bloomberg
Rapid Covid Tests Can't Keep Abbott Healthy Forever
Covid-19 has been a double-edged sword of sorts for Abbott Laboratories, the maker of the popular rapid antigen test BinaxNow. On the one hand, demand for that product has barely let up, allowing the health-supplies company to raise its 2022 adjusted earnings forecast while posting third-quarter revenue of $10.4 billion that far exceeded Wall Street expectations. Its sales of BinaxNow declined somewhat from the same period last year when the Delta variant was raging, but they still came at an impressive $1.64 billion, trouncing Wall Street expectations of about $500 million.
19th Oct 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Swiss to destroy 9 million expired Moderna COVID-19 jabs
Switzerland will destroy 9 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine that have reached their expiry date, with another 5.1 million vaccine jabs set to meet the same fate by February, the government said on Wednesday. The wastage reflects the Swiss strategy of ordering more vaccines than it needed to ensure its population of around 8.7 million would get sufficient supplies even in the event of supply bottlenecks or quality issues.
19th Oct 2022 - Reuters
New Covid Variants Are Driving Fresh Waves of Cases Around the World
The rhythm of pre-pandemic life is back around much of the world. Munich’s Oktoberfest tents are full, tourists are returning in Tokyo and New York, masks have come off in the subways. The previous two autumn seasons ended with new Covid-19 variants spurring fresh waves of cases and social restrictions. This year is different: the super-contagious but less severe omicron has shown unusual staying power -- even as it spawned hundreds of sublineages. The world has learned that the coronavirus is fickle, and as cases start to creep up again, so does concern about unpredictable developments. But if omicron’s dominance holds, it could point to a drift reminiscent of the flu’s annual changes and pave the way for Covid to settle into a more predictable pattern.
16th Oct 2022 - Bloomberg
China reports 1026 new COVID cases for Oct 15 vs 1364 a day earlier
China reported 1,026 new COVID-19 infections for Oct. 15, of which 244 were symptomatic and 782 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. That compared with 1,364 new cases a day earlier - 361 symptomatic and 1,003 asymptomatic, which China counts separately. There were no new deaths, the same as the previous day, keeping fatalities at 5,226. As of Saturday mainland China had confirmed 255,773 cases with symptoms.
16th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullS'pore's XBB Covid-19 wave to peak in mid-Nov with 15000 average daily cases, mask rules not ruled out
The current wave of Covid-19 infections is being driven by the XBB sub-variant, and is expected to peak at an average of 15,000 daily cases by about mid-November. Projections based on previous waves of infection show that Singapore has adequate healthcare capacity to cope with the rise in coronavirus cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday. But the authorities do not rule out bringing back stricter mask rules or vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) if needed, such as requiring those dining at restaurants to be fully vaccinated. Such measures were fully lifted on Oct 10.
15th Oct 2022 - The Straits Times
Anger at China's zero-Covid policy is rising, but Beijing refuses to change course
A young woman stands on her balcony, crying out in desperation after her building was ordered into lockdown. Fighting back tears, she shouts abuse at the hazmat-suited workers below in a video that has recently gone viral on social media platform Weibo and which appears to encapsulate the Chinese public’s growing frustration with their government’s uncompromising zero-Covid policy. The woman has been under quarantine for half a year since returning from university in the summer, she shouts at the workers. They stare back, seemingly unmoved. While most Asian economies – even those with previously hardline zero-Covid stances – are abandoning pandemic-era restrictions, authorities in China remain zealous in theirs, repeatedly insisting this week in state-run media articles that the battle against the virus remains “winnable.”
15th Oct 2022 - CNN
As China doubles down on ‘zero-COVID’, some have had enough
A few months ago, a box was left outside the door of 34-year-old Yu Ting Xu’s* apartment in Beijing. Inside, there was an electronic monitoring wristband and a demand that she wear the wristband at all times as part of the fight against COVID-19 in her residential area. While telling her story over a video call, Yu shuffles about in the background. When she returns to her screen, she is holding up the wristband, which looks like a smartwatch but has a plain white plastic surface instead of a display.
15th Oct 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Biden Administration Renews Covid-19's Emergency Status
The Biden administration extended the Covid-19 pandemic’s status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, preserving measures such as expanded Medicaid and higher payments to hospitals. The decision follows comments President Biden made in September describing the pandemic as over. Some Republican lawmakers said afterward that the administration should wind down its pandemic response and the emergency designation. The extension of the public-health emergency on Thursday was expected by officials and lawmakers from both parties. The administration has told states it would give them 60 days notice before letting the public-health emergency expire. Some state leaders have said recently that they hadn’t gotten any such heads-up.
14th Oct 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Novavax says COVID booster dose shows benefit against Omicron variants
Novavax Inc said on Wednesday data from studies in adults and adolescents showed that the booster dose of its COVID vaccine produced robust antibodies against several Omicron variants, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5. The data was from two studies - a late-stage study evaluating the booster in adults and adolescents who had received Novavax primary vaccination and another study testing it in those aged 18 to 49 who had received primary series of Novavax vaccine or other authorized or approved vaccines.
12th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Europe likely entering another COVID wave, says WHO and ECDC
Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday. "Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over," WHO's Europe director, Hans Kluge, and ECDC's director, Andrea Ammon, said in a joint statement.
12th Oct 2022 - Reuters.com
Singapore to Ease More Covid Curbs, Step Up Vaccination Program
Singapore will step up its vaccination program as it further eases its Covid-related curbs, lifting restrictions on non-vaccinated individuals in restaurants and other venues. The Ministry of Health said it will fully lift its vaccine-differentiated safe management measures, effective Oct. 10. That means the restrictions will no longer be applied in eateries, nightlife establishments and at large events with more than 500 attendees. Singapore’s steady removal of its Covid curbs has helped solidify its role as a major Asian financial center, capitalizing on Hong Kong’s relative slowness to reopen. In a sign of the relative appeal of the two cities, Singapore’s population rose 3.4% in June from a year earlier, while Hong Kong’s shrank 1.6%.
10th Oct 2022 - Bloomberg
BioNTech plants research and production flag in Australia
The company’s latest move? A strategic partnership in the Land Down Under. Friday, the German biotech unveiled a deal with the Australian state of Victoria to prop up a new mRNA research and innovation center to bolster investigation of new meds “from discovery to delivery.” BioNTech will also throw in one of its "BioNTainer" mobile manufacturing facilities in Victoria’s capital of Melbourne for end-to-end clinical production of mRNA products and candidates, the company said in a release. Housed in shipping containers, BioNTainer modular factories are kitted out to produce vaccines from start to finish. Beyond Australia, the company recently advanced plans to kick off a BioNTainer-focused mRNA vaccine manufacturing initiative in Africa.
8th Oct 2022 - FiercePharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Oct 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong on the alert for emerging Covid subvariants: top health official
Dr Tony Ko, head of the Hospital Authority, says limited research so far has shown that the response in patients to an infection from mutant strain is similar to that of BA.5. Hong Kong records 4,900 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, including 295 imported ones, as daily infections begin to steadily rise again
9th Oct 2022 - South China Morning Post
As Australia scraps mandatory COVID isolation, a new book unpicks the red flags and failures of the pandemic
Last month, Professor Raina MacIntyre was awarded the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science and Innovation, an award which particularly recognised her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. You would recognise Raina MacIntyre if you saw her because she has been one of the regular scientific and medical experts on our television screens — and elsewhere — in the last few years. Her authoritative and fearless observations about the nature of pandemics and how to deal with them always cut through, even in a time when we are all self-confessed and instant experts in epidemiology.
8th Oct 2022 - ABC News
BioNTech plants research and production flag in Australia
The company’s latest move? A strategic partnership in the Land Down Under. Friday, the German biotech unveiled a deal with the Australian state of Victoria to prop up a new mRNA research and innovation center to bolster investigation of new meds “from discovery to delivery.” BioNTech will also throw in one of its "BioNTainer" mobile manufacturing facilities in Victoria’s capital of Melbourne for end-to-end clinical production of mRNA products and candidates, the company said in a release. Housed in shipping containers, BioNTainer modular factories are kitted out to produce vaccines from start to finish. Beyond Australia, the company recently advanced plans to kick off a BioNTainer-focused mRNA vaccine manufacturing initiative in Africa.
8th Oct 2022 - FiercePharma
Hong Kong's U-turn on quarantine is a sign Beijing still needs its gate to the West
As China doubles down on Covid lockdowns, restricting movement for tens of millions of people, a very different scene is unfolding in Hong Kong. The mood in the Chinese-controlled city is perhaps the lightest it has been in three years, after authorities scrapped mandatory hotel quarantine for incoming arrivals in September – prompting a mad rush to book flights out of the city among travel-starved residents. It was a significant U-turn, given how stubbornly city authorities had stuck to the quarantine requirement, despite a nosediving economy, a worsening international reputation, and an ongoing exodus of residents.
8th Oct 2022 - CNN
Canada authorises Pfizer's Omicron retooled booster
Canada on Friday authorised updated COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) that target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, according to the government's website. Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint statement the companies will make "significant volumes of the vaccine available in the coming days". The booster shot, which has been authorised for people 12 years and older, is the second to get clearance from Health Canada after Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) modified booster last month.
8th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Analysis: As China party congress looms, signals sought on easing COVID policy
The mounting economic toll of China's zero-COVID policy is raising investor hopes that Beijing may finally begin laying the groundwork for the tricky epidemiological and political task of shifting course following this month's Communist Party congress. It is not clear whether the ruling party congress from Oct. 16 will shed any light on easing strict measures to extinguish all domestic COVID-19 outbreaks, rather than seek to live with the pandemic. Any change, economists and investors predict, would entail gradual steps for a reopening from the first half of 2023 at the earliest.
7th Oct 2022 - Reuters
Dr. Fauci: A new, more dangerous Covid variant could emerge this winter
Dr. Anthony Fauci has a sober warning for Americans: Don’t be surprised if a new, more dangerous Covid variant emerges this upcoming winter. “We should anticipate that we very well may get another variant that would emerge, that would elude the immune response that we’ve gotten from infection and/or from vaccination,” Fauci said at an event with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism this week. Statistically, pandemic trends like hospitalizations and deaths are currently down nationwide: The seven-day moving average of new Covid deaths in the U.S. is 323 as of Wednesday, for example. That’s far lower than the country’s 1,000 to 2,500 in February and March, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
7th Oct 2022 - CNBC
Amid low vaccine demand, Novavax pulls out of Fujifilm manufacturing deal and inks $185M settlement
Novavax has been suffering from lower-than-expected demand for its COVID-19 vaccine after an FDA authorization this summer. Now, the company is paying up to a manufacturing partner to terminate a supply agreement. In a securities filing, Novavax said it will pay Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies up to $185 million in a settlement tied to the "termination of manufacturing activity" at its CDMO partner. Novavax will pay the sum in four quarterly installments of $34.3 million starting on March 31, 2023, the company said. But the settlement isn't guaranteed to reach that total. As part of the deal, Fujifilm's subsidiary will be required to “use commercially reasonable efforts” to find manufacturing business and offset the losses that it would incur from the vacant capacity.
7th Oct 2022 - FiercePharma
The Long Covid Plan for Ireland: Is it too little, too late?
The Mater hospital, where I work, started to study Long Covid in May of 2020. Scientific research is critical to devising strategies to deal with Long Covid. Science should win the day. We anticipated Long Covid would linger, just as it did in China, just as it did with Sars and MERS, and monitored patients over the following 12 months. The first strain of Covid-19, the Delta variant, and indeed a few of the following variants, caused severe illness and heart and lung damage, but one of our first studies reported that about a third of acute Covid patients had persistent neurological involvement, suggesting brain inflammation.
4th Oct 2022 - The Irish Times
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Oct 2022
View this newsletter in full‘Large disruptor’: Moderna’s promise of vaccine ‘cocktail’ could be headache for CSL
Moderna’s promise of a combined coronavirus-influenza shot throws down a challenge to Australian biotech giant CSL as the next heat of the vaccine race threatens to be a “disruptor”.
The chief of US pharmaceutical Moderna, Stephane Bancel, says CSL is at risk of losing its competitive edge in the influenza vaccine market once Messenger-RNA technology takes hold in the industry and a “cocktail of mRNAs” becomes available.
Bancel, who was in Melbourne this week to visit the site of his company’s planned vaccine manufacturing plant at Monash University, said Moderna’s vision for the Australian market went well beyond its current coronavirus vaccines.
2nd Oct 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
UK ‘blind’ to devastating wave of new Covid variants, experts warn
The UK is “blind” to new Covid variants which could cause a devastating new wave, health experts have warned. Covid infections in the UK have risen by 14 per cent in a week, according to the Office for National Statistics, in a sign that the autumn wave of infections is underway. More than 1.1 million people in the UK tested positive for the virus in the week ending September 20, up from 927,000 in the previous week.
2nd Oct 2022 - Evening Standard
‘10 per cent of corporations in Hong Kong have left, and they aren’t looking back’
Companies that have left Hong Kong may not return soon even if all coronavirus travel curbs are scrapped, one of the city’s biggest business chambers has warned after a survey it conducted revealed 10 per cent of responding firms have permanently relocated. Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce CEO George Leung Siu-kay on Sunday urged the government to promptly lift all Covid-19 entry restrictions and called for lowering thresholds for talent schemes to avoid further losing out to Singapore.
2nd Oct 2022 - South China Morning Post
Two thirds of U.S. adults don't plan on getting COVID boosters soon -poll
Around two-thirds of adults in the United States do not plan to get updated COVID-19 booster shots soon, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a health policy nonprofit organization. Only a third of adults polled said they either already received the updated shots or plan to get the booster as soon as possible, the poll found. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Inc shots, updated to target more recently circulating Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus as well as the original strain, were authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last month.
1st Oct 2022 - Reuters
Australia’s Covid vaccine review recommends expansion of Novavax eligibility amid fears of Moderna shortfall
Australia’s vaccination advisory body is investigating whether to expand the availability of the Novavax Covid jab, amid concerns tens of millions of doses could be wasted due to recommendations it not be used as a general booster shot. It comes as a review of Australia’s Covid vaccine procurement found the former Coalition government’s actions were “consistent with other high-income countries”, but warned of a potential shortfall in Moderna unless the Labor government orders more supply. The review, by respected public servant Prof Jane Halton, said Australia had not reached what she called “Covid-stable”, where regular ebbs and flows of the virus could be predicted
30th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Covid testing rules in Northern Ireland to change for healthcare workers and hospital visitors
Covid-19 testing to identify asymptomatic healthcare workers and hospital visitors is set to be paused in Northern Ireland. Relatives of care home residents and hospice patients will no longer be automatically required to take a test as of Monday. However, those who are displaying symptoms will still have to take a test and are not permitted to visit a care setting. The Department of Health said the move is in line with the Test, Trace and Protect Transition plan. The strategy, published in March 2022, committing to keeping arrangements under review and focused on introducing proportionate and targeted rules.
30th Sep 2022 - Belfast Telegraph
Millions urged to get flu and Covid jabs amid fears of winter ‘twindemic’ in UK
Tens of millions of people in the UK are being urged to have flu and Covid vaccines as soon as possible amid fears of a winter “twindemic” that poses a serious risk to public health. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) officials are braced for a resurgence in flu infections capable of causing severe disease in the coming months, and are concerned it will coincide with the major wave of coronavirus that is already building. While Covid restrictions kept influenza at extremely low levels in the past three years, the return to almost pre-pandemic levels of mixing in the UK means the virus is ripe to bounce back this season, when immunity in the population is low.
30th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Canada to remove all COVID travel restrictions from Oct 1
Canada will drop all COVID-19 restrictions for travelers from Oct. 1, including vaccination and masking requirements for flights and trains, the government said on Monday. The move is likely to boost the Canadian travel industry, already booming after months of lull during the pandemic. Canadian carriers were also pressing for an end to mask mandates on flights, citing thousands of incidents of non-compliance this year alone.
27th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 cases rise in England and Wales for first time in two months
COVID cases in England and Wales have risen for the first time in two months - marking an end to a steady fall since early July. The increase means the total number of infections in the UK has also gone up, but levels are estimated to have fallen in Scotland and Northern Ireland. About 927,900 people in private households across the country are likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the week ending 14 September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That is up 5% from 881,200 for the week before
24th Sep 2022 - Sky News
NZ now flying blind on new Covid-19 variants - experts
University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles said while the reported numbers were murky due to reporting changes, it was doubtful only 94 people out of almost 70,000 travellers who arrived in New Zealand, had Covid-19. "I'm not a statistician, but that seems highly unlikely, versus a change in our protocol to require people to be tested." Wiles said border testing provided an early warning system of new variants entering New Zealand, and without this, variants would spread in the community before being noticed. "We'll be reliant on the tests that have been done in the community, or more increasingly the wastewater testing, looking for variants." A Ministry of Health spokesperson said arrivals are still given RAT kits on arrival and encouraged to test and report their results by phone.
24th Sep 2022 - 1News
Two-in-one jab for Covid-19 and flu could be available in late 2023: Moderna
Speaking during a virtual media roundtable event on Wednesday night, Moderna's chief medical officer Paul Burton said the quick turnaround is possible because of the flexibility of the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) platform. He said the mRNA platform allows the company to pivot to other diseases and produce new vaccines quickly, adding: "You can expect it (the jab for flu and Covid-19) in late 2023."
Dr Burton also provided an update on Moderna's plans to set up a new subsidiary in Singapore, revealing that job offers for the team have been sent out and more will be disclosed in the coming weeks. Moderna had announced in February 2022 plans to set up a subsidiary here, which it said will add to the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer's presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
24th Sep 2022 - The Straits Times
Covid-19 Unemployment Fraud May Have Topped $45 Billion, Watchdog Estimates
Criminals potentially stole an estimated $45.6 billion by making fraudulent unemployment insurance claims meant for people laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic, a government watchdog said. The new tally is nearly three times last summer’s estimate of over $16 billion in fraudulent payments. More than half of the potential fraud identified between March 2020 and April 2022 stemmed from individuals filing for benefits in multiple states. Fraudsters also used the Social Security numbers of people who were dead or in prison, as well as suspicious email addresses, the Labor Department’s inspector general’s office said in a report released Thursday. More than 1,000 people have been charged with crimes involving unemployment insurance fraud since March 2020, the report said.
23rd Sep 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong Won't Return to Zero Covid Cases as City Weighs Easing
A Hong Kong health official said the Asian financial hub is unlikely to again see a day without any Covid-19 infections after keeping the virus largely at bay for the first two years of the pandemic. While cases won’t return to zero -- a feat the city managed for most of last year due to some of the world’s strictest quarantine policies -- the daily tally is likely to continue its downward trend, health official Albert Au said at a briefing on Thursday. “We expect coronavirus will linger in the community and will have certain transmissions,” he said. “Before the fifth wave, we could do Covid Zero. After the fifth wave, this is not necessarily feasible.”
22nd Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong Reaches Consensus on Ending Hotel Quarantine
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and his officials have reached a consensus on ending mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals, the South China Morning Post reported. The government plans to replace it with seven-day home monitoring, according to the report, citing unidentified people. The new arrangements would be announced after thorough preparation by government agencies, the report added.
21st Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. delivers over 25 mln COVID boosters; Moderna's shot in limited supply
The United States government has sent out over 25 million of the updated COVID-19 booster shots, mostly from Pfizer/BioNTech, as production of the Moderna shot continues to ramp up, a federal health agency said on Tuesday. Some U.S. pharmacies like CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance also reported on Tuesday that government supply of Moderna's updated shot remains limited, causing appointments for the product to vary across the country.
20th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Some People Are Finally Getting Their First Dose of a Covid-19 Vaccine
All together, the seven-day average for adults getting first shots each day ranged between roughly 15,000 and 18,000 in late August, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data can overestimate first-shot recipients, because there are times where the agency can’t link follow-up shots, including boosters, to people who received an initial series. The same effect can lead to an undercount of booster shots, according to the CDC. People who recently got the first jab cited a range of reasons. Some said they were ordered to do so, such as to start a new job or travel for a vacation. Others waited until a vaccine using a more-traditional technology, instead of the newer mRNA versions, became available. Some went ahead after getting sick with Covid-19, or after a family member vouched that the shots worked.
19th Sep 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Cost of Covid Zero Is Straining Municipal Finances Across China
China’s doubling down on its zero-tolerance stance toward Covid-19 is draining local-government coffers, posing a fresh threat to the economy and bond investors.
Jilin province, in the northeast of the country, has warned of “increasingly outstanding conflicts” between spending and income. Finances at almost half of of its 60 county and district level governments are so tight they are exposed to “operational risks,” the provincial finance department said in its first-half budget execution report released last month
19th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullSingapore to begin giving Covid-19 vaccines to children under 5
Roll-out expected to be timed for end-October or early November given. Singapore’s ‘relatively low’ caseload, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung says
City state also plans to introduce bivalent jabs targeting both the wildtype virus and its circulating variants, Ong adds
18th Sep 2022 - South China Morning Post
Desperation grows in hard-hit Chengdu’s indefinite Covid lockdown
China’s city of 21 million has endured heatwaves, power cuts, quarantine and a deadly earthquake, while panic also simmers in a neighbouring province
18th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Less than 50 payments made for adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines
Less than 50 payments have been made to compensate Australians who have had adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines, representing a miniscule percentage of the total number of doses administered. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten seized upon the figures to criticise “fringe operators who spread misinformation” about COVID vaccines.
18th Sep 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
Uyghurs living under COVID-19 lockdowns in Xinjiang face food shortages, family separations
Last week, at least 33 cities were reportedly put in lockdown as China continues to pursue its COVID-zero policy. But unlike lockdowns in other major cities in China, lockdowns in Xinjiang are rarely discussed publicly and face strict censorship on the Chinese internet. Chinese language media reported that censors in Xinjiang have been asked to "dilute discussions" about Ili's lockdown, by posting videos and pictures of "lifestyle, baby matters, and food". The Xinjiang lockdowns come as outgoing United Nations human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet recently released a report detailing serious allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China's Xinjiang region.
16th Sep 2022 - ABC News
Australians might be ‘living with Covid’ but aged care residents are still dying with it. Where is the outrage and grief?
Across Australia, more than 3,000 people living in residential aged care have died with Covid-19 this year. This is three times more than in the first two years of the pandemic when tight lockdowns prevented families from spending precious time together and negatively impacted mental health, cognitive and physical wellbeing. To what end?
16th Sep 2022 - The Guardian
Nigeria Strikes Deal with Serum Institute of India
Nigeria will start building a vaccine plant by end of the year after signing a contract manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for local production of the jabs, the country’s health minister said. The country struck the deal with the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer on Wednesday, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at a briefing in the capital, Abuja. The plant should be producing routine vaccines -- initially against polio, measles and yellow fever, among others -- by 2028, he added.
14th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Japan Approves Pfizer, Moderna Covid Omicron Vaccine Boosters for Use
Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant were approved by Japan’s health ministry late Monday, paving the way for them to be rolled out in the world’s third-largest health-care market. The ministry endorsed the shots shortly after an expert panel advised deploying the boosters. Pfizer’s omicron booster can be administered to Japanese aged 12 and over, the panel advised, while Moderna’s should be limited to those 18 and above. Japan is the latest country to sign off on the targeted boosters following similar approvals by the US, UK and Australia in the past couple of months.
12th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Gusher of pandemic aid averted global depression, but left a bad hangover
Economists around the world, from the most liberal free-spenders to fiscal conservative deficit hawks, largely agreed the coronavirus pandemic required a go-big, go-fast policy response to avoid an outright global depression.
12th Sep 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping at Least 500,000 Workers Out of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says
Illness caused by Covid-19 shrank the U.S. labor force by around 500,000 people, a hit that is likely to continue if the virus continues to sicken workers at current rates, according to a new study released Monday. Millions of people left the labor force—the number of people working or looking for work—during the pandemic for various reasons, including retirement, lack of child care and fear of Covid. The total size of the labor force reached 164.7 million people in August, exceeding the February 2020 prepandemic level for the first time. The labor force would have 500,000 more members if not for the people sickened by Covid, according to the study’s authors, economists Gopi Shah Goda of Stanford University and Evan J. Soltas, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
12th Sep 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
BOJ set to end COVID-relief scheme, but no change to loose policy
The Bank of Japan is expected to end as scheduled a pandemic-relief funding scheme this month and discuss adjustments to a policy guidance that flags the COVID-19 pandemic as the top economic risk, three sources familiar with its thinking say. A final decision will be made at the BOJ's policy meeting on Sept. 21-22, when the board will scrutinise data to ensure Japan's persistently high coronavirus cases do not lead to a sharp drop in economic activity, the sources said.
12th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullKim Jong Un suggests N.Korea may begin COVID vaccinations
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested that the isolated country could begin COVID-19 vaccinations in November, state media reported on Friday. In a speech on Thursday to the North Korean national assembly, Kim cited World Health Organization warnings that the winter could see a resurgence in coronavirus infections. “Therefore, along with responsible vaccination, we should recommend that all residents wear masks to protect their health from November," he said, without elaborating.
9th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Long Covid Costs Australia Economy $3.6 Billion a Year: Report
Long Covid is costing the Australian economy the equivalent of $3.6 billion a year in lost output, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing an exclusive data analysis. Based on data from the country’s Treasury estimating some 31,000 workers called in sick because of the condition in June, the analysis by think tank Impact Economics and Policy found the economic cost came in at A$100 million ($68 million) a week, according to the AFR. That amounts to some A$5.2 billion on an annual basis.
10th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Why China Is Still Imposing Lockdowns
The world has moved on from the coronavirus pandemic—except for China. Chinese leaders continue to lock down some of the country’s largest cities, spend millions of dollars on testing, and hunt down individual case after individual case. Nothing—neither a sinking economy nor the availability of vaccines and improved treatments nor the country’s growing isolation—has persuaded the leadership to change course. The latest wave of lockdowns has largely confined millions to their homes: Just two of those lockdowns, involving the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu and the tech hub of Shenzhen, affected a combined population roughly equivalent to all of Canada’s.
10th Sep 2022 - The Atlantic
State and Local Jobs May Take Until 2026 to Recoup Pandemic Losses
The sluggish recovery in US state and city employment has left payrolls hundreds of thousands of positions below pre-pandemic levels, a deficit that may take years to plug as the private sector lures away workers. State and local payrolls rose to about 19.4 million last month, the highest since March 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. However, that’s still roughly 650,000 less than the peak from right before Covid-19 struck, even after states and municipalities received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal stimulus to ease the pandemic’s blow.
9th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. Plans Shift to Annual Covid Shots as New Boosters Roll Out
U.S. health authorities plan to recommend that people get Covid-19 boosters once a year, starting with the new shots now rolling out, a shift from their current practice of issuing new advice every several months. The annual cadence would be similar to that of flu shots, White House officials said, though elderly people and those with weakened immune systems may need more frequent inoculations. A shift to annual Covid-19 boosters would be a departure from current practice and comes after many people in the U.S. have ignored calls to get a first or second booster, partly due to fatigue with repeat inoculations.
6th Sep 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong Targets Removal of Hotel Quarantine Requirement
Hong Kong is targeting November to end hotel quarantine for visitors to the city, Bloomberg reports. Hong Kong has already reduced the hotel quarantine requirement from 21 days to 7 days to 3 days, although a further 4 days of “health monitoring” is still required during which people can leave their homes but may not enter high-risk premises like restaurants and bars. The end of hotel quarantine altogether is planned to occur ahead of a summit of global bankers and a popular international rugby competition later this year.
5th Sep 2022 - Regulation Asia
World's First Covid Vaccine You Inhale Is Approved in China
China became the first country to approve a needle-free, inhaled version of a Covid-19 vaccine made by Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics Inc., pushing the company’s shares up as much as 14.5% Monday morning in Hong Kong. China’s National Medical Products Administration approved CanSino’s Ad5-nCoV for emergency use as a booster vaccine, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday. The vaccine is a new version of CanSino’s one-shot Covid drug, the first in the world to undergo human testing in March 2020 and which has been used in China, Mexico, Pakistan, Malaysia and Hungary after being rolled out in February 2021.
5th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Moderna Sees Annual US Market for Covid-19 Shots Ranging Up to $13 Billion
Annual US sales of Covid-19 shots could be high as $12.9 billion, with health officials likely recommending an annual booster, vaccine maker Moderna Inc. said in a meeting with investors. Exactly how big the market will be for shots made by the company and its rivals depends on who keeps receiving boosters, Moderna said. It could be as little as $5.2 billion annually, depending on shots’ prices and how many people receive them, officials said Thursday in a meeting with investors in Boston.
8th Sep 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullLocked-down Chengdu apologises after Covid testing system crashes
Chengdu authorities say sorry for long delays that forced people to wait in the rain late into the night. Transport hub ordered residents to test daily to try to keep a lid on coronavirus cases
4th Sep 2022 - South China Morning Post
China's Shenzhen to adopt tiered COVID measures; Chengdu extends lockdown
China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen said it will adopt tiered anti-virus restriction measures starting on Monday, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu announced an extension of lockdown curbs, as the country grapples with fresh outbreaks. Shenzhen, which went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday, announced a new round of COVID-19 testing, and vowed to "marshal all available resources, mobilise all forces, and take all possible measures" to stamp out the pandemic.
4th Sep 2022 - Reuters
‘Peak of Hong Kong Covid surge in sight,’ says top pandemic adviser
Professor David Hui urges parents to get their children inoculated, citing studies overseas indicating doses are safe. He suggests possibility of ‘3+4’ quarantine scheme for overseas arrivals to be eased to ‘0+7’ format in November if conditions are ideal
4th Sep 2022 - South China Morning Post
Shenzhen districts locked down as China battles COVID outbreaks
Most residents of the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday as mass COVID-19 testing kicked off in much of the city of 18 million people. The lockdown, and the suspension of bus and subway services, came into effect two days after city authorities said rumours about a lockdown were based on a "misinterpretation" of the latest COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
4th Sep 2022 - Reuters
Covid pandemic may be causing more deaths than Australia’s daily numbers suggest
Behind the daily death figures, there is a more complicated picture of the impact of Covid-19 in Australia that raises questions about whether Covid could be causing more deaths from ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and dementia.
As cases exploded after the emergence of the Omicron variant, the number of Covid deaths similarly rose, with more than 80% of Australia’s total Covid deaths occurring in 2022.
3rd Sep 2022 - The Guardian
National health agency apologises over Covid vaccine ads it was ordered to remove
The nation's newly branded health authority has been ordered to remove or fix a misleading advertisement about vaccination against Covid-19 that ran across multiple media platforms. The Advertising Standards Authority complaints board received 44 complaints against Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand's Vaccinate for Life advertisements which ran across television, print and on billboards and mobile phones. In a statement to Open Justice, the health agency's National Immunisation Programme has apologised for any confusion or concern caused by the advertisements, which concluded in July. The programme's director, Astrid Koornneef, said while it was disappointed with the decision it accepted the authority's ruling, which related to one element of a wider vaccination campaign.
2nd Sep 2022 - New Zealand Herald
Walgreens Now Offering Appointments for Updated COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna Boosters
Walgreens now offers updated COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna boosters to eligible individuals aged 12 years and older following authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Scheduling an appointment is preferred and is available via the Walgreens app, 1-800-WALGREENS, or online at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine starting today for vaccinations. Additional appointments will be added daily as select Walgreens stores begin to receive the updated COVID-19 boosters.
2nd Sep 2022 - The Associated Press
North Korea COVID rules put pressure on women providing food - U.N. expert
North Korean women and girls face increased pressure in providing food for their families and the state under coronavirus measures even as closed border hamper market activity and push up prices, a U.N. expert said on Friday. Elizabeth Salmon, the new U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, expressed concern about the "disproportionate impact" of the isolated country's COVID-19 rules on women and girls as she wrapped up her first visit to South Korea since taking office last month.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
EU states urged to roll out COVID booster shots to fend off winter infections
EU countries should start offering COVID boosters to their populations now to contain a fresh wave of infections expected this autumn and winter, the bloc's executive said in a document seen by Reuters on Friday ahead of its official release. The Brussels-based European Commission said more than 2,300 people still die of COVID in the bloc every week, while other negative health consequences of the disease include long-COVID symptoms and mental problems.
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
Explainer: Updated COVID vaccines are coming to U.S. Should you get one?
Updated COVID-19 booster shots for people aged 12 years and above to target the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus are on the way after receiving the go-ahead from U.S. regulators. The green light for the use of Omicron COVID boosters from Pfizer Inc with German partner BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc will enable millions of the retooled shots to roll out by the end of the weekend
2nd Sep 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullSerious Covid case numbers declining
Small waves of new Covid-19 cases are being seen locally and globally but the number of severely ill patients and fatalities is not rising, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The number of severely ill patients and fatalities is stable worldwide and has been declining steadily in Thailand, CCSA spokeswoman Sumanee Watcharasin said on Thursday.
2nd Sep 2022 - Bangkok Post
Covid: All you need to know about Wales' autumn Coronavirus booster and flu vaccine programme
Wales' autumn Covid-19 vaccination programme will start to be rolled out across Wales from Thursday (September 1). Care home residents and staff will be the first to receive the vaccine in an attempt to protect the country's most vulnerable ahead of the winter months. Everyone who is eligible for the autumn booster will be invited for a vaccination by their health boards. Similarly to earlier in the pandemic, invitations will be issued in order of vulnerability, with everyone eligible being offered a booster vaccine by December.
1st Sep 2022 - ITV News
Covid-19 booster vaccines offered to healthcare staff and those with health conditions
Healthcare workers and people aged 12 to 49 with long term health conditions have been invited to make an appointment for their second Covid-19 booster jab by the Health Service Executive (HSE). HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said appointments are available from Thursday. “We know that those who have long-term health conditions are at greater risk from serious illness from Covid-19,” he said. “Getting a second booster vaccine now will help protect these people, particularly as we come in to the autumn. We are now also calling healthcare workers for their next Covid-19 booster.
1st Sep 2022 - The Irish Times
Hong Kong vaccine pass scheme to include 5-11 age group, official confirms
Details of new policy to be announced next week, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection says. Top minister will reveal a major NGO will join the government’s effort to boost inoculation rate among the elderly,
1st Sep 2022 - South China Morning Post
Covid-19 booster vaccination roll-out starts in Wales
The autumn Covid-19 booster roll-out has started in Wales as care home residents and staff become the first in line to get their next jab. The vaccine has been made available to all those eligible from September 1 as the Welsh Government looks to keep Covid rates down for the coming winter. Care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all those aged over 50, will be called for a vaccination by their health boards. Invitations will be issued in order of vulnerability, with everyone eligible being offered a booster vaccine by the end of the year. The vaccines will be administered in a variety of settings including GP surgeries and vaccination centres
1st Sep 2022 - Wales Online
CDC's vaccine advisory committee scheduled to vote on new COVID-19 booster shots Thursday
The CDC's vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to vote on new COVID-19 booster shots Thursday. The FDA authorized Pfizer and Moderna's updated boosters Wednesday
1st Sep 2022 - YAHOO!News
Covid-19 booster available in NI in mid-September
Covid-19 booster vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is due to start on Monday 19 September. Care home residents and staff will be among the first to be offered the vaccine.. Many of those receiving the latest booster will get a new vaccine from Moderna,
1st Sep 2022 - BBC News
Queensland in 'new stage' of COVID-19 pandemic, changes to vaccine mandate, reliance on health directives and reporting flagged
Daily reporting of COVID statistics will be wound back from this weekend. A blanket COVID-19 vaccine mandate direction for private health care workers will be lifted
National cabinet has agreed people who test positive for COVID will only be required to isolate for five days from September 9.
1st Sep 2022 - ABC News
Hong Kong leader proposes 'reverse quarantine' for China travel
Hong Kong hopes to introduce "reverse quarantine" for people going to mainland China as the financial hub seeks to open up to the neighbouring technology city of Shenzhen after months of restrictions, the city leader said on Thursday.
1st Sep 2022 - Reuters
Macau plans to gradually reopen the city to foreign travelers
Macau is planning to gradually reopen the city to foreign travellers from certain countries who meet its COVID-19 criteria, its government said on Thursday.
1st Sep 2022 - Reuters
Germany to start Omicron-adapted COVID vaccinations next week - minister
Germany can next week start using COVID-19 vaccines which have been adapted for the Omicron variant and got approval for use in the European Union on Thursday, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said. He said approval of the BA.1 vaccine was a quantum leap in the fight against the pandemic as vaccines were now available that work well against all previously known virus variants. "From next week, vaccinations can begin with the new doses. Now is the optimal time to close the gaps in vaccination for the autumn," he said in a statement.
1st Sep 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Sep 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Vaccines Are Free in the US Now, by Jan 2023 You May Have to Pay
The US government anticipates that it will stop purchasing and providing Covid-19 shots as soon as January due to a lack of funds, leaving Americans to obtain vaccines through insurers or pay for them out-of-pocket. US health officials convened a meeting of more than 100 representatives from drugmakers, state and local health departments, health providers and insurers on Tuesday to discuss the government’s plans to transition sales of Covid vaccines and therapeutics to the commercial market, according to Dawn O’Connell, who heads the Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
31st Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Concern over fulfilling tougher 3-jab rule for full-day classes in Hong Kong
Scientia Secondary School head says race to fulfil criteria in two months is tight, and switching teaching models again will adversely affect learning. Head of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council Vu Im-fan echoes views on time frame, calls for more vaccination outreach services to boost rates
31st Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
COVID-19 vaccine booster now available for Sask. kids 5-11, but some parents say it comes too late
Saskatchewan children from five to 11 years old are now eligible to receive their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as long at least four months has passed since their previous shot — but with the school year about to start, some parents say the shots should have been made available sooner. "Too little, too late" said Carolyn Brost Strom. Her eight-year-old daughter was excited to start Grade 3 at her Prince Albert school, but now has a fever, sore throat and fatigue after testing positive for COVID-19. "It's disappointing to start the school year like this. We got the backpacks and everything done a few weeks ago, but it's all sitting there," Strom said. "She put her head under the pillow and started crying." The provincial government announced on Tuesday that booster appointments for five- to 11-year-olds would be available as of Wednesday.
31st Aug 2022 - CBC.ca on MSN.com
Is Japan gearing up for a full reopening after Covid-19?
Japan's ancient temples, tranquil hot springs, cherry blossoms and futuristic skyscrapers could soon be open for more people to enjoy again as the country has further eased Covid-19 restrictions. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that non-escorted visitors on package tours will be able to travel to Japan from next Wednesday. Speaking at an online press conference, he also said the daily arrival cap on visitor numbers would increase to 50,000 from the same date. That’s an increase from the existing 20,000 policy.
31st Aug 2022 - The National
COVID-19 isolation period shortened to five days
National Cabinet has agreed to shorten COVID-19 isolation requirements by two days for most workers. The AMA fears the reduced period could worsen workforce shortages. Pandemic payments will be reduced, and mask rules for domestic flights dropped
31st Aug 2022 - ABC News
Goldman Sachs to lift vaccination, Covid-19 requirements in most offices next month
Goldman Sachs said Tuesday it will lift all its Covid-19 requirements in most offices beginning Sept. 6, in response to new guidance from federal health officials. According to a memo obtained by CNBC, the bank will no longer require its workers to be vaccinated to enter its offices or to test and wear face coverings, except those in Lima and New York City. Unvaccinated employees in New York City will still need an approved religious or medical exemption to enter the bank’s office spaces, according to the memo.
31st Aug 2022 - CNBC
Antigua and Barbuda removes Covid-19 travel restrictions
Antigua and Barbuda is the latest Caribbean nation to remove all Covid-19-related entry restrictions. Arriving travellers by air no longer need to provide proof of vaccination or testing. All Covid-related curbs are also lifted for passengers arriving by yacht or ferry. Passengers arriving by cruise ship remain subject to the protocols placed on board by their cruise company, according to updated Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice.
31st Aug 2022 - Travel Weekly
Autumn Covid-19 booster jabs available in Jersey from September | ITV News
Islanders in Jersey who are eligible for a Covid-19 booster jab will be able to book another vaccination from tomorrow (Thursday 1 September). The extra dose of the vaccine is intended to protect the most vulnerable islanders during the autumn and winter months. The government's Autumn Booster programme is open to:
Care home residents and staff; Health and social workers; All adults over the age of 50; Anyone aged under 50 who is clinically 'at risk', lives in the same home as someone who's immunosuppressed, or is a carer
31st Aug 2022 - ITV News
Hungary must act to get EU COVID-19 funds, says Czech minister
Hungary must take action on changing its rule of law before it can receive any European Union recovery funds, the EU affairs chief of the Czech government, which holds the bloc's rotating presidency, said in an interview on Tuesday. Hungary and Poland both have yet to receive billions of euros of post-COVID EU recovery funds as the governments have not met Brussels' demands on respecting the rule of law.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
North Korea's COVID restrictions intensify human rights violations - U.N.
Hungary must take action on changing its rule of law before it can receive any European Union recovery funds, the EU affairs chief of the Czech government, which holds the bloc's rotating presidency, said in an interview on Tuesday. Hungary and Poland both have yet to receive billions of euros of post-COVID EU recovery funds as the governments have not met Brussels' demands on respecting the rule of law.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 31st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullGoldman and Morgan Stanley Ease Covid Rules, Clearing Path to Desks
Two of Wall Street’s most prominent investment banks are removing some of the final hurdles to fully returning to offices following the Covid-19 pandemic. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which led Wall Street’s return to Manhattan towers by pushing employees to resume regular commutes last year, and Morgan Stanley both told staff that they will ease some of their remaining Covid-19 mitigation efforts after the Labor Day weekend. Goldman will let employees outside New York enter offices regardless of vaccination status, with no requirement to participate in regular testing or wear face coverings, according to a memo sent to staff.
31st Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
COVAX to send Mexico 10 mln COVID shots by Sept. 30, says official
The United Nations-backed COVAX vaccine program will send 10 million doses of Pfizer /BioNTech COVID-19 shots for children to Mexico by the end of September, a senior Mexican official announced Tuesday.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Japan weighs September rollout for omicron-targeting COVID-19 shots
The Japanese government is considering a September start for new COVID-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant, earlier than the initially planned mid-October rollout, sources said Tuesday. With the country now facing its seventh wave of COVID-19 infections, the government is hoping to introduce more effective vaccines.
The improved vaccines developed by U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. are currently being evaluated by Japanese authorities.
30th Aug 2022 - The Japan Times
U.S. Supreme Court's Sotomayor keeps New York City COVID vaccine mandate
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to block New York City from enforcing its mandate that all municipal workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, rebuffing a police detective who challenged the public health policy. The liberal justice denied Detective Anthony Marciano's request for a stay of the vaccination requirement while an appeal over his claims continue in a lower court. A federal judge threw out Marciano's case in March.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
COVAX to send Mexico 10 mln COVID shots by Sept. 30, says official
The COVAX vaccine program will send 10 million doses of PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 shots for children to Mexico by the end of September, a senior Mexican official announced Tuesday. The confirmed dates for the shots' delivery comes a week after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would complain to the United Nations about the delayed shipment of vaccines the government had requested
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters Canada
U.S. to suspend free COVID-19 test orders next week
Starting next week, Americans will no longer be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests from a website set up by the U.S. government due to limited supply arising from a lack of congressional funding. The COVIDTests.gov website, set up during the Omicron variant record surge in cases, helped U.S. households secure COVID-19 tests at no cost. President Joe Biden in January pledged to procure 1 billion free tests for Americans, including 500 million available through the website. However, ordering through the program will be suspended on Sept. 2.
30th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Goldman Sachs Ditches Covid-19 Protocols, Cites 'Significantly Less Risk of Severe Illness'
Goldman Sachs is getting rid of its Covid-19 protocols. The bank said employees can enter most of its offices regardless of vaccination status, and aren’t required to test for Covid-19 regularly or wear masks, according to a memo sent to Goldman employees Tuesday and viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The new rules are set to take place Sept. 6, the day after Labor Day. “With many tools including vaccination, improved treatments and testing now available, there is significantly less risk of severe illness,” Goldman said in the memo. The company cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently relaxed many pandemic precautions.
30th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Biden Administration to Pause Free At-Home Covid-19 Tests for Americans
The federal government plans to hit pause this week on a program that sends free at-home rapid Covid-19 tests to U.S. households. “Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2 because Congress hasn’t provided additional funding to replenish the nation’s stockpile of tests,” said a post on COVIDTests.gov, the federal website where tests can be ordered. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the administration wants to be prepared for a potential rise in infections in the future.
29th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Can You Trust That Covid Test Result? What Five Tests in 24 Hours Taught Me
Testing discrepancies appear to be increasingly common with Omicron and its subvariants, so some common sense comes in handy. If you’re living with people with Covid-19 and feel symptoms develop, you’re likely developing Covid-19. So even if your tests say otherwise, stay home. For rapid antigen tests, serial testing is the name of the game. Test every day or every other day for up to a week if you can. Once you get a positive you can be confident in it, even if it’s a faint line.
29th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullLatest Covid Boosters Are Set to Roll Out Before Human Testing Is Completed
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize new Covid-19 booster shots this week without a staple of its normal decision-making process: data from a study showing whether the shots were safe and worked in humans. The shots, modified to target the latest versions of the Omicron variant, won’t have finished testing in humans when the FDA makes its decisions. Instead, the agency plans to assess the shots using data from other sources such as research in mice, the profiles of the original vaccines and the performance of earlier iterations of boosters targeting older forms of Omicron. “Real world evidence from the current mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, which have been administered to millions of individuals, show us that the vaccines are safe,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a recent tweet. The FDA pointed to Dr. Califf’s tweets when asked for comment.
28th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
At Jackson Hole, World’s Central Bankers Gauge Economic Risks in Covid’s Wake
The world’s central bankers returned to Grand Teton National Park after a three-year, pandemic-induced hiatus with angst over inflation that has been at the highest levels since the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City began hosting its annual summer symposium there in 1982. Policy makers and economists signaled growing unease with the trade-offs they could soon confront, particularly if the forces that helped central banks bring down inflation and keep it low over the past three decades are unraveling. “For the first time in four decades, central banks need to prove how determined they are to protect price stability,” said Isabel Schnabel, who sits on the European Central Bank’s six-member executive board, during a panel that concluded the conference Saturday afternoon.
28th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Italian Man Diagnosed With COVID, Monkeypox, HIV at Same Time
A 36-year-old man in Italy appears to be the world’s first documented case of being diagnosed with COVID-19, monkeypox, and HIV at the same time this summer, according to a recent case report published in the Journal of Infection. His COVID-19 and monkeypox infections have cleared up without any issues, and he has been placed on HIV treatment. “Monkeypox virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections can occur simultaneously,” the study authors wrote. “Flu-like symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 positivity should not exclude monkeypox in high-risk individuals.”
27th Aug 2022 - WebMD
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullParaguayans skipping booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Paraguayan health authorities have expressed their concern over a slowdown in vaccination against COVID-19, with very few booster doses applied. According to official data released Saturday, 47% of the population still lacked the first doses since the start of the campaign in March 2021, while 53% were yet to take the third injection, although they have been available since October last year.
25th Aug 2022 - Uruguay News
Autumn Covid booster jabs: Who is eligible in Wales and how to book?
The autumn coronavirus booster vaccination programme is starting in Wales, with the first jabs being administered on September 1. The roll-out is designed to give extra protection to those who are at increased risk of serious illness if they contract the disease. The Welsh Government says it will also help protect the NHS over winter 2022-23, by easing pressure on the service.
25th Aug 2022 - ITV News
Covid-19 testing for people without symptoms to be ‘paused’
Covid-19 testing among NHS and care home staff with no symptoms in England is to be “paused” at the end of August, officials have announced. The Department of Health and Social Care said the decision to stop all “asymptomatic testing” comes as cases of the virus continue to fall. But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said nurses “must continue to have access to free testing and high-quality personal protective equipment”.
25th Aug 2022 - MSN.com
Taxi and private-hire drivers surprised at change in mask-wearing rule, worried about Covid-19 transmission
In Singapore, in an advisory on its Facebook page, the Land Transport Authority encouraged drivers and passengers to continue wearing masks to protect one another. Ride-hailing operators Gojek and Grab echoed this call, saying drivers and passengers should mask up if they feel unwell. Grab also advised its drivers to wind down windows to improve ventilation if passengers are agreeable. However, drivers interviewed felt that many passengers will not heed this call.
25th Aug 2022 - The Straits Times
3 possible Covid-19 scenarios for Singapore in the months ahead
Singapore needs to be prepared for a possible Covid-19 wave at the year end, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday (Aug 24). A few scenarios were outlined by the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force on Wednesday at a press conference.
25th Aug 2022 - The Straits Times
Chinese city 'stretched to the limit' as millions wait in line for Covid tests in extreme heat
The Chinese metropolis of Chongqing has rolled out mass Covid testing in its central area amid a record heat wave, leaving millions of residents standing under the sun for hours as they struggle with extreme temperatures and power shortages. Stringent zero-Covid measures enacted by the southwestern mega city to contain an emerging outbreak are the latest hardship for residents already reeling from a crippling heat wave, a severe drought and blazing wildfires. Chongqing reported 40 Covid-19 infections Wednesday, bringing the total to 146 cases since mid-August.
25th Aug 2022 - CNN
Chinese State Media Defend Covid Zero, Warn Against 'Lying Flat'
China’s state media defended the country’s increasingly costly zero tolerance approach to Covid-19, saying inactivity from “lying flat” would be disastrous, as outbreaks in its tourism hotspots abate. The dynamic Covid Zero method created a safe and stable environment for China’s development and brings greater certainty to the world economy, the State Council-affiliated newspaper Economic Daily said in a column on Thursday. The recent damage to the country’s growth stems from Covid itself, not measures to contain it, the paper said.
25th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Explainer: Updated COVID-19 vaccines are coming in the U.S., should you get one?
The United States plans to roll out an updated COVID-19 booster vaccine to include Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus. Regulators are reviewing the shots and could give the go-ahead as soon as next week.
25th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong 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.
25th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
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
24th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
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.
24th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Yahoo News Australia on MSN.com
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Business Standard
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.
24th Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
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
24th Aug 2022 - Reuters
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.
24th Aug 2022 - Reuters
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.
24th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullMalaysia reports 2078 new COVID-19 infections, 10 new deaths
Malaysia reported 2,078 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Monday, bringing the national total to 4,759,830, according to the health ministry. There are 12 new imported cases, with 2,066 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed. Another 10 deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,155. The ministry reported 3,290 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,685,979.
24th Aug 2022 - Xinhua
Fauci on COVID conspiracy theories: ‘What we’re dealing with now is just a distortion of reality’
Anthony Fauci, who on Monday announced that he is leaving the Biden administration, pushed back on conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic hours later, calling the claims “a distortion of reality.” “What we’re dealing with now is just a distortion of reality, conspiracy theories which don’t make any sense at all pushing back on sound public health measures, making it look like trying to save lives is encroaching on people’s freedom,” Fauci said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” False claims and criticisms, particularly about the origins of the COVID-19 virus, Fauci said, “impeded a proper response to a public health challenge” and continue to interfere with addressing public health issues.
23rd Aug 2022 - The Hill
Pfizer COVID shots appear 73% effective in children under 5
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective in protecting children younger than 5 as omicron spread in the spring, the company announced Tuesday. Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay. Only about 6% of youngsters ages 6 months through 4 years had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-August, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Health authorities authorized tot-sized vaccine doses made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech based on a study showing they were safe and produced high levels of virus-fighting antibodies. But there was only preliminary data on how that translated into effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19.
23rd Aug 2022 - The Hill
Vaccine fatigue is real. These experts say messaging on COVID boosters should be clear
COVID-19 vaccines aimed at both the original strain and Omicron variants are expected in Canada this fall. But messaging on booster doses has been mixed across the country. Some experts like virologist Angela Rasmussen recommend getting the first available booster, while others like Manitoba's Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin say his province will wait to open up fourth doses for all adults until new bivalent vaccines are approved.
23rd Aug 2022 - CBC News
47% Of U.S. Adults Took An At-Home COVID-19 Test In The Past 3 Months, Survey Reveals
Despite the recent ease of COVID-19 restrictions, nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) say they took an at-home COVID-19 test at some point in the past three months after feeling sick, according to new data from the Forbes Health-Ipsos Monthly Health Tracker survey. Additionally, of the 1,120 U.S. adults polled between August 16 and 17, 65% stayed home or away from people they don’t live with if they felt ill, 44% isolated from people inside their household and 27% took a PCR COVID-19 test from a doctor or testing site. (Respondents could choose multiple answers.)
If you’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, such as a cough, fever or chills, or just want peace of mind when traveling and gathering with others, there are many testing avenues available.
23rd Aug 2022 - Forbes
Japan to ease Covid entry requirements, raise cap on entrants
Japan is planning to stop requiring proof of a negative Covid-19 test result from entrants to the country as long as they have completed three rounds of vaccinations, while also raising the cap on those entering the country
23rd Aug 2022 - Bangkok Post
Japan weighs relaxing border rules on COVID -media
Japan may lift requirements for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travellers and raise daily caps on entrants, domestic media have reported. Japan has some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies, requiring travellers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure. The government may soon waive tests for vaccinated passengers, with the change taking effect in a few weeks, Nikkei reported late Monday. A daily cap of inbound travellers may be raised from 20,000 to 50,000 as early as next month, Fuji News Network said on Tuesday.
23rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Thai cabinet approves 18.4 billion baht for NHSO COVID-19 medical expenses
The Thai cabinet approved an 18.447 billion baht budget for the National Health Security Office (NHSO) to cover medical expenses, medication, vaccines and equipment used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients between April 1st and May 15th. The NHSO has played a key role in arranging for COVID-19 patients to be treated in hospitals or in home isolation free of charge until they recover.
23rd Aug 2022 - Thai PBS World
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullChangi Terminal 5: Pandemic-Proof Airport Closer to Reality in Singapore
Singapore will start work on a fifth terminal at Changi Airport -- regularly voted among the world’s best -- with a revised design that allows it to adjust capacity during a pandemic. The move comes as the city-state works to cement its place as Asia’s primary aviation hub, with rival Hong Kong still imposing Covid quarantines and other border restrictions. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong detailed the plans in his National Day Rally address Sunday. “In the longer term, air travel will keep growing because of the fast expanding middle-class in our region,” Lee said.
23rd Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Free Covid-19 booster dose campaign picks up pace in Maharashtra: Officials
The ongoing 75-day Amrut Mahotsav campaign across Maharashtra has picked up pace, with the state seeing more than 35 lakh precautionary doses for Covid-19 being administered. In Maharashtra, over 5 crore citizens are due for precautionary doses while 1.7 crore beneficiaries are yet to take the second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. The campaign to administer the free precautionary (booster) dose was launched across the country on July 15 to encourage citizens to get vaccinated and ensure protection against Covid-19. State health authorities said they have been conducting special drives to create awareness about the importance of booster doses and encourage citizens above 18 to get the shot.
23rd Aug 2022 - The Indian Express
Omicron-specific Covid booster shots are just weeks away. Here's who will—and won't—be eligible
Newly updated Covid booster shots designed to target omicron’s BA.5 subvariant should be available within in the next three weeks. That begs an important question: Who’s going to be eligible to get them? The short answer: anyone ages 12 and up who has completed a primary vaccination series, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson tells CNBC Make It. It’s unlikely to matter whether you’ve received any other booster doses or not before, the spokesperson says — but if you’re unvaccinated, you won’t eligible for the updated formula until you complete a primary series with the existing Covid vaccines.
22nd Aug 2022 - CNBC
Brussels warns of Covid vaccination fatigue as it urges fresh drive for jabs
Brussels is warning of a vaccination “plateau” in the EU despite surging Covid-19 cases as it calls for member states to intensify campaigns ahead of the autumn and winter. EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said there was a risk that people were letting their guard down in the summer months and that health ministries need to do more to prepare for wider outbreaks despite understandable “fatigue” in populations about the pandemic.
22nd Aug 2022 - Financial Times
Paraguayans skipping booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Paraguayan health authorities have expressed their concern over a slowdown in vaccination against COVID-19, with very few booster doses applied. According to official data released Saturday, 47% of the population still lacked the first doses since the start of the campaign in March 2021, while 53% were yet to take the third injection, although they have been available since October last year. “We have a record of 1,766,882 people who have completed the six-month period since the second dose of the basic scheme and have not been vaccinated again against COVID-19,” said Héctor Castro, head of the Expanded Program of Immunization, who also pointed out that most people in that condition were aged below 40.
22nd Aug 2022 - MercoPress
North Korea imports of Chinese masks, gloves surged before declaring COVID victory
North Korea imported more than 1 million facial masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves from China in July, shortly before declaring victory over COVID-19, Chinese trade showed on Saturday. Pyongyang last week declared victory over the coronavirus,
22nd Aug 2022 - Investing.com
If North Korea has Covid beat, why buy 1 million face masks from China?
North Korea imported more than 1 million facial masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves from China in July, shortly before declaring victory over Covid-19, Chinese trade figures show. Pyongyang last week declared victory over the coronavirus, ending a little-detailed fight against "fever" cases that had risen to 4.77 million in the country of around 26 million people. It has registered no new such cases since July 29. Still, China exported 1.23 million facial masks to North Korea in July, worth $44,307, surging from 17,000 the previous month, according to data released by Chinese customs at the weekend.
22nd Aug 2022 - CNN
Moderna to supply 12 million doses of Omicron-targeted COVID shot to Canada
Moderna Inc will supply 12 million doses of its COVID-19 shot adapted to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus to Canada, the company said on Monday. The Canadian government had entered into a supply deal with the company last year for supply of its COVID vaccine for 2022 and 2023, with the contract allowing access to new vaccine adaptations. Moderna and the Canada have agreed to convert six million doses of the company's COVID-19 vaccine, which targets the original virus, to an Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine.
22nd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. first lady Jill Biden tests negative for COVID
U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after isolating for five days following a positive test, the White House said on Sunday. "After isolating for five days and receiving negative results from two consecutive COVID-19 tests, the First Lady will depart South Carolina later today for Delaware," her spokesperson said in a statement.
21st Aug 2022 - Reuters
Jamie Oliver Reveals 'Deeply Scary' Long Covid Battle of Wife Jools
Jamie Oliver has praised his wife Jools calling her "an absolute superstar" after suffering from long Covid for two years. The celebrity chef, 47, who rose to fame on cookery show The Naked Chef, said his childrenswear designer wife had been "really affected" by the virus. He told the Daily Mail Weekend magazine: "She's had bad Covid and long Covid so she's been really affected by it, sadly.
20th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Thailand to Allow Foreign Tourists to Extend Stay as Covid Eases
Thailand will permit an extended length of stay for foreign tourists between October and March in a bid to support its economic recovery as pressures from Covid-19 ease. Foreigners from 18 territories coming to Thailand under the visa on arrival category will be allowed to double their length of stay for up to 30 days, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s main Covid task force said on Friday. Those from more than 50 places that currently get 30 days will be able to stay for up to 45 days.
20th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Spread of latest outbreak of COVID-19 contained in Hainan
The spread of the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in South China's Hainan province has been contained and the situation is taking a positive turn thanks to substantial progress in epidemic prevention and control, said local authorities. Signs of improvement have been seen in Sanya, at the southern tip of Hainan island and the epicenter of the latest outbreak, Li Wenxiu, deputy director with the Hainan Provincial Health Commission, told a news conference held in Haikou on Friday.
20th Aug 2022 - China Daily
Experts: COVID Lockdowns Likely to Exacerbate Chinese Repression in Xinjiang, Tibet
Fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 in Xinjiang and Tibet this month have turned China's two western frontier regions into lockdown zones. According to Chinese media, authorities divided the COVID-affected areas of the autonomous regions into high-, medium- and low-risk zones. Xinjiang reported its first COVID-19 outbreak July 31. One week later, on Aug. 6, Tibet announced some people had been infected.
As of Thursday in Xinjiang, there were 329 high-risk, 138 medium-risk and 24 low-risk areas. On the same day, Chinese authorities in Tibet announced that there were 346 high-risk and 223 medium-risk areas.
20th Aug 2022 - Voice of America
U.S. Won’t Pay For Covid-19 Shots Soon. Here’s How It Could Work
The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a meeting later this month to pave the way for insurers and patients to pay for Covid-19 vaccines, antiviral treatments and tests, according to the Wall Street Journal. Stakeholders from across the healthcare industry will take part in the planning meeting, during which representatives from pharmacy chains, state health departments and drug producers are expected to begin laying out how insurance coverage and reimbursement would work with the shift, along with industry regulations.
19th Aug 2022 - Forbes
WHO recommends second COVID-19 booster for highest-risk groups
The World Health Organization’s immunization advisory group Thursday recommended a second COVID-19 vaccine booster for older people, health care workers, and people at high risk of developing severe disease. The advice mirrors that given by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which have called for second boosters to be given to people aged 60 and over, as well as those with medical conditions. The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) is recommending the extra jab in older people; health care workers; pregnant people; those with conditions that cause them to be immune-compromised and both people with comorbidities that put them at higher risk for severe disease.
19th Aug 2022 - POLITICO Europe
Covid-19 booster jabs to be rolled out in England from early September
Nurses will be offered a flu vaccination alongside a Covid-19 booster jab this autumn where possible, NHS England has said as it outlined details of the latest stage of the coronavirus vaccination programme. The autumn Covid-19 vaccination booster programme is to start in the week beginning 5 September, with care home residents and housebound people being given the jab by NHS staff. The National Booking Service will also open that week, allowing people aged over 75 and the most clinically vulnerable, to book a vaccination from 12 September. Individuals will be offered the new bivalent Moderna vaccine, which targets the original Covid-19 virus strain and the omicron variant, “where appropriate and subject to sufficient supply”
19th Aug 2022 - Nursing Times
North Korea's Kim praises military medics for frontline COVID fight in capital
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a ceremony to thank and praise military medics for spearheading the country's fight against the coronavirus in the capital Pyongyang, state media said on Friday. Thousands of medics of the Korean People's Army, who had been dispatched to the "emergency anti-epidemic front", were discharged after Kim declared victory over COVID-19 and eased restrictions last week
19th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 booster vaccine now available to those aged 55 and over
Appointments are now open for people aged 55 and over to book their next Covid-19 booster vaccine through the HSE or their own GP. This second booster vaccine will be available to those who have already received their initial vaccine course and one booster dose. According to the HSE, boosters protect against serious illness and increase Covid immunity. Those aged 55 and over can now make an appointment to receive their next dose. People can book an appointment online for a HSE vaccination clinic or check with participating GPs and pharmacies to receive their dose. People who are more than 16 weeks pregnant are also now invited to book their second booster dose at either a HSE vaccination centre or a GP/pharmacy.
18th Aug 2022 - Limerick Leader
Omicron Covid booster vaccine will be rolled out from 5 September and finish by December
More than 25 million people will get a dose of the new Covid-19 vaccine tailored against the Omicron variant by the start of December under plans announced by the NHS on Thursday. NHS England said the autumn boosters rollout would start from 5 September with care home residents the first group to be offered a jab by vaccinators who will visit their homes. From 12 September, anyone aged 75 or over, as well as health and care workers, can book in for a booster, with other age groups getting their vaccine in the coming weeks.
18th Aug 2022 - iNews
Quebec COVID-19 booster rates stay low as province launches new vaccination campaign
As Quebec prepares to launch a provincewide COVID-19 vaccination campaign ahead of a potential new fall wave, it's unclear whether it will be enough to prompt a pandemic-weary public to roll up their sleeves for another booster. As of Wednesday, only 56 per cent of Quebecers aged five and older had received a third vaccine dose -- a number that has hardly budged in months. Government officials have said that the low booster uptake is due to the fact that more than a million Quebecers have caught the novel coronavirus and consider themselves adequately protected. Health experts, meanwhile, say pandemic fatigue and government communication have also played a role.
18th Aug 2022 - CTV News Montreal
HHS says it plans to extend Covid-19 public health emergency
State and local public health officials — having not heard differently this week — are expecting the Biden administration to extend the Covid-19 public health emergency for another 90 days in mid-October. An extension would ensure expanded Medicaid coverage, telehealth services, boosted payments to hospitals and other pandemic measures remain in place beyond the midterm elections even as public health experts and lawmakers debate the merits of a PHE that was first declared in January 2020. “The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency remains in effect and as HHS committed to earlier, we will provide a 60-day notice to states before any possible termination or expiration," an HHS spokesperson told POLITICO. The administration has not notified groups, including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Federation of American Hospitals and the American Public Health Association, that the PHE would end, a courtesy HHS has said it would issue 60 days before the Covid-19 declaration is terminated
18th Aug 2022 - Politico on MSN.com
Attitudes toward mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
It has become obvious that sufficiently high immunity to COVID-19 cannot be achieved in Germany through voluntary vaccination alone. On this background, Thomas Rieger and Carsten Schröder from the German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin, together with Christoph Schmidt-Petri from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, investigated the acceptance of a policy of general mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. The scientists also investigated the questions of which population groups are supportive of such a measure, which ones are opposed, and what their reasons are, respectively.
18th Aug 2022 - Medical Xpress
GPs call for 'urgent review' of autumn Covid booster campaign as funding cut back
GPs have called on NHS England and the Government to “urgently review” plans for the autumn Covid booster campaign amid fears they will be left paying for the programme out of their own pockets. The UK Health Security Agency announced it will offer a new Omicron-specific jab, by Moderna, to the over-50s, as part of its latest vaccination programme due to start in September. NHS England had been expected to announce details of the programme on Wednesday but it is believed to have been delayed because of a row between GPs and the Government over how it will be managed. The default contract for delivering vaccines this autumn has been cut from £12.58 per dose to £10.06, while a £10 supplement for them to give jabs in care homes and to other vulnerable groups has also been cut, the British Medical Association has said. Rising staffing and energy costs have also led to surgeries’ operating costs increasing significantly, leaving many wanting to opt-out of delivering more Covid jabs.
18th Aug 2022 - iNews
COVID-19 booster campaign to start on 5 September, NHS England says
The National Booking Service will open on 5 September to enable those aged over 75 and health and social care workers to book in for their jab, NHS England said in a letter to practices and health leaders. Those aged over 65, carers, household contacts of immunosuppressed people, pregnant women and those with an underlying condition that puts them at increased risk of COVID will be the next groups able to book appointments. NHS England said details on timings for this will be made in 'due course'.
18th Aug 2022 - GP Online
AU, others woo youths to boost COVID-19 vaccination by 70% in Africa
African Union (AU) has collaborated with Trace TV to engage the creative community in pushing its Bingwa Initiative geared at increasing COVID-19 vaccination across Africa by 70 per cent in 2023. The programme, which is also in partnership with the African Centre for Disease Control (CDC), GIZ and MasterCard, has public figures and social media influencers like The Pamilerin, Jenni Frank, Nigerian singer, Chike and comedian, Pencil, among others engaged to promote COVID-19 vaccination championed by African youths.
18th Aug 2022 - Guardian Nigeria
China’s zero-Covid policy is thwarting efforts to stabilise the economy
Beijing is trying to simultaneously pursue a zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, reduce debt exposure and ease monetary policy to boost growth. These policies contradict each other, though, and draconian, growth-sapping lockdowns stand in the way of rebuilding consumer and investor confidence
18th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Quarantine hotel rush: Hong Kong arrivals hit a high of more than 7,400, but tens of thousands of non-local students set to miss start of school year
Sunday’s figure of 7,428 airport arrivals was a new high in recent months under city’s eased ‘3+4’ travel rule, but this means competition is fierce for quarantine hotels. City records 5,162 new infections on Tuesday, including 272 imported cases and 11 related deaths
16th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullThailand health ministry to further downgrade COVID-19, reduce days for treatment
The Public Health Ministry of Thailand will ask the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to downgrade the status of the disease at its next meeting expected on
18th Aug 2022 - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Experts warn Omicron vaccine booster rollout will be slowed by Covid complacency, putting vulnerable at risk
Scientists fear complacency and Covid fatigue will reduce take-up the autumn booster campaign, putting the most vulnerable at greater risk of hospitalisation and death. Those people who are over 50 or clinically vulnerable will be offered a booster jab that has been specifically designed to tackle Omicron after the regulator gave Moderna’s new vaccine the green light on Monday. But there are fears that, with many people having had Covid at least once and surviving, and a high level of pandemic fatigue, the rate of take-up will be markedly lower higher than in previous booster campaigns.
17th Aug 2022 - iNews
Covid jabs will have to be tweaked annually like flu until universal vaccine is discovered
Covid vaccines are likely to become like influenza jabs, that are tweaked every year and offered to vulnerable people every autumn, according to a leading vaccine developer. Professor Robin Shattock of Imperial College London says “there are two approaches to next generation vaccines”; the annual flu jab approach and the Holy Grail of the one-vaccine-fits-all-variants approach. “In the same way that the influenza vaccine is updated every year and given to the vulnerable population, an annual vaccine could be given for Covid as well,” said Professor Shattock, a pioneer of the same RNA vaccine technology that is used by the Moderna and Pfizer jabs.
17th Aug 2022 - iNews
No plans for UK to order more supplies of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine
There are no plans to order further supplies of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for the UK, it has been revealed, as experts expressed hope that a new jab designed to target two variants will form the backbone of the autumn booster programme. Deemed a British success story, and estimated to have saved millions of lives worldwide, the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid jab played a key role early in the UK’s vaccination programme. But Prof Anthony Harnden, the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has suggested it is unlikely to be used in the future.
17th Aug 2022 - The Guardian
Quebec will offer 5th dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults as of Aug. 29
With the upcoming school year and the return to work looming for many Quebecers, the province is launching a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign. In his first appearance at a COVID-19 news conference in six months, Premier François Legault said life is almost back to normal thanks to the vaccine. He's urging people who have not had a dose in the past five months or more to get another shot. "More people will be inside, there will be more contagion," Legault said. "So it's a really good time to be launching a massive vaccination campaign."
17th Aug 2022 - CBC.ca
Wear masks on trains and buses and give every adult a Covid booster, says Tony Blair
The UK Government must be prepared to bring back compulsory masks on public transport in order to stop a significant winter wave of Covid-19, Tony Blair has warned. The former Prime Minister’s think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, called for a booster vaccine to be offered to every British adult over the autumn as part of its plan to avoid a meltdown of the NHS. Millions of people are on waiting lists while A&E waiting times are near an all-time high, according to the institute. In a new paper, a panel of doctors and other experts warns: “This winter will bring a perfect storm, resulting in unprecedented demand and reduced capacity, which will combine to create the worst winter crisis in the NHS’s history.”
17th Aug 2022 - iNews
BMA raises 'serious concerns' about GP workload and funding for autumn COVID boosters
The BMA has raised 'serious concerns' about the workload implications of this autumn's COVID-19 booster programme and argued that practices will be underpaid for the work they are doing.
17th Aug 2022 - GP Online
WHO releases interim statement on COVID-19 vaccination for children and adolescents
The World Health Organization (WHO), with the support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), has released an interim statement on the role of COVID-19 vaccines in children and adolescents in the context of the continuing global disparities in vaccination. In the statement, it is concluded that before considering implementing primary vaccination series in children and adolescents, attaining high coverage of primary series – and booster doses as needed – in highest and high-priority-use groups must be pursued. WHO refers to the global inequity in vaccine rollout, with only 25% of older populations having received a complete primary series of COVID-19 vaccines in lower income countries – the very places where healthcare access is more limited.
17th Aug 2022 - PMLiVE
Biden administration will stop buying Covid-19 vaccines, treatments and tests as early as this fall, Jha says
The Biden administration has been planning for how to get past the crisis phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and will stop buying vaccines, treatments and tests as early as this fall, White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Tuesday. "One of the things we've spent a lot of time thinking about in the last many months -- and we're going to continue this work, and you'll hear more from the administration on this -- is getting us out of that acute emergency phase where the US government is buying the vaccines, buying the treatments, buying the diagnostic tests," Jha said at an event sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
17th Aug 2022 - CNN
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat Is Bivalent Vaccine? New Moderna Omicron Covid Booster Explained
The new shot targets two separate strains of Covid-19 — the original version of the virus that emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan along with the BA.1 subvariant, the earliest version of omicron. Other versions of omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, are now more prevalent, but the virus is evolving faster than new vaccines can be formulated and tested, and this is the closest match available that has received clearance. Moderna has another shot available that targets the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which has been ordered by the US, but not yet cleared.
17th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Marshall Islands, haven from Covid for two years, gets 3,000 cases in space of weeks
After dodging the Covid-19 pandemic for two years, the Marshall Islands is grappling to control the spread of infections, which have tripled since the first community transmissions were detected a week ago. The number of positive cases in the north Pacific nation, which has a population of about 60,000 people, has skyrocketed to more than 3,000 cases with four Covid-linked deaths and seven hospital admissions. One thousand cases were reported in the capital, Majuro, on Sunday, which was “almost double from the previous day”, said the health secretary, Jack Niethendal.
17th Aug 2022 - The Guardian
Has Covid-19 led to an increase in hepatitis cases in children? Here's what a doctor says
It is no secret that Covid-19 can cause other health complications in both adults and children. Almost three years into the pandemic now, doctors now have answers pertaining to health situations, specifically for kids. That brings us to the question of whether Covid can lead to an increase in hepatitis cases in children. According to Dr Bhavini Shah, the head of microbiology at Neuberg Supratech Reference Laboratories, there has been a spike in acute hepatitis among children across the world, including India, in recent times. “At the start of April 2022, health experts from around the world have been observing the unexplained outbreak of acute hepatitis in kids. India saw a kind of hepatitis in 37 children two to six weeks after Covid-19 infection during an outbreak of the Delta variant,” the doctor says.
16th Aug 2022 - The Indian Express
Public urged to get next-generation Covid vaccine
All over-50s are likely to be offered an updated coronavirus vaccine in a booster campaign due to begin within a month. Yesterday Britain became the first country to approve a jab that directly targets the Omicron strain of the virus, and officials are confident of having tens of millions of doses of next-generation vaccines ready for autumn. Half the population is being urged to have a fourth vaccination to reduce the risk of illness over winter and ease pressure on the NHS.
16th Aug 2022 - The Times
Covid vaccine: When can I get my booster jab?
Britain appears to have just seen off its latest wave of Covid-19 infections, although experts continue to warn that another could arrive this autumn unless due care is taken. The country saw a 43 per cent spike in coronavirus cases at the beginning of June, seemingly caused by people coming together to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee over the course of a four-day weekend. Driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron – the strain that spread so rapidly across the UK in December 2021 and January 2022 before gradually falling away – cases continued to rise to a peak of around 4.6m cases in mid-July before gradually beginning to decline.
16th Aug 2022 - The Independent
Quebec kicks off new COVID-19 vaccination campaign, starting with long-term care homes
On Monday, Quebec started offering fifth doses of COVID-19 vaccine to residents of long-term care homes and private seniors' residences. The Health Ministry said it launched the new vaccine campaign for at-risk people because it expects infections to rise in the fall after schools reopen. It said the recommended interval between booster doses is at least five months. Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau has said the government will be intensifying its message around vaccination in the coming weeks, as the health system prepares for another COVID-19 wave. He has also said Quebecers should continue wearing masks in crowded places and at the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
16th Aug 2022 - CBC.ca
West Lothian residents aged 65 and over in line for winter Covid-19 booster jab
West Lothian people aged 65 and over will be in line for a winter booster jab to protect the most vulnerable from Covid-19 and ease the pressure on hospitals. Letters with appointment times will begin landing on doormats in the coming weeks so NHS Lothian can get ahead of any potential surge in infections. The booster jabs will be given at the same time as the flu vaccine to those eligible where possible – evidence shows that administration of both vaccines together is a safe and efficient way to deliver maximum protection over the winter months. Frontline health and social care workers are also eligible for the winter booster jab, with the online portal to book vaccination appointments available from 22 August.
16th Aug 2022 - Daily Record
A complicated fall vaccine campaign: Updated Covid boosters, flu shots, and how to time the jabs
For the health officials who steer vaccination campaigns, it’s going to be a complicated fall. The U.S. plan to roll out updated Covid-19 boosters will not only coincide with the logistical tangle of the regular flu shot drive, but will also face questions about when people should get the new shots to provide themselves with the best protection through our third Covid winter. It’s a balancing act that health officials run into every year with flu. Vaccinating tens of millions of people takes weeks. People also need a few weeks after their shot for their immune systems to be fully primed. And yet, vaccinators don’t want to put shots in arms too early, either.
16th Aug 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Surveillance in Xinjiang, Tibet Used to Prevent Shanghai-Like Covid Unrest
To combat fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 in outlying areas like Xinjiang and Tibet, Chinese authorities are drawing on a security apparatus previously used to quell dissent against authorities in Beijing. Broad surveillance measures used over the years against Tibetan Buddhists and mainly Muslim Uyghurs, both minority groups in China, are helping enforce lockdown rules among people long at risk of arbitrary detention. That has helped ensure there’s no public displays of anger like those seen earlier this year during the monthslong lockdown in the financial hub of Shanghai. “It’s ironic but very convenient for the CCP that it first constructed Uyghur ethno-national identity as a religious extremist ‘thought virus,’ took draconian steps to eradicate it, and then a real virus came along for which similar techniques were useful,” said James Millward, professor of history at Georgetown University, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
15th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Rollout of Covid-19 booster vaccines for over-60s and pregnant women begins
Pregnant women and people over 60 will begin receiving their second booster vaccination against Covid-19 from today. The Health Service Executive has urged those eligible to get the vaccine. Since last week, people who are over 60 and women who are pregnant have been able to book their appointments through the HSE. The injections are being administered at vaccination centres and at participating pharmacies around the country. HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry has urged those eligible to take up the offer.
15th Aug 2022 - RTE Online
Lancet study finds 40 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths were avoidable.
The report assailed Trump for his response to the pandemic, but emphasized that the disastrous response to the virus’s spread was the result of years of destructive public policy decisions on health that extended well beyond the Trump years. From the Lancet: Many of the cases and deaths were avoidable. Instead of galvanizing the U.S. populace to fight the pandemic, President Trump publicly dismissed its threat (despite privately acknowledging it), discouraged action as infection spread, and eschewed international cooperation. His refusal to develop a national strategy worsened shortages of personal protective equipment and diagnostic tests. President Trump politicized mask-wearing and school reopenings and convened indoor events attended by thousands, where masks were discouraged and physical distancing was impossible.
15th Aug 2022 - Slate
Scotland's winter Covid vaccine programme kicks off - list of people eligible
Letters inviting people for a Covid-19 winter booster jab will be landing on doorsteps this week. Those aged 65 and over and frontline health and social care staff will be first in line to receive appointment times in the post. The Scottish Government said the move is to protect the most vulnerable from the virus, and to ease the pressure on hospitals ahead of any potential surges in infections over the winter period.
15th Aug 2022 - Daily Record
Japan travel sector calls for ‘hugely damaging’ Covid-19 entry curbs to end as economy rebounds
Japan’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, with private consumption up 1.1 per cent, official data shows. Travel sector says the government should remove entry curbs immediately so more tourists can visit Japan and help boost the economy, spending.
15th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Over 20 million COVID-19 jabs wasted — DOH
The Department of Health reported Monday that over 20 million donated and procured COVID-19 vaccine doses were wasted in the Philippines. A total of 20,660,354 COVID-19 vaccines were wasted as of August 12, Health Undersecretary Carol Tanio told the Senate committee on health and demography. Broken down, 6% of the donated COVID-19 jabs, 22% of the vaccines purchased by local governments, and 40% of the shots procured by the private sector had expired. Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer-in-charge of the DOH, said the 134 million vaccine doses procured by the national government did not have any wastage.
15th Aug 2022 - Philstar.com
CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan to ease rules for last four days of arrival COVID-19 protocol
Travelers arriving in Taiwan will face slightly less restrictive protocols on where they can stay starting Sept. 1, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Monday. After entering Taiwan and remaining in quarantine for the standard three days, travelers will be allowed to spend the four-day "self-initiated epidemic prevention" period on a one person to a room basis, and will not need permission to change locations, the CECC said. At present, arrivals must complete both the three- and four-day periods on a one person per residence basis (if home quarantining) and need to apply for permission from local authorities if they wish to spend the two periods at different locations. (Current quarantine rules)
15th Aug 2022 - Focus Taiwan
How to Assess Covid-19 Risks After Easing of CDC Guidelines
The easing of federal Covid-19 guidelines places responsibility ever more squarely on individuals to determine their own risk tolerance and behaviors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped a recommendation to quarantine after Covid exposure regardless of vaccination status and de-emphasized social distancing. The new guidelines largely mirror what much of the U.S. population has already been doing as vaccines, prior infection and treatments have reduced the risk of severe disease even as the virus continues to circulate at high levels in much of the country. Many employers hope the move will boost their return-to-work pushes. Many U.S. schools and colleges had already been eliminating Covid protocols as they prepare for students to return in the fall.
15th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullShanghai Schools to Reopen After Classes Suspended in March
Shanghai will reopen kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in September, almost six months after in-person classes were suspended, with strict measures in place to avoid the spread of Covid-19. Students and teachers must be in Shanghai for two weeks before schools start on Sept. 1, and take two nucleic acid, or PCR, Covid tests within three days before returning to campuses, the city’s education authority said in a statement on Sunday. They will also need to produce a negative test result everyday to attend classes as China continues to pursue a Covid Zero policy.
14th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Indoor mask rule stays as Covid-19 cases remain high even though peak of current wave has passed
There are no plans for now to relax Covid-19 rules, including the requirement that people wear a mask indoors, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). In response to queries, MOH on Thursday (Aug 11) said existing safe management measures will continue to stay in place, as the number of cases remain high. This is even as the latest wave of infections has passed its peak. An MOH spokesman said: "Cases are falling but remain high and pose risks. The Ministry of Health will continue to calibrate measures depending on the situation." On Thursday, 7,776 new Covid-19 cases were reported, down from a high of 16,870 on July 13, in cases largely fuelled by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants.
12th Aug 2022 - The Straits Times
Germany: EU could OK combined COVID-19 vaccines next month
Germany's health minister said Friday that European Union drug regulators may authorize the use of vaccines that are each effective against two variants of the coronavirus. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he expected the European Medicines Agency to meet Sept. 1 to consider a vaccine that would provide protection against the original virus and the omicron variant, also known as BA.1.
12th Aug 2022 - CTV News
CDC ends recommendations for social distancing and quarantine for Covid-19 control, no longer recommends test-to-stay in schools
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the nation should move away from restrictive measures such as quarantines and social distancing and focus on reducing severe disease from Covid-19. In new guidelines released Thursday, the agency no longer recommends staying at least 6 feet away from other people to reduce the risk of exposure -- a shift from guidance that had been in place since the early days of the pandemic. The shift is a sign of how much has changed since the beginning of the pandemic more than two years ago. Nearly the entire US population has at least some immunity through vaccination, previous infection or, in some cases, both. "The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years," Greta Massetti, who leads the Field Epidemiology and Prevention Branch at the CDC, said Thursday.
12th Aug 2022 - CNN
UK not buying AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 antibody drug over lack of data
The U.K. has no plans to buy doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 antibody therapy Evusheld that is designed to protect vulnerable people, arguing that the data for the drug is insufficient. “Following a robust review of the available data, our clinical experts advise there is currently insufficient data on the duration of protection offered by Evusheld in relation to the Omicron variant and the government will not be procuring any doses at this time,” a government spokesperson said. The injection is a combination of two antibodies and is designed to provide long-lasting protection against COVID-19. It was billed as a potential therapy to protect immunocompromised people, since they are unable to generate a strong immune response through vaccination.
12th Aug 2022 - POLITICO Europe
Washington state COVID safety rule for farmworkers upheld by appeals court
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected a flower nursery's claim that a 2020 Washington state rule requiring agricultural businesses to take various steps to protect workers from COVID-19 was invalid. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state's rule, which required farms to provide face masks, conduct temperature checks and enforce social distancing, did not conflict with any federal regulations enforced by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (The rule was withdrawn last year.)
12th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Relaxed CDC Covid Guidelines Seen as Boost for Return to the Workplace
Federal health officials’ move this week to relax pandemic precautions gave business leaders the momentum many have been looking for to return to pre-Covid behaviors. The new guidelines, issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, generally bring the federal guidance in line with policies that had already shifted at companies, schools and public transportation, among other settings. The agency said it no longer recommends that people quarantine after being exposed to the virus, as long as they don’t feel sick, get tested after five days and wear a high-quality mask around others for 10 days. Many executives and city leaders who had been struggling to break pandemic work-from-home habits see this as a boost to their halting efforts to bring people back into the workplace. They say that previous CDC recommendations made it difficult to enforce their policies, since one exposure could send an entire team home.
12th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong Population Drops by Record as People Flee Covid Curbs
Hong Kong’s population dropped by a record as people fled strict Covid-19 restrictions that have hobbled the city as most other regions move on from the pandemic. The city saw a decline of 121,500 residents in the year ended June 30, leaving the population at about 7.29 million, according to government data released Thursday. That means the population fell 1.6%, marking the third straight year of declines and the biggest drop in at least six decades. A wide-reaching national security law may have also been a contributing factor.
11th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullMore Covid jab venues to open for Hong Kong youngsters; city logs 4,376 cases
About 2,200 children have received Sinovac shots in past week since vaccination extended to those as young as six months. Health experts urge government to purchase BioNTech formula for toddlers to encourage vaccination of youngest residents.
11th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Final call for AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, only 8% of supply used
Under 9000 doses of the non-mRNA vaccine have been administered out of the 120,000 doses the country received for domestic use. Last week, health authorities updated their advice for people seeking AstraZeneca vaccines with the doses available until September 4. The remaining unused doses will reach their expiry date the following day, according to a spokesperson for Te Whatu Ora / Health NZ, though doses administered the day prior will remain effective. In a statement, the agency's national immunisation programme operations manager Rachel MacKay said there were efforts to get people who chose AstraZeneca to get up-to-date with their vaccines.
11th Aug 2022 - 1News
Let's talk about Covid-19 boosters
There's been a lot of talk about Covid-19 booster shots in recent weeks. It makes sense -- with colder months just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, public health authorities across the world are getting ready for a potential spike in coronavirus cases. Getting people at risk of severe disease boosted is a big part of the plan. But guidance on who, when and how depends largely on who you ask.
Let's start with the basics: All adults should have had their first booster by now. The data shows clearly that an extra shot of an mRNA vaccine increases protection, including against severe disease. "If you are 18 and older and have not yet had any vaccines beyond your primary vaccination, you should get your booster now," said CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
11th Aug 2022 - CNN
Mask mandates return in New Delhi as COVID-19 cases rise
The Indian capital reintroduced public mask mandates on Thursday as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country. The New Delhi government reinstituted a fine of 500 rupees ($6) for anyone caught not wearing a mask or face covering in public. India's Health Ministry said 16,299 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours nationwide, with a positivity rate of 4.58%. Nearly 2,150 infections were reported in New Delhi. On Wednesday, New Delhi reported eight deaths due to the coronavirus, the highest in nearly six months. People in most parts of the country began discarding face masks as infections dropped following two devastating earlier waves of COVID-19. New Delhi’s top elected official, Arvind Kejriwal, said that COVID-19 cases were on the rise but there was no need to panic because most of the new cases were mild.
11th Aug 2022 - The Independent
New Covid vaccines targeted at Omicron may not be ready for autumn boosters
Next-generation Covid vaccines are in doubt for the autumn boosters campaign, as ministers and the NHS wait for regulators to sign off on new jabs targeted at the Omicron variant. Studies suggest that the new versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may reduce transmission of Covid-19 and prove more effective in preventing hospitalisation. But the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is still considering whether to approve jabs, and some insiders fear it may be too slow for the autumn vaccine rollout.
11th Aug 2022 - iNews
Delhi to enforce mask mandate again after spurt in COVID cases
New Delhi will enforce a mask mandate again after COVID-19 infections rose in the past fortnight, a government order showed on Thursday, though a similar order in April failed to improve compliance. People caught without masks in public in the Indian capital will have to pay a fine of 500 rupees ($6), the order dated Aug. 8 and shared with reporters on Thursday, said. Presently, mask-wearing is uncommon even in shopping malls and crowded markets.
11th Aug 2022 - Reuters
All go in health concerns as EU pushes for COVID and monkeypox vaccines and welcomes Digital Decade policy programme
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the 2030 Policy Programme: Path to the Digital Decade. The programme sets up a monitoring and cooperation mechanism to achieve the common objectives and targets for Europe's digital transformation set out in the 2030 Digital Compass. This concerns the area of skills and infrastructure, including connectivity, the digitalisation of businesses and online public services as well as the respect of the EU's Digital rights and principles in achieving the general objectives. A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said: “The Digital Decade is about making digital technology work for people and businesses. It is about enabling everyone to have the skills to participate in the digital society. To be empowered. It is about empowering businesses. It is about the infrastructure that keeps us connected. It is about bringing government services closer to citizens. Europe's digital transformation will give opportunities for everyone.”
11th Aug 2022 - EU Reporter
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina facing increasing pressure in COVID-19 prevention, control: health official
With the resurgence of infections in neighboring countries, China's COVID-19 prevention and control efforts are facing increasing pressure, a health official said Wednesday. Nine provincial-level regions in China have each reported more than 100 COVID-19 cases since August, with over 2,000 infections in Hainan, said Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC). The latest COVID-19 outbreak in Sanya, a coastal resort city in south China's Hainan Province, is still evolving at a high level, said Mi.
11th Aug 2022 - Xinhua
Australian state to hand out free masks to curb COVID-19 transmission
Authorities of the Australian state of Victoria have announced that free masks will be handed out to the community to curb the COVID-19 transmission. More than 3 million free N95 and KN95 masks would be given to the community through state-run testing sites and community health services across the state the next four to six weeks, said the announcement of the Victorian government on Tuesday. Every person that presents for either a free rapid antigen or PCR test will receive one box of 10 N95 masks, along with instructions on how best to wear them to reduce transmission.
11th Aug 2022 - Xinhua
Govt nod to Corbevax as precaution dose for adults vaccinated with Covaxin, Covishield
This means that those who have received Covishield or Covaxin as their first or second dose can take Corbevax as the third booster shot, officials said. According to the protocol until now, the third dose had to be the same vaccine that was used for the first and second doses.
11th Aug 2022 - The Indian Express
Novavax Rout Deepens to 87% From Peak After Covid-Shot Setbacks
The selloff in Novavax Inc. shares deepened on Tuesday, to erase $17 billion in market value from last year’s record high, after the Covid-19 vaccine maker slashed its revenue guidance. Novavax fell 30% on Tuesday, the most since February 2019, after slashing its guidance and missing second-quarter estimates. The stock has fallen roughly 87% from its February 2021 high amid regulatory delays and questions on demand for a vaccine that trailed competitors in reaching the market.
10th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Germany likely to impose mask mandate if Covid-19 spreads in winter
Germany is likely to introduce an indoor mask mandate if there is a significant increase in the number of cases of Covid-19 in the upcoming autumn and winter months, health ministers said at a meeting, though they differed over possible exemptions. The federal and state health ministers discussed draft legislation aiming to update regulations for dealing with the pandemic, dpa news agency reported. "It is clear that mandatory masks indoors should be the rule in the event of a tense pandemic situation," said Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Last week, Lauterbach and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann presented new coronavirus measures that would go into effect in the autumn.
10th Aug 2022 - Business Standard
Pharmacies to get £15 per consultation in pilot to tackle COVID-19 jab fears
Reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is “high for some groups in Tower Hamlets” and “significant numbers of residents remain unvaccinated”, the borough’s council revealed in the service specification. As of May 1, just 68% of those eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in Tower Hamlets had received a first dose, with 61.7% of that group opting to have a second dose. Just 40.1% of those eligible have had a booster dose. “Evidence clearly indicates that patients value talking directly to a trusted health professional when considering whether or not to have a COVID-19 vaccine,” Tower Hamlets Council acknowledged. “Community pharmacists in Tower Hamlets are well placed to provide that support”.
10th Aug 2022 - Chemist+Druggist
COVID-19 Experts Urge Australians to Wear Masks Even as Latest Omicron Wave Passes
Australian health officials say there are encouraging signs that a wave of COVID-19 omicron variant infections is in decline. However, more than 4,000 Australians are hospitalized with the virus and an unknown number of others are suffering the effects of long COVID. COVID-19 no longer makes the headlines as it once did in Australia. Strict public health measures, including lockdowns, curfews, mask mandates and international border closures that were imposed during the pandemic have come to an end. The country is doing its best to live with the virus.
10th Aug 2022 - Voice of America - VOA News
Coronavirus: Hong Kong firms, schools urged to provide separate eating spaces for ‘amber code’ holders under eased quarantine rules
Health secretary says restaurant staff can discuss arrangements with bosses while education chief notes schools have basic pandemic guidelines to follow. Respiratory medicine expert warns that allowing those with amber codes into crowded venues may increase the chance of a superspreader event.
10th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullChristmas could be in jeopardy for a third year as COVID-19 waves set to continue indefinitely, experts warn
Experts are warning waves of COVID to continue indefinitely. More than 65 per cent of Queenslanders aged 65 and older have received four doses of a COVID vaccine
Experts say "variant-specific boosters" and nasal vaccines will be rolled out to the public in 2023
10th Aug 2022 - ABC News
Australia retires CovidSafe contact-tracing app that was barely used
Australia’s CovidSafe app is being decommissioned because it is no longer being used for Covid-19 contact tracing. The app cost around $75,000 a month to run and was touted by former prime minister Scott Morrison as an important measure on par with wearing sunscreen. It was barely used in the Delta and Omicron outbreaks despite more than 7 million Australians downloading it to help contact tracers, and since launching in April 2020, just 17 “close contacts” in New South Wales were found directly through the app that were not otherwise identified through manual contact-tracing methods.
10th Aug 2022 - The Guardian
School vaccine mandates for Covid-19 are not happening
One thing is clear: Almost none of them will be requiring vaccines. Just 31 percent of children between 5 and 11 in the US have been fully vaccinated, and 61 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have been. (Only about 3 percent of children under 5 had received a first dose by July 20.) Still, no state in the country is planning to require student vaccinations, a marked turnaround from where things seemed to be headed last winter, when multiple states and school districts suggested vaccine mandates were coming soon. Only Washington, DC, has announced a mandatory school vaccine policy this fall, for students 12 and older. Other mitigation measures — from masks to ventilation — may also be on their way out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will likely soon recommend easing school testing, quarantine, and social distancing requirements, CNN reported last week. (Many schools often disregarded CDC guidelines, but the update is a sign of how expectations have shifted.)
9th Aug 2022 - Vox on MSN.com
DOH: COVAX to replace all expiring, expired COVID-19 vaccine doses
The COVAX facility has committed to replace all expired and expiring COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country, including those procured by the private sector and the local government units, the Department of Health officer in charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday. Vergeire made the remark when asked about updates as regards the P5.1 billion worth of vaccine doses which were procured by the private sector and which have expired. “We had an agreement with the COVAX facility, that these will all be replaced... Even those that have expired from the private sector and the local government units, the vaccines,” Vergeire said at a press briefing.
9th Aug 2022 - GMA News Online
Covid-19 mask use: 'It's just personal choice now', mayors say
Despite the government's plea for everyone to wear face masks indoors, mask wearing is hit and miss around the motu. Although there are some places where everyone is masked, in others there are no masks in sight. Some local leaders have been relaxed about it too, appearing without masks in social media posts and at council meetings.
9th Aug 2022 - RNZ
Here's How Hong Kong Health Code System for Travelers Will Work
Hong Kong will introduce a tiered health-code system reminiscent of what’s used in mainland China to facilitate a reduction in its deeply unpopular mandatory hotel quarantine. The new rules, which come into effect on Friday, will mean arrivals at Hong Kong’s international airport must spend three days in hotel quarantine -- down from seven. If they don’t test positive for Covid, they will then undergo four days of health monitoring, underpinned by a yellow health code that restricts entry into a raft of high-risk places. Meanwhile, anyone infected with the virus will receive a red code that means they must isolate.
9th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid Vaccine Maker Novavax Tumbles After Cutting Annual Sales Forecast 50%
Novavax Inc. shares had their biggest loss in more than three years as the drugmaker slashed its 2022 revenue forecast late Monday on disappointing demand for its Covid-19 vaccine that trailed competitors getting to market. Sales for the year will be as much as $2.3 billion, less than half the previous expected peak of $5 billion, the company said in a statement. Novavax also reported a second-quarter loss of $6.53 a share, wider than analysts’ average estimate of $5.24.
9th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Health experts urge making fourth COVID vaccine more available
As Mexico’s fifth wave of coronavirus infections continues, two health experts have criticized the federal government for its slow and limited rollout of fourth shots of COVID-19 vaccines. The government has offered second booster shots to seniors, people with existing medical conditions that make them vulnerable to serious illness and health workers, but not all younger adults have had access to a fourth dose.
According to The New York Times vaccinations tracker, 72% of Mexicans (adults and children) are vaccinated and 63% are fully vaccinated, but only 44% have had additional shots. Most of the booster shots administered to date have been third doses. Francisco Moreno, an infectious disease specialist and head of COVID-19 care at the ABC Hospital in Mexico City, said that Mexico is behind where it should be in terms of fourth-dose coverage.
8th Aug 2022 - Mexico News Daily
Here’s How Hong Kong’s New China-Inspired Health Code Will Work
Hong Kong will introduce a tiered health-code system reminiscent of what’s used in mainland China to facilitate a reduction in its deeply unpopular mandatory hotel quarantine. The new rules, which come into effect on Friday, will mean arrivals at Hong Kong’s international airport must spend three days in hotel quarantine -- down from seven. If they don’t test positive for Covid, they will then undergo four days of health monitoring, underpinned by a yellow health code that restricts entry into a raft of high-risk places. Meanwhile, anyone infected with the virus will receive a red code that means they must isolate.
8th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in full'People are underprotected': Dr Norman Swan on COVID booster shots
It looks like the latest COVID wave has peaked nationally although cases in NSW are still higher than elsewhere in the country. Dr Swan talks about the monkeypox vaccine rollout and the new COVID sub-variant.
8th Aug 2022 - ABC News
Japan to offer omicron COVID shots to people vaccinated at least twice
New COVID-19 vaccines considered effective against the omicron variant will be available to all people who have completed at least two inoculations from as early as mid-October, the government said Monday. The bivalent vaccines, so named for their combination of ingredients deriving from existing COVID-19 shots and from omicron's BA.1 subvariant, have been reported to provide some increase in neutralizing antibodies against the BA.5 subtype currently prevalent across the country. The plan, which has received approval from a health ministry panel, comes at a time when Japan is experiencing a seventh wave of infections fueled by the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant, with its daily cases hitting an all-time high of about 250,000 last Wednesday.
8th Aug 2022 - The Japan Times
Hong Kong ‘may lower age threshold’ for getting fourth shot of Covid vaccine
Professor David Hui says expert panel will consider advising government to lower the age threshold for getting the fourth shot in autumn. City needs to stay on guard in case a new coronavirus strain surfaces in winter, he warns
8th Aug 2022 - South China Morning Post
What's the U.S. Plan for Updated COVID Vaccine Boosters?
While the U.S. may have led the charge to develop and deploy COVID vaccines, our efforts to get and stay fully vaccinated have not gone well. As the two-year anniversary of the country’s vaccine rollout fast approaches, the U.S. pandemic response seems stuck at a standstill while the coronavirus keeps adapting and spreading at a startling pace. The U.S. booster-shot drive has been a confusing mess from the start, and as of now, far too many Americans who are eligible for either their first or second booster have not gotten them, weakening the country’s wall of immunity that has so far prevented a big wave of hospitalizations and deaths despite a surge of new cases from more transmissible Omicron subvariants like BA.5. Increasing booster uptake, and expanding the protection those boosters offer by tweaking them for the new variants, is one way to reinforce the wall.
8th Aug 2022 - New York Magazine
BioNTech Promises Omicron Covid Vaccines for Fall Booster Campaigns
BioNTech SE dropped the most in more than three months as lagging Covid-19 vaccine orders held sales and profit short of analysts’ expectations. Revenue in the second quarter dropped by about 40%, BioNTech said on Monday. Diluted earnings per share were 6.45 euros, below the 7.44-euro average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. BioNTech and partner Pfizer Inc. are counting on an omicron-adapted vaccine to reinvigorate sales for the rest of the year. The first doses of a shot tailored for both the original coronavirus and the fast-spreading omicron BA.4/5 variant should be ready in October, in time for fall booster campaigns, BioNTech said. The companies will begin a clinical trial this month and manufacturing has already started. The biotech’s American depositary receipts fell as much as 9.4% in Germany, the most since April 19.
8th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong Cuts Covid-19 Quarantine to 3 Days
The city’s government cut the Covid-19 quarantine period for inbound travelers to three days from seven, easing a restriction many saw as excessive but falling short of what businesses say is needed to restore the connectivity vital to its role as Asia’s leading global financial center. From Friday, travelers arriving in Hong Kong will be allowed to leave their quarantine hotels after three days, officials said at a briefing Monday. Over the following four days, they won’t be allowed into places now requiring a vaccine pass, such as gyms, bars and restaurants, but they will be able to go to work, shop at supermarkets and use public transport, provided they test negative for the coronavirus. The city has been caught between sticking to stringent antivirus controls in line with Beijing’s zero-Covid policy and trying to retain its appeal as an open and globally connected base for business.
8th Aug 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Macau returns to mass COVID testing after case in neighbouring Chinese city Zhuhai
Authorities in Macau instructed residents to conduct at least two days of COVID-19 tests after a person who travelled from the Chinese special administrative region to neighbouring city Zhuhai was found to have been infected with the virus. The move comes days after Macau started to unwind stringent anti-COVID rules, including the resumption of travel to Zhuhai without quarantine from Aug. 3. The Macau government said in a statement on Sunday that all of the city's 700,000 residents should take rapid antigen tests on Sunday and Monday and upload the results to a government website
8th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong cuts COVID quarantine stay for incoming travellers
Hong Kong will shorten the COVID-19 hotel quarantine period for all arrivals to three days from seven, taking another step to gradually unwind stringent pandemic rules that have isolated the Asian financial hub. The measures will be effective from Friday, the city's leader, John Lee, told a news conference on Monday. Arrivals will need to self monitor for a further four days, during which they will be forbidden to enter such premises as restaurants and bars.
8th Aug 2022 - Reuters
North Korea to convene parliament, anti-epidemic meeting amid zero-COVID claim
North Korea will convene two key meetings, including one to review the country's anti-epidemic policy, in coming weeks, state media said on Monday, as it claims no new COVID-19 cases since late July. The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the isolated state's rubber-stamp parliament, will meet on Sept. 7 to discuss law on rural development and organizational matters, according to the official KCNA.
8th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullNew Zealand allowed pharmacists to dispense COVID-19 antivirals and 'everyone realised it was a win'
There are calls for awareness of COVID antivirals and easier access to the treatments in Australia. Pharmacy experts suggest looking to New Zealand where the drugs are available without a prescription. As well as reducing the severity of disease, emerging research suggests the medications can help reduce the risk of long COVID
7th Aug 2022 - ABC News
While Covid-18 grabs global headlines and funding, HIV infections rise
While Covid-18 grabs global headlines and funding, HIV infections rise
7th Aug 2022 - News24
COVID in WA: New COVID cases drop below 3000
WA has recorded a dip below 3000 in daily recorded COVID cases — with 2,911 new infections to 6pm Friday night. Hospital admissions have remained steady at 346, with 14 people needing to stay in the intensive care unit. Two new virus-related deaths dating back to August 2 were recorded in today’s numbers. They were two men in their 80s. The new infection bring the State’s active caseload to 20,078, as WA marks 1,085,331 cases since the COVID-19 pandemic began. A total of 5,276 PCR tests were conducted at either State-
6th Aug 2022 - Perth Now
Most Covid-19 deaths in Delhi among those with comorbidities
With cases of Covid-19 on the rise again in the national capital – over 2,000 cases have been recorded over the last three days – the number of deaths with the infection are also on the rise. There have been 16 deaths in the first five days of August. Delhi reported 2,419 cases and a positivity rate of 12.9% on Friday, according to the government’s daily health bulletin. Most of the Covid-19 deaths recorded in the government’s health bulletin are of people who incidentally test positive for the infection, say doctors from big government hospitals. Two of the four haven’t seen a death yet as cases continue to increase.
6th Aug 2022 - The Indian Express
All Manitoba kids 6 months and older can get COVID-19 vaccine starting Friday
Articlee reports that all kids in Manitoba six months and older will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine starting Friday morning, the province says in a news release. Previously, only Indigenous kids and those with certain health conditions were eligible to get their shots. Parents and caregivers can start booking appointments for newly eligible kids at 9 a.m. Children need to be at least six months old at the time of their appointment, the release said. Health Canada approved the two-dose Moderna vaccine for kids ages six months to four years old in July. So far, Manitoba has gotten 14,900 doses, the release said. It's shipped more than 3,700 of them to regional vaccine sites and medical clinics and another 2,100 to First Nations medical leadership to distribute in their communities.
5th Aug 2022 - CBC.ca
U.S. administers over 7300 Novavax vaccine doses - CDC
The United States has administered more than 7,300 doses of Novavax Inc's COVID-19 shot, which health officials hope will convince more people to opt for vaccinations as it is based on a technology that has been in use for decades. Over 330,000 doses of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed in the United States, and more than 2,300 people have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated on Thursday.
5th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Work stoppages and no chatting at lunch: Japan Inc grapples with COVID
Japanese companies are temporarily shutting offices or suspending production as they battle a record wave of COVID-19, disrupting businesses in a country that has until now weathered the pandemic better than most advanced economies. Automakers Toyota Motor Corp and Daihatsu Motor Co last week halted production line shifts because of employee infections. KFC Holdings Japan Ltd has had to shut some fast-food restaurants and move staff to fill gaps, while Japan Post Holdings Co has temporarily shut more than 200 mailing centres.
5th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong to Announce Hotel Quarantine Cut as Soon as Monday
Hong Kong may announce a reduction in the amount of time international travelers need to spend in mandatory hotel quarantine as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, with discussions over the scale of the change still ongoing. While officials had anticipated making an announcement on Friday, it has been pushed back to Monday at the earliest since no firm decision has yet been made on the parameters of the cut, according to one person, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.
5th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullMost kids in northeastern Ontario have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19
"So certainly we do have some work to do," said Kendra Brunet, the manager of COVID response for the Porcupine Health Unit. "But over the next few weeks we have several child and youth friendly clinics set up, as well as outdoor clinics so that we can get those vaccine rates up for the return to school," she said. Nastassia McNair, the manager of COVID planning for Public Health Sudbury and Districts, says based on the lower uptake for children, she'll be happy if they hit 30 or 40 per cent vaccine coverage for the newly eligible six months to five-years old group.
4th Aug 2022 - CBC.ca
Ventilation key to battling COVID-19, experts say, urging Australia to do more
Tasmanian schools are keeping windows and doors open as much as they can, despite winter weather. Indoor air quality expert Professor Lidia Morawska says consideration of ventilation is patchy across Australia. There are calls for mandated standards for indoor air quality
4th Aug 2022 - ABC News
Covid-19: 150 vaccine bookings made for children aged below three in first half hour of registration
One hundred and fifty bookings were made for Covid-19 vaccines for children aged between six months old and three years old within half an hour of registration opening, a government official has announced. Thursday was the first day that children as young as six months could receive a Sinovac Covid-19 jab. The government is in talks to obtain the “baby version” of the BioNTech vaccine – one-tenth of the adult dosage – from the pharmaceutical company.
4th Aug 2022 - Hong Kong Free Press
Second Covid-19 vaccine boosters, explained
Federal officials said that they weren’t yet changing the eligibility guidelines for a fourth dose. Currently, they’re recommended only for people over the age of 50 and people who are immunocompromised. Everyone else will likely have to wait until the fall to get the go-ahead from regulators. Some experts, though, think it might be worth getting a second booster now if you face a high risk of Covid-19 exposure or if your previous dose was ages ago. The rise of BA.5 has spooked many of them, despite evidence the virus causes less severe disease now than at any other point during the pandemic. And despite the surge in cases, death trends have hardly moved, indicating that the previous crop of vaccines is still doing its main job of preventing severe illness for most people.
4th Aug 2022 - Vox.com
North Korea marks end of first COVID wave, but risks persist
North Korea on Friday said all of its fever patients have recovered, marking the end of its first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, but challenges linger with economic hardships deepening and an unvaccinated population exposed to future resurgences, analysts said.
4th Aug 2022 - Reuters
Covid Study Gives 'Powerful' Clues to Pandemic's Lasting Impact
One in eight people recovering from Covid-19 had lingering symptoms due to the illness at least three months later in a study that provides greater clarity on the ailments triggered by the pandemic disease. Scientists used data from the Netherlands’ largest population-based cohort study to track long Covid problems, such as a loss of smell and chest pain. The proportion of participants who had one or more hallmark symptoms was 21% among those who caught Covid, compared with almost 9% in people who didn’t, leaving about 13% of patients with symptoms that can be attributed to the coronavirus, according to researchers at the University of Groningen.
4th Aug 2022 - Bloomberg
'Permanent shock' to nursing homes? Facilities fail to replace workers who quit after COVID outbreaks
Before pandemic, 82% of facilities did not meet recommended staffing levels. Pay levels are low and competition from hospitals is steep. Industry says inadequate government funding impacts recruitment and retention
4th Aug 2022 - USA Today
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullEvidence that university and college vaccine mandates reduce community COVID-19 cases
A new study co-authored by Michigan State University economics professor Scott Imberman, Ph.D., and doctoral student Wenjia Cao, found that university vaccine mandates were effective in reducing new COVID-19 cases in communities. Their research, "The Effect of Vaccine Mandates on Disease Spread: Evidence from College COVID-19 Mandates," will be published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and is the first of its kind to provide direct evidence of the positive impact university and college vaccine mandates have had on community health outcomes. "While there is evidence that vaccines improve health outcomes for individuals, our analysis showed that college- and university-imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates also benefited the community beyond the campus," Dr. Imberman said.
3rd Aug 2022 - Medical Xpress
Covid drug Evusheld could protect the immunocompromised but the UK Government still hasn't procured it
Thousands still live in fear of the virus because their immune system doesn’t respond to vaccines. A drug to protect them, Evusheld, has been approved – but the Government has not procured it, despite patients’ pleas
3rd Aug 2022 - iNews
Poland to offer fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine to adults in September
Poland will allow a furth dose of coronavirus vaccine to be received by people aged over 18 in September, the health minister has announced. Since July 22, a second booster dose has been available for people in the 60-70 age group and an additional vaccination for people aged over 12 years with immune deficiency. Before, the fourth dose has been offered to everybody over 80.
3rd Aug 2022 - PAP.pl
SINOVAC COVID-19 Vaccine Approved for Use in Children Above 6 months of Age in Hong Kong
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced that based on related clinical trials and studies of vaccination for local children and adolescents, the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has approved the Company’s COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac), intended for children aged 6 months to 3 years. The vaccination schedule for this age group follows the same vaccination schedule of older children.
3rd Aug 2022 - The Associated Press
Germany announces new coronavirus measures for fall, winter
The German government on Wednesday said basic coronavirus requirements would remain in place during the coming fall and winter, when experts expect COVID-19 cases to rise again as people spend more time indoors. Face masks and presenting proof of a negative coronavirus test will be mandatory from October until early April at hospitals, nursing homes and similar institutions with vulnerable people. Passengers on airplanes and making long-distance trips by train and bus also will have to wear masks during that period, as they do now.
3rd Aug 2022 - ABC News
EU signs joint procurement deal with Spain's HIPRA for COVID vaccines
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had signed a joint procurement contract with Spanish pharmaceutical firm HIPRA for the supply of its protein COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available if approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European Union's executive said in a statement that 14 countries are participating in the agreement, under which they can purchase up to 250 million doses.
3rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullGilead quarterly profit falls as COVID antiviral sales decrease
Gilead Sciences Inc on Tuesday said its second-quarter adjusted profit fell due to higher research and royalty costs as well as a downturn in sales of its COVID-19 antiviral drug Veklury. Quarterly revenue, however, rose 1% to $6.3 billion, which was ahead of the average Wall Street estimate of $5.85 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The biotech company said adjusted quarterly profit fell 13% to $1.58 per share, which also topped the average analyst estimate of $1.52. Net income fell to 91 cents per share from $1.21 per share.
3rd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Cyprus signs up for new vaccine against Covid-19
Cyprus is one of 14 EU member states to sign up to a joint procurement contract with Spanish pharmaceutical firm Hipra for its protein vaccine against Covid-19. The agreement was signed on Tuesday under which the nations can purchase up to 250 million doses.
2nd Aug 2022 - Cyprus Mail
Midwives ask officials to justify ongoing Covid vaccine mandate
Health officials are being asked to reconsider the evidence used to ban midwives from working if they are unvaccinated against Covid-19. In a letter to Minister of Health Andrew Little and then-minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins, dated May 11 2022 and obtained under the Official Information Act, College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy urged the government "to ensure a robust evidence review is undertaken as soon as possible". She wanted the review to inform decisions about the future of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, "given the critical nature of the midwifery workforce shortages". "This review needs to quantify the threat posed by unvaccinated health care workers who have access to daily pre-work RATs (rapid antigen tests) and PPE (personal protective equipment), against the risks posed by a lack of qualified health practitioners available to provide essential maternity care."
2nd Aug 2022 - New Zealand Herald
Despite mild to moderate adverse events, COVID-19 vaccination recommended in United States for children aged 5 to 11 years
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends children aged 5 to 11 receive the BNT-162b2 vaccination. In a recent study, investigators examined data from 3 United States safety monitoring systems to monitor adverse events in children aged 5 to 11. The data studied the test group for 6 weeks after they received the BNT-162b2 vaccination. Of the 8.7 million vaccines administered during this time, 42,504 children were involved in a safety findings test from v-safe, a smartphone system which, with permission, surveys for safety signals. An additional 4249 Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) reports were included in this data. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) created a survey system to monitor vaccine reactions in children. Parents voluntarily enrolled their children in these programs after the vaccination was injected. They then filled out health surveys throughout the testing period. The first of these, which were sent out during the first week, asked about system reactions and health impacts. Parents could describe the severity as mild, moderate, or severe. Throughout the testing period, more surveys were sent out with further questioning.
2nd Aug 2022 - Contemporary Pediatrics
Hong Kong lowers age for Sinovac vaccine shot to six months
Hong Kong on Tuesday reduced the minimum age for getting vaccinated with China's Sinovac COVID-19 shot to six months from three years after several young children became infected with the virus. Adults and children in the Asian financial hub, which retains some of the world's toughest COVID precautions, are required to have at least three coronavirus vaccine shots. "Recently a series of young children have been infected with the new coronavirus. The situation of severe illness and even death is of great concern," the government said in a statement announcing the reduction in age.
2nd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Commission buys COVID vaccine from Spain’s HIPRA
The European Commission has closed a deal for up to 250 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Spanish pharmaceutical company HIPRA, it announced Tuesday. The vaccine is still being assessed. The European Medicines Agency in March started a rolling review of the shot, which is designed to protect against both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus, and would be deployed as a booster. The Commission said that 14 countries are participating in the joint procurement. If the vaccine is approved, they will be able to put in orders on the terms negotiated by the Commission. Those terms were not disclosed.
2nd Aug 2022 - POLITICO Europe
B.C. to begin vaccinating kids under five against COVID-19 on Tuesday
When COVID-19 vaccinations open for young children on Tuesday, Tarin Springer and her 18-month-old son Flynn will be among the first in line. “We want him to be protected and help protect the community,” Springer told Global News. “We’ve had really good experiences, all of us being vaccinated, and we’ve been lucky not to get COVID so far. … We just want him to have the best protection possible.”
2nd Aug 2022 - Global News
EU signs joint procurement deal with HIPRA for COVID vaccines
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had signed a joint procurement contract with Spanish pharmaceutical firm HIPRA for the supply of its protein COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available if approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European Union's executive said in a statement that 14 countries are participating in the agreement, under which they can purchase up to 250 million doses.
2nd Aug 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullIsrael was a world leader in combatting COVID-19 with vaccines, now they're getting ready for monkeypox
The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a global emergency. Israel was credited with having the world's fastest COVID-19 vaccine rollout in early 2021
It's now ordering large stockpiles of monkeypox vaccine to prevent the disease's spread.
2nd Aug 2022 - ABC News
Severe Covid cases, fatalities will gradually drop: govt
The numbers of daily Covid-19 cases - including severe cases - and fatalities are stable, and the numbers of severe cases and fatalities are likely to gradually fall in a few weeks, according to the Thai Department of Disease Control. Presenting an overview of Covid-19 in the country, Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the department, said at the Public Health Ministry on Monday that the number of new Covid-19 cases remained high - at 201,554 over the past week.
2nd Aug 2022 - ฺBangkok Post
Japan debates change to COVID-19 measures amid hospital strain
Japan is considering altering its COVID-19 reporting protocols, including a potential change in the collection of infection numbers, in a bid to lessen the burden on hospitals as they strain under a resurgence of the coronavirus across the country, government sources have said. Medical facilities and public health centers currently cooperate to report the total COVID-19 cases to the government, but the change may limit the reporting of cases to designated establishments, the sources said Saturday. With the prevalent omicron variant having less risk of causing severe illness compared with previous strains, some government officials have questioned the need to report every case.
1st Aug 2022 - The Japan Times
Israel begins vaccinating children under 5 years against Covid-19
A nationwide vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for children aged between six months to five years was launched in Israel. The vaccination will provide children "with an important protection layer against serious illness and post-Covid symptoms," said a statement issued by the Israeli Health Ministry on Sunday evening. The vaccine is especially recommended for children at risk of severe Covid-19 illness due to underlying health conditions that impair the immune system, the Ministry added.
1st Aug 2022 - Business Standard
Hong Kong's COVID-19 advisory panel recommends vaccine for kids above six months-old - media
The Hong Kong government's COVID-19 advisory panel recommended on Monday to lower the minimum age for vaccines to six months from three years, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
1st Aug 2022 - Reuters
Covid: Families facing ‘postcode lottery’ of care home ‘lockdown’ restrictions
Families are still facing a “postcode lottery” of Covid restrictions in care homes, with some being forced to wear masks and see their loved ones through perspex screens, despite the official rules having been relaxed. Visits should be unrestricted unless there is a Covid outbreak in a home, when residents are allowed “to have one visitor at a time”, according to guidance from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, some homes are still imposing extra restrictions, leaving families at the mercy of individual providers.
1st Aug 2022 - The Independent
Biden Administration Plans to Offer Updated Booster Shots in September
The Biden administration now expects to begin a Covid-19 booster campaign with retooled vaccines in September because Pfizer and Moderna have promised that they can deliver doses by then, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
With updated formulations apparently close at hand, federal officials have decided against expanding eligibility for second boosters of the existing vaccines this summer. The new versions are expected to perform better against the now-dominant Omicron subvariant BA.5, although the data available so far is still preliminary.
1st Aug 2022 - The New York Times
Three types of long COVID identified with different symptoms
There appear to be three different types of long COVID, each with their own symptoms, researchers have discovered. One group experiences neurological symptoms including fatigue, brain fog and headache, which most often affect those who contracted the virus when the Alpha and Delta variants were most prevalent, according to experts at King's College London. A second group suffers from respiratory issues, including chest pain and severe shortness of breath, which could point to lung damage. These symptoms were common among those infected during the first wave of the pandemic.
1st Aug 2022 - Sky News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Aug 2022
View this newsletter in fullPresident Biden Tests Positive for Covid-19 Again
President Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again on Saturday morning in what his physician called a rebound case. Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter made public by the White House that Mr. Biden isn’t experiencing any symptoms and is feeling well.
Dr. O’Connor noted a small number of people who take the antiviral medication Paxlovid to treat Covid-19 sometimes test positive again for the virus in what public health officials call “rebound positivity.” The president first tested positive for Covid-19 on July 21 and tested negative on July 26 and the following days, according to the White House. In his initial bout of Covid-19, Mr. Biden experienced mild symptoms, including a runny nose, fatigue and a dry cough.
31st Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Biden again tests positive for COVID, says he feels fine
U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Saturday in what the White House doctor described as a "rebound" case seen in a small percentage of patients who take the antiviral drug Paxlovid. Biden, 79, who emerged from COVID isolation on Wednesday after testing positive on July 21, said he was feeling fine. He will now return to strict isolation and will cancel planned trips to his home in Wilmington and work trip in Michigan, the White House said. Biden held public events on Wednesday and Thursday, but none on Friday.
30th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Netherlands to offer more COVID-19 boosters in September
Seeking to head off a fall COVID-19 surge, the government of the Netherlands said Friday that everyone age 12 years and over would be eligible for a vaccine booster shot in a campaign expected to start in September. The Dutch health ministry said in a statement that an advisory panel of experts recommended the new round of vaccinations “to maintain protection against serious illness and death, to ensure access to health care” and to prevent problems caused by issues such as staff shortages. The booster shots will be with updated vaccines if they are proven to offer better protection against new mutations of the coronavirus — and if the vaccines have received approval from the European Medicines Agency.
29th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
U.S. Reaches $1.74 Billion Deal With Moderna for Updated Covid-19 Shots
The Biden administration said it would spend $1.74 billion to buy 66 million doses of Moderna Inc.’s updated Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the option to purchase up to 234 million additional doses, as part of a fall booster campaign. The deal Friday, which follows an agreement to buy 105 million doses of updated vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE, is expected to give the federal government enough shots for a booster push as early as September. Under the latest deal, the U.S. government has the option to buy up to an additional 234 million doses from Moderna. The Food and Drug Administration would still need to authorize the shots, which the companies are modifying to provide stronger protection against the latest offshoots of the Omicron variant. The current vaccines help protect against severe illness and death but haven’t been as effective against Omicron as earlier strains of the virus. To prevent a wave of cases when the weather turns cold, the Biden administration has been laying the groundwork for a fall booster campaign.
29th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. government to buy 66 million doses of Moderna's new omicron COVID-19 vaccine
The Biden administration said Friday it has reached an agreement with Moderna to buy 66 million doses of the company's next generation of COVID-19 vaccine that targets the highly transmissible omicron variant, enough supply this winter for all who want the upgraded booster. The order of the bivalent shot follows the announcement last month that the federal government had secured 105 million doses of a similar vaccine from rival drugmaker Pfizer. Both orders are scheduled for delivery in the fall and winter, assuming regulators sign off on their effectiveness. The Pentagon said the Moderna contract was worth $1.74 billion.
29th Jul 2022 - CBS News
Netherlands to offer more COVID-19 boosters in September
Seeking to head off a fall COVID-19 surge, the government of the Netherlands said Friday that everyone age 12 years and over would be eligible for a vaccine booster shot in a campaign expected to start in September. The Dutch health ministry said in a statement that an advisory panel of experts recommended the new round of vaccinations “to maintain protection against serious illness and death, to ensure access to health care” and to prevent problems caused by issues such as staff shortages. The booster shots will be with updated vaccines if they are proven to offer better protection against new mutations of the coronavirus — and if the vaccines have received approval from the European Medicines Agency.
29th Jul 2022 - ABC News
U.S. sets $1.74 billion deal with Moderna for updated COVID vaccine
The U.S. government said on Friday it agreed to a $1.74 billion deal for 66 million doses of a Moderna Inc COVID vaccine updated for the Omicron subvariant for use in a fall and winter booster campaign, sending Moderna shares up 3%. Combined with 105 million doses the government already agreed to buy from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE for $3.2 billion, the latest deal puts the U.S. booster dose supply at about 171 million shots.
29th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Queensland's COVID-19 plan isn't panning out the way authorities thought it would. Is it time to do more?
It has never been clearer that Queensland's days of being highly COVID cautious are over. As the sub-variant BA.5 drives up cases, hospitalisations and deaths, the state's leaders have repeatedly urged everyone to stay home if sick, get boosters and wear masks. But they've steered away from a return to restrictions or mask mandates. A shift in approach to an emphasis on "personal responsibility" was foreshadowed with the rollout of vaccines. There was also a belief that a combination of vaccination and infection would make "living with COVID" tolerable.
28th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 vaccine bookings open for young children under age of five in Ontario
Ontario parents can book COVID-19 vaccine appointments for their babies and preschoolers starting today. The province’s booking portal opened for pediatric vaccine appointments for children aged six months to under five years at 8 a.m. Families can also make appointments through health units using their own booking systems as well as some primary care providers and pharmacies.
28th Jul 2022 - The Globe and Mail
Almost 9pc have received second Covid-19 vaccine booster
The average percentage of people who have received a second Covid-19 vaccine booster is almost 9pc, new figures reveal. The figures from across the country’s Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) were released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures revealed that the average rate for a second booster shot was 8.7pc, with individual areas ranging from 2pc to 15pc.
28th Jul 2022 - Independent.ie
4 mn Indonesian medical workers to get 4th dose of Covid-19 vaccine
Four million medical workers will receive a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine amid increasing transmissions triggered by the virus' sub-variants in Indonesia, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said. Sadikin told local media on Wednesday that administering of the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine started in August 2021 and now it is the time for a new immunity shot, Xinhua news agency reported.
28th Jul 2022 - Business Standard
Hong Kong Covid Adviser Says Shots Safe, Effective for Toddlers
Hong Kong should make Covid-19 vaccines available for children under the age of three as soon as possible, as shots from BioNTech SE and Sinovac Biotech Ltd. safely and effectively protect them against the virus, a vaccination adviser to the government said. Hong Kong’s Covid-19 expert advisory panel will discuss toddler vaccination next week, said Lau Yu-lung, who is the chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases. While the issue needs to be thoroughly discussed by the panel, he said he plans to do his best to convey his opinion.
28th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid-19: Everyone over age of 50 in Northern Ireland to be offered booster jab and flu vaccine this autumn
Everyone over the age of 50 in Northern Ireland will be offered a flu vaccine and Covid-19 booster jab this autumn. Health Minister Robin Swann said the measure was precautionary given the likely increase in infection as we enter the winter months. On Wednesday, the minister revealed lateral flow testing for those with Covid-19 symptoms in Northern Ireland is to continue into August, citing the rising level of cases of the virus both in NI and the UK as a whole.
28th Jul 2022 - Belfast Telegraph
Vaccinating children aged under 5 years against covid-19
The United States has joined a handful of countries recommending that children aged 6 months to 5 years should receive covid-19 vaccines, but it is uncertain if other countries will follow. What is the evidence behind the US’s recommendation, and how does the case for vaccinating children under 5 years differ from offering covid-19 vaccines to older children? Two vaccines have been authorised for under 5s in the US, based on data supplied by manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna.
28th Jul 2022 - The BMJ
China needs COVID strategy rethink to limit economic harm, IMF official says
China needs to rethink its zero-COVID policy to avoid more harm to the economy, as well as come up with a long-term solution to the crisis in the real estate sector, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said in an interview. The world's second-largest economy has been tweaking its stringent COVID-19 curbs while leaving residents and businesses facing uncertainty over the risk of future lockdowns
28th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China Covid Zero Success in Chongqing Shows Why Xi Keeps Lockdowns
Chongqing has logged just 165 cases of Covid since February 2021, the fourth-lowest of any province -- the manufacturing hub twice the size of Switzerland counts as its own municipality, as do only Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. The city hasn’t seen a major lockdown since early 2020, even as Beijing and Shanghai stay on high alert and more than 28 million people are living under citywide restrictions as of Monday, according to Bloomberg’s Lockdown Tracker. Thus, tourists continue to flock to Chongqing, to soak in its shimmering skyline, spicy hot pot and history as China’s capital during World War Two. And the city isn’t unique. Across China, many cities are business as usual, as the ruling Communist Party’s border curbs, mass testing drives and lockdowns stop the virus from a cross-country spread -- the nation of almost 1.4 billion reported 521 local cases for Wednesday.
28th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus vaccine can be obtained 3 months after recovery: official
The Ministry of Health and Population added the vaccine reduces the chances of infection with the virus and helps reduce serious complications when infected. Head of the Scientific Committee to Combat Coronavirus at Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population, Hossam Hosny, explained that the drugs included in the treatment protocol of the coronavirus and its variants are available in all hospitals and are dispensed free of charge.
27th Jul 2022 - Egypt Independent
Queensland COVID-19 surge sparks calls for improved PCR access amid RAT accuracy fears
Mass testing clinics and removing barriers to PCR testing could speed up access to antiviral medication, experts say. They are urging people who still feel sick despite having tested negative using a RAT to get a PCR swab. Pathology Technology Australia says people with false negative results may not be using RATs properly
27th Jul 2022 - ABC News
There's fresh focus on using masks to slow COVID-19. So can you reuse masks? And if so, what's the best way?
As Omicron variants of COVID-19 continue to fuel a rise in cases across Australia, there is renewed focus on masks as a simple way to prevent the spread of the virus. Australia's COVID-19 cases and death rates are now some of the highest in the world per capita, and the numbers are getting worse. It has led National Cabinet to strongly encourage the wearing of masks indoors, when appropriate, and authorities have warned Australia's current COVID-19 wave will likely peak in August. So with masks back in focus again, let's take a look at reusing them.
27th Jul 2022 - ABC News
A global effort to stop COVID-19 in Africa is underway–and it starts with health care workers
The latest wave of infections across the world provides us with yet another reminder the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. For many in developing countries, this will come as no surprise. While three in four people living in high-income countries have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccination rate falls to just one in six in low-income countries. This is particularly true in Africa, where less than a fifth of the continent’s population has been fully vaccinated. Africa’s vaccine rollout is lagging compared to wealthier regions even though there is an overabundance of supply across the globe. We need to recognize COVID-19 vaccine supply is not the only barrier to tackling the pandemic. For many African countries, the bigger issue is having enough trained health workers able to deliver life-saving vaccines into the arms of patients.
27th Jul 2022 - Fortune
North Korea holds mask-free veterans event after flagging near end of COVID crisis
North Korea has held a large mask-free public event for the first time since declaring a COVID-19 emergency in May, honouring veterans of the 1950-53 Korean war just days after saying its coronavirus crisis was nearly over. Photos released by state media on Wednesday showed thousands of participants at the annual ceremony without masks, including senior ruling Workers' Party officials and elderly uniformed veterans.
27th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina continues to adapt border control to COVID-19 situation: authority
China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) will continue to adjust and improve entry-and-exit control measures in line with the changing COVID-19 situation to fully meet people's necessary need for cross-border travel, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The immigration administration work will also continue to facilitate enterprises' production and operation to promote the country's opening-up, as well as international exchanges and cooperation, said Zhang Ning, the spokesperson for NIA.
26th Jul 2022 - Xinhua
China’s Zero-Covid Policy Drags on Vaccination Drive
China’s sluggish progress in vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable against Covid-19 is impeding any departure from the cycles of mass testing and lockdowns that are hobbling the world’s second-largest economy. While the government stepped up efforts to raise inoculation rates in recent months, tens of millions of Chinese over 60 remain entirely unvaccinated against Covid-19, and many more have yet to take booster shots needed to protect against the Omicron subvariants now fueling outbreaks. Officials have tried to overcome skepticism and inertia against vaccination, particularly among the elderly, by revealing that top Chinese leaders have taken domestically developed shots and lashing out at what they called irresponsible rumors alleging serious side effects from vaccines.
26th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
EU states should act now for COVID-19 waves in winter-official
EU member states should start preparing now for a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in autumn and winter, the bloc's health chief said on Monday, saying there had been a "worrying increase" in outbreaks. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides also warned there was no room for complacency, saying the pandemic was not over. "Unfortunately the pandemic has shown a worrying increase in several countries," she told Cyprus state radio.
26th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China Covid Cases Rise as Shenzhen Flare Up Ensnares BYD, Huawei
China’s Covid-19 infections rebounded, with an increase in cases in the south threatening the operations of industry giants including BYD Co. and Huawei Technologies Co. Nationwide, cases were 868 for Monday, CCTV reported, up from 680 a day earlier. Attention is shifting to the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, where 19 local cases were detected and authorities have ordered some of China’s biggest firms to operate within a “closed loop” system for seven days, raising concerns about disruptions to global supply chains. The city government asked its 100 biggest companies, including iPhone maker Foxconn and oil producer Cnooc Ltd. to restrict operations only to employees living within a closed loop or bubble, with little to no contact with people beyond their plants or offices.
26th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Omicron BA.5 makes up 82% of COVID variants in U.S., CDC says
The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron was estimated to make up 81.9% of the circulating coronavirus variants in the United States for the week ended July 23, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday. This was higher than the 75.9% prevalence estimated in the preceding week. BA.5 has been driving a surge of new infections globally and has shown to be particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection.
26th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China Approves First Homegrown Antiviral Pill to Combat Covid
China approved its first homegrown Covid antiviral, as regulators cleared a medicine from Genuine Biotech that was previously used to treat HIV. The National Medical Products Administration gave the nod to Azvudine from the Henan-based drug company for adults with moderate Covid-19 disease under an emergency use authorization, according to a statement by the agency on Monday. The drug will compete with Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid, which was approved in China in February shortly before the country experienced its worst outbreak of the pandemic.
25th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina's Shenzhen orders big firms such as Foxconn into closed loop to curb COVID
The Chinese city of Shenzhen told 100 major companies including iPhone maker Foxconn to set up "closed-loop" systems as it battles COVID-19, according to a document attributed to the local government circulating online on Monday. While Reuters could not independently verify the document, a notice at a Shenzhen office of oil giant CNOOC Ltd seen by Reuters said that the building would be closed for seven days until July 31, with staff to work from home and continue with daily COVID testing.
25th Jul 2022 - Reuters
‘Exhaustion and burnout’: states look to boost volunteer numbers as demand increases
Unlike many others at the organisation, the pair are continuing their volunteer work well after lockdowns have ended. “It’s given me a purpose and the best thing is I met my nextdoor neighbours,” Bergman says. Hazels agrees that their friendship has been a “lovely” outcome of her volunteering experience. “We laugh, and we have fun, and we’re all doing a good thing,” she says. They were drawn to volunteering during Melbourne’s early Covid restrictions, as it was a permitted activity that allowed them to escape lockdowns.
25th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
China tries to boost vaccine rate with show of confidence from leaders
While other world leaders were photographed being vaccinated to boost take-up rates, Beijing had previously stayed silent on the topic. Zeng Yixin from the National Health Commission says party and state leaders have ‘a high level of trust in the vaccines produced by our country.’
25th Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
Covid in China: Xi Jinping and other leaders given domestic vaccine
President Xi Jinping and other top politicians have been given domestically produced Covid vaccines, China has said. The news was released as part of a campaign to increase vaccination rates, especially of boosters. The deputy head of China's National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, said it showed the leadership's confidence in the Chinese vaccines. Health information about these figures is not usually shared with the public. Mr Zeng said the country's leaders had "all taken the home-grown Covid-19 vaccination jabs".
25th Jul 2022 - BBC News
North Korea pushes traditional medicine to fight COVID-19
As a medical student in North Korea, Lee Gwang-jin said he treated his fevers and other minor ailments with traditional herbal medicine. But bad illness could mean trouble because hospitals in his rural hometown lacked the ambulances, beds, even the electricity at times needed to treat critical or emergency patients. So Lee was skeptical when he heard recent North Korean state media reports that claimed such so-called Koryo traditional medicine is playing a key role in the nation’s fight against COVID-19, which has killed millions around the world. “North Korea is using Koryo medicine a lot (for COVID-19) … but it’s not a sure remedy,” said Lee, who studied Koryo medicine before he fled North Korea in 2018 for a new life in South Korea. “Someone who is destined to survive will survive (with such medicine), but North Korea can’t help others who are dying.”
25th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
China Covid Cases Drop as Macau, Shanghai Ramp Up Mass Testing
China’s Covid-19 cases fell to the lowest in a week, even as officials in the financial hub of Shanghai and the gaming enclave of Macau ramped up mass testing.
China reported 680 cases for Sunday, down from 869 on Saturday and the lowest daily tally since July 17. Still, authorities continue to roll out testing blitzes to catch flareups and stamp out outbreaks. In Macau, all residents must perform daily rapid Covid tests on themselves and report the results to the government for the next week, with mass laboratory tests slated for the coming weekend.
24th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Lab Companies Retrench as Rapid Tests Take Over
More people checking for Covid-19 infections are choosing rapid, at-home antigen tests over PCR tests processed at laboratories, making variant-driven waves harder to track and helping to spur a retrenchment in testing capacity that labs had built up over the pandemic. U.S. laboratories currently have the capacity to process the results of about 62 million PCR tests for Covid-19 a month, which is half of what it was in March, researchers at the consulting firm Health Catalysts Group estimate, after demand dropped and government funding diminished. Some laboratories and diagnostic companies have laid off employees or reassigned them to other tasks.
SummerBio LLC, a startup that once processed some 100,000 PCR tests a day, is halting production, putting equipment in storage and laying off some 100 workers. One of its bigger clients, the Los Angeles Unified School District, shifted in June from weekly PCR testing to at-home tests.
24th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid hits a third of Australia’s aged care homes as 6,000 residents infected
Aged care providers are calling for urgent action to protect residents and staff from a winter Covid-19 wave which is hitting more than one-third of the country’s facilities. The Aged and Community Care Providers Association said 6,000 residents and 3,400 staff were infected in 1,013 facilities as of Thursday. The association’s interim chief executive, Paul Sadler, said 10 to 15% of staff were already isolating or quarantining at home, and the coming weeks will put intense pressure on aged care residents and workers.
24th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Singapore reports 7889 new COVID-19 cases
Singapore reported 7,889 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 1,652,981. Of the new cases, 804 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 7,085 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health. Among the PCR cases, 763 were local transmissions and 41 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 6,829 local transmissions and 256 imported cases, respectively.
23rd Jul 2022 - Xinhuanet
China Says Xi, Other Leaders Got Local Shots in Rare Disclosure
China said all its leaders received locally-made Covid-19 shots, the first time a confirmation was made in the absence of a vaccine mandate for the country with the world’s strictest controls against the virus. The Chinese leadership is “highly confident” in domestic vaccines, National Health Commission official Zeng Yixin said at a briefing on Saturday. The department also addressed concerns surrounding the shots, saying the vaccines won’t trigger illnesses such as leukemia and diabetes.
23rd Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
South Australian COVID-19 acute commander appointed as new measures taken to free up hospital beds
A record number of people with COVID-19 are in South Australia's hospitals. New wards for patients with the virus are opening in Adelaide hospitals. Agency and student nurses will be recruited to replace some of the 1,200 infected SA Health staff.
22nd Jul 2022 - ABC News
Covid-Hit LA on Track to Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandate Next Week
The Los Angeles health authority cautioned that an indoor masking mandate is on track to be reimposed next week, even for the fully vaccinated, unless Covid-19 cases take a sharp drop. A universal mandate will be put in place across the US’s most-populous county after a “high” level of community-transmission for two straight weeks. If the current trends hold, a new mandate would go into effect on July 29, according to Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director.
21st Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Opinion | China's 'zero covid' policy has been a nightmare for U.S. diplomats
For the past two years, U.S. diplomatic personnel in China have been forced to confront the risk of being detained or separated from their family members for either testing positive for the coronavirus or being deemed a “close contact” of someone who has. In fact, 16 U.S. diplomatic personnel or their family members have been sent, against their will, to Chinese government medical quarantine centers since the pandemic began, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing confirmed to me.
21st Jul 2022 - The Washington Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Perspective Podcast: Is China back to square one in fight against Covid?
The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They discuss the Covid-19 situation in China, with case numbers increasing once again. Also, highlights from Chinese Premier Xi Jinping visit to Xinjiang last week and the possibility of China stumbling into its own mortgage crisis.
21st Jul 2022 - The Straits Times
Tokyo Covid-19 cases top 30000 for 1st time, Japan urges high vigilance
Japan's top government spokesman on Thursday (July 21) called for the highest vigilance against Covid-19 infections as the nation's capital, Tokyo, reported 31,878 cases of daily infections, surpassing the 30,000 mark for the first time. "Nationwide, new infections have reached the highest level ever," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference. "We need to keep a close eye on the infection situation going forward, including the issue of access to medical services, with the highest vigilance." In response to the surge of infection cases, the Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday raised the alert level for the medical system to the most serious on its four-level scale.
21st Jul 2022 - The Straits Times
China's top Covid official denies authorities are easing controls
Some moves by Beijing in recent weeks - including shorter quarantine requirements for inbound travellers and allowing more international flights - have raised hopes that the country will move away from its zero-Covid approach. But Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan said: "The latest Covid-19 control playbook is not about relaxing rules, but about precision, which requires greater efforts to grasp prevention and close loopholes." Speaking on a visit to Hebei province earlier this week, she warned officials they need to act swiftly to stop outbreaks spreading in the run up to the Communist Party congress, the country's main political event of the year.
21st Jul 2022 - ฺBangkok Post
Ontario to open pediatric COVID-19 vaccine bookings starting July 28
Ontario parents will be able to book COVID-19 vaccinations for infants and preschoolers starting next Thursday. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the lower-dose Moderna shot for children aged six months to under five will give young family members protection against COVID-19. “Getting vaccinated remains the best defence against COVID-19,” she said in a written statement. “I encourage parents with questions to reach out to their health care provider, the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre or the SickKids COVID-19 Vaccine Consult Service to make an informed choice for their family.”
21st Jul 2022 - The Globe and Mail
COVID-19 vaccine bookings for children under five opening in Ontario next week
Just a week ago, Health Canada approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for infants and preschoolers, marking the first vaccine approval for the age group in the country. The child-sized vaccine dose is one-quarter the size of the adult quantity. Over the next several days, pediatric vaccines will be distributed across the province and will be available through public health unit clinics, as well as participating pediatricians, primary care providers and pharmacies.
21st Jul 2022 - CTV News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullAustralians urged to wear masks and work from home amid Covid-19 surge
It's been eight months since Sydney was released from its last lockdown, and in that time, Australia has slowly been shedding many of its Covid-related mandates. Mask wearing is required only in a handful of places, returning to the office has been encouraged, and domestic and international travel are back on the cards. But amid attempts to return to normalcy, a third wave of Omicron is giving cause for concern. In a joint press conference with health minister Mark Butler, chief medical officer Paul Kelly strongly advised that employers allow their employees to work from home where feasible, and to reinstate mask wearing in the workplace. "There were 300,000 cases or thereabouts reported over the last seven days, and I think the CMO and I are pretty confident that the real number is likely more than double that," said Butler.
20th Jul 2022 - Time Out
China’s Covid slowdown raises spectre of middle-income trap
Ahead of this year’s 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we take a look at how the country is responding to three potential traps highlighted by President Xi Jinping in the past decade. In the third of a three-part series, we examine the middle-income trap and the hurdles China’s economy must clear to escape it. Chinese officials like to use numbers to describe the country’s economic miracle. So that is what Han Wenxiu, a senior official with the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, did when he summarised almost a decade of achievements under President Xi Jinping in mid-May.
20th Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
CDC stops monitoring COVID-19 cases on cruise ships
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has discontinued a program that tracked cases of COVID-19 aboard cruise ships in the U.S. and reported the findings to the public. The initiative, called the COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, ended Monday, according to the government agency. "CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers, crew and communities going forward," the agency said on its website.
20th Jul 2022 - CBS News
Illinois governor tests positive for COVID-19; symptoms mild
Article reports that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office announced Tuesday that the Illinois governor has tested positive for COVID-19. Pritzker is experiencing mild symptoms and has been prescribed the anti-viral medication Paxlovid, according to a statement from his office. He is working from home. The Democrat undergoes a routine COVID-19 testing regimen and received the positive result after he was notified that several close contacts had contracted the illness. Pritzker is vaccinated and has received two booster shots. He has long urged everyone to be vaccinated and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for staying healthy and stopping the spread.
20th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Australians urged to work from home as COVID hospital cases surge
Australians have been urged to work from home and wear masks indoors as the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 nears record levels. The country is in the midst of a third wave of coronavirus, driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, and earlier this month broadened access to second booster shots to deal with the surge in cases. Daily cases climbed to 50,248 on Tuesday, the highest in two months. Some 5,239 Australians are currently in hospital with COVID-19, just short of the record 5,390 recorded in January. “We need to do some things differently at least for a short period of time,” Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told ABC Radio on Wednesday, as he predicted the number of people admitted to hospital will soon hit an all-time high.
20th Jul 2022 - Al Jazeera English
China rules out ‘excessive stimulus’ to save economy, but Li Keqiang vows to refine coronavirus policy
Premier Li Keqiang tells World Economic Forum that China will not employ large-scale stimulus to hit economic growth targets, but will adjust coronavirus policy. His comments to international business leaders come amid fresh concern about the economic toll of zero Covid and frustration among foreign firms in China.
20th Jul 2022 - South China Morning Post
City of London Bankers Trigger Nearly 650 Covid Restrictions Breach Alerts
The City of London’s banks and asset managers notified the UK’s financial regulator of more than 700 incidents of non-financial misconduct by senior staff during the pandemic, including more than 600 breaches of Covid restrictions. The Financial Conduct Authority was notified of 194 incidents of non-financial misconduct by bankers belonging to its senior managers and certification regime, and another 552 by staff at fund managers from the start of 2020 to September 2021, according to a Freedom of Information request by Following the Rules, a financial regulation podcast. Those included 646 episodes tied to Covid breaches as well as 44 counts of bullying and 66 linked to racism. The FCA has disclosed it has opened five investigations into non-financial misconduct in 2019 and none in 2020.
19th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Most Popular U.S. Cities Amid the Pandemic Now Have the Highest Inflation Rates
U.S. cities that have seen the largest influx of new residents over the course of the pandemic now also have the highest inflation rates, according to a report from Redfin released Tuesday. “A place’s popularity has a big impact on how much its local prices go up,” Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr wrote in the report. “An influx of people moving into a place like Phoenix or Tampa [Florida] pushes up demand for everything from housing to food to fuel, which pushes up prices in all those areas and ultimately contributes to overall inflation.”
19th Jul 2022 - Barron's
Scars of COVID persist for sickest survivors, their families
Freddy Fernandez almost wasn’t here, on his couch in his Missouri home, his baby on his lap, gnawing on the pulse oximeter that he uses to check his oxygen levels after a months-long bout with COVID-19. Months after being warned that her partner might never hold his daughter, Vanessa smiles as the girl works to cut two teeth on the device that Freddy wears like a necklace, a blue ribbon tied around it.
Freddy spent five months hospitalized a four-hour drive away from the couple’s home in the southwest Missouri town of Carthage on the most intense life support available. The 41-year-old father of six nearly died repeatedly and now he — like so many who survived COVID-19 hospitalizations — has returned home changed.
19th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhere is Ireland now with Covid?
Since the start of the pandemic, Ireland has seen 1.6 million PCR confirmed cases. But the real figure is much higher. There has also been 7,571 Covid-19 deaths according to the official data. The current daily reported figures are about 1,200 PCR positive cases and 2,500 self-administered antigen tests being positive. But because the criteria for PCR testing changed a few months ago and there is a lot of self-administered antigen testing, the true number of daily case numbers is much higher than official data, possibly three or more times higher. We all became used to almost nightly NPHET briefings and a flurry of transmission data. NPHET is no more. Some of the data now available is provided weekly, some daily and in truth gives a limited picture of transmission levels.
17th Jul 2022 - RTE.ie
Czechs to start offering second COVID booster shots
The Czech Republic will begin offering a second COVID-19 boosters from July 18, recommending the shot for people over 60 and those in risk groups, the Health Ministry said on Friday. Boosters will however be available to anyone over 18 and are voluntary, the ministry said. "I want everyone who is interested to have access to vaccination," Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said.
16th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Australia reinstates COVID quarantine pay amid fresh Omicron wave
Australia will reinstate support payments for casual workers who have to quarantine due to COVID-19, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday, as a fresh wave of Omicron-driven infections sweeps the country.
16th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai Continues to Lock Down Areas Even as Cases Stabilize
Shanghai’s latest Covid-19 outbreak appears to be stabilizing, with most new cases already in government-mandated quarantine, but authorities are taking no chances, still locking down areas of the city and housing compounds as infections arise. The financial center recorded 45 infections for Thursday, down from 47 on Wednesday. While daily cases have jumped from single digits last week, they are no longer rising precipitously, and all the latest cases were already in isolation.
16th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
COVID-19: Autumn booster and flu jab to be extended to over 50s to reduce hospital admissions
A COVID-19 booster will be offered to all over 50s in the autumn as part of plans to increase protection from respiratory illnesses and "keep greater numbers of people out of hospital". Scientific advisers on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the extra dose is offered ahead of the winter, in guidance published on Friday. Care home residents and staff and front-line health and social care workers are also eligible. The jabs are also being recommended for people aged between five and 49 who are in clinical risk groups, including pregnant women, and household contacts of people with immunosuppression.
15th Jul 2022 - Sky News
UK Covid-19 vaccine boosters to be expanded to all over-50s
Uk government said it is offering Covid-19 booster shots to the over 50s this fall in an effort to combat the number of deaths and hospitalisations,
15th Jul 2022 - The Financial Times
Australia gov't faces pressure to reinstate COVID quarantine pay amid fresh wave
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a snap meeting of federal and state leaders next week as he faces pressure to reinstate compensation pay for casual workers forced to isolate due to COVID-19 amid a fresh wave of infections. A renewed surge in cases fuelled by the BA.4/5 Omicron coronavirus variants have put Australia's health system on alert with the total number of people admitted to hospitals from COVID-19 not far away from record levels seen earlier this year.
15th Jul 2022 - Reuters
SINOVAC COVID-19 Vaccine Is Authorized for Emergency Use in Kids Aged 3-5 In Brazil
Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced that its COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac) has been approved by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) for emergency use in children from 3 to 5 years old on 13 July. These children will receive the same dose that is already applied to minors aged 6 to 17 years and adults and there is no restriction on the application for immunosuppressed children aged 3 to 5 years. This authorization was given under comprehensive evaluations based on analysis results from all available data on the vaccine and its use in children. Analysis relied on information submitted by the Butantan Institute, with research data from Chile, where the vaccine is already used in this age group, research results on Covid-19 vaccination in Brazil, opinions from invited medical societies, real-life evidence, and published scientific literature data.
15th Jul 2022 - Korea Newswire
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullMasks could return to Los Angeles as COVID surges nationwide
Nick Barragan is used to wearing a mask because his job in the Los Angeles film industry has long required it, so he won't be fazed if the nation's most populous county reinstates rules requiring face coverings because of another spike in coronavirus cases across the country. “I feel fine about it because I’ve worn one pretty much constantly for the last few years. It’s become a habit,” said Barragan, masked up while out running errands Wednesday. Los Angeles County, home to 10 million residents, is facing a return to a broad indoor mask mandate later this month if current trends in hospital admissions continue, county health Director Barbara Ferrer said this week.
15th Jul 2022 - The Independent
U.S. FDA classifies recall of GE's ventilator batteries as most serious
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday classified the recall of some backup batteries of GE Healthcare's ventilators, which the company had initiated in mid-April, as the most serious type, saying that their use could lead to injuries or death. The CARESCAPE R860 ventilator's backup batteries, including replacement backup batteries, were recalled as they were running out earlier-than-expected, which could cause the device to shut down preventing the patient from receiving breathing support, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Free Covid Booster Dose For All Adults From Friday For The Next 75 Days
In India, all adults will be able to get free booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine at government centres under a special drive over the next 75 days from Friday, officials said on Wednesday. Aimed at improving the third-dose coverage, the drive will be held as part of the government's 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.
14th Jul 2022 - NDTV
Canada's Ontario to offer second COVID booster dose to all adults
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Wednesday that it would offer a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to everyone aged 18 and older from Thursday. "As we continue to manage COVID-19 for the long term, we're expanding second booster doses and extending the availability of free rapid antigen tests to give people the tools they need to stay safe and to ensure Ontario stays open," Ontario's Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in a statement.
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters Canada
Some Chinese cities order more frequent COVID testing as cases creep higher
Several Chinese cities have doubled down on COVID-19 testing, ordering residents to have their mouths swabbed more often, with some punishing people who skip tests, as authorities try to stop the virus from spreading while the case numbers are still small. In June, several cities had relaxed testing requirements as the outbreaks suffered in spring began to subside, but an uptick in infections this month, fuelled by an Omicron subvariant, have forced a few areas to quickly tighten rules
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Some Beijing travelers asked to wear COVID monitoring bracelets, sparking outcry
Some Beijing residents returning from domestic travel were asked by local authorities to wear COVID-19 monitoring bracelets, prompting widespread criticism on Chinese social media by users concerned about excessive government surveillance. According to posts published on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning on microblogging platform Weibo, some Beijing residents returning to the capital were asked by their neighbourhood committees to wear an electronic bracelet throughout the mandatory home quarantine period.
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters.com
Colleges Serving Low-Income Students, HBCUs Get $198 Million in Covid-Relief Funds
In the US, the Education Department awarded nearly $198 million in Covid-19 relief funds to 244 colleges and universities serving large numbers of students who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Almost 90 percent of the money will go toward historically Black colleges and universities, universities with high rates of minority enrollment and institutions serving large populations of low-income students, including community colleges.
14th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
New Zealand announces free masks, tests as health system struggles with COVID
The New Zealand government on Thursday announced free masks and rapid antigen tests as it tries to stem the spread of COVID-19 and relieve pressure on the country's health system which is dealing with an influx of COVID and influenza patients. There has been a significant jump in the number of new COVID cases in New Zealand in the past couple of week and authorities are forecasting that this wave of Omicron might be worst than the first
14th Jul 2022 - Reuters.com
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullFree Covid booster doses for 18-59 age group from July 15 at govt centress
People in the 18-59 age group can get free precaution doses of the Covid vaccine at government vaccination centres under a 75-day special drive likely to begin from July 15, the government said on Wednesday. The drive, aimed at boosting the administration of Covid precaution doses, will be held as part of the government's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, it said. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to mark the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.
13th Jul 2022 - Business Standard
Get COVID-19 booster now if eligible, ECDC boss urges
Countries should start boosting older people a second time with COVID-19 shots, the head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday, stressing that waiting for new variant vaccines in the fall could be too late. “The risk for people is now,” said Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC, referencing the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the European Union driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains. “If I get offered this vaccine now, I will take it now,” she told members of the European Parliament's special committee on COVID-19. She underlined that the existing vaccines continue to offer protection against severe disease and death against these variants.
13th Jul 2022 - POLITICO Europe
S. Korea expands booster shots as COVID-19 cases creep up
Health officials in South Korea are expanding their booster shot programme to adults 50 and over as COVID-19 cases creep up again across the country.
13th Jul 2022 - ABC
Covid-19: Free masks and RATs but traffic light setting expected to stay orange
The Government is expected to make it easier to get free masks and rapid antigen tests (RATs), with concerns many cases of Covid-19 are going untested and unreported. Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall is set to announce an update to the Government’s Covid-19 plan and guidelines on Thursday afternoon.
Stuff understands Verrall will outline plans for the Government to provide free masks and Covid-19 tests. Verrall had already outlined plans to deliver 50 free masks to every school child in years 4-7.
13th Jul 2022 - Stuff
New format of digital COVID-19 certificate to be available Thursday
Taiwan will start offering on Thursday a new format of its digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate, which can be used in countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday. The new format follows the SMART Health Cards framework launched by the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), which Taiwan joined on May 20, CECC official Pang Yi-ming said at a press briefing. According to the VCI website, SMART Health Cards are issued by the governments of 24 U.S. states and territories, Canada, Japan, and Sydney, Australia, among others.
13th Jul 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
S. Korea expands booster shots as COVID-19 cases creep up
Health officials in South Korea are expanding booster shots to adults 50 and over as COVID-19 cases creep up again across the country. The 40,226 new cases reported Wednesday marked the country’s highest daily jump in more than two months, although hospitalizations and deaths remain stable. Baek Gyeongran, South Korea’s top infectious disease expert, attributed the rising case counts to people’s waning immunities following vaccinations and prior infections and a major removal of social distancing measures since April as the nation wiggled out of an omicron surge. Health workers are also witnessing a “rapid spread” of BA.5, which is seen as the most transmissible variant of omicron yet, Baek said.
13th Jul 2022 - The Independent
Australia athletes barred from other Commonwealth Games venues over COVID risk
Australian athletes will be banned from supporting their team mates at other Commonwealth Games events at Birmingham due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission, team chef de mission Petria Thomas said. They will also have to wear face masks when not in their rooms or exercising at the July 28 - Aug. 8 Games as part of team health protocols. "Our primary focus is that we can get our athletes to the starting line and they are performance ready,” Thomas told News Corp media on Wednesday.
13th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Experts rue simple steps not taken before latest COVID surge
With new omicron variants again driving COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths higher in recent weeks, states and cities are rethinking their responses and the White House is stepping up efforts to alert the public. Some experts said the warnings are too little, too late.
The highly transmissible BA.5 variant now accounts for 65% of cases with its cousin BA.4 contributing another 16%. The variants have shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by infection and vaccination. “It’s well past the time when the warning could have been put out there,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who has has called BA.5 “the worst variant yet.”
13th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
Amid COVID worries, fist bumps for Biden — with exceptions
The White House said President Joe Biden would try to limit physical contact during his Middle East trip because of concern about rising COVID-19 cases — but the president swiftly reverted to his old-school, back-slapping ways after landing in Israel on Wednesday. He doled out a few fist bumps after stepping off the plane but then threw an arm around Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and shook hands with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The issue of contact is arising amid intense speculation about Biden’s upcoming meeting with leaders in Saudi Arabia and whether he will shake hands with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence officials said probably sanctioned the killing of a critic. The ostensible COVID-19 rule could give Biden cover to avoid a potentially problematic image with the crown prince.
13th Jul 2022 - The Associated Press
White House officials push boosters as BA.5 surge intensifies
At a briefing today, Ashish Jha, MD, the White House committee's coordinator, said officials have been closely tracking the rapidly evolving BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which are the most transmissible forms of Omicron and can evade protection from earlier infection and vaccines. He and his team, however, emphasized that the vaccination can still protect against severe outcomes. Jha said if people haven't gotten a vaccine dose in 2022, it's time to get one now. "It could save your life," he said. He acknowledged that some people may be holding off on getting boosted, anticipating a rise in COVID activity in the fall, while others might be waiting for an Omicron-specific booster. Jha said getting boosted now won't preclude people from getting another dose in the fall or winter when the Omicron-specific version is expected to be available. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said proportions of BA.4 and BA.5 are increasing, especially, with the two related subvariants making up about 81% of circulating viruses, up significantly from about 70% last week
12th Jul 2022 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullXi Jinping's Covid-Zero Policy Meets Red Line at Vaccine Mandates
China’s first attempt at a vaccine mandate was abruptly scrapped last week within days of being announced by municipal officials in Beijing. The plan to stop people entering public venues without proof of vaccination sparked an outcry online, with Chinese social media users calling it an illegal cap on their freedoms and questioning how effective the vaccines were against immune-evasive variants. Vaccine mandates have emerged as a surprise red line for the ruling Communist Party, which up until a few years ago controlled citizens’ reproductive rights through its one child-policy and is steaming ahead with other controversial virus curbs, such as widespread tracking of individuals through their phones, mass testing and border curbs.
12th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
COVID-19: Hong Kong leader defends plans for health codes to tackle coronavirus amid privacy concerns
Hong Kong leader John Lee has defended the city's plan to introduce health codes to combat COVID, amid privacy concerns over the system used in mainland China. The proposed approach would restrict the movement of certain people, with those infected receiving a red code and those under hotel quarantine getting a yellow code. Mr Lee, who spoke at a regular news conference on Tuesday, said the plan is part of the city's objective to adopt "precise strategies to minimise the scope of restrictions".
12th Jul 2022 - Sky News
White House to prioritize vaccine boosters, testing to combat Omicron subvariant
The White House said on Tuesday it will ensure Americans continue to have easy access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing to contain the fast-spreading Omicron BA.5 subvariant that now makes up a majority of U.S. cases. Health officials say there are indications the subvariant might be better at escaping immunity, including from prior infections. BA.5 is estimated to account for 65% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of last week, said Rochelle Walensky, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
12th Jul 2022 - Reuters
U.S. orders 3.2 million doses of Novavax COVID vaccine
The U.S. government will get 3.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc once the shot has been authorized by the regulators, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the company said on Monday. The shot will be made available for free in the country after it gets authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendation.
12th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Unnerved Shanghai residents brave stifling heat for mass COVID tests
Shanghai residents queued up in sweltering heat for compulsory mass testing for COVID-19 on Tuesday, as persistent small outbreaks fuelled anxiety in a city that is still recovering from the painful two-month lockdown lifted a few weeks ago.
12th Jul 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
China tells local governments to drop COVID tests on some goods
China's health authority said on Tuesday that local governments no longer need to test some imported goods for the coronavirus, in a move aimed at reducing the cost of its strict COVID-19 prevention measures. China began testing the packaging of chilled and frozen food imports for the virus in June 2020, after a cluster of infections among workers at a wholesale food market in Beijing. Six months later, Beijing also advised testing on ambient products too, even as scientists said the risk of coronavirus infection through contact with contaminated surfaces was low.
12th Jul 2022 - Reuters
US officials working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults
US health officials are urgently working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN on Monday. The US Food and Drug Administration is making it a high priority, the official said. Second boosters have been authorized for adults 50 and older, as well as some people with weakened immune systems, since late March. But younger adults are eligible for only one booster shot, which was authorized in November.
12th Jul 2022 - CNN
Hong Kong to electronically tag Covid patients as it adopts China’s health code system
Hong Kong will mandate electronic tracking bracelets for people in home isolation and bring in a China-style electronic health code system as part of fresh measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The quarantine bracelets, to be introduced on Friday, will be mandatory for people who have tested positive and are quarantining at home to ensure they do not leave the building during their isolation period. “We have to make sure that home isolation is more precise while being humane,” Lo Chung-mau, the city’s new health secretary said, announcing the new requirement on Monday. Breaching a mandatory quarantine order in Hong Kong carries a fine of up to HK$25,000 ($3,200) and up to six months in jail.
12th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Covid cases set to hit new record as experts call for return of free testing and school air filtration systems
Covid cases are about to hit a new record after daily symptomatic infections reached 348,001 – just a few hundred below the previous high in March. Cases have more than tripled in the last six weeks, largely because of the new Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which are much better at overcoming immunity built up from vaccinations and prior infections. But public and government behaviours are also playing a key role, with many acting as if the pandemic is over when that is far from the case, scientists say. This has enabled cases to soar from 114,030 on 1 June to 348,001 on Saturday 9 July – barely a thousand daily infections below the record 349,011 set on 31 March, according to the ZOE Covid study app.
12th Jul 2022 - i on MSN.com
H.K. May Loosen Quarantine by November, Health Chief Tells SCMP
“Is nothing required any more? I think that would be a bit tough,” Lo said in the interview. “At least PCR testing is needed. But does quarantine have to be confined to a fixed location?” He floated a scenario where arrivals could be subject to PCR testing and prohibited from attending high-risk venues like bars. The city is also planning a China-like health code system to manage social distancing. A yellow code will allow people to go to work but prohibit them from high-risk places like aged-care homes or venues where masks are removed.
12th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullIndonesia Requires Covid Test From Travelers Without Booster Vaccine
Indonesia will reimpose a Covid-19 testing requirement for travelers who haven’t received their booster vaccine in order to curb a resurgence in cases. Starting from July 17, domestic travelers who have received their booster shot are not required to take the test prior to departure, the Transport Ministry said in a statement. The rest must prove a negative rapid antigen test result at least 24 hours before departing or a negative PCR test within 3 days before leaving, according to the statement published on the ministry’s website. People are still required to wear a mask in crowded areas, especially in cities where infection rates are higher.
11th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Are states ordering enough COVID vaccine doses for children under 5?
Since the COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for children under age 5 last month, states have been able to pre-order doses directly from the federal government.
Roughly 300,000 children between ages six months and four years have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is equivalent to about 1.5% of the roughly 19.5 million children in the United States who recently became eligible.
11th Jul 2022 - ABC News
EU backs second COVID booster for over-60s, before variant-adapted vaccines are ready
European Union health agencies on Monday recommended a second COVID-19 booster for everyone over 60, as well as medically vulnerable people, amid a new rise in infections and hospitalisations across Europe. While existing coronavirus vaccines continue to provide good protection against hospitalisation and death, vaccine effectiveness has taken a hit as the virus has evolved. EU health agencies have since April recommended a second booster only for those older than 80 and the most vulnerable.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
More than 1bn Covid vaccine jabs wasted in pandemic, data analysis suggests
More than 1bn Covid vaccine jabs wasted in pandemic, data analysis suggests
11th Jul 2022 - Financial Times
EU urges second COVID-19 boosters for people ages 60 to 79
The European Union said Monday it's “critical” that authorities in the 27-nation bloc consider giving second coronavirus booster shots to people between the ages of 60 and 79 years and other vulnerable people, as a new wave of the pandemic sweeps over the continent. "With cases and hospitalizations rising again as we enter the summer period, I urge everybody to get vaccinated and boosted as quickly as possible. There is no time to lose,” European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said in a statement. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency said that the second boosters can be given at least four months after the first booster.
11th Jul 2022 - The Independent
Hong Kong to make COVID-19 app more like mainland China to curb infections
Hong Kong will update an app it uses for COVID-19 tracking to bring it more in line with mainland China, by requiring people to register by name and by adopting a traffic light colour code to restrict movement of infected residents and close contacts. Previously, users were not required to register with their personal details, and the app was used to enter venues and display vaccination records. Announcing the changes at a news conference on Monday, Lo Chung-Mau, the city's new health secretary, said that he hoped the app would be updated soon and that it would help to enforce quarantine orders for people required to isolate at home.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
South Korea's president suspends informal media briefings, citing COVID
South Korea's president will suspend informal media briefings that he has held nearly every day since taking office in May, his office said on Monday, citing rising numbers of COVID-19 infections as a survey showed a fall in his approval ratings.
The end of the free-wheeling briefings, which broke with years of tradition as President Yoon Suk-yeol sought to step up transparency, also comes amid growing questions over scandal and party turmoil.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai plans more COVID testing amid fresh curbs across China
Multiple Chinese cities are adopting fresh COVID-19 curbs, from business halts to lockdowns, to rein in new infections, with the commercial hub of Shanghai bracing for another mass testing effort after finding a highly-transmissible Omicron subvariant. The tough curbs by local governments follow China's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy of promptly stamping out all outbreaks at a time when much of the world co-exists with the virus.
11th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 cases in Singapore likely to peak in a week or sooner: Experts
Singapore's Covid-19 cases are likely to peak in a week or even sooner, experts here said, as the nation weathers through yet another infection curve. The week-on-week infection ratio - which refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week, over the week before - is falling. This means that Covid-19 cases are increasing at a slower rate. "It does not mean that the epidemic is declining, but it does mean that the peak is approaching," said Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
11th Jul 2022 - Straits Times
Macau Shuts Casinos as City Enters Weeklong Lockdown
The gambling enclave of Macau will enter a citywide lockdown early Monday, as authorities seek to contain a spiraling Covid-19 outbreak. Aside from essential services such as supermarkets, healthcare facilities and restaurants selling takeaway, all other businesses have been ordered to shut for a week, with residents required to stay at home. City officials urged the public not to panic-buy food, asking people to make purchases at staggered times to enable social distancing in queues. The order, issued Saturday by the territory’s chief executive, Ho Iat-seng, comes as Macau struggles to contain an outbreak that had already shuttered venues such as cinemas, salons and swimming pools. The Chinese gambling hub has recorded hundreds of cases in recent weeks, its worst-ever outbreak after keeping to China’s zero-Covid strategy for most of the pandemic.
10th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Long Covid Is an Elusive Target for Big Pharma
Pharma companies do hold many assets worth testing. One example is Pfizer’s antiviral pill, Paxlovid. A growing body of research suggests that reservoirs of the virus remain in some people’s bodies beyond the acute phase, possibly leading to long Covid. A recent Harvard study showed that the spike protein from the virus lingered in the blood of 65% of the long Covid patients they tested for as long as 12 months after they were first diagnosed. “It’s a total game-changer. If we can measure this stuff, then we can test antiviral approaches to see if it helps,” says Steven Deeks, an HIV expert who is studying long Covid at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Deeks, like other researchers, has been calling on Pfizer to undertake a Paxlovid clinical trial for long Covid patients; yet a spokeswoman says the company is still “considering what a study may entail.”
10th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
New mask mandates all but ruled out around Australia as Covid cases surge
Medical experts have criticised federal and state governments for “inconsistent” messaging around the looming winter virus wave, with new face mask rules all but ruled out nationwide. It comes as trade unions launch a fresh appeal to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to reverse the decision to scrap paid leave for Covid-positive people forced to isolate, calling on the Labor government to reinstate the allowance until isolation rules change. “We have a population believing, and governments delivering, that Covid is in the rear-view mirror, that we’re over the worst of it, that it’s time to do away with any of the measures and move on with life,” said infectious disease expert Prof Brendan Crabb, the CEO of the Burnet Institute.
8th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Uruguay suspends COVID vaccination for children under 13
Uruguay stopped administering coronavirus vaccine to children under age 13 after a judge ordered on Thursday that all inoculations in that age group halt until officials present documents relating to contracts signed with vaccine manufacturers. Judge Alejandro Recarey issued the injunction under a petition filed by a lawyer who represents a group of anti-vaccine activists. The vaccinations in children under 13 had been on a voluntary basis, and the government said it will appeal the decision. Alvaro Delgado, the secretary of the presidency, characterized the halt as a threat to public health.
8th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Australians aged 30 and older are eligible for fourth COVID-19 booster. What do we know about it and when can you get it?
As health authorities attempt to ward off a surge in Omicron cases, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has expanded the eligibility of a fourth COVID-19 vaccine to people over 30.
8th Jul 2022 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Africa CDC says it has signed MOU with Pfizer for COVID pill
Africa's top public health body said on Thursday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer for countries on the continent to receive supplies of the Paxlovid pill to treat COVID-19. Data from a mid-to-late stage study in November last year showed the antiviral medication was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths compared to a placebo, in adults at high risk of severe illness.
8th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China COVID monitoring app cuts travel history scrutiny
China's national authorities are reducing scrutiny of citizens' travel history for COVID-19 monitoring, requiring that a mandatory mobile app shows the previous seven days of travel, down from 14, an adjustment likely to boost domestic tourism.
The app, whose name translates to itinerary card, helped authorities to identify whether people visited areas with COVID infections, and to decide whether they should be tested for the virus or possibly placed in quarantine.
8th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Millions tested in Shanghai as China grapples COVID resurgence
Millions of people in Shanghai queued for a third day of mass COVID-19 testing on Thursday as authorities in several Chinese cities scrambled to stamp out new outbreaks that have rekindled worries about growth in the world's second-largest economy. Unless local officials succeed in preventing the virus from spreading, they could be compelled to invoke prolonged, major restrictions on residents' movement, under China's "dynamic zero COVID" strategy.
8th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID and bust: China's private health system hurt by tough coronavirus controls
On March 24, a court in the central Chinese city of Fuyang announced that a $1.5 billion hospital built just four years earlier had filed for bankruptcy because it was unable to pay its debts. For most of the last two years, the Fuyang Minsheng Hospital had been fully involved in mass coronavirus vaccination and testing programmes in the city, training almost 100 staff to perform throat swabs and setting up mobile vaccination facilities to go to schools and workplaces, at the order of city officials. The diversion of resources into what China calls its 'zero-COVID' approach to contain and eliminate the virus forced the hospital to suspend many services it relied upon for revenue, sealing its financial failure.
7th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Macau shuts popular shopping mall in race to contain COVID outbreak
Macau shut down a popular shopping mall adjacent to MGM China's casino resort on the city's main peninsula after several COVID-19 infections were found, as authorities raced to the biggest outbreak yet in the world's biggest gambling hub. One Central shopping mall will be shut for one week, while more than a dozen other zones or buildings, have also been ordered to close, authorities said.
7th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19: Bristol hospital trust brings back mask wearing
In Bristol, a city hospital trust has re-introduced mask-wearing after a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital, says the measure applies to staff, patients and visitors in clinical areas. Two Gloucestershire Hospitals have also re-introduced masks for visitors, as have health boards that operate in Somerset and Wiltshire. The latest UK figures show an estimated 2.3 million people have the virus.
7th Jul 2022 - BBC News
Australians over 30 to be offered fourth dose of Covid vaccine
Australians over 30 will be offered a fourth dose of Covid vaccine from Monday, as health authorities battle a winter wave of Omicron cases. An additional booster shot for people aged over 50 has been “highly recommended” by Australia’s technical advisory group on immunisation, Atagi, but the federal government is still urging millions of eligible Australians who have not yet had their third dose to roll up their sleeves. Atagi has also called for greater use of face masks, warning more vaccine doses may only play a “limited” role in reducing hospital admissions and case numbers.
7th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Hospital trusts bring face masks back after Covid cases rise
Face masks have been reintroduced at some hospitals in Derbyshire after a spike in Covid patients. Mandatory face masks were dropped in non-clinical areas at the Royal Derby and Chesterfield hospitals last month. However, they have now been brought back by the two trusts that run the hospitals. There are 111 Covid-19 patients at the Royal Derby Hospital - one in intensive care - and 44 patients with Covid at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.
7th Jul 2022 - BBC News
Hong Kong Suspends Its Covid Flight Ban Policy
Hong Kong will stop banning routes for airlines that bring in too many passengers with Covid-19, suspending a policy that has been heavily criticized by businesses and travelers for snarling plans and leaving people stranded. The flight ban was one of many strict Covid-control policies that have left the Asian financial center more isolated from a world that is moving on from pandemic restrictions. Other travel-deterring controls including long hotel quarantines and tough testing requirements for boarding flights will remain in place, but the suspension of the flight ban beginning Thursday removes a hurdle.
7th Jul 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Australia expands fourth COVID dose rollout amid fresh Omicron threat
Australia said on Thursday it would expand the rollout of the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines from next week as it battles a steady rise in hospital admissions fuelled by the highly transmissible new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5. The new subvariants have now become the dominant coronavirus strains in several countries, with pandemic experts warning they could lead to more hospitalisations and deaths because they spread more quickly than other coronavirus variants.
7th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Beijing mandates COVID vaccines to enter some public spaces
The Chinese capital has issued a mandate requiring people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter some public spaces including gyms, museums and libraries, drawing concern from city residents over the sudden policy announcement and its impact on their daily lives. The health app that shows a person’s latest PCR test results has been updated to make it easier to also access their vaccination status, according to Li Ang, a spokesperson for Beijing’s municipal health commission.
7th Jul 2022 - Associated Press
Hong Kong's Hotel Quarantine System Buckles Under China Demand
The non-resident rule has also prompted Chinese travelers to use Hong Kong as a gateway to the mainland, where international flight connections are scarce as President Xi Jinping tries to shut out the virus. Monthly mainland Chinese arrivals at Hong Kong airport jumped nearly 11,000% between April and June to 30,222 -- accounting for one-third of airport passengers last month. In that environment, travelers are struggling to book quarantine rooms, scalpers are entering the market and properties have raised their own prices. Foreign business chambers last month told the Liaison Office, Beijing’s main body overseeing Hong Kong, the city must end quarantine to remain a finance hub, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
7th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullMore Queenslanders could receive fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Fourth doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could soon be rolled out to more people in Queensland as the state records more cases of the virus.
6th Jul 2022 - Nine News Australia
Covid-19: Gap between second shot of vaccine and precautionary dose reduced to six months
The Union health ministry on Wednesday reduced the mandatory gap between the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the precautionary shot to six months from the earlier interval of nine months, ANI reported. Since April 10, all adults in India have been allowed to take the precautionary shot – a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday wrote that the decision to reduce the gap between the two doses was taken by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
6th Jul 2022 - Scroll.in
After the long wait, US parents seeking under-5s’ vaccine face yet more hurdles
Ashley Comegys, a parent of two young children in Florida, was ecstatic when the Covid vaccines were authorized for children above the age of six months in the US. “We’ve been waiting for this for so long,” she said. “We can finally start to spread our wings again.” But then she learned that Florida had missed two deadlines to preorder vaccines and would not make them available through state and local health departments, delaying the rollout by several weeks and significantly limiting access. “Rage does not adequately describe how I felt that they were basically inhibiting me from being able to make a choice to protect my children,” Comegys said.
6th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
COVID-19 boosters 'a matter of urgency' says Prime Minister as infections rise to highest level since February
Mr Albanese says the pandemic "isn't over" and encouraged eligible Australians to get their booster shot. ATAGI will announce its recommendations on fourth doses for the over-50s on Friday, according to Health Minister Mark Butler. More than 3,700 Australians are in hospital with COVID-19, the most since February
6th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Shanghai, Beijing order new round of mass COVID-19 testing
Residents of parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities, while tight restrictions remain in place in Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese cities. Shanghai has only just emerged from a strict lockdown that confined most of its 24 million residents to their homes for weeks and the new requirements have stirred concerns of a return of such harsh measures. The latest outbreak in China's largest city, a key international business center, has been linked to a karaoke parlor that failed to enforce prevention measures among employees and customers, including the tracing of others they came into contact with, according to the city health commission. All such outlets have been ordered to temporarily suspend business, the city's department of culture and tourism said.
6th Jul 2022 - The Independent
Cyprus brings back face masks a month after scrapping them
Cyprus ordered the reintroduction of face masks to combat COVID-19 on Wednesday, just over a month after scrapping the requirement, as infections spiked again. The requirement to wear a face mask in indoor areas comes into effect on Friday, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said. Health experts recommended the step after a spate of infections from people who were not taking the proper precautions, the Cypriot official said after a cabinet meeting.
6th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China allows AstraZeneca's COVID preventive drug in southern city
AstraZeneca Plc's antibody cocktail for COVID-19 prevention has been cleared for use in a medical tourism zone in China's southern province of Hainan ahead of national approval, local media said on Tuesday. China allows early use of new medical products in the special zone in Qionghai city as a part of several preferential policies granted to the area to promote medical services to visitors from both home and abroad.
6th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China's first COVID-19 vaccine mandate to be introduced in Beijing
Beijing will introduce a vaccine mandate for certain venues - the first of its kind in China since the start of the pandemic, as the country deals with the recent arrival of the highly contagious Omicron BA.5 variant. The Beijing Health Commission announced that from next week anyone entering libraries, museums, cinemas, art galleries, sports and fitness venues, entertainment venues or any crowded places in the capital "must be vaccinated". China has so far resisted mass vaccine mandates as part of its pursuit of "zero-COVID", instead relying on strict lockdowns, contact tracing, automatically tracking people's travel history and mass PCR testing to try to stamp out outbreaks as they arise.
6th Jul 2022 - Sky News
US Pandemic Checks Had No Lasting Impact on Poor, Study Shows
“These results suggest that the cash allowed participants to spend more money, improving objective financial outcomes for the few weeks immediately following the transfer and then dissipating thereafter,” wrote the researchers, led by Ania Jaroszewicz at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences. The survey covered three groups: the first received a one-time payment of $500, the second got $2,000 and the third nothing.
6th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
China's Shanghai announces two new rounds of mass COVID testing
The city of Shanghai on Tuesday announced two new rounds of mass COVID-19 testing of most of its 25 million residents over a three-day period, citing the need to trace infections linked to an outbreak at a karaoke lounge. The city government said on its official WeChat account that all residents in nine of the city's 16 districts would be tested twice from Tuesday to Thursday. People in parts of three other districts would also have to undergo tests.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China's Shanghai announces two new rounds of mass COVID testing
The city of Shanghai on Tuesday announced two new rounds of mass COVID-19 testing of most of its 25 million residents over a three-day period, citing the need to trace infections linked to an outbreak at a karaoke lounge. The city government said on its official WeChat account that all residents in nine of the city's 16 districts would be tested twice from Tuesday to Thursday. People in parts of three other districts would also have to undergo tests.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Ireland expects to run 'extensive' autumn COVID vaccine campaign
Ireland expects to run an extensive vaccine drive against COVID-19 and flu ahead of a potentially worrying winter surge that could lead to the reimposition of mask wearing in certain settings, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday.
Ireland dropped all COVID-19 curbs earlier this year after having one of Europe's toughest lockdown regimes. While infections are on the rise again, Varadkar said the current wave seemed to be peaking and the number of hospitalised patients was expected to start falling in the next two to three weeks.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullAtagi considers fourth Covid vaccine doses as Omicron subvariants drive surge in cases
Australia’s independent expert advisory group on vaccines is meeting to discuss fourth Covid-19 booster doses, as Omicron subvariants drive a rise in infections, leading some premiers to urge people to wear masks more widely. The BA.4 and BA.5 strains of Omicron are becoming the dominant strains of Covid-19 in Australia, overtaking the BA.2 strain. A preliminary analysis estimates BA.4 and BA.5 to be about 36% more infectious than BA.2. This infectiousness is driving a new wave of disease, however, there is no indication the variants are more severe.
While Covid-19 vaccines do protect well against severe disease and death from the variants, they do not appear to be as effective at stopping infection and symptoms when it comes to the BA.4 and BA.5 strains.
5th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
South Australia pushes federal government to reduce restrictions on COVID-19 antivirals
COVID-19 antivirals can only be prescribed to certain groups of people. SA's Health Minister wants doctors to be more free to decide who gets them. A surge in COVID-19 cases is expected throughout Australia this winter
5th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Covid-19: GPs are asked to opt into next vaccination phase this autumn
General practices that wish to continue giving covid booster vaccinations from September have until 14 July to sign up, NHS England has said. In guidance setting out expectations for the autumn booster campaign it also states that general practices choosing to provide vaccinations must have sufficient workforce capacity to keep delivering other services. The updated enhanced service—now “phase 5” of the vaccination campaign—will start on 1 September and will initially run to 31 March 2023, but it could be extended by as much as six months depending on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. GPs will continue to be paid £10.06 for each vaccine administered and £10 for each housebound patient.
5th Jul 2022 - The BMJ
Covid-19: Further vaccinations likely in Northern Ireland in autumn
Some groups of people are likely to be offered further Covid-19 vaccinations this autumn, Northern Ireland's chief scientific advisor has said. Prof Ian Young said it would apply to vulnerable people and those aged over 65, while health and social care workers would also be offered it. The most recent population survey estimated that one in 25 people in Northern Ireland had Covid. The current wave is being driven by the ba4 and ba5 variants of the virus. Speaking to BBC News NI's Talkback programme, Prof Young said that past vaccines continued to provide protection against severe illness. "Unfortunately, however, with the new variant, ba4 and ba5, people can become re-infected with those, even when they've been vaccinated," he said.
5th Jul 2022 - BBC News
Hong Kong considers shorter COVID quarantine for travellers -Lee
Hong Kong will look into shortening COVID-19 quarantine requirements for travellers, while still aiming to curb the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, the city's new leader John Lee said on Tuesday. Lee spoke at his first weekly news conference as the city's chief executive after being sworn in on Friday by China's President Xi Jinping following celebrations marking 25 years since the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
China's Shanghai announces two new rounds of mass COVID testing
The city of Shanghai on Tuesday announced two new rounds of mass COVID-19 testing of most of its 25 million residents over a three-day period, citing the need to trace infections linked to an outbreak at a karaoke lounge. The city government said on its official WeChat account that all residents in nine of the city's 16 districts would be tested twice from Tuesday to Thursday. People in parts of three other districts would also have to undergo tests.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Ireland sees 'extensive' autumn COVID-19 vaccine campaign -deputy PM
Ireland expects to run an extensive vaccine drive against COVID-19 and flu ahead of a potentially worrying winter surge that could lead to the reimposition of mask wearing in certain settings, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday.
Ireland dropped all COVID-19 curbs earlier this year after having one of Europe's toughest lockdown regimes. While infections are on the rise again, Varadkar said the current wave seemed to be peaking and the number of hospitalised patients was expected to start falling in the next two to three weeks.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Omicron sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 make up 70% of COVID variants in U.S. - CDC
The fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages of Omicron are estimated to make up a combined 70.1% of the coronavirus variants in the United States as of July 2, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. BA.4 and BA.5 made up 52% of U.S. variants for the week of June 25. They were added to the World Health Organization's monitoring list in March and designated as variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
CureVac files patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over mRNA technology
CureVac has filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology, marking one of the first known cases of a company going to court amid the fierce competition to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The German-based biotech company is seeking "fair compensation" from BioNTech and two subsidiaries for infringement of its intellectual property rights, it said on Tuesday.
5th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullAustralia is heading for its third Omicron wave. Here's what to expect from BA.4 and BA.5
Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave in the coming weeks, as BA.4 and BA.5 become the dominant COVID strains. BA.4 and BA.5 are more infectious than previous COVID variants and subvariants, and are better able to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections. So we’re likely to see a rise in case numbers. So what are BA.4 and BA.5? And what can we expect in this next phase of the pandemic?
5th Jul 2022 - The Conversation
Indonesia Pushes for Covid Boosters With Cases at Two-Month High
Indonesia will ask people to show proof of a third Covid-19 vaccine shot to access crowded areas as the government banks on inoculation to manage an increase in cases. The government seeks to encourage people to get their booster shots, said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a Monday briefing. Previously, limiting entry to shopping malls and public areas to those who are fully vaccinated has helped to quicken inoculation, he added. Southeast Asia’s largest economy extended limits on businesses’ capacity and opening hours through Aug. 1 for islands outside of Java and Bali as coronavirus cases pick up. It hasn’t announced measures for Java and Bali yet. The country has been reporting more than 2,000 new infections each day, the most since early April, as neighbors Singapore and the Philippines also grapple with a resurgence.
4th Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
What’s the UK’s booster policy ahead of a feared autumn Covid wave?
The current UK wave of Covid is expected to peak in the coming weeks, but another wave is anticipated in the autumn as people move inside with the colder weather. The government’s independent vaccine advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has recommended that the NHS and care homes prepare for an autumn booster campaign, which is likely to start in September. On top of Covid, public health officials fear flu may bounce back hard and early this year, given the experience in Australia, making vaccinations for both flu and Covid a high priority in the autumn.
4th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
UK scientists warn of urgent need for action on vaccines to head off autumn Covid wave
Health authorities need to act urgently to prepare for an autumn that could see further waves of Covid-19 cases spreading across the UK. That is the clear warning from scientists and doctors after last week’s figures revealed another dramatic jump in cases. More than 2 million people across Britain were found to be infected for the week ending 24 June, a rise of more than 30% on the preceding week. And while most experts said they expected the current wave – driven by the Omicron BA4 and BA5 variants of the virus – to peak in a few weeks, they also warned that it will inevitably be followed by another wave this autumn. “Our current planning assumptions are that we will see at least one wave [of Covid] in the autumn-winter period once we have got through the current wave that we’re in right now,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency.
4th Jul 2022 - The Guardian
Doctors urge Ontario to open 4th doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults
Some doctors are calling on Ontario to allow all adults to get a second booster of a COVID-19 vaccine this summer, something that the province is currently limiting to only a portion of the population. Around 7.4 million Ontarians have received one booster, and nearly 90 per cent of those shots were administered at least five months ago, according to Public Health Ontario data. Studies have shown the COVID-19 boosters begin to lose some effectiveness four months after being administered, leading to growing calls for Ontario to widen eligibility for a second booster, equivalent to a fourth dose of vaccine.
4th Jul 2022 - CBC.ca
New clinic to provide COVID-19 prevention treatment for immunocompromised patients
A COVID-19 prevention clinic will administer an injection to immunocompromised people. The national COVID-19 death toll has passed 10,000. A health expert says Australia needs a pandemic "attitude change"
4th Jul 2022 - ABC News
Practices have until 14 July to sign up for autumn COVID-19 booster campaign
The ES, which runs from 1 September 2022 until 31 March 2023, indicates that the booster programme will operate in a similar way to previous phases of the vaccination campaign. Practices will be expected to work in a 'PCN grouping' to deliver the vaccinations at scale. GP practices do not have to be a member of a network to sign up to the ES, but they will be expected to collaborate with other practices and networks, the ES says. In a key change from previous phases of the vaccination programme, the ES specifies that practices 'must ensure that they have in place suitable arrangements to prevent the disruption of other services or obligations' under their contract'.
4th Jul 2022 - GP Online
Germany's Scholz sees no COVID-related school closures, lockdowns
Germany will not shut schools and non-essential businesses again if the COVID-19 infection rate rises again later this year but protective masks would play a bigger role, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told broadcaster ARD on Sunday. The infection rate in Germany has been on the rise for the past month, reaching close to 700 new cases per 100,000 residents this week, after falling below 200 in late May, but Scholz said that vaccinations should help limit what measures will be needed to curb the spread of the virus.
4th Jul 2022 - Reuters
Macron appoints COVID minister to be new face of government policy
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged his ministers to "hang in there", be ambitious and show a willingness to compromise after he carried out a limited reshuffle that saw no opponents join his camp as he seeks a workable majority in parliament. Key roles such as the prime minister and finance minister remained unchanged in the reshuffle that signalled no policy changes and was criticised by the opposition as being tone-deaf.
4th Jul 2022 - Reuters
German health minister in move to boost use of COVID treatment Paxlovid
Germany's health minister said on Sunday he will push for more prescriptions of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid by family doctors to reduce severe cases of the disease. "A system involving family doctors will be prepared to administer this far too rarely-used COVID life saver more routinely," he wrote on Twitter on Sunday, adding that sufficient stockpiles were available.
3rd Jul 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullA Clunky, Reusable Mask May be the Answer to N95 Waste
The pandemic has generated a bevy of painful lessons about the importance of preparing for public health emergencies. From the Trump administration’s tepid early response to the C.D.C.’s bungled coronavirus testing rollout and its mixed messaging on masking, quarantining and the reopening of schools, the federal government has been roundly criticized for mishandling a health crisis that has left one million Americans dead and dented public faith in a once-hallowed institution.
3rd Jul 2022 - The New York Times
GSK's New Vaccine Hire Looks Beyond Covid in Quest for Next Hit
GSK Plc is planning to launch a Covid shot that comes almost two years after Pfizer Inc. took the world by storm. For Phil Dormitzer, it’s a reminder of why he was hired at the UK drugmaker: to help return its immunization business to the top after it stumbled during the pandemic. Dormitzer, who left Pfizer to become GSK’s global vaccine research chief, will need to move beyond the Covid shot and deliver some breakthroughs to challenge his former employer and other rivals. The pressure is on as the British company prepares to spin off its consumer unit this month. “The focus on vaccines is huge right now,” Dormitzer said in an interview from outside Boston, where he’s based. “After the separation of the consumer-health business, it will be an even more prominent part of the overall organization.”
3rd Jul 2022 - Bloomberg
Novavax expects COVID vaccine targeting Omicron in fourth quarter
Novavax Inc said on Friday it expects to provide a COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron in the fourth quarter as it accelerates development of shots to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. The U.S. FDA on Thursday recommended COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change the design of their booster shots beginning this fall to include components tailored to combat the currently dominant Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
3rd Jul 2022 - Reuters
WHO urges Southeast Asia to scale up Covid vaccination rate as case rise
Amid an incessant rise in Covid cases, the World Health Organization called on countries in the South-East Asian region to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination coverage today. While significant progress has been made in the region towards vaccinating populations against COVID-19, several countries missed the global target to fully vaccinate 70 per cent of their total population with all primary doses of the vaccine by June end responsible for various regions witnessing a surge in cases. "We know that the current COVID-19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death for all variants. We must focus on rapidly achieving high vaccination coverage prioritizing health workers, older adults, those with underlying health conditions, and pregnant women. The pandemic is not over yet, we must scale up our efforts to protect communities," said Regional Director, WHO (South-East Asia), Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh in an official statement.
1st Jul 2022 - Business Standard
PHA urges public to come forward for spring booster of Covid-19 vaccine
The Public Health Agency is asking those with a weakened immune system to book in for their Covid-19 vaccines, warning that the virus "is still out there". All individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed are being advised to receive a spring booster dose of the vaccine, typically six months after their last dose. Health officials say the vaccine offers the "best defence against becoming seriously unwell, staying out of hospital and passing on the virus to loved ones and others around you". In an open letter to the public from the PHA, it's been confirmed that the spring booster vaccination programme will shortly be coming to an end.
1st Jul 2022 - Belfast Live
Japan eases travel advisory for China, others as COVID risk fades
The Japanese government said on Friday it had lowered its infectious diseases-related travel advisory from "do not make non-urgent trips" to "travel with caution" for China, India and 32 other countries, as risks posed by COVID-19 infections eased. Other countries on the list includes South Korea, Italy, Germany and France.
1st Jul 2022 - Reuters
Omicron-based coronavirus booster shots will roll out this fall
This fall, vaccine makers will begin rolling out coronavirus booster vaccines better tailored to fight the current phase of the pandemic. Two days after outside experts voted in favor of a new vaccine adapted to protect against omicron, the Food and Drug Administration announced that the fall shots would include a component from BA.4 and BA.5, the omicron subvariants gaining ground in the United States. The change shows the FDA trying to be more nimble in efforts to keep up with a changing virus. The precise formula has not been tested in people yet, but studies showed that vaccines tuned to fight a previous version of omicron modestly increased the short-term immune response in people compared with more shots of the original. The agency will depend in part on that data as it reviews the new vaccines.
30th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
UK Sees ICU Admissions Rise Among Elderly as Covid Cases Climb
UK hospital admissions linked to Covid are climbing again as omicron subvariants cause new outbreaks across the country. England’s hospital admission rate for the week through June 26 stood at 11.11 per 100,000 people, jumping nearly 40% from 7.98 in the previous week, according to the UK Health Security Agency, with intensive-care cases spreading among older age groups. “We continue to see an increase in Covid-19 data, with a rise in case rates and hospitalizations in those aged 65 years and over, and outbreaks in care homes,” said Mary Ramsay, director of clinical programs at the agency.
30th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
What's Going On With Covid Vaccines For Children Under 5 In The UK?
Children over the age of six months and under the age of five will now be offered the Covid vaccine in the US, but will the UK follow? The US Food and Drug Administration’s outside advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for kids under five across America, after data found both vaccines to be safe and effective. Both jabs will be rolled out in the US shortly. The Pfizer vaccine will cover children aged six months through to four years old, whilst the Moderna vaccine will cover children aged six months through to five years old.
1st Jul 2022 - HuffPost UK
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Jul 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina summer railway travel expected to rebound as COVID curbs ease
As China loosens its months-long COVID-19 curbs, railway travel is expected to see an uptick in passengers just in time for the summer transport season, which starts on July 1. By Aug. 31, the number of passenger trips on China's railway network is expected to reach 520 million, and 10 million on peak days. The national railway is also opening new stations such as the Xiangwan section of the Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railway, the Puzheng section of the Jizheng high-speed railway, the Heruo Railway, and the Beijing Fengtai Station.
1st Jul 2022 - Reuters
Parents of young kids feel 'left behind' as they await COVID-19 vaccine
Some Canadian parents say they've been left behind as they wait on Health Canada to authorize vaccines for children under five years old. "It's upsetting to see the whole world moving on and forgetting about all of the littles, basically," said Jaimie-Lyn Oldfield from Kingston, Ont. She said her family has made sacrifices to protect her nearly three-year-old daughter Rosslyn from contracting COVID-19. "We hardly see her grandparents," she said. "Everyone else got vaccinated and it's really disheartening and upsetting when they're like 'OK, we're going to remove all of these masking mandates.'"
30th Jun 2022 - CBC.ca
At the current rate, SA will hit its Covid-19 vaccination target in about September 2028
Covid-19 vaccination levels are dropping fast, putting South Africa's herd immunity target well out of reach. People are reading the end of pandemic restrictions as a signal that vaccination is no longer required, say government monitors.
On Wednesday, less than 6,000 people received a first jab. At that rate, it will take until just about September 2028 to reach the 67% coverage target. That is not counting getting people to show up for booster shots – or the continuing slowdown in the vaccination rate.
30th Jun 2022 - Business Insider South Africa
Israeli health officials green light COVID vaccinations for young children
All members of the health ministry's expert advisory board agreed that the vaccine is safe for children under the age of five, though some experts cautioned that only those with underlying health conditions should be vaccinated
30th Jun 2022 - Haaretz
Covid-19 traffic light setting remains at orange, reinfection rules changed
Minister for Covid-19 Response Ayesha Verrall has confirmed that the country will stay at the orange traffic light setting. The Government also announced on Thursday that the advice for Covid reinfection has changed, with people experiencing symptoms more than 29 days after previous infection advised to isolate and test. The previous window was 90 days. People with symptoms after 29 days who test positive will be required to isolate for seven days Verrall also announced that there would be 50 child-size masks made available for every year 4 to year 7 student from now until the end of the year. This is in addition to a previously announced policy of free flu-jabs for children aged 3-12
30th Jun 2022 - Stuff
Health Minister launches review of former government's COVID-19 vaccine deals, existing supplies
The review will look at current vaccine supply deals. Mr Butler says it will also look forward to what Australia will need over the next few years. The government wants the review done in weeks, not "many months"
30th Jun 2022 - ABC News
COVID-19 boosters recommended for the fall, Canada's vaccine advisory body says
People at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19 infection should be offered a booster shot this fall, regardless of how many boosters they've previously received, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said on Wednesday. That group includes everyone age 65 and older, NACI's updated guidance said. Everyone else — age 12 to 64 — "may be offered" the additional doses in the fall, NACI said. NACI said it will provide recommendations on the type of booster to be given when evidence about multivalent vaccines — which prime the body's defences against multiple variants, including Omicron and its subvariants — becomes available. "Manufacturers are working on new COVID-19 vaccines, including multivalent vaccines and vaccines specifically targeting VOCs [variants of concern], although their exact characteristics and timing of availability in Canada are not yet known," NACI said
30th Jun 2022 - CBC News
Pfizer signs new $3.2 billion COVID vaccine deal with U.S. government
Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE said on Wednesday they signed a $3.2 billion deal with the U.S. government for 105 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, which could be delivered as soon as later this summer. The deal includes supplies of a retooled Omicron-adapted vaccine, pending regulatory clearance, according to Pfizer. Drugmakers have been developing vaccines to target the Omicron variant that became dominant last winter.
30th Jun 2022 - Reuters
US buys 105 million COVID vaccine doses for fall campaign
U.S. health officials said Wednesday they have agreed to purchase another 105 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of a fall booster campaign. The $3.2 billion deal announced by the Biden administration comes as federal scientists consider how to update the vaccines to better protect Americans from the rapidly evolving virus. Federal officials said the purchase agreement includes the option to purchase a total of 300 million doses, including a mix of doses for both adults and children. The first shots would be delivered by early fall, pending a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to authorize new versions of the shots. A decision is expected from the FDA in the coming days following a Tuesday meeting in which outside advisers recommended modifying the vaccines to better target the omicron variant.
30th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
US secures more Lilly COVID-19 antibodies for $275M, but with pandemic funding uncertain this may be a swan song
Developing an antibody treatment that is effective against the omicron variant of COVID-19 has paying off for Eli Lilly. But the company may soon lose its primary customer—the U.S. government. Wednesday, Lilly revealed a purchase agreement with the U.S. to provide 150,000 doses of bebtelovimab for $275 million. Based on current demand, the supply should carry the U.S. through to the end of August, the company said. But Lilly also warned that this could be the last shipment of COVID antibodies to the U.S. as the government is close to exhausting its pandemic relief funds.
30th Jun 2022 - FiercePharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullIreland puts army on standby to help at Dublin airport amid COVID surge
Ireland agreed on Tuesday to put the army on standby to help with security at Dublin airport should staffing be hit by a resurgence of COVID-19 during the rest of the busy summer travel period. Ireland's main airport is one of many around Europe that has struggled to hire staff fast enough to deal with a sharp rebound in travel, although it has had relatively few issues since more than 1,000 passengers missed their flights in a single day last month
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
EU chief can't find texts with Pfizer chief on COVID-19 vaccine deal
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is no longer in possession of text messages that she exchanged with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla to seal a COVID-19 vaccine deal, the Commission said in a letter published on Wednesday.
In an interview in April 2021, von der Leyen revealed she had exchanged texts with Bourla for a month when they were negotiating a massive vaccine contract. But in response to a public access request by a journalist because of the importance of the deal, the Commission did not share the texts, triggering accusations of maladministration by the EU's ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly. "The Commission can confirm that the search undertaken by the President's cabinet for relevant text messages corresponding to the request for access to documents has not yielded any results," the EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova said in the letter to the ombudsman, an EU watchdog.
29th Jun 2022 - The Jerusalem Post
Which COVID-19 Vaccine Should Your Young Kid Get? That Depends, Doctors Say
COVID-19 vaccines for some of the youngest children in the U.S. are now rolling out, and parents are faced with a new question: Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech? Both of the mRNA shots—which are now authorized for kids ages 6 months and up—are effective at preventing severe illness, and they both help prevent symptomatic infections. They offer vital protection in this age group, even for kids who have already recovered from COVID-19. The vaccines “provide protection against a broader variety of variants than [a previous] infection, which generally provides protection mostly against the variant that you had,” says Dr. Alissa Kahn, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist in Paterson, N.J.
29th Jun 2022 - TIME
Kids' vaccines are 'a game changer,' experts say—here's what else needs to happen to end the Covid pandemic
For months, the country has been waiting on a pandemic turning point — and it might be here, in the form of kids under age 5 becoming eligible for Covid vaccines.
Just don’t expect it to make Covid disappear overnight, experts say. Covid vaccines for small children are “absolutely a game changer for some families,” Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine, tells CNBC Make It. ”[But] this isn’t the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle, unfortunately.”
29th Jun 2022 - CNBC
Defectors in Seoul send balloons carrying medicine to COVID-19-struck North Korea
A North Korean defector group in Seoul claimed on Tuesday to have launched air balloons carrying medical supplies near the inter-Korean border. The Fighters for Free North Korea, an activist group of North Korean defectors who send anti-propaganda leaflets across the border, said they flew 20 air balloons carrying 50,000 pain relief pills, 30,000 vitamin C and 20,000 N-95 masks. Dispatching unauthorized materials at the border is against the law in South Korea.
29th Jun 2022 - ABC on MSN.com
China's Xi says COVID strategy is 'correct and effective'
Chinese president Xi Jinping said the ruling Communist Party's strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic was "correct and effective" and should be firmly adhered to, the official news agency, Xinhua, said on Wednesday. China, with its large population, would have suffered "unimaginable consequences" had it adopted a strategy of "lying flat", the agency quoted Xi as saying during a visit on Tuesday to the central city of Wuhan where the virus was first reported.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan to receive first doses of Novavax COVID vaccine this week
Taiwan will take delivery of its first doses of the Novavax Inc COVID-19 vaccine this week, received under the COVAX sharing scheme, the government said on Wednesday. Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said the 504,000 doses would arrive on Thursday at Taipei's main international airport. Taiwan is scheduled to receive 2.268 million doses of the Novavax vaccine in batches this year through the COVAX mechanism, it added.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
China removes indication of travel through COVID-hit cities on mobile app
A state-mandated Chinese mobile app that shows whether or not an individual has travelled in a city with COVID-affected areas will no longer specify such travel history, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday. The asterisk mark indicating an individual has travelled in a city with COVID-19 cases will no longer appear on the app as part of efforts to make domestic travel more convenient, the ministry said.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Norway recommends booster COVID shot to those aged 75 and older
Norway recommends a booster COVID-19 vaccine dose to those who are 75 years and older in response to a rising number of cases, the government said on Wedneday. Local municipalities should also plan to be able to offer a booster jab, which for most people would mean a fourth shot, to citizens from 65 years and up and to people with an underlying disease, from Sept, 1, it added.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Eli Lilly to supply additional doses of COVID antibody drug to U.S.
Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday it will supply additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody drug to the U.S. government in order to meet demand through late August. As per the modified supply agreement with the government, Lilly will provide an additional 150,000 doses of bebtelovimab for about $275 million. The drug has also shown effectiveness against the Omicron variant. The FDA authorized the drug earlier this year for emergency use in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death.
29th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid: 'Significantly' fewer primary pupils to be vaccinated
There has been a significant increase in the proportion of primary school parents who say they are “unlikely” to have their child vaccinated for Covid-19, a new survey has found. The figures have been published as experts warn the UK is experiencing a “fifth wave” of Covid, as infection rates climb, driven by new variants of Omicron. The latest data from the School Infection Survey (SIS) shows that the proportion of primary school pupils who were not vaccinated and whose parents said they were “unlikely” to agree to their child being vaccinated in future has risen from 24 per cent in December 2021 to 36 per cent in March 2022.
28th Jun 2022 - TES
Amref and AstraZeneca launch clinics to support Kenyan COVID-19 vaccinations
The mobile clinics will support communities with limited or no access to vaccines and other health services. Amref Health Africa and AstraZeneca – in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Kenya – are launching a fleet of mobile vaccination clinics in an effort to protect last-mile communities from the pandemic. Ten movable clinics will bring COVID-19 vaccines and other health services into hard-to-reach communities across Kenya, increasing vaccine access and general uptake in Kenya. As of June 2022, only 31.4% of the adult population in Kenya were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while Africa’s average vaccination rate is 17.7%, lagging behind other world regions. Each mobile clinic aims to vaccinate 70-100 people every day – reaching up to 1,000 people per day, once all ten mobile clinics are fully operational.
28th Jun 2022 - PharmaTimes
EU countries prolong COVID-19 certificates amid rising cases
European Union countries approved Tuesday extending the use of COVID-19 certificates by one year until the end of June 2023 as cases of the deadly virus start to grow again ahead of the summer holiday season. Aimed at facilitating travel across the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic, the certificates entered into force in July last year and have been a successful tool to help EU citizens move in the region in coronavirus times without restrictions such as quarantines. EU countries have issued nearly 2 billion certificates. The document attests that a person has been vaccinated against coronavirus or that they have a recent negative test result or have recovered from the infection. The European Council said the regulation can be lifted earlier. But after most EU countries removed coronavirus restrictions over the past months in light of the improved health situation, a recent increase in infections fueled by new variants is leading governments to rethink their strategies.
28th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Covid-19: Rise in cases prompts 'stay home if unwell' advice
People are asked to stay home if unwell because of suspected rises in Covid-19 cases. Health bosses in Devon and Cornwall say official data suggests between 2.2% and 2.7% of people in the counties have the virus. People are being reminded to protect themselves and others, and remember the virus "is very much still here"
28th Jun 2022 - BBC News
France asks citizens to wear masks again in public transport
French people should start wearing masks again in crowded areas, especially in public transport, as France has to deal with a new wave of COVID-19 infections fuelled by new variants of the disease, Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon said on Monday. "I'm not saying it should be mandatory but I do ask the French people to put the mask on in public transport," she told RTL, adding it was a "civic duty" to do so.
28th Jun 2022 - Reuters
China reduces quarantine for people arriving from abroad
China on Tuesday announced an easing of its quarantine requirement for people arriving from abroad but stopped short of lifting what remains a stringent COVID-19 policy compared to most other countries. Anyone coming from outside the country will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for seven days, followed by three days of home quarantine, the National Health Commission said in its latest pandemic response plan. The previous plan called for 14 days in a hotel plus seven days of home quarantine. Some cities, including Beijing, have already reduced the hotel requirement to seven or 10 days in recent weeks, according to Chinese media reports. China has kept tight restrictions on international travel under a “zero-COVID” strategy that seeks to keep the virus out and stop any infections from spreading through lockdowns and mass testing.
28th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
As COVID fears ebb, Japan readies for tourists from abroad
The rickshaw men in Tokyo are adding English-speaking staff, a sure sign Japan is bracing for a return of tourists from abroad. Japan’s border controls to curb the spread of coronavirus infections began gradually loosening earlier this month. That’s great news for Yusuke Otomo, owner of Daikichi, a kimono rental shop in Asakusa, an old district of Tokyo famous for its temples, quaint restaurants and rickshaw rides. He can barely contain his excitement. “Those were a hard three years. But we managed to endure until today. And after such an experience, to think people from abroad can finally come back is simply thrilling,” Otomo told The Associated Press.
28th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Are pockets of Covid in the gut causing long-term symptoms?
Since the early days of the pandemic it has been clear some people shed genetic material from the virus in their stools for months after catching Covid-19. The findings were initially regarded as a curiosity, but there is mounting evidence to support the idea that persistent pockets of coronavirus – in the gut, or elsewhere – may be contributing to long Covid. Earlier this month, Prof David R Walt and colleagues at Harvard Medical School announced that they had detected Sars-CoV-2 proteins – most commonly the viral spike protein – in the blood of 65% of the long Covid patients they tested, up to 12 months after they were first diagnosed.
Though small and preliminary, the study provides some of the most compelling evidence yet for the idea that reservoirs of the virus could be contributing to people’s long-term ill health. “The half-life of spike protein in the body is pretty short, so its presence indicates that there must be some kind of active viral reservoir,” Walt said.
28th Jun 2022 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullChildren to get free flu vaccines, second Covid-19 booster eligibility expanded
Health Minister Andrew Little said the government was expanding access to the flu vaccine after noticing an increase in pre-schoolers hospitalised with the illness. "We're making free flu shots available to another 800,000 New Zealanders, including children, more of whom are having to go to hospital," Little said. "Free flu shots are already available for everyone over the age of 65 and those at risk of becoming seriously ill or who have underlying conditions. "This season we ordered 40 per cent more vaccines. We've already seen more than one million New Zealanders get a flu shot, but with significant pressure on our health system we're ramping up efforts to get as many people vaccinated as possible."
27th Jun 2022 - RNZ
Kuwait mulls optional fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Kuwait is expected to soon introduce an optional fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
According to local newspapers, the Ministry of Health is set to make an official statement on the availability of the fourth dose of the vaccine. The fourth dose, in accordance with regulations, will be provided to groups most vulnerable to infection, who are suffering from chronic diseases, elderly. The dose will be for those who wish to be vaccinated. The booster dose is given to avoid complications when infected. It is important to follow precautionary measures and continue to adhere to health instructionsm, the ministry reminded. The government in May announced the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Travellers to the country are no longer needed to take a PCR test or provide proof of vaccination.
27th Jun 2022 - Gulf News
More free COVID-19 rapid tests for kids to be handed out in July
The government will provide more free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests in July for children under the age of 7 years, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday. Starting July 1, families with children born on or after Sept. 2, 2015 will be eligible to collect the free tests at any of the approximately 5,000 designated pharmacies participating in the government's rapid test rationing program. Five free rapid tests will be allocated for each child in the under-7 age category, the CECC said, adding that parents must show the child's health insurance (NHI) card at the pharmacy. In the first round of free test distribution in June, some 780,000 families with children under the age of 7 years received free rapid test kits, accounting for 60 percent of the eligible age group, according to the CECC.
27th Jun 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Covid-19: Hong Kong extends social distancing rules to July 13, as experts call for border restrictions to be eased
Hong Kong’s current social distancing rules will be extended until July 13, the government has announced. “In view of the latest epidemic trend and given that the effective period of the measures in the coming cycle will span to the next government term, having consulted the Chief Executive-elect’s Office and with its consent, the Government decided to extend the existing social distancing measures for 14 days with effect from June 30,” the government said in a press release on Monday.
27th Jun 2022 - Hong Kong Free Press
Should you get a COVID-19 booster shot now or wait until fall? Two immunologists help weigh the options
While COVID-19 vaccines continue to be highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, it has become clear that the protection offered by the current vaccines wanes over time. This necessitates the use of booster shots that are safe and effective in enhancing the immune response against the virus and extending protection. But when to get a first or second booster, and which shot to choose, are open questions. Many people find themselves unsure whether to wait on new, updated formulations of the COVID-19 vaccines or to mix and match combinations of the original vaccine strains. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses its knob-shaped spike protein to gain entry into cells and to cause infection. Each of the existing and upcoming vaccines relies on emulating the spike protein to trigger the immune response. However, each vaccine type presents the spike protein to the immune system in different ways.
27th Jun 2022 - The Conversation
US Covid-19 vaccine rollout for under-fives must overcome hesitancy
For some American families, it was a much-anticipated and badly needed victory: Covid vaccines for children under five began rolling out in the US last week. “I’ve already been waiting a year and a half since I got my first dose, and that’s been intolerable,” says Dr Roby Bhattacharyya, an infectious diseases doctor at Massachusetts general hospital and parent of a four-year-old who received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday. But others still have questions as America’s problem with vaccine hesitancy has not gone away. Less than one in five families want to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible, while the majority say they want to “wait and see” first. Only 18% of parents plan to have their children under five vaccinated right away, while 38% want to see how the vaccine rollout goes, according to an April survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Another 11% say they will only get their kids vaccinated if they are required to, while 27% say they definitely won’t do it
27th Jun 2022 - The Guardian
Casino hub Macau launches third round of COVID testing as infections rise
Macau launched a third round of mandatory COVID-19 testing for its more than 600,000 residents on Monday, in a push to curb a rise in infections in the world's biggest gambling hub. Authorities in Macau have locked down multiple buildings and put more than 5,000 people in quarantine in the past few days, the city's government said. Health authorities said 38 new COVID cases were recorded on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 299 in the latest outbreak.
27th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Warnings of mental health crisis among ‘Covid generation’ of students
The pandemic has had a lasting legacy on the mental health of the “Covid generation” of students, exacerbating rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm and resulting in a “significant rise” in young people struggling at university, experts have said. UK universities have reported that more students are experiencing mental health problems in the aftermath of the pandemic, and that this is expected to continue with the cohort arriving in September, whose school experience was heavily disrupted by the pandemic. The president of the National Union of Students, Larissa Kennedy, said she was “deeply concerned” by the student mental health crisis, which was “getting worse”, with NUS research suggesting “the majority of students are burdened by anxiety”.
27th Jun 2022 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullShanghai businesses struggle to get back on their feet after Covid-19 lockdown
SHANGHAI - Weeks after emerging from a two-month lockdown, Shanghai's small and medium businesses have a lot of catching up to do. But some are still wary about ordering workers back to the office, fearing that the emergence of a Covid-19 cluster would result in lengthy quarantines and more business disruptions.
27th Jun 2022 - The Straits Times
Moderna seeking Hong Kong regulatory approval for Omicron-targeted Covid-19 booster
Patrick Bergstedt, US company’s senior vice-president of commercial vaccines, says discussions with city government at advanced stage, but no green light given yet. Company has plans to share access to its mRNA technology, set up clinical collaborations with Hong Kong universities
27th Jun 2022 - South China Morning Post
Hong Kong’s Struggle to Lure Bankers Dims Its Role as a Global Finance Hub
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament was for years a highlight on Asia’s networking calendar for global bankers and their clients.
Now, organizers are pushing for a downsized version of the event this fall, reflecting the challenge the city faces to maintain its status as Asia’s leading financial hub.
The Hong Kong Rugby Union is still waiting for government approval for its proposed “closed loop” for the 16 teams and support staff, modeled on the system used at the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year that sealed off athletes and other participants from the public, said Robbie McRobbie, its chief executive. With seven days of quarantine for all arrivals, organizers are resigned to holding this year’s tournament while missing the thousands of overseas visitors who in years past thronged the three-day event, which coincided with major business conferences and meetings.
27th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
London's Prime Shopping Street Has a Case of Long Covid
Regent Street, London’s premier shopping thoroughfare, is struggling to shake off the lingering effects of Covid-19. Store vacancy levels, at a record 12%, are almost twice what they were at the end of 2019, while asking rents for the best space on the street have fallen by more than 30% during the pandemic, according to Savills Plc. Shoppers who stroll along the curving avenue, passing through Oxford Circus and Piccadilly in London’s West End, may notice the absence of familiar brands. J Crew, Brooks Brothers, Desigual and Zara Home all closed stores during the two years of on-again off-again lockdowns that battered brick-and-mortar retailers and accelerated a shift to online shopping.
26th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
China's Economy Improves in June From Lockdown-Induced Slump
China’s economy showed some improvement in June as Covid restrictions were gradually eased, although the recovery remains muted. That’s the outlook based on Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators for this month. The overall gauge returned to the neutral level after deteriorating for two straight months.
26th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Argentines not too keen on taking Covid-19 booster shots
Argentine health authorities have reported that. although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, fewer people showed up for their boosted dose of vaccine, due to a false low-risk perception which makes coverage not sufficient. While over 82% of the population has taken a full two-shot scheme, additional jabs have been skipped persistently despite the increase in the number of cases during May. Scientists insist these injections are the best way to prevent infection, severe symptoms, and possible death. “The low compliance of the population to get the fourth dose has a lot to do with the messages that have been installed in relation to covid during these last months.
25th Jun 2022 - Uruguay News
Pandemics don't have neat endings
From the plague to polio, history shows that pandemics refuse to end neatly. Covid-19 is no exception. Following a surge in infection rates as Omicron variants spread, the UK is preparing to include people over the age of 50 in its autumn booster jab campaign. Recent British government plans had stipulated that only care home residents, the over-65s, frontline health and social workers and vulnerable younger people would be eligible for the next round of vaccines. In Hong Kong, two officials falling ill with Covid has raised doubts over President Xi Jinping’s expected July visit to the territory.
25th Jun 2022 - Financial Times
Advice on fourth COVID shot for many Australians may be delayed
Australia’s vaccine advisory panel is considering delaying a recommendation that more people get a fourth COVID booster shot until a better Omicron-targeting vaccine is available. Omicron sub-variants, including BA.4 and BA.5, are fast becoming the dominant COVID-19 variants in Australia and there is growing concern the sublineages are becoming more effective at reinfecting people.
25th Jun 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
Shanghai’s Covid Lockdown Legacy: Confusion, Despair, Departure
Elizabeth Liu began to sob at the dinner table one evening in late March. She had just returned from the daily Covid-19 test that was the only time her family could leave their 10th-floor Shanghai apartment. That was when Mrs. Liu realized that the mental toll of living under China’s zero-Covid policies had become unbearable. It was also when she and her Singaporean husband agreed that by year’s end, they would leave the city where they’d met and which is the only home their four children—aged two to 12—have known. “It had just been building, this sense of anxiety and stress,” said the 39-year-old Texan, who moved to China in 2005 and Shanghai two years later. “It got to the point where I just thought: I want to get on a plane and I don’t care who comes with me.”
25th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Essential workers in Hong Kong still not paid Covid-19 emergency support cash
Amy, a cleaner, who asked not to use her real name, has said she waited months for an emergency Covid-19 payment. Photo: Jonathan Wong. Amy, a cleaner, who asked not to use her real name, has said she waited months for an emergency Covid-19 payment. Photo: Jonathan Wong. A 62-year-old contract cleaner and breadwinner for her family has still not got a special Hong Kong government Covid-19 subsidy three months after she asked her employer to submit a claim.
Amy* said she had to continue to work as a cleaner at a private company in Tai Po through the fifth wave of infections, despite soaring numbers of confirmed cases.
She said it was some comfort that the government promised a HK$10,000 (US$1,282) subsidy for essential workers who had contributed to the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which had to be applied for through employers.
But Amy added that, despite asking her employer about the payment in early April, the firm had still not submitted a claim on her behalf.
25th Jun 2022 - South China Morning Post
Covid-19 ‘magic mirror’ reflects widening fissures in Chinese society
“Covid-19 is a magic mirror that reveals the monster within” was a popular saying in China in the early days of the pandemic. It was used by the Chinese foreign ministry in reference to the United States to suggest that Covid-19 had uncovered America’s long-standing social problems. Whoever coined the saying was certainly very astute. But I wonder how many people in China at the time realised that one day the mirror could be turned on themselves. What would they see? What demons might be revealed? I have lived in China all my life. I am part of a generation that has seen outstanding improvements in this society. It seemed to us that things could only get better, and if there were any challenges along the way, there was nothing that we as a country could not get through by working together.
25th Jun 2022 - South China Morning Post
Some Chinese cities relax COVID testing mandates
Several Chinese cities have scrapped or relaxed their COVID-19 testing mandates after China emerged from its worst regional outbreaks, with officials told not to cause too much disruption to people's lives while staying vigilant about the virus.
24th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK Covid Cost: Government Spends £376 Billion on Pandemic Response
The coronavirus pandemic, marked by an ambitious vaccine rollout, has cost the UK government an estimated £376 billion ($459 billion). The figure released Thursday by the National Audit Office has increased by £6 billion over the last ten months, with much of the expense going to support train traffic even as passenger numbers dwindled. The amount -- more than the annual gross domestic product of a country like Austria -- grew amid measures to administer vaccines, test and trace contact cases, and alleviate pressure on hospitals by improving patient discharge. The cost is estimated to be similar in neighboring France after governments across Europe opted to strain their finances to support the economy through the crisis.
24th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Shanghai's fashion stores struggle to clear lockdown stock hangover
Almost a month since Shanghai lifted its strict COVID-19 lockdowns, fashion retailers are stuck with piles of unsold stock as cautious consumers stay away from the commercial hub's glitzy shopping districts. Curbs to stop the virus in Shanghai, China's fashion capital, ground the city of 25 million to a halt in April and May, leaving clothing and beauty product displays in stores untouched and containers of imported apparel stranded at port.
24th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Biden team launches all-out push to vaccinate youngest children
The Biden administration pushed American families to immunize infants and small children for COVID-19 on Thursday, deploying ads intended to tug at heartstrings as it contends with Republicans and parents who are leery or outright opposed to shots for children as young as 6 months. The Department of Health and Human Services released a 30-second ad urging parents to protect children 4 and younger, who became eligible for shots this week, while the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 has been one of the top five causes of death in children since the start of the pandemic.
23rd Jun 2022 - Washington Times
Why the timing of your next COVID shot is so important
The timing of your next COVID-19 vaccine may be more important than ever, as highly contagious Omicron subvariants are on the rise in Canada and waning immunity from previous vaccination and infection threatens to fuel another surge. Canada is once again a hotbed for variants, with BA.2.12.1 now making up more than 40 per cent of COVID cases, while BA.4 and BA.5 are quickly gaining ground at more than 10 per cent combined in late May — a major jump from less than one per cent weeks earlier.
23rd Jun 2022 - CBC News
Over-60s urged to coronavirus vaccine top-up as new cases mount
Healthcare minister Ernst Kuipers has called on the general public to stick to the basic coronavirus rules and urged the over-60s who have not yet had a second booster vaccination to come forward. So far, just 40% to 59% of people entitled to a fourth vaccination (herhaalprik) have taken up the offer, depending on where they live. Extra measures to control the spread of the virus are not yet needed, the minister told reporters after a meeting of cabinet ministers which was called to discuss the rising infection rate.
23rd Jun 2022 - DutchNews.nl
GP contract for autumn COVID-19 booster campaign due shortly
GP practices in England will be invited shortly to sign up for the COVID-19 autumn booster campaign after NHS England confirmed it would offer a fixed payment per jab with a supplement for housebound patients.
23rd Jun 2022 - GP Online
U.S. delivers 2.7 mln COVID vaccine doses for kids under five to administration sites
The United States has delivered about 2.7 million doses of COVID vaccines for children below five years to administration centres while another one million shots will reach the sites soon, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday. Vaccine delivery to administration sites began on Friday, immediately after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)granted the emergency-use authorization, the federal agency said.
23rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Denmark to offer fourth COVID vaccine dose to people over 50 years
Denmark plans to offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose in the autumn to those who are over 50 years old, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday as she announced a strategy to curb the spread of the disease over the coming months. Although COVID infections are still at low levels, Denmark has seen an increase in the number of cases after the new BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, which seems to spread more quickly than other variants, became dominant in the Nordic country.
23rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
South Africa repeals COVID rules as fifth wave fades
South Africa has repealed COVID-19 rules that made masks mandatory in indoor public spaces, limited the size of gatherings and imposed entry requirements at its borders, the health minister said on Thursday. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent, with over 3.9 million confirmed infections and more than 101,000 deaths. Minister Joe Phaahla said authorities had noted a decline in cases, hospitalisations and reported deaths and concluded that a limited fifth wave was dissipating.
23rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Austria Ditches Vaccine Mandate After Omicron Alters Calculus
Austria will scrap a law requiring coronavirus vaccinations, ending a controversial rule that was never fully implemented after social opposition and new virus variants forced the government to backtrack. Lawmakers are set to vote on ending the mandate as soon as Thursday, before an initial suspension was set to expire in August. The rule was no longer proportionate, failed to convince vaccine skeptics and wasn’t necessary in light of recent waves of the virus, Health Minister Johannes Rauch told reporters in Vienna Thursday.
23rd Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullManitoba government launches survey on COVID-19 immunization plans for children under 5
Manitoba is seeking input on its plans to vaccinate children under the age of five against COVID-19. Vaccines for children aged six months to four years old could be approved by Health Canada this summer. In anticipation of this, the province has launched a survey asking for feedback on how the rollout should look, particularly from parents with children in this age group, says a news release form the province.
22nd Jun 2022 - MSN.com
Moderna will make Covid-19 vaccines in UK for the first time as it plans mRNA factory
Covid jabs firm Moderna is opening the first ever factory making mRNA vaccines in the UK, the Government has announced. The company will make the next generation of coronavirus jabs, protecting against multiple variants, as well as new vaccines against illnesses such as flu.
22nd Jun 2022 - iNews
Moderna to build new vaccine facility in Britain
U.S. biotech firm Moderna will build a new research and manufacturing centre in Britain to develop vaccines against new COVID-19 variants, other respiratory illnesses and help improve readiness for any future pandemics. The agreement will see Moderna make a minimum R&D investment of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion), Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said, adding it would have the capacity for 250 million vaccines a year if needed.
22nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Denmark to offer fourth COVID vaccine dose to people over 50 years
Denmark plans to offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose in the autumn to those who are over 50 years old, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday as she announced a strategy to curb the spread of the disease over the coming months. Although COVID infections are still at low levels, Denmark has seen an increase in the number of cases after the new BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, which seems to spread more quickly than other variants, became dominant in the Nordic country.
22nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Government’s Moderna partnership to bring over £1 billion investment
A new Government partnership with vaccine manufacturer Moderna will bring over a billion pounds in investment in mRNA research to the UK, the Health Secretary has said. The US pharmaceutical giant announced on Wednesday plans to open a new research and manufacturing centre in the UK. The new mRNA Innovation and Technology Centre will develop vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases, including Covid vaccines that can protect against multiple variants
22nd Jun 2022 - Yahoo Finance
Parents Struggle to Secure Covid-19 Vaccine Appointments for Young Kids
Anna Carvill had one thing on top of her to-do list this week: get a Covid-19 vaccine appointment for her 2-year-old son. She managed to get an appointment for Thursday at a mobile clinic in downtown Boulder, Colo. Vaccines became available Monday. She is one of millions of parents and caregivers who are seeking to get their children under 5 vaccinated against Covid-19. “We want him to be as protected as he can as soon as possible,” Ms. Carvill said. Federal health authorities on Saturday recommended Moderna Inc.’s two-dose vaccine as well as a three-dose regimen by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for children as young as 6 months. It was a moment some parents and caregivers had been eagerly awaiting, yet some of them haven’t managed to book appointments for their children, while others are holding off.
22nd Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19: Infections rise by nearly half a million in a week
COVID-19 cases have surged by nearly half in a week, official figures show. Last week, an estimated 1,415,600 people had coronavirus in the UK, up 425,800 or 43%. This is the highest estimate for infections since the start of May, but is still well below the record high of 4.9 million at the end of March. Cases rose in all four nations of the UK - and increased across all age groups. In England, around one in 50 people had the virus, according to the coronavirus infection survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
22nd Jun 2022 - Yahoo UK & Ireland
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. factories pop up to make medical gloves, spurred by pandemic
Rising from a muddy field on the outskirts of the small town of Fayette, Alabama is a bricks-and-mortar symbol of the global COVID pandemic: A new glove factory.
When completed in 2024 the complex, owned by Japan’s SHOWA Glove Co will be able to produce about 3 billion medical-grade nitrile gloves a year from its dozen massive new, five-stories-tall, automated assembly lines. That may seem like a lot but is only a small slice of the over 100 billion consumed in the United States annually.
22nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
'Don't delay any more': 80000 seniors urged to take booster shots with possible new Covid-19 wave
Seniors who have taken their vaccine booster shots are three times less likely to die or become severely ill from Covid-19, compared with those in the same cohort who had only two shots, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (June 20). Seniors with all three shots have a three in 1,000 chance of these negative outcomes, while those with two shots have a 10 in 1,000 chance of this happening.
Those who remain unvaccinated are at the highest risk, with a 40 in 1,000 chance of death or critical illness requiring intensive care. "It makes a difference whether you have taken zero, one, two or three shots," Mr Ong said in a video clip uploaded on TikTok, where he urged the elderly to get their shots ahead of the next Covid-19 wave.
21st Jun 2022 - The Straits Times
'Should all Koreans receive 4th Covid-19 vaccine shot?'
The quarantine authorities are considering expanding the fourth Covid-19 vaccine shots to all people based on domestic quarantine situations and research results at home and abroad, officials said Tuesday. "If the immunity level falls quickly, a virus resurge can also come quickly. However, we could put off the resurge depending on the immunity level," said Lim Sook-young, a senior official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH). "I think the strategy for vaccination is very important." In preparation for strains that may become prevalent in the second half of the year, the government will respond and prepare by focusing on how to implement vaccination, inject therapeutic agents at the right time, and develop strategies to strengthen surveillance for new variants, Lim added. The authorities confirmed a positive antibody rate of 94.9 percent through a survey but expected the immune effect to decline in the fall, making additional vaccination inevitable.
21st Jun 2022 - KBR
U.S. to begin vaccinating young children against covid
Eighteen months after a New York nurse received the first U.S. coronavirus vaccination, immunizations became available Tuesday for about 19 million children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, the last group of Americans to be afforded that protection. Pediatricians, drugstores, hospitals and community vaccination centers began to administer first doses of two vaccines to children: the Pfizer-BioNTech product to children ages 6 months through 4 years; and the Moderna vaccine to children 6 months through 5 years old.
21st Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
Covid-19 vaccinations begin for US children under 5
Dr. Sarah Schaffer DeRoo described in one word how she felt after getting her 7-month-old son vaccinated against Covid-19: thrilled. Her active baby boy sat in her lap at a vaccine clinic hosted by Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, while receiving his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. The shot was administered in his thigh. He cried for a few seconds but then his attention turned toward a golden retriever that was on site as a comfort dog provided by the hospital. "I'm feeling really thrilled that we have this opportunity," DeRoo, a pediatrician at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, told CNN's Suzanne Malveaux on Tuesday about her son's vaccination.
21st Jun 2022 - CNN
'It always wins': North Korea may declare COVID-19 victory
It's only been a month since North Korea acknowledged having an COVID-19 outbreak, after steadfastly denying any cases for more than two years. But already it may be preparing to declare victory. According to state media, North Korea has avoided the mass deaths many expected in a nation with one of the world's worst health care systems, little or no access to vaccines, and what outsiders see as a long record of ignoring the suffering of its people. Daily updates from official media make it appear inevitable that the nation will completely defeat a virus that has killed more than 6 million people around the world. According to the official tally, cases are plummeting, and, while 18% of the nation of 26 million people reportedly have had symptoms that outsiders strongly suspect were from COVID=19, less than 100 have died.
21st Jun 2022 - The Independent
U.S. COVID vaccine rollout for young children will pick up pace
The United States has begun distributing COVID vaccines for children as young as six months around the country, and availability of the shots will improve in the coming days, according to White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. U.S. regulators authorized Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) two-dose vaccine for children aged six months to five years and the Pfizer (PFE.N)-BioNTech (22UAy.DE) three-shot regimen for children aged six months to four years late last week.
21st Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden adviser Jake Sullivan tests positive for COVID-19
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan tested positive on Saturday for COVID-19, according to the White House. Sullivan typically has frequent contact with President Joe Biden but last was in contact with the president early in the week, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sullivan had been keeping his distance from Biden after “a couple” of people he had been in close contact with had tested positive for the virus, the official said. Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokeswoman, said Sullivan “is asymptomatic and he has not been in close contact with the president.”
19th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press - en Español
Can China revive its COVID-hit economy?
The Chinese government has announced a 33-point stimulus plan to put the economy back on track. China has been the biggest source of global economic growth for the past 20 years. And it has long defied predictions it would soon hit a wall. But, strict COVID lockdowns, a crackdown on tech companies and a real estate slump are challenging the world’s second-largest economy’s expansion. Many financial institutions predict growth will fall well short of Beijing’s target of about 5.5 percent this year, for the first time in decades. Elsewhere, the United Kingdom plans to scrap parts of the post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union. But, can it do so? And how will businesses be affected?
19th Jun 2022 - Al Jazeera English
West Australian aged care visitor limits expected to remain for some time, despite COVID-19 restrictions easing
Aged care visitor limits are among the last remaining COVID restrictions. Visitors are capped at two people each day, impacting larger families. A major aged care provider expects the limits will be in place for a while longer
18th Jun 2022 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
China turns Winter Olympics villages into quarantine camps to stamp out new COVID-19 outbreaks, report says
Villages that housed athletes at the Beijing Winter Games being used as COVID-19 quarantine camps. Hundreds have been sent to Olympic villages after an outbreak in Beijing's entertainment district. Olympic villages offer ideal infrastructure for quarantine, the Financial Times reported.
18th Jun 2022 - Business Insider on MSN.com
U.S. envoy to China expects 'zero COVID' policy to persist into 2023
The United States' ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, said on Thursday he expects Beijing's "zero COVID" policy to persist into early 2023, and that U.S. businesses were reluctant to invest in the country until restrictions ease. The re-emergence of infections in China's capital Beijing has raised new concerns about the outlook for the world's second largest economy, which had recently emerged from a long lockdown that shook global supply chains in its most populous city and commercial hub, Shanghai.
18th Jun 2022 - Reuters
German health minister pushes fourth COVID shot ahead of autumn wave
There will not be another attempt to make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory, said German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, while making the case for more people to get a second booster shot. Anyone who is often in contact with others and wants to protect themselves and others should consider a fourth shot, regardless of age, said Lauterbach. Some 80% of Germany's over-60s have not had their fourth COVID-19 shot, he added.
18th Jun 2022 - Reuters
FDA Authorizes First Covid-19 Vaccines for Young Children
U.S. health regulators cleared for use Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and from Moderna Inc. in children as young as 6 months. Some 1½ years after first authorizing the shots for people of older ages, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday expanded use of the vaccines to the nearly 20 million children in the U.S. from 6 months to under 5 years. A national campaign to vaccinate the young children is expected to kick off as soon as Monday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off in the coming days.
18th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
White House clams up on Biden COVID-19 testing regimen
In an abrupt change of course, the White House is now declining to comment on the frequency of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 testing regimen, even as it maintains that it would inform the public if he were to ever test positive for the coronavirus. Since Inauguration Day, the White House had frequently answered questions from reporters about when Biden, 79, last tested negative for the virus. Now, the White House says its policy is not to answer those questions. “I’m telling you he has a regular cadence," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday, refusing to say what day he last tested negative. "I just don’t have a date to share with you, but he does have a regular weekly cadence.”
17th Jun 2022 - The Independent
FDA authorizes coronavirus vaccine for young kids with shots likely next week
More than a year and a half after the oldest Americans gained access to coronavirus vaccines, the nation’s youngest citizens are poised to start getting shots next week, a move made possible when federal regulators Friday authorized vaccines for children as young as 6 months. For many parents and pediatricians, the Food and Drug Administration clearing of two vaccines — one by Moderna and the other by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech — comes as a huge relief. Friday’s emergency-use authorizations arrived two days after a panel of external advisers unanimously recommended that the agency greenlight vaccines for the last age group eligible for a shot of protection against the virus. “Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in a statement. “
17th Jun 2022 - The Washington Post
U.S. FDA opens way to COVID vaccines for kids under 5, CDC up next
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, opening the door to vaccinating millions of the country's youngest children once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees. The FDA authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's, COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 4 years and Moderna Inc's shot for those 6 months to 17 years. Pfizer's is already authorized for those over the age of 5.
17th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in full1,967 new Covid cases, 19 more deaths
The country registered 19 more Covid-19 fatalities and 1,967 new cases during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Friday morning. This compared with the 17 coronavirus-related fatalities and 2,153 new cases reported on Thursday morning. There were 1,966 local cases and one imported case. On Thursday, 2,123 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus while 21,030 others were receiving treatment (down from 21,205 on the previous day).
17th Jun 2022 - ฺBangkok Post
Swiss COVID-19 vaccine purchase plan fails to pass parliament
The Swiss parliament failed to finance the government's plan to buy COVID-19 vaccines in 2023, forcing the cabinet to try to renegotiate contracts with Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech for millions of doses. With the two houses of parliament split over the funding request, budget rules required the adoption of the cheaper version of draft legislation, the SDA news agency said in a report posted on parliament's website.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Parents Anxious to Vaccinate Young Children Describe an Agonizing Wait
A committee of experts advising the F.D.A. voted on Wednesday to recommend that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna pediatric coronavirus vaccines be authorized for young children. If the rest of the regulatory process moves swiftly, children could begin getting the shots as soon as next week. Most parents are not so eager to get their young children vaccinated, surveys have found. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey this spring found that about two in five parents said they planned to wait and see how the vaccine works for others before deciding what to do. And 38 percent said they would definitely not get their children vaccinated, or would do so only if required. A number of parents who wrote that they were in no rush to get their children vaccinated said it was because the children had already been infected with the virus. But at Wednesday’s F.D.A. committee meeting, a Moderna official said the company’s study found that young children who got Omicron and were vaccinated had greater levels of protection, a conclusion backed by outside research.
16th Jun 2022 - The New York Times
Florida didn't pre-order any COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids, DOH says
Officials from the Florida Department of Health said the state didn't pre-order any COVID-19 vaccines for kids under the age of 5. They say it's up to individual doctor's offices and pharmacies to make their own orders.
16th Jun 2022 - YAHOO!News
China top Covid-19 fighter calls for all-in-one data portal like Europe’s EpiPulse
Two-and-a-half years after China's first Covid-19 cases, leading epidemiologist Liang Wannian has proposed the setting up of an EU-like integrated monitoring and early reporting system for a speedy response to future outbreaks. The current data collection process is "complex and fragmented", said Liang, head of China's Covid-19 response team, as he called for the different monitoring systems to be rolled into an all-in-one network. This would cover not only human health data but also animal farm and waste water monitoring inputs, to help identify novel pathogens and provide seamless access to data on a single platform.
16th Jun 2022 - MSN.com
Victorian COVID-19 vaccine mandate rationale 'unclear' given dropped mask rules, expert tells committee
An expert has told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry it is "unclear" why broad vaccine mandates have remained in place when effective rules on masks have not, as another warned COVID-19 was on track to become one of the leading causes of death in Australia this year. Victoria's pandemic oversight committee is examining the state's vaccine mandate and its impact on workers and the spread of COVID-19.
16th Jun 2022 - ABC.Net.au
U.S. FDA advisers back COVID vaccines for children as young as 6 months
Advisers to the U.S Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday unanimously recommended the agency authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for millions of the youngest American children. The committee's recommendation is an important step toward immunizing children under the age of 5 and as young as 6 months old who have not yet been eligible for the shots.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai orders mass COVID testing each weekend until end-July
Shanghai will require all of its 16 districts to organise mass COVID testing for residents every weekend until the end of July, a city official said on Wednesday. Zhao Dandan said that said that all districts will organise "community screenings" each weekend. Should a district find any community transmission during the week, it will be required to conduct a full screening during which all residents will be subjected to "closed management" movement restrictions until testing is over, he added.
16th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Coronavirus: some patrons of Hong Kong bars adopt happy-go-lucky attitude in response to new rapid testing rule
Some patrons of Hong Kong’s best-known nightlife districts have been ignoring a new rapid Covid-19 test requirement for entry to premises, while the city recorded more than 1,000 cases for the second day in a row. A visit by the Post to Lockhart Road in Wan Chai found several customers did not show negative rapid antigen test (RAT) results to staff in at least five venues, as required under the new rule that took effect from 5am on Thursday. Employees at each venue were not seen asking patrons to comply with the measure.
16th Jun 2022 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullFull COVID-19 vaccination still required for Hajj, says ministry
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that full immunization with one of the approved COVID19- vaccines is still required for those planning to perform Hajj this year. The confirmation comes less than 24 hours after the Saudi authorities announced the lifting of various COVID-19 preventative measures, including the requirement to wear face masks in closed places. The ministry reaffirmed that all those intending to perform Hajj this year must have completed their immunization program with one of the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Public Health Authority. This vaccine requirement is listed on the electronic registration portal for this year’s Hajj, which will accommodate 1 million pilgrims.
15th Jun 2022 - Arab News
Pfizer already agreed to delay supply of COVID-19 shots to EU, now the bloc wants more
Last month, in response to a decrease in demand, Pfizer and its COVID-19 vaccine partner BioNTech agreed to delay supplies of their shot to the European Union. Jabs due to be shipped from June to August would instead be sent in September and the fourth quarter. Now, four weeks later, the bloc is putting heat on Pfizer to further restrict supplies, Reuters reports. This move comes two weeks after the EU reached an agreement with Moderna to postpone its scheduled delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. Responding to a request for comment, a Pfizer spokesperson referenced a previous statement it issued following last month's agreement with the EU.
15th Jun 2022 - FiercePharma
FDA Advisers Review Pfizer, Moderna Covid-19 Vaccines in Young Children
Health experts advising U.S. health regulators backed giving Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and from Moderna Inc. to children as young as 6 months old. The panel voted 21 to 0 in a pair of votes on Wednesday in support of expanding access to the vaccines. The positive recommendations will likely lead soon to expanding the U.S. Covid-19 vaccination campaign to the 19.6 million children from 6 months to under 5 years of age, one of the last groups of people in the U.S. waiting for shots. The Food and Drug Administration, which doesn’t have to follow the panel’s recommendations but usually does, is expected to authorize the shots within days. Vaccinations could begin as early as June 21, according to the Biden administration.
15th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
EU governments pressure manufacturers to renegotiate contracts for COVID-19 vaccines
Pressure on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers is being mounted as European Union (EU) governments are in a push to renegotiate contracts, with a caution issued by EU officials that millions of vaccine doses could be wasted. When vaccines became available earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, countries vied for supply contracts. However, as the need for vaccines begins to slow in Europe, some countries want to amend their contracts to reduce spending and to prevent receiving more vaccines than are needed. During the most acute phase of the pandemic, the European Commission and EU governments agreed to buy huge volumes of vaccines, mostly from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, amid fears of insufficient supplies
15th Jun 2022 - PMLiVE
North Korea COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Facing Challenges
As North Korea faces a rising number of COVID-19 cases, simply having vaccines may be insufficient to roll out a countrywide immunization process that experts say needs to be accompanied by adequate cold storage units and trained medical and technical staff that the nation lacks. Pyongyang announced on Tuesday that "more than 32,810 fevered cases" were detected in the country from June 12 to 13, through its state media Korea Central News Agency (KCNA). The total, "since late April," surged past 4.5 million as of June 14, added the KCNA.
15th Jun 2022 - VOA Asia
WTO draft IP deal on COVID vaccines 'very good', UK minister says
Britain, one of the main opponents to waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, praised a draft agreement and expressed hope a deal would be reached at the World Trade Organization (WTO) this week. India, South Africa and other developing countries have sought a waiver of IP rights for vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for over a year, but faced opposition from countries with major pharmaceutical producers, such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
15th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. FDA panel weighs COVID vaccines for children as young as 6 months
Advisers to the U.S Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday unanimously recommended the agency authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE for millions of the youngest American children. The committee's recommendation is an important step toward immunizing children under the age of 5 and as young as 6 months old who have not yet been eligible for the shots.
15th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer gives up on Paxlovid in less vulnerable COVID patients after data fail to impress
Pfizer’s Paxlovid has proven useful in COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease. But the antiviral drug may not help less vulnerable patients. Pfizer has stopped enrollment into the EPIC-SR trial that’s been evaluating Paxlovid in standard-risk patients, the company said Tuesday. These include unvaccinated adults without additional risk and vaccinated people who have at least one risk factor for progressing to severe disease. The clinical trial previously flopped on its primary goal, showing the Pfizer antiviral was no better than placebo at sustaining symptom relief for four consecutive days. Now, the company is calling it quits on the study after finding it hard to read any signs of potential benefit because of an already low rate of hospitalization or death in the standard-risk population.
15th Jun 2022 - FiercePharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullIsrael offers third COVID vaccine for children 5 to 11
Only a small percentage of children aged 5 to 11 will actually be eligible to receive the additional dose, as 76 percent of children this age have not been vaccinated at all. In addition, among those who were vaccinated, many have received the second dose in the last three months. Children from 5 to 11 have the lowest vaccination rate among the Israeli population, much more so than children age 12 to 15 – of which 42 percent have yet to be vaccinated. Among teenagers aged 16 to 19, 22 percent are unvaccinated.
14th Jun 2022 - Haaretz
Russians Inoculated With Expired Coronavirus Vaccine
Patients in Moscow are being inoculated with expired Russian coronavirus vaccines, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported, citing sources and eyewitnesses. Epidemiologists say that the expired vaccines aren’t dangerous, but are ineffective against Covid-19. Russia has about 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that are currently past their use-by date and worth more than 23 billion rubles ($398 million), sources at the country’s Health Ministry told The Moscow Times’ Russian service. The Health Ministry has not officially commented on the reports, although it has previously issued orders to extend vaccine shelf life and approve the use of these doses.
14th Jun 2022 - The Moscow Times
Canada poised to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for planes, trains: sources
Unvaccinated Canadians can board a plane or passenger train in the country once again. Ottawa announced Tuesday it is suspending its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for air and rail travellers with infections rapidly declining across Canada. It will take effect on June 20. Since Oct. 30, 2021, those over the age of 12 who were not inoculated were barred from boarding a plane or train, and most of them were no longer allowed to show a negative COVID-19 test as a substitute for vaccination. Roughly 81 per cent of the entire population is vaccinated against COVID-19, government data shows.
14th Jun 2022 - Global News
FDA advisers to weigh expanding Covid-19 vaccines to younger children
Several months after older children became eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19, the United States might be just days away from offering vaccines to those younger than 5. The US Food and Drug Administration's independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss amending the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Moderna's and Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccines to include younger ages. Children under 5 -- about 18 million people -- are the only US age group that isn't eligible to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
14th Jun 2022 - CNN
EU states step up pressure on Pfizer to cut unneeded COVID vaccine supplies
European Union governments are intensifying pressure on Pfizer and other COVID-19 vaccine makers to renegotiate contracts, warning millions of shots that are no longer needed could go to waste, according to EU officials and a document.
During the most acute phase of the pandemic, the European Commission and EU governments agreed to buy huge volumes of vaccines, mostly from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech amid fears of insufficient supplies.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
World Bank approves $474 million loan to South Africa for COVID vaccines
The World Bank has approved a loan of 454.4 million euros ($474.4 million) to help South Africa fund COVID-19 vaccine purchases, the bank and South Africa's National Treasury said in a statement. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent, with over 3.9 million confirmed cases and more than 101,000 deaths. It initially struggled to secure vaccines due to limited supplies and protracted negotiations, but it is now well-supplied with doses.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
China's '618' shopping festival to test COVID-hit shoppers' urge to splurge
China is set to get a picture of how the country's zero-COVID-19 policy and slowing economy have impacted shoppers' urge to splurge, as e-commerce platforms gear up to report takings from the mid-year "618" shopping festival this weekend. Held in the run-up to June 18, 618 is China's second-largest shopping event by sales after Nov. 11's Singles Day, with bargain-hunters holding off purchases in anticipation of discounts spanning a range of brands.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Moderna to invest 500 mln euros in Spain, PM Sanchez says
Moderna plans to invest around 500 million euros ($520.60 million) in a new laboratory in Spain to boost its production of vaccines, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday. Sanchez wrote on his Twitter account that he had a meeting with Moderna vice president, Dan Staner, and heard about the drugmaker's expansion plans in the country. Spanish pharmaceutical group Rovi agreed early in the year a 10-year extension to its deal with Moderna to manufacture future drugs developed with the mRNA technology used for the U.S. company's coronavirus vaccine.
14th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Poland changes judiciary law, demands EU release COVID funds
Poland has replaced a controversial body that disciplined judges with a new accountability panel to resolve a long-running dispute with the European Union over the country’s judicial independence. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling party, said on Tuesday that he hoped the bloc would have a “proper” reaction to the move. The EU has frozen billions of euros of pandemic funds for Poland over criticism of its rule of law record. Kaczynski insisted that Poland has met the EU’s demands for changes to the regulations on the judiciary. “I hope the reaction will be proper and in line with the [EU] treaties,” Kaczynski said, reiterating his long-term view that EU bodies have been violating the bloc’s treaties in their approach to Poland.
14th Jun 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCanada urged to support COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver
Advocates for vaccine equity are calling on the Canadian government to join the push for a patent waiver to help in the global fight against COVID-19, just as the World Trade Organization opens high-level talks on this and other issues.
13th Jun 2022 - CTV News
‘Covid not over yet, increase vaccinations for schoolkids': Mandaviya to states
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya interacted with health ministers of states and Union territories and urged them to focus on increasing Covid-19 vaccination coverage for schoolchildren, precaution dose for the elderly and strengthening genome sequencing, the health ministry said. “Covid-19 is not over yet. With rising Covid-19 cases in some states, it is important to be alert and not to forget Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Mandaviya told the states at the review meeting. Highlighting increased case positivity in some districts and states and reduced Covid-19 testing, Mandaviya said increased and timely testing will enable early identification of cases and help to curb the spread of the infection among the community. “He urged states/UTs to continue and strengthen the surveillance and focus on genome sequencing for identifying new mutants/variants in the country. He stated that the five-fold strategy of test, track, treat, vaccination and adherence to Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) needs to be continued and monitored by States/UTs,” the ministry said in a statement.
13th Jun 2022 - Hindustan Times
‘Immunity is waning’: Andrews seeks fourth shot for hospital workers
Premier Daniel Andrews will push the federal government for fourth-dose coronavirus vaccines for all healthcare workers employed in hospitals across the state. There are no plans to mandate a fourth dose. The premier’s aim is to ensure a second booster is available to healthcare workers once immunity wanes from their third dose.
13th Jun 2022 - The Age
Amid fourth wave scare, Centre warns 'Covid-19 not over yet'; urges States to focus on vaccination
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urged States/UTs to strengthen the surveillance and focus on genome sequencing for identifying new Covid-19 mutants/variants in the country.
13th Jun 2022 - India.com
Saudi Arabia eases mask mandate as first Hajj pilgrims arrive
Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoor spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago. Monday’s move comes as the kingdom prepares to welcome around 850,000 pilgrims from abroad to participate in the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
13th Jun 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Mandatory COVID-19 tests every few days becoming the norm for people in China
Many larger Chinese cities have normalised regular COVID-19 testing as part of the country's COVID-zero policy. Tens of thousands of testing booths are being built so that residents always have one within a 15-minute walk. Economists estimate the testing regime could cost $354 billion per year
13th Jun 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Beijing tests millions to stem 'developing' COVID cluster at 24-hour bar
Authorities in China's capital Beijing raced on Monday to contain a COVID-19 outbreak traced to a 24-hour bar known for cheap liquor and big crowds, with millions facing mandatory testing and thousands under targeted lockdowns. The outbreak of 228 cases linked to the Heaven Supermarket Bar, which had just reopened as restrictions in Beijing eased last week, highlights how hard it will be for China to make a success of its "zero COVID" policy as much of the rest of the world opts to learn how to live with the virus.
13th Jun 2022 - Reuters
United Airlines cites jump in global travel searches after U.S. ends COVID testing
Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoor spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago. Monday’s move comes as the kingdom prepares to welcome around 850,000 pilgrims from abroad to participate in the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The first batch of foreign pilgrims since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic began arriving from Indonesia earlier this month. Masks will still be required at Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, where pilgrims gather for worship, according to the new rules. Organisers of events and festivals can continue to require masks if they wish.
13th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullCanada to suspend random COVID testing to reduce airport wait times
Canada is suspending random COVID-19 testing at all its airports for the rest of June to ease the long wait times that travelers have encountered in recent weeks, a government statement said on Friday. The random testing will be discontinued from Saturday and will resume "off-site" on July 1, the statement said. Random testing was blamed by some industry officials for lengthening already long wait times at airports. Toronto's Pearson airport has had planes stuck at gates and hours-long security lines because of staffing shortages.
12th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Covid Testing No Longer Need for Flying. Airlines May Not Be Ready
Airlines have been petitioning for months to ease a pandemic-era restriction on arrivals from abroad. Now that the White House has lifted mandatory Covid testing for inbound passengers, the industry may rue having its collective wish granted just ahead of the busiest time of year for travel. As of June 12, travelers by air will join those at land ports of entry in no longer needing to submit negative Covid test results. That rule has depressed traffic and delayed a recovery for long-haul international service, airline lobbyists and the U.S. Travel Association have told the Biden administration repeatedly. But no more mandatory tests may presage an upswell in demand the industry is ill-prepared to handle. The situation in Europe -- where mandatory testing was abandoned as early as January in the UK -- isn’t encouraging.
12th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Capacity limits, COVID-19 tests no longer needed at nightlife establishments from Jun 14
Nightlife establishments with dancing among patrons will no longer be subjected to a capacity limit from Jun 14. Patrons will also no longer need to obtain a negative antigen rapid test (ART) result to enter the venue, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Jun 10), adding that this move will "rationalise the rules" for nightspots with other social settings. However, vaccination-differentiated safe management measures will continue to apply, with operators still required to conduct such checks to ensure that only fully-vaccinated people enter these settings. Enforcement officers may carry out random checks to ensure that operators comply, said MOH.
10th Jun 2022 - CNA
People aged 50 and above may get second COVID-19 booster at vaccination centres with mRNA shots: MOH
People aged 50 to 59 who want to get their second COVID-19 booster shot may do so from Friday (Jun 10) by walking into any vaccination centre offering mRNA vaccines, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). This is an expansion from the 60-79 age group that the ministry previously offered second booster shots to. The expert committee on COVID-19 vaccination has since assessed that people aged 50 to 59 who wish to take their second booster may also do so about five months after their first booster shot. “This is in view of data indicating that the risk of severe COVID-19 increases in the age group of 50 to 59 as well,” said MOH. "This is also around the age when chronic diseases start to set in."
10th Jun 2022 - CNA
Ontario planning COVID-19 boosters for fall, most mask mandates ending Saturday
After years of daily COVID-19 data reporting from the province, Public Health Ontario (PHO) is moving to a weekly reporting system. In a news release issued late Friday afternoon, the province announced the change comes into effect as of June 11. Ontario will publish the latest COVID-19 data each Thursday, starting on June 16. "PHO will continue to monitor trends and determine if any additional changes to reporting are needed, including to frequency and content, in the coming weeks and months," the statement reads. Data will still be available through the province's Open Data Catalog, it notes, but it will not be on the provincial website.
10th Jun 2022 - CBC.ca
Covid-19 vaccine in prison: a not-to-be-missed opportunity to promote access to vaccination in adolescents
Covid-19 vaccination campaigns for adolescents have been taking place in many countries for some months. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation have called for vaccine prioritisation within countries to take into account the needs of those groups that, due to underlying social, ethnic, geographic, or biomedical factors, are at greater risk of getting infected or suffering most severe consequences from covid-19. Since the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is considerably higher in prisons and detention facilities than elsewhere, adolescents who are detained in juvenile institutions should be prioritised for vaccination. Detained adolescents often come from marginalised groups of society with a considerable burden of ill health rooted in poverty and discrimination, and with limited access to healthcare. The benefits of vaccinating adolescents in juvenile institutions include the direct benefits to their health and the indirect benefit of reducing onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within the prison community, including among prison staff, and in the community they belong. Furthermore, the implementation of the covid-19 vaccine in juvenile institutions is essential to upholding the principle of equity of care and to guarantee the right to health for those deprived of liberty, leaving no one behind
10th Jun 2022 - The BMJ
International travellers to the US no longer need negative Covid-19 test
The US is ending the requirement for international travellers arriving in the country to take a Covid test within a day before boarding their flights. The move is one of the last remaining federal coronavirus restrictions still in place in the US and will end on Sunday. The US will review the policy every 90 days.
10th Jun 2022 - ITV News
U.S. to drop COVID testing for incoming international air travelers
The United States late Friday rescinded a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19, a move that follows intense lobbying by airlines and the travel industry. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky issued a four-page order lifting the mandate, effective at 12:01 a.m. ET (0400 GMT) Sunday, saying it is "not currently necessary."
10th Jun 2022 - Reuters
US Ends Covid-19 Test Requirement to Enter Country
The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that all travelers test negative for coronavirus before flying to the US, amid pressure from airlines that viewed the measure as excessive and blamed it for depressing ticket purchases. The change will take effect just after midnight on June 12 and be reassessed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 90 days, according to a senior administration official who requested anonymity to detail the plan before it was formally announced. Airline shares rise on prospect of eased test requirement. Mandate could be revived if troubling virus variant emerges
10th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullIndia's Covid Cases Almost Double in a Week to Three Month High
India’s daily Covid-19 infection rate almost doubled in a week, prompting a revitalization of the country’s lethargic booster shot campaign, as well as some state governments and air authorities to bring back mandatory mask wearing. The country added 7,240 cases on Thursday, according to health ministry data, the biggest single-day surge in more than three months after the densely-populated country eased movement restrictions and reopened schools and offices. So far hospitalizations remain low and 69% of India’s 1.4 billion people have been administered at least two Covid shots, though so far only 3% have had a booster dose, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker.
10th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid Flares Again in Shanghai, Putting Areas Back in Lockdown
Shanghai will lock down seven city districts this weekend to mass test millions of people as Covid-19 cases continue to emerge in the community, risking more disruption for residents and businesses that have just exited a grueling two-month shutdown. Authorities said late Thursday they would lock down the Pudong, Huangpu, Jing’an, Xuhui, Hongkou, Baoshan and Minhang districts of Shanghai, with residents to be tested for the virus -- a key tool in China’s Covid Zero arsenal. It comes after infections found in the community rebounded to six on Thursday, from zero the day before.
10th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
BioNTech to soon start mRNA vaccine factory construction in Rwanda
COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said construction of an mRNA vaccine factory to enable African nations to jump-start their own manufacturing network would start on June 23 in Rwanda. The groundbreaking ceremony in the capital city of Kigali is to be attended by Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, further heads of African states, as well as representatives from the European Union and the World Health Organization, the biotech firm said in a statement on Thursday. The German company's modular factory elements, to be assembled in Africa to so-called BioNTainers, would be delivered to the Kigali construction site by the end of 2022, it added. The company, which developed the western world's most widely used COVID-19 shot with U.S. partner Pfizer, earlier this year mapped out a plan to enable African countries to produce its Comirnaty-branded shot under BioNTech's supervision
10th Jun 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Orders Millions of COVID-19 Vaccines for Youngest Children
Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been ordered for small children in anticipation of possible federal authorization next week, White House officials say.
The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders last week, with 5 million doses initially available—half of them shots made by Pfizer and the other half the vaccine produced by Moderna, senior administration officials said.
As of this week, about 1.45 million of the 2.5 million available doses of Pfizer have been ordered, and about 850,000 of available Moderna shots have been ordered, officials said. More orders are expected in the coming days.
9th Jun 2022 - Time
Little-Kid Vaccines Missed Their Pandemic Moment
When Kishana Taylor enrolled her 3-year-old son, John, in preschool last fall, she figured COVID-19 immunizations for kids under-5 would arrive before the start of classes. Since then, she has delivered fraternal twins, now almost six months old—and there are still no vaccines for her kids. After John caught the coronavirus, he and his siblings had to duel the virus entirely unprotected, a reality that Taylor, a virologist at Rutgers University, never wanted them to face. “The only reason we put John in public school was because I thought he was getting a vaccine,” she told me. “I would have made different decisions, if we had known it was going to be put off this long.”
9th Jun 2022 - The Atlantic
US diverts COVID-19 funds to secure vaccines amid stalemate
The Biden administration said Wednesday that a funding crunch is forcing it to divert more than $10 billion in coronavirus relief from test procurement and other efforts as it tries to come up with money to secure the next generation of vaccines and treatments for some high-risk Americans. The White House said it has been left with “no choice” but to cut back on orders of at-home rapid tests that have supported a domestic manufacturing base for the easy diagnostic tests. It also is scaling back funding for research and development of new COVID-19 vaccines and limiting orders of personal protective equipment in an effort to maintain some stockpiles of vaccines and treatments for Americans heading into the winter.
9th Jun 2022 - The Independent
Biden administration lays out its plan for Covid-19 vaccinations for children under 5
The White House has announced a highly anticipated Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan for children under 5. The administration "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order," according to a White House fact sheet shared with CNN Wednesday. It is partnering with those entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA.
The first vaccinations could start "as early as the week of June 20 —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," according to the fact sheet. CNN previously reported Covid-19 vaccination shots for the youngest Americans could begin as soon as June 21.
9th Jun 2022 - CNN
Shanghai to conduct mass COVID testing in 7 of its 16 districts at weekend
The Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai will carry out mass testing for COVID-19 in seven districts over the weekend, a local health official said on Thursday. The districts to be tested are Pudong, Huangpu, Jingan, Xuhui, Hongkou, Baoshan and Minhang, the deputy director of Shanghai's health commission, Zhao Dandan, told a media briefing. Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, has a total of 16 districts.
9th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Virus testing the new normal as China sticks to ‘zero-COVID’
Thousands of coronavirus testing sites have popped up on sidewalks across Beijing and other Chinese cities in the latest development in the country’s “zero-COVID” strategy. Lines form every day, rain or shine, even where the spread of the virus has largely stopped. Some people need to go to work. Others want to shop. All are effectively compelled to get tested by a requirement to show a negative test result to enter office buildings, malls and other public places. Liu Lele, who works for a live-streaming company, has no problem getting tested regularly but said the daytime operating hours don’t always fit his schedule. “Sometimes I get held up at work,” he said after finishing a test Thursday near Beijing’s historic Bell and Drum towers. “I wish there were sites open 24 hours or not closing until 7 or 8 p.m.”
9th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
New vaccine may be option for troops with religious concerns
A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal authorization may offer a boost for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons.
At least 175 active duty and reserve service members have already received the Novavax vaccine, some even traveling overseas at their own expense to get it. The vaccine meets Defense Department requirements because it has the World Health Organization’s emergency use approval and is used in Europe and other regions. The Food and Drug Administration is considering giving it emergency use authorization in the U.S.
9th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhat are the entry requirements for France?
On 31 March 2022, the French government relaxed Covid border restrictions to allow unvaccinated travellers entry to the country for leisure and work purposes. Previously, only vaccinated travellers were permitted entry for leisure and work, while unjabbed travellers could only visit the country if they had a compelling reason. Unvaccinated travellers should provide proof of a negative PCR test, taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in France, or an antigen test taken no more than 48 hours before arrival. They will no longer need to quarantine for seven days on entering the country. Rules for vaccinated travellers were also relaxed. They no longer need to submit a sworn declaration form stating that they show no Covid symptoms. They are only required to present proof of vaccination.
9th Jun 2022 - Evening Standard
White House warning of 'unacceptable tradeoffs' on Covid-19 response amid congressional inaction
The White House issued a new warning to Congress Wednesday on the continued urgent need for Covid-19 funding, highlighting new "unacceptable tradeoffs" as it reallocates and reprioritizes remaining funding toward new vaccines in the absence of congressional action. "Due to a lack of additional funding," a White House official told CNN in a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services "is now forced to pull funds from other essential elements of our response to meet some basic Covid-19 response needs." The official continued, "This will allow the US to get in line to procure some additional lifesaving vaccines for the fall, including next-generation vaccines if available, and procure additional lifesaving treatments."
8th Jun 2022 - CNN
COVID in California: Vaccines for kids under 5 could come as soon as June 21
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee on Tuesday recommended the agency grant emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax. If approved, it would become the fourth coronavirus vaccine available in the U.S., along with the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson versions. California’s chief justice, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, court officials say.
8th Jun 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle
Dogs to sniff out COVID-19 in patients and visitors at Adelaide's Lyell McEwin Hospital
Dogs will be used to sniff for COVID-19 among patients and visitors at the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Patients and visitors to the emergency department will still have to undergo more mainstream testing. The hospital has faced criticism for its COVID-19 policies
8th Jun 2022 - ABC News
US diverts COVID-19 funds to secure vaccines amid stalemate
The Biden administration said Wednesday that a funding crunch is forcing it to divert more than $10 billion in coronavirus relief from test procurement and other efforts as it tries to come up with money to secure the next generation of vaccines and treatments for some high-risk Americans. The White House said it has been left with “no choice” but to cut back on orders of at-home rapid tests that have supported a domestic manufacturing base for the easy diagnostic tests. It also is scaling back funding for research and development of new COVID-19 vaccines and limiting orders of personal protective equipment in an effort to maintain some stockpiles of vaccines and treatments for Americans heading into the winter.
8th Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Novavax shares jump as FDA panel backs COVID vaccine
Shares of Novavax Inc surged nearly 20% on Wednesday after advisers to the Food and Drug Administration overwhelmingly backed the use of its COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the shot a step closer to a U.S. launch. The stock tumbled about 20% on Friday after the heath regulator's reviewers flagged concerns of a type of heart inflammation following the vaccination, adding uncertainty over the outcome of Tuesday's meeting.
8th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullFrench medics protest hospital crisis, deepened by COVID
Health workers protested Tuesday around France to demand more hiring and better salaries in public hospitals, after years of cost cuts that left medics submerged when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and are now forcing emergency rooms to cut services. Nine unions and collectives organized a day of protest, including a demonstration outside the Health Ministry in Paris and in dozens of other towns and cities, to call the government’s attention to growing concerns about staff shortages. President Emmanuel Macron has promised a rethink of the public hospital system and commissioned an urgent review by July 1. Protesters hope to pressure the government as France heads into two rounds of legislative elections starting Sunday.
8th Jun 2022 - The Independent
Hong Kong School, Bar Clusters Send Cases to Six-Week High
Hong Kong reported a surge of Covid-19 cases in local schools, shutting some classes and sending the number of new infections to a six-week high. The city had 204 cases from schools, bringing total infections on Monday to 543, the most since April 22. Some classes will be suspended until next week, health official Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a briefing. There were also 31 new cases linked to bar clusters, adding to the more than 200 cases originating at a handful of nightclubs in the financial hub’s Central district.
8th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Beijing, Shanghai Reopenings Speed Up: China Lockdown Tracker
China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak is ending, with cases continuing to fall, all major cities loosening restrictions and daily life mostly returning to normal. Infections are trending down nationwide, thanks to the ebbing outbreaks in Shanghai and Beijing. Of China’s top 50 cities by economic size, none currently have widespread restrictions in place. Tianjin hasn’t reported any local cases for the past 3 days and most public transport has resumed, while Beijing is resuming dine-in services and reopening parks and entertainment venues.
8th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Novavax says COVID vaccine for U.S. to be manufactured by India's Serum
Novavax Inc said on Tuesday that its COVID-19 vaccine initially available in the United States, if authorized, will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
"So all vaccines that are being distributed globally commercially are being made in a single facility by our partners (the Serum Institute in India) that includes the vaccines which are being deployed around the world as well as the ones that will be initially deployed in the U.S.," said Chief Medical Officer Filip Dubovsky.
8th Jun 2022 - Reuters
El-Sisi launches initiative to provide 30 million coronavirus vaccines to African countries
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has announced an Egyptian initiative to provide 30 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to African countries, in coordination with the African Union. During his participation in the dialogue session of the African health medical conference and exhibition “African Health ExCon,” El-Sisi said that “the capabilities of Egypt are available to the African brothers.” El-Sisi was speaking at the launch of the conference, held at the Egypt International Exhibition Center (Al-Manara Center for International Conferences) in the Fifth Settlement in New Cairo.
7th Jun 2022 - Arab News
Don't Wait to Get Your Kid Vaccinated
Ocwieja knows that her excitement puts her in a minority. An April poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that less than a fifth of parents of kids under 5 are eager to vaccinate them right away; of the rest, about half say they definitely won’t sign their children up for shots, or will do so only if required. Plenty of parents still harbor worries over the shots’ safety, fretting that the injections might be more dangerous than the disease. And many who watched their kids contract the coronavirus, sometimes repeatedly, no longer feel much urgency about tacking on immunization—especially now that American society has opened back up, and nearly all mitigation measures have been dropped, signaling that the crisis has passed.
7th Jun 2022 - The Atlantic
China offers Covid vaccine insurance to win over jab sceptics
China has devised a new incentive to boost elderly vaccinations to levels that could finally allow the country to relax its zero-Covid strategy and revive the economy: insurance packages for people worried about jab-related side effects. Dozens of cities across the country have begun offering people aged 60 and older free insurance that pays out up to Rmb500,000 ($75,000) if they fall ill — or worse — because of Covid-19 vaccines. The packages also promise payouts to families if it can be proven that a loved one’s death was related to receiving a jab. In Beijing alone, about 60,000 seniors have signed up for the coverage since April.
7th Jun 2022 - Financial Times
Children’s COVID-19 vaccinations stall, as experts warn of health threat
COVID-19 vaccination rates for children have stalled due to bookings being disrupted by illness and isolation rules, as experts urge parents to complete their child’s course alongside their flu shot. Just eight Sydney councils have more than half of primary school-aged children vaccinated against COVID-19, data published by the federal government this week shows, with kids in the city’s south-west least likely to have completed their shots.
7th Jun 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
Analysis: China's consumers keep their wallets in lockdown as COVID curbs ease
China is moving to spur spending that was depressed by COVID curbs in some of its biggest cities, but piecemeal measures such as vouchers, subsidies for car buyers and digital yuan payments have been modest compared with other big global economies. Policymakers have instead stuck to their preferred approach to stimulus, which focuses on businesses and infrastructure.
7th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine Backed by FDA Advisers
Vaccine experts advising the Food and Drug Administration endorsed Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, voting overwhelmingly that the shot’s benefits outweighed its risks. The outside panel’s 21-0 vote, with one abstention, on Tuesday moves the shot one step closer to becoming available in the U.S. The FDA must next make a decision on authorizing the vaccine, after months of manufacturing-related delays and an agency review that found the shots effective but raised a safety concern.
An FDA decision could take weeks. FDA staff said, in their review of Novavax’s application, that the agency must sign off on the company’s latest manufacturing processes.
7th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK shoppers cut spending by most since COVID lockdown in 2021
British shoppers facing a surge in inflation cut their spending in May by the most since the country was in a coronavirus lockdown in early 2021, according to a survey published on Tuesday. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total retail spending was 1.1% lower than a year earlier, the biggest fall since January last year and representing an acceleration from April's 0.3% decline.
7th Jun 2022 - Reuters
J&J Says It Plans to End Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Deal With Emergent BioSolutions
Johnson & Johnson said Monday it planned to terminate its Covid-19 vaccine supply deal with contract manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions Inc., as both companies accused each other of breaching the agreement. J&J informed Emergent last week of its plan to terminate the 2020 manufacturing agreement “based on Emergent’s breaches, including failure to supply Covid-19 vaccine drug substance,” J&J said in a written statement. J&J provided a formal notice of termination and breach to Emergent on Monday, J&J said. The contract disclosure Monday came after Emergent BioSolutions said in a securities filing that it had sent a notice of material breach of the agreement to J&J.
6th Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19 increases risk of psychiatric diagnoses in the months after infection, OSU study finds
A recent Oregon State University study found that COVID-19 patients had a roughly 25% increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection, compared with people who had other types of respiratory tract infections. The findings support previous research on psychiatric disorders among post-COVID patients, though the current study found a smaller effect than the earlier studies, said co-author Lauren Chan, a Ph.D. student in nutrition in OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences. For the current study, published in World Psychiatry, researchers used data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) to match 46,610 COVID-19 positive individuals with control patients who were diagnosed with a different respiratory tract infection so they could compare how COVID specifically affected patients’ mental health.
6th Jun 2022 - Oregon State University
Pfizer to spend $120 mln to boost U.S. COVID pill manufacturing
Pfizer Inc said on Monday it would spend $120 million to expand manufacturing of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment at its Michigan plant, as demand ramps up. Use of the pill, Paxlovid, authorized to treat newly infected, at-risk people to prevent severe illness, has soared recently as infections rise. Biden administration officials have pushed for the wider use of Paxlovid, which the government distributes for free
6th Jun 2022 - Reuters
Egypt to provide 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to African nations: Sisi
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday announced an initiative to grant 30 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to African countries, as part of cooperation efforts between Egypt and African countries. Sisi’s statement came during the opening activities of the first African medical conference and exhibition – “Africa Health ExCon” – held at Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) in al-Manara International Conference Center. The conference was launched in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, and some ministers and senior statesmen.
6th Jun 2022 - Egypt Independent
COVID mRNA vaccines can be quickly updated for new variants. So, where's my Omicron booster?
Since Omicron was declared a variant of concern at the end of November, it quickly swept the globe, becoming the dominant COVID variant in many countries including Australia. It's the latest in a growing line of variants, and probably not going to be the last. Yet every one of the hundreds of millions of approved mRNA vaccines administered around the globe were made to their original recipe, which was based on the COVID virus that first emerged in Wuhan. One of the most promising aspects of the new mRNA COVID vaccines is their ability to be rapidly adjusted for maximum protection in the face of new variants. So where's my Omicron booster?
6th Jun 2022 - ABC News
East European countries ask EU to reopen vaccine contracts
A group of ten Eastern European countries have petitioned the European Commission to renegotiate coronavirus vaccine contracts, in a letter seen by POLITICO that cites an oversupply of doses and the need to protect state finances.
Contracts should be able to be terminated "if they are no longer needed from a health and epidemiological perspective," reads one of the letter's demands. In other cases, it should be possible to reduce the number of doses that are ordered so that they better reflect the demand for shots. The letter was sent Friday night and is addressed to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. Poland led the initiative, and the letter was also signed by Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. A number of countries in Eastern Europe had previously raised concerns that existing coronavirus vaccine contracts, signed at the height of the pandemic when the EU was under intense public pressure to procure jabs, have locked them into buying too many doses that are now not needed.
6th Jun 2022 - POLITICO Europe
The impact of government-mandated proof of vaccination requirements on COVID-19 vaccine uptake
Vaccination has proven to be particularly effective in decreasing the transmission and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with vaccinated individuals having a significantly lower chance of severe consequences. Nonetheless, CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations in several countries noticeably dropped in the summer months after a high surge in early 2021. Due to the enhanced reproduction rate of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, even regions with heightened vaccination rates witnessed elevated viral spread or had to continue or reinstate non-pharmaceutical measures such as indoor capacity restrictions or mask-wearing in fall 2021.
6th Jun 2022 - News-Medical.Net
China Covid-Zero: Beijing Restrictions to Loosen Soon
Beijing will continue to roll back its Covid-19 restrictions on Monday, as China’s capital eyes a return to normality after declaring at the end of last month that the latest outbreak of the virus was under control. The city will resume public transport in most districts, except Fengtai and some parts of Changping, allowing workers to return to their offices and restaurants to restart dine-in services, the local authorities said in a statement on Sunday.
5th Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullAirlines step up push to get U.S. to drop international COVID-19 testing rule
American Airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom said on Friday at a conference the testing requirements were "nonsensical" and were "depressing" leisure and business travel. Airlines say many Americans are not traveling internationally because of concerns they will test positive and be stranded abroad. International U.S. air travel remains down about 14% from pre-pandemic levels. Isom, who met with politicians in Washington on Thursday to discuss the issue, said 75% of countries American serves do not have testing requirements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires travelers to test negative within one day before flights to the United States.
4th Jun 2022 - Reuters
White House: 1st shots for kids under 5 possible by June 21
The Biden administration said Thursday that children under 5 may be able to get their first COVID-19 vaccination doses as soon as June 21, if federal regulators authorize shots for the age group, as expected. White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the last remaining ineligible age group to get shots. He said the Food and Drug Administration’s outside panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to evaluate the Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids. Shipments to doctors’ offices and pediatric care facilities would begin soon after FDA authorization, with the first shots possible the following week. Jha said states can begin placing orders for pediatric vaccines on Friday, and said the administration has an initial supply of 10 million doses available. He said it may take a few days for the vaccines to arrive across the country and vaccine appointments to be widespread.
3rd Jun 2022 - The Associated Press
Vaccinations of young children could begin 'in earnest' by June 21 -White House
The White House expects vaccinations of young children to begin in earnest as early as June 21, if federal authorities approve their use in coming weeks, White House COVID response coordinator Ashish Jha said on Thursday.
3rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer's Paxlovid reduces COVID risk in seniors regardless of vaccine status -study
Pfizer Inc's antiviral treatment Paxlovid reduces COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients 65 years and older, according to a new study in Israel conducted during the rise of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
3rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Beijing Sticks to Xi’s Covid-19 Stance While Endorsing Premier as Economic Fixer
As China tries to bounce back from costly Covid-19 lockdowns, a two-track approach is emerging in Beijing: sticking to President Xi Jinping’s stance on strictly controlling Covid-19 while giving his No. 2, Premier Li Keqiang, the task of fixing the economy. However, Mr. Xi’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 is complicating Mr. Li’s economic-revival mission. Traditionally in China, the premier is in charge of the economy, though that division of power had been subverted for much of the past decade, during which Mr. Xi alone has dominated decision-making. Mr. Li has recently gained a greater economic role by tapping into worries within the ranks of the ruling Communist Party over faltering growth and rising unemployment, people close to decision-making say.
3rd Jun 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Airlines step up push to get U.S. to drop international COVID-19 testing rule
U.S. airlines are stepping up their efforts to get the Biden administration to end COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirements for international air travel. American Airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom said on Friday at a conference the testing requirements were "nonsensical" and were "depressing" leisure and business travel. Airlines say many Americans are not traveling internationally because of concerns they will test positive and be stranded abroad. International U.S. air travel remains down about 14% from pre-pandemic levels.
3rd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong Airline Body Wants Three-Day Quarantine, No Covid Test
The lobby group representing all airlines flying in and out of Hong Kong is pushing the government to cut the hotel quarantine period for travelers to three days and wants pre-flight Covid-19 tests scrapped, according to people with knowledge of the outreach. The Board of Airlines Representatives of Hong Kong also requested authorities abolish a rule that sees flights suspended if they bring in a certain number of Covid-positive passengers, said the people, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The push comes as Hong Kong moves to further ease its contentious pandemic border regime. From Wednesday, the city will stop banning airlines that fly in passengers that do not meet travel requirements on their first offense, instead levying a warning and HK$20,000 ($2,548) fine.
2nd Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Cotton rally squeezes Asian garment makers, threatens recovery from COVID
Article reports that a near doubling in benchmark cotton futures to 11-year highs, hard on the heels of a spike in freight and fuel prices, is clobbering Asian apparel makers while their global retail customers are reluctant to soak up the extra costs.
Losses have mounted for garment makers in Asia, among the region's top employers, with some smaller units suspending operations, rendering thousands jobless, undermining a recovery from the pandemic and posing a fresh challenge for policymakers already battling high inflation.
2nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Next China: Shanghai Liberation
Shanghai’s residents are finally getting a real taste of freedom. After a three-month lockdown — including half-hearted easing measures that only served to torment the city's population of 25 million — Shanghai re-opened June 1. No longer do people have to request permission to leave their residential compounds, nor are they swabbed for Covid on a daily basis. Trains are running again, shops are re-opening and ride-hailing services can pick up passengers. It’s not all smooth sailing. Some 10% of the population in high-risk areas are still locked in, gyms and cinemas remain shut, and residents need to hustle to get a negative Covid test result within the past 72 hours to enter public spaces. Even so, reaction to the good news was swift. The newly released cheered their freedoms with fireworks and parties in their housing compounds. Some fled to Hong Kong.
2nd Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
South Korea to lift quarantine requirement for non-vaccinated foreign arrivals
South Korea's prime minister on Friday said the country will lift its quarantine requirement for foreign arrivals without vaccination from June 8 and also start lifting aviation regulations imposed for international flights. However, the government will maintain the requirement of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result prior to entry and a PCR test within 72 hours after arrival.
2nd Jun 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Jun 2022
View this newsletter in fullBeijing Says Outbreak Under Control as City Eases Curbs
China’s capital Beijing will loosen mobility curbs in several districts from Sunday after authorities said its outbreak is under control, while total case numbers in the financial hub of Shanghai continued to decline. Most public transportation services including buses, subways and taxis will resume in three districts including Chaoyang, according to Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the Beijing city government. Shopping centers outside of controlled areas in the city will also be allowed to reopen with capacity limits on the number of people. Chaoyang is home to Beijing’s central business district, most foreign embassies and expatriates.
1st Jun 2022 - Bloomberg
Shanghai moves toward ending 2-month COVID-19 lockdown
Shanghai authorities say they will take major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has set back the national economy and largely confined millions of people to their homes. Already, a steady stream of people strolled in the Bund, the city's historic waterfront park, on a pleasant Tuesday night, some taking selfies against the bright lights of the Pudong financial district on the other side of the river. Elsewhere, people gathered outside to eat and drink under the watch of police deployed to discourage large crowds from forming. Lu Kexin, a high school senior visiting the Bund for the first time since late March, said she went crazy being trapped at home for so long. “I’m very happy, extremely happy, all the way, too happy," she said. “I could die."
1st Jun 2022 - Yahoo Finance
After two months, a scarred Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdown ends
Following two months of frustration, despair and economic loss, Shanghai's draconian COVID-19 lockdown ended at midnight on Wednesday morning, prompting celebrations tempered with fear that an outbreak could return. Most of Shanghai's 25 million residents can now freely leave home, return to work, use public transport and drive their cars - a moment that for many in China's largest and most cosmopolitan city felt like it would never arrive. At midnight, small groups gathered in the city's former French Concession neighbourhood whistled, shouted "ban lifted" and clinked glasses of champagne.
1st Jun 2022 - Reuters
COVID-19 border measures to stay until at least end of June: PHAC
The Public Health Agency of Canada says COVID-19 restrictions at the border will remain in place for at least another month. The agency made the announcement on Twitter, the day after Parliament voted down a Conservative opposition motion to revert to pre-pandemic rules for travel. Several pandemic restrictions are in place at Canadian airports and land borders, including vaccine mandates, random COVID-19 tests and the requirement that international travellers answer pandemic-related questions on the ArriveCan app.
31st May 2022 - Global News
COVID-19 vaccination rates for P.E.I. children lag, but province still ahead of national average
COVID-19 vaccination rates on P.E.I. are among the highest across Canada — with 94 per cent of people over 12 now fully vaccinated. But when it comes to those aged five to 11, that rate falls. According to the province's vaccination data, as of May 22, 54 per cent of children aged five to 11 were fully vaccinated and 68 per cent had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
31st May 2022 - CBC.ca
Politics and pandemic fatigue doom California’s covid vaccine mandates
In January, progressive California Democrats vowed to adopt the toughest covid vaccine requirements in the country. Their proposals would have required most Californians to get the shots to go to school or work — without allowing exemptions to get out of them. Months later, the lawmakers pulled their bills before the first votes. One major vaccine proposal survives, but faces an uphill battle. It would allow children ages 12 to 17 to get a covid-19 vaccine without parental permission. At least 10 other states permit some minors to do this.
31st May 2022 - News-Medical.Net
Push to get more people fully vaccinated against Covid over half term holiday
Health bosses in Leicestershire are urging families to use the half term holiday to go and get jabbed together. The schools in both the city and the county are off his week and alongside the fun days out, people are being urged to make sure they get fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Clinics across the county are still open - although the Platinum Jubilee bank holidays mean Thursday and Friday will see them close again.
31st May 2022 - Leicestershire Live
WA's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination rules set to stay as experts see no reason to change
Throughout the ebb and flow of WA's various COVID restrictions, one rule has remained steady for months now — workplace vaccination requirements. Since late last year, about 60 per cent of WA workers have been required to be vaccinated to continue working and from today, this cohort will need to have had their third booster shot. But with WA achieving world-leading vaccination rates and about a quarter of people having some level of immunity from having recently had the virus, questions have been raised about the utility of those mandates. However, experts and the government say there should be little change, at least in the short term.
31st May 2022 - ABC.Net.au
China's Covid Cases Drop Below 100 for The First Time Since Early March
China’s daily virus cases fell below 100 for the first time since early March after months of strict curbs, though omicron’s contagiousness means the reprieve from infections and Beijing’s intensive Covid Zero response may only be temporary.
The country reported 97 new cases for Monday, according to the National Health Commission. The financial hub of Shanghai, formerly the epicenter of China’s outbreak, reported 31 cases, as the city prepared to further loosen curbs. Beijing found 18, though the capital continues to see infections popping up in the community despite extensive contact tracing and isolation.
31st May 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 31st May 2022
View this newsletter in fullNew Hong Kong clusters spark calls for no further easing of Covid curbs in bars
Two separate outbreaks infected 26 bar-goers in Central over weekend, prompting expert to urge government not to relax social-distancing measures in clubs and pubs. Government says it will tighten Covid-19 testing requirements for arrivals while easing its flight ban mechanism from June 1
30th May 2022 - South China Morning Post
WHO says will begin Covid-19 vaccination drive in Afghanistan from June
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it will begin its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Afghanistan from June. According to the global health body, the campaign will cover 34 provinces and target more than 5 million people aged 18 years and above, TOLO News reported. WHO figures have revealed that as of May 22, a total of 6,118,557 vaccine doses against the virus have been administered in Afghanistan. Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, the war-torn nation has reported a total of 179,835 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 7,699 deaths.
30th May 2022 - Business Standard
China donates 10 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses to Myanmar
The Chinese embassy handed them over to Myanmar's Ministry of Health at the Yangon International Airport on Sunday. The China-donated COVID-19 vaccines and syringes arrived in Myanmar in separate batches starting from May 18 to May 29. China has been continuously providing medical supplies to Myanmar in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and has helped Myanmar in filling and packing COVID-19 vaccines to boost the country's vaccination rate, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said at the handover ceremony.
30th May 2022 - CCTV
North Korea Calls Covid Vaccines "Immortal Potion Of Love" From Kim Jong Un: Report
As North Korea finally began its COVID-19 vaccination programme, the nation's supreme leader Kim Jong Un declared that the coronavirus jabs are an “immortal potion of love” gifted by him. According to Daily Star, the North Korean leader made the bizarre claims through loudspeakers playing through vehicles at vaccination sites. Responding to its recent Covid outbreak, North Korea started rolling out the vaccines. However, so far, the Covid jabs are only reserved for soldiers working on national construction projects.
30th May 2022 - NDTV
Taiwan to set up 6 COVID-19 vaccination sites for children aged 5-11
Taiwan's six special municipalities will each set up a large-scale walk-in vaccination site where COVID-19 vaccine shots for children aged 5-11 will be administered starting June 1, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday. In order to ensure children acquire immunity against COVID-19 as soon as possible, the CECC has worked together with the municipal governments of Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung to set up walk-in vaccination sites for children. The sites are located at Taipei Liberty Square, New Taipei Banqiao Station, Taoyuan Arena, Taichung National Museum of Natural Science, Tainan Public Library, and Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, according to the CECC.
30th May 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Why Africa's first Covid vaccine factory struggles to find customers
The signing of a licensing deal late last year for South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare to bottle and sell the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine across Africa was hailed as a lifeline for a continent that lost out in the rush for jabs early in the pandemic.
But six months later, the factory is on the brink of closure because of lack of demand. In South Africa, only 5 per cent of people have received a booster shot and just under a third of the 60mn population are double vaccinated. It is part of a broader trend across Africa that helps to explain why the future of the continent’s biggest vaccine manufacturing plant is in doubt.
30th May 2022 - Financial Times
Shanghai reports 22 new local asymptomatic COVID cases, 9 symptomatic cases for May 30
Shanghai reported 22 new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for May 30, down from 61 a day earlier, while local symptomatic cases rose to 9 from 6, the city government said on Tuesday. No new cases was reported outside quarantined areas, down from one a day earlier. Shanghai on Monday announced an end to its two-month long COVID-19 lockdown, allowing the vast majority of people in China's largest city to leave their homes and drive their cars from Wednesday.
30th May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai lockdown: China's financial hub set to lift Covid curbs
Authorities in Shanghai have announced that some Covid-19 lockdown measures imposed on businesses will be lifted from Wednesday. Plans have also been introduced to support the city's economy, which has been hit hard by the restrictions. The commercial centre has been under a strict lockdown for almost two months. Meanwhile, China's capital Beijing has reopened parts of its public transport system as well as some shopping malls and other venues as infections ease. The announcement in Shanghai came as official figures showed on Sunday that new daily coronavirus cases fell to 122 from 170 over the previous 24 hours.
30th May 2022 - BBC News
Beijing, Shanghai ease COVID restrictions as outbreaks fade
Shoppers returned to the malls of Beijing on Sunday as the Chinese capital relaxed pandemic restrictions after declaring a small but persistent COVID-19 outbreak effectively under control. A partial reopening of stores and offices in Beijing was welcomed by a weary populace and struggling shopkeepers eager for life to return to normal. Coupled with a gradual easing of restrictions in Shanghai, it signaled that the worst is over in the twin outbreaks in China’s most prominent cities. The lockdowns and other restrictions under China’s “zero-COVID” strategy have increasingly frustrated residents as they see other countries ease up and re-open their borders. Some have resisted and staged protests at apartment complexes and university dormitories, in an authoritarian country where people think twice about speaking out publicly because of possible repercussions.
29th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Covid News: Beijing Adds More Cases as Anxiety Over Nation's GDP Swells
Beijing police detained 17 employees of a Covid-19 lab for failing to test samples properly, blaming the infractions for worsening the outbreak that’s enveloped China’s capital for a month. Workers at the lab diluted samples to the point that infections may not be able to be detected, officials said at a briefing on Friday. It led to cases not being found and spawned the risk of further spread, said Li Ang, an official with the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. The city will tighten supervision over labs, including daily inspections.
29th May 2022 - Bloomberg
North Korea Says Pandemic Situation Being Controlled and Is Improving
The pandemic situation in North Korea is being controlled and is improving, state media Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday, citing a meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un. Officials reported the latest number of daily “fever” cases rose by 980. More than 89,500 cases were recorded for the 24 hours ending May 28 at 6 p.m. KCNA said. The country has reported a total of 3.44 million infections since the end of April, with 94% of them having recovered, according to the report.
29th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Shanghai takes baby steps towards ending COVID lockdown
Shanghai took more gradual steps on Friday towards lifting its COVID-19 lockdown while Beijing was investigating cases where its strict curbs were affecting other medical treatments as China soldiered on with its uneven exit from restrictions. The financial hub and the capital have been hot spots, with a harsh two-month lockdown to arrest a coronavirus spike in Shanghai and tight movement restrictions to stamp out a small but stubborn outbreak in Beijing.
28th May 2022 - Reuters.com
Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Omicron variant found in all 180 samples – NCIPD
Bulgaria’s National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) said on May 25 that it has found the Omicron coronavirus strain in each of the 180 samples taken from Covid-19 patients in the country.Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Omicron variant found in all 180 samples – NCIPD. The samples had been taken over a period of time ranging from April 1 to May 3 and came from 17 out of Bulgaria’s 28 districts.
As of May 9, 10 patients in the NCIPD sample group had died, 22 were in hospital, 27 were undergoing home treatment and 121 had recovered. NCIPD said that the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron strain was found in 144 cases, or 80 per cent of all samples, compared to 74.7 per cent in the previous sample group sequenced by NCIPD, as announced on May 11. The remaining samples showed evidence of eight distinct subvariants of the Omicron strain of the virus, including seven cases of BA.1.1 and 17 cases of the BA.2.9 subvariant.
28th May 2022 - The Sofia Globe
Shanghai lockdown: Residents demand release, and some get it
On a balmy Sunday night, residents of an upscale Shanghai compound took to the streets to decry lockdown restrictions imposed by their community. By the following morning, they were free to leave. The triumphant story quickly spread on chat groups across the Chinese city this week, sparking one question in the minds of those who remained under lockdown: Shouldn’t we do the same? By the end of the week, other groups of residents had confronted management in their complexes, and some had won at least a partial release. While it’s unclear how widespread they are, the incidents reflect the frustration that has built up after more than seven weeks of lockdown, even as the number of new daily cases has fallen to a few hundred in a city of 25 million people.
28th May 2022 - The Associated Press
JBS U.S. units to adopt pandemic response plans after COVID outbreaks
Subsidiaries of meat processor JBS USA LLC have agreed to implement infectious disease preparedness plans at seven U.S. plants, in the wake of a U.S. congressional report finding that the industry largely failed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among workers. The agreement was announced on Friday by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which said the companies will work with teams of outside experts to develop and implement new policies on engineering, ventilation, visitor screening, cleaning, and personal protective equipment.
27th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. extends tariff exclusions on Chinese COVID-19 medical products
The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Friday said it extended tariff exclusions on Chinese-made medical products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic for another six months, to Nov. 30. The exclusions from tariffs of up to 25% imposed by former President Donald Trump's administration were granted in 2020 and were subsequently extended, but were due to expire on May 31, USTR said. Products affected by the extension include face masks, surgical gloves, hospital gowns, and other related products and devices.
27th May 2022 - Reuters
Global firms warn of sluggish China demand due to lengthy COVID curbs
Two months into harsh COVID-19 lockdowns that have choked global supply chains, China's economy is staggering back to its feet, but businesses from retailers to chipmakers are warning of slow sales as consumers in the country slam the brakes on spending. Car sales in the world's largest auto market have slowed dramatically, gamers are buying fewer consoles, and people are unwilling to replace their existing smartphones, laptops and TVs, as prolonged COVID curbs crimp spending power and put more people out of jobs.
27th May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai edges towards COVID reopening as Beijing plans to ease curbs
The Chinese metropolis of Shanghai inched further towards a gradual reopening from two months of grinding COVID-19 lockdown, while officials in Beijing prepared to ease curbs in parts of the capital, saying on Saturday its outbreak was under control. Shanghai aims to essentially end its lockdown from Wednesday after relaxing restrictions over the last week. More people have been allowed out of their homes, and more businesses permitted to reopen, though most residents remain largely confined to their housing compounds, with shops mainly limited to deliveries.
27th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Deaths Hover Near Lows, but Older Americans at Risk Even With Boosters
Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are hovering near the lowest levels since the pandemic hit, showing how a population with built-up immune protection is less at risk of severe outcomes even as another wave of infections flows through the country. The nearly 300 deaths reported daily are again more concentrated among older people, underscoring hazards for the more vulnerable while the overall population appears less at risk.
Particularly vulnerable people, such as those who are older and immunocompromised, will likely always have some risk of death from a Covid-19 infection, doctors and public-health experts said. Increasing booster rates and access to treatments, in addition to taking certain precautions, can help lower the threat presented by the virus, they said.
27th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Why Are COVID Vaccines Deemed Non-Essential for Young Children in the UK?
Throughout the pandemic the University of Huddersfield’s Department of Pharmacy has been raising awareness on what vaccines are, how they are formulated, and why they're an important part of the healthcare strategy as well as the progress on further developments in COVID vaccines, so that people can make an educated decision on becoming vaccinated or if choosing for their children. In response to the recent controversy about why COVID vaccines for children hadn’t been approved in the UK but had in the US and why the UK was so slow to respond, the department’s Dr Hamid Merchant has written an article explaining why we should not rush mass-immunising young children and how a delayed immunisation can be beneficial in offering a more suitable vaccine formulation for children, such as the nasal COVID vaccine that should be approved soon.
26th May 2022 - Technology Networks
Spain's Covid booster jab entry requirement for all holidaymakers explained
Brits holidaying in Spain could need Covid boosters to enter the sunny travel hotspot this summer. Jabbed travellers can bypass testing with the right proof of vaccination on hand. It comes as the country opened its doors to non-vaccinated travellers to the first time ever since the pandemic began. The changing rules is indicative of the times as countries relax some restrictions to boost travel while sometimes maintaining key rules on jabs. For example, tourists entering the UK don't need a vaccine certificate, but British citizens have been warned to meet Spanish authorities' validity period requirements. The Foreign Office has advised Brits exactly when they'll need a booster to enter Spain.
26th May 2022 - Daily Record
Japan starts 4th COVID vaccine shots for seniors, at-risk groups
Japan began offering fourth coronavirus vaccine shots Wednesday to older people, and those with underlying medical conditions. People eligible for fourth inoculations are those aged 60 and older as well as individuals between 18 and 59 with chronic health conditions, such as respiratory illnesses or heart conditions, or at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms if infected with the coronavirus, according to the health ministry. The ministry suggests people receive the booster shots at least five months after receiving their third inoculation. The majority of seniors began getting third shots in January, meaning that the fourth round of shots is expected to be in full swing from June onward.
26th May 2022 - Kyodo News Plus
How important is the COVID-19 booster shot for 5-to-11-year-olds? 5 questions answered
COVID-19 case numbers are rising again in the U.S. – including among children. In mid-May 2022, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. children ages 5 to 11, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed by recommending a booster shot for this age group. Naturally, many parents are wondering about the importance and safety of a booster shot for their school-age children. Debbie-Ann Shirley, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia, answers some common questions about COVID-19 and booster shots in kids that she hears in her practice and explains the research behind why booster shots are recommended for children ages 5 to 11.
26th May 2022 - The Conversation
COVID-19 boosters and building trust among UK minority ethnic communities
Ethnic disparities in COVID-19 persist, with increased rates of infection, severe disease, and death among people from minority ethnic groups.1, 2, 3, 4, 5 COVID-19 vaccination rates also remain lowest in these communities compared with white people in the UK. Among people older than 18 years, the proportion who have had three COVID-19 vaccinations in England in March, 2022, was lowest among Black Caribbean (38%), Black African (45%), and Pakistani (45%) ethnic groups.1 These disparities are likely to be attributed to the intersection of key social determinants, including socioeconomic factors such as deprivation, overcrowding, and working patterns and conditions, alongside discrimination and structural violence in the health-care system and society.
26th May 2022 - The Lancet
COVID-hit Shanghai heads for lockdown exit but China still lost in economic gloom
Pandemic-hit Shanghai, China's financial hub, unveiled more post-lockdown plans on Thursday as it moves towards a return to normalcy, but a nationwide economic recovery is still a distance away, heightening a sense of urgency for more support.
China's biggest city by economic output has suffered from the lockdown imposed in early April. Other cities not under lockdown but still hemmed in by COVID curbs, including Beijing, have also struggled, with the highly transmissible Omicron provoking stronger responses from health authorities this year.
26th May 2022 - Reuters
US making COVID antiviral drug more available at test sites
The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive. More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections. Next week, the U.S. will send authorized federal prescribers to several Minnesota-run testing sites, turning them into test-to-treat locations. Federal regulators have also sent clearer guidance to physicians to help them determine how to manage Paxlovid’s interactions with other drugs, with an eye toward helping prescribers find ways to get the life-saving medication to more patients.
26th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullBavarian Nordic raises sales guidance after monkeypox vaccine order
Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) on Wednesday lifted its sales outlook and now expects a smaller operating loss this year after signing a contract with an undisclosed country for the supply of its monkeypox vaccine.
26th May 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer to sell all its patented drugs at nonprofit price in low-income countries
Pfizer Inc will make all of its patented medicines including COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid and big-selling breast cancer drug Ibrance available at a not-for-profit price to 45 of the world's poorest countries, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.
These countries lack good access to innovative treatments. It can take four to seven years longer for new treatments to become available in low-income countries, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, if they become available at all.
26th May 2022 - Reuters
COVID-19: Over 1 mln complete Pfizer vaccination cycle
As of May 25, 1, 021,972 people in Kazakhstan were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the Telegram Channel of the Interdepartmental Commission for preventing coronavirus reads. 1,143,837 people were administered the 1st jab, 1,021,972 received both. 846,952 teens, 39,469 pregnant women, and 140,496 breastfeeding moms were inoculated with the 1st jab, while 796,701 teens, 35,321 pregnant women, and 129,239 nursing moms fully completed the vaccination cycle.
25th May 2022 - Inform.kz
NGOs urge Biden to push for changes to WTO's COVID waiver text
Oxfam America, Partners in Health and other civil society groups urged U.S. President Joe Biden to press for changes in a draft agreement on waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, underscoring divisions over the current text.In a letter sent to Biden on Monday, and viewed by Reuters, the groups said an "outcome document" reached after months of discussions between the main parties - the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa - fell short of his "righteous goal" of removing IP barriers for COVID vaccines.
25th May 2022 - Reuters
Moderna again points at U.S. gov't in COVID-19 vaccine patent lawsuit
Moderna Inc told a Delaware federal court Monday that it is immune from patent-infringement allegations over its COVID-19 vaccine because it supplied the shots for a U.S. government effort. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc is required under a longstanding federal law to sue the government directly over shots used in its nationwide vaccination effort, Moderna said in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Moderna argued earlier this month that the law similarly insulates it from patent claims over its vaccine brought by Arbutus Biopharma Corp and Genevant Sciences GmbH.
25th May 2022 - Reuters
Nigeria receives 4.4 million doses of J&J COVID vaccine from Spain
Nigeria has received 4.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Spain, a government official said on Tuesday. Nigeria has already received 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from Finland, Greece and Slovenia with more expected from EU countries. Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said Nigeria wanted to vaccinate 70% of its population. It was far off the target but Spain's donation would help, he said.
25th May 2022 - Reuters
High-risk people eligible for second Covid booster vaccine under new Australian guidelines
People with medical conditions or disabilities that increase the risk of severe Covid-19 will be eligible for a fourth vaccine dose after updated advice by Australian health authorities. From 30 May about 1.5 million more people aged 16 to 64 will be eligible for the fourth dose, the interim health minister, Katy Gallagher, announced on Wednesday. However, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) has not given the green light for healthy people who do not have a risk factor for severe disease to receive a second booster. This includes healthcare workers and pregnant women who do not have other risk factors.
25th May 2022 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. CDC recommends re-isolation if COVID recurs after taking Pfizer's pill
Patients who experience recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms after completing treatment with Pfizer's drug Paxlovid should isolate again for five days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an advisory issued on Tuesday. Dozens of individuals have reported rebounding COVID symptoms on social media or to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after taking Paxlovid, but Pfizer suggests the experience is rare. A recent rise in COVID cases has driven up use of therapeutics in the country
24th May 2022 - Reuters
Manhattan return-to-office plans face persistent headwinds over COVID, safety
Efforts by financial firms and others to bring workers back to Manhattan offices more than two years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic face persistent headwinds, consultants said, with commuters still worrying about COVID-19 as well as safety. New York has lagged others major markets in the percentage of employees regularly working in the office, in part because of high usage rates of public transportation and COVID concerns, said David Lewis, chief executive of HR consultant firm OperationsInc, which works with several firms in the financial sector.
24th May 2022 - Reuters
South Korea to call at Davos for COVID aid for North, envoy says
South Korea will issue a call this week at the World Economic Forum for COVID-19 vaccines and other medical help for North Korea, even if that means exemptions from U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme, a senior official said on Tuesday. Secretive North Korea went for more than two years insisting it had no COVID but it confirmed its first outbreak nearly two weeks ago. It has since reported some 2.95 million people showing fever symptoms - it has limited testing capacity for COVID - and 68 deaths, and has imposed a sweeping lockdown and other anti-virus measures
24th May 2022 - Reuters
China’s bet on homegrown mRNA vaccines holds back nation
China is trying to navigate its biggest coronavirus outbreak without a tool it could have adopted many months ago, the kind of vaccines that have proven to offer the best protection against the worst outcomes from COVID-19. As early as the spring of 2020 a Chinese pharmaceutical company, Fosun Pharma, reached an agreement to distribute — and eventually manufacture — the mRNA vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech. It still has not been cleared in mainland China, despite being authorized for use by separate authorities in Hong Kong and Macao. Now health experts say that delay — a result of putting politics and national pride above public health — could lead to avoidable coronavirus deaths and deeper economic losses because whole cities would be locked down to insulate the country’s unprotected population.
24th May 2022 - The Associated Press
China's Weibo bans Trip.com co-founder who questioned zero-COVID strategy
A leading entrepreneur in China who had questioned the wisdom of the country's zero-COVID strategy was banned from posting on Weibo, with the social media platform accusing Trip.com co-founder James Liang of violating laws. Weibo, a platform similar to Twitter, did not specify which laws Liang had broken, and it was unclear when the ban took effect or what had triggered it. But on Tuesday, online users noticed changes to Liang's account, which has 817,000 followers.
24th May 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
New York School Vaccine Mandate Survives as Supreme Court Rejects Appeal
The US Supreme Court turned away a challenge to New York’s requirement that schoolchildren be vaccinated against serious diseases, refusing to question the state’s 2019 repeal of its longstanding exemption for families with religious objections. The justices without comment left in place a state court ruling that said New York wasn’t targeting religion when it eliminated the exemption after the worst measles outbreak in a quarter century. The vaccine requirement applies to children under 18 in both public and private schools.
24th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullMost Hongkongers do not need fourth Covid shot, expert says; 190 cases logged
Most Hongkongers under the age of 60 do not need a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as it will only provide brief protection, a government adviser has said, as infections dropped below 200 for the first time in more than three months.
Professor Lau Yu-lung, who chairs the government’s Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases, on Monday said the priority remained convincing the vulnerable elderly to take a third vaccine shot, noting the rate of severe illness or death among residents aged 18 to 59 was close to zero.
23rd May 2022 - South China Morning Post
Thousands of people incorrectly offered Covid booster vaccines by Welsh Government
More than 9,000 people have been incorrectly offered a Covid booster by the Welsh Government. It means 9,500 people who were not intended by the Government agency the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have been given, offered, or were due to be offered a booster as part of the spring campaign. The Welsh Government's health minister has said she will honour the offer to those who were due to receive it and that Wales has enough vaccines so this won't impact the planned autumn booster campaign. You can see who is eligible under that scheme here. The issue was identified on May 16 by health boards and Welsh Government was informed the following day. An investigation with the NHS Delivery Unit, health boards, Digital Health and Care Wales and Public Health Wales was carried out.
23rd May 2022 - Wales Online
COVID: On the road with the 'vaccine convoys' critical to keeping up the fight against coronavirus
It is difficult to know what COVID is doing to the people of Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the death toll has been vastly undercounted in much of the world, but poor data collection in most African countries makes it difficult to assess the true impact on the continent. Evidence on COVID-related deaths in South Africa suggests there are serious grounds for concern. Experts at South Africa’s Medical Research Council believe hundreds of thousands of deaths have been lost in the paperwork. The real death toll is thought to be three times the official number of 101,000.
23rd May 2022 - Sky News
Covid-19—How Europe's vaccine donations went tragically wrong
Covid vaccine equity remains out of reach, as wealthy nations drag their feet on donations, and vaccine stocks pass their use-by dates, write Lucien Hordijk and Priti Patnaik On 21 December 2021, a truck piled with brown cardboard boxes drove to the Goja rubbish dump in Abuja, Nigeria. Inside the boxes were a million doses of AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine, which were tipped onto the heap, among dirty plastic bags and papers.
Two months earlier, Nigeria had agreed to receive 2.6 million doses of the vaccine from the Covax facility, an initiative set up to distribute covid-19 vaccines equitably worldwide. The vaccines, in large part coming from Europe, had been close to expiry. “Some of these vaccines came in with a shelf life of about four weeks,” said Faisal Shaibu, a Nigerian government official tasked with organising vaccination of the country’s 200 million population against covid-19. Following quality inspections and regional allocations, Nigeria administered 1.53 million doses. But the rest were thrown away.
Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, and Indonesia have destroyed vaccines received from Europe and North America because they arrived close to expiry
23rd May 2022 - The BMJ
White House sees decision on Moderna COVID shot for kids under 5 in next few weeks
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Sunday he expects a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision on authorizing Moderna's vaccine for children under age five within the next few weeks. Moderna completed its application and FDA experts are looking closely at the data, Jha said on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, adding that the analysis is likely to be completed in the next few week and that a final decision would follow a meeting of the agency's expert advisers.
23rd May 2022 - Reuters
South Korea's daily COVID infections dip to near 4-month low under 10000
South Korea's daily new COVID-19 infections dropped to below 10,000 for the first time in nearly four months on Monday, as the highly contagious Omicron variant recedes despite eased pandemic restrictions. The figure of 9,975 is the lowest since South Korea reported 8,570 cases in late January, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea ditched most of its pandemic-related restrictions, including an outdoor mask mandate, earlier this month as cases slowed after peaking at more than 600,000 in mid-March
23rd May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai makes way towards COVID lockdown exit, Beijing plays defence
Shanghai cautiously pushed ahead on Saturday with plans to restore part of its transport network in a major step towards exiting a weeks-long COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing kept up its defences in an outbreak that has persisted for a month. Shanghai's lockdown since the beginning of April has dealt a heavy economic blow to China's most populous city, stirred debate over the sustainability of the nation's zero-COVID policy and stoked fears of future lockdowns and disruptions.
23rd May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullShanghai district to require all shops to shut, residents to stay home
Shanghai's central Jingan district, a key commercial area of the Chinese financial hub, said on Saturday it will require all supermarkets and shops to shut and residents to stay home until at least Tuesday. The district plans to carry out COVID mass testing from Sunday until Tuesday, it said on its official WeChat account.
The use of all exit permits previously given to residents that allowed them to leave their homes will be suspended, the district added without saying why.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
North Korea reports over 200000 fever cases for fifth day amid COVID wave
North Korea on Saturday reported more than 200,000 new patients suffering from fever for a fifth consecutive day, as it fought its first confirmed coronavirus outbreak. The ongoing COVID wave, declared last week, has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food crisis in the country of 25 million, which has refused outside help and kept its borders shut.
At least 219,030 people newly showed fever symptoms as of Friday evening, taking the total number of such cases to 2,460,640, the official KCNA news agency reported, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. The death toll rose by one to 66. KCNA did not say how many people had tested positive for the virus. In a separate report, KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had held a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful politburo early on Saturday to check the COVID situation and responses made over the nine days since the outbreak emerged.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
Biden, Yoon vow to deter North Korea and offer COVID aid
President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea, while offering to send COVID-19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un.
Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their countries' decades-old alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" and protect global supply chains. The two leaders are meeting in Seoul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean president's inauguration 11 days ago.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong bypassed? European airlines warn they can’t add flights while Covid-19 restrictions remain for travellers, aircrew
Several major European airlines have warned that they will not be able to add more flights to Hong Kong if the city’s Covid-19 restrictions remain while the rest of the world opens up rapidly following the decline of the pandemic. The carriers said they were more likely to fly to places with fewer or no restrictions, including places that allowed aircrew to move about freely during layovers. Industry leaders also warned that the city could take years to regain its status as an aviation hub, while rival Singapore stood to benefit after relaxing its restrictions on travellers.
21st May 2022 - South China Morning Post
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on procedure volumes in gastroenterology in the Netherlands
We used claims data extracted from the Dutch national health insurers information system (Vektis) to identify all gastroenterological health-care activities performed from Jan 1, 2019, to March 28, 2021, as part of a diagnosis treatment combination plan with a hepatogastroenterologist as the treating physician. The activities were analysed overall and across procedure types and diagnosis groups of interest (appendix pp 2–5). We compared absolute and relative changes for the index week during the COVID-19 pandemic with the reference week in 2019. We defined three timeframes on the basis of the number of weekly COVID-19 admissions:3 the first wave from week 9 through week 22 of 2020; a subsequent recovery phase with relatively few admissions from week 23 through week 35; and a second wave with high ongoing admission rates from week 36 through to the end of the study period
21st May 2022 - The Lancet
Tales of Covid-19 reinfection
But here's an individual story for anyone coming to terms with the persistence of Covid-19 and a lesson that if you've had it, you can easily test positive again.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel did. And it's wreaking havoc on his schedule just like infection does for school kids, teachers, service workers, office workers or anyone else who does the responsible thing and goes into isolation. "I'm such a positive person, I tested positive AGAIN. I am feeling fine," Kimmel said on Twitter this week, announcing guest hosts for his show. The news comes after he previously announced a positive test and guest hosts to fill in while he quarantined at home at the beginning of the month. There are many examples of people who got Covid-19 multiple times. Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary, leaps to mind. But Kimmel's second positive test came a very short time after his first.
21st May 2022 - CNN
Shanghai economy hit on all sides in April by COVID lockdown
China's commercial hub of Shanghai reported on Friday a broad decline in its economy last month when a city-wide COVID lockdown shut factories and kept residents at home, sparking concerns among foreign firms over their presence in the country. Output of Shanghai's industries, located at the heart of manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta, shrank 61.5% in April from a year earlier, the local statistics bureau said.
21st May 2022 - Reuters
Locked-down Shanghai finds new cases, breaking "zero COVID" streak
Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday and imposed stricter curbs in two districts, but did not signal any change to the planned end of a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1. The commercial hub of 25 million, in its seventh week of lockdown, has been slowly allowing more people to leave their homes in recent days, with many residential compounds issuing passes for brief walks or trips to the supermarket.
20th May 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan export orders fall for first time in 2 years, hurt by China lockdowns, global weakness
Taiwan's export orders -- a bellwether for global technology demand -- fell for the first time in 25 months in April, taking a larger-than-expected hit from COVID lockdowns in China and broader global supply chain disruptions. Export orders unexpectedly fell 5.5% from a year earlier to $51.9 billion last month, data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Friday. The decline was the first in more than two years, since the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping the world in 2020, and up-ended analysts' forecasts for 8.3% growth.
20th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullNorth Korea's suspected COVID-19 caseload nears 2 million
North Korea on Thursday reported 262,270 more suspected COVID-19 cases as its pandemic caseload neared 2 million — a week after the country acknowledged the outbreak and scrambled to slow infections in its unvaccinated population. The country is also trying to prevent its fragile economy from deteriorating further, but the outbreak could be worse than officially reported since the country lacks virus tests and other health care resources and may be underreporting deaths to soften the political impact on authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s anti-virus headquarters reported a single additional death, raising its toll to 63, which experts have said is abnormally small compared to the suspected number of coronavirus infections.
20th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Germany's top court OKs vaccine mandate for health workers
The coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, Germany’s health minister warned Thursday as the country’s highest court approved rules requiring health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach noted the sharp rise in cases currently happening in some Asian countries, such as North Korea, but also parts of Europe. “In Germany, too, an average of 130 to 150 people are dying every day due to the pandemic,” Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin. “So the impression that the pandemic has been defeated is wrong.” Lauterbach was holding a two-day meeting with his counterparts from the Group of Seven leading democracies on Thursday and Friday.
20th May 2022 - The Associated Press
N.Korea claims 'good results' in COVID fight as fever cases top 2 million
North Korea said on Friday it was achieving "good results" in the fight against the country's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, as the number of people with fever symptoms surpassed 2 million. The isolated nation reported 263,370 more people with fever symptoms, and two more deaths, taking the total fever caseload to 2.24 million as of Thursday evening, including 65 deaths, according to state media KCNA. It did not report how many of those cases had tested positive for the coronavirus.
20th May 2022 - Reuters
China's international schools hit by exodus of teachers dejected by COVID curbs
After teaching for three years at an international school in Shanghai, Michael is preparing to break his contract and leave, worn down by stringent measures against the coronavirus. Following two years of nearly-shut borders, onerous health checks and quarantine norms, a decision at the beginning of April to lock down China’s commercial centre proved the last straw for the 35-year-old. "It has reached a point where the economic benefits of working here don’t make up for the lack of freedom to come and go," the science teacher said, declining to give his full name for reasons of privacy.
20th May 2022 - Reuters
India has supplied COVID vaccines under Quad umbrella
India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia and Thailand under an initiative of the Quad group of countries, New Delhi said on Thursday, though not the Johnson & Johnson shot as originally planned. The leaders of the Quad countries - India, the United States, Japan and Australia - could discuss the vaccine supply plan when they meet in Japan on Tuesday, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a news conference.
19th May 2022 - Reuters India
Some in Shanghai allowed out to shop; end of COVID lockdown in sight
More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months on Thursday as authorities set out more plans for exiting the city-wide COVID-19 lockdown more fully. The commercial hub of 25 million recorded no new infections outside quarantined areas for a fifth day in a row, further cementing its "zero COVID" status with each day.
19th May 2022 - Reuters
China's zero-COVID policy dashes global hopes for quick economic return to normal
A sharp slowdown in China's economy caused by its strict zero-COVID rules and Beijing's shift away from a traditional reliance on external demand have cast doubts over how much the country will contribute to future global trade and investment. While China staged a remarkably quick recovery from its initial pandemic slump, thanks to bumper exports and factory production, analysts expect the current downturn will be harder to shake off than the one seen in early 2020
19th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. advisory panel to weigh in on COVID boosters for children
An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for children ages 5 to 11, a group that is just 29% vaccinated so far. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for those children on Tuesday as COVID cases are on the rise again in the United States.
19th May 2022 - Reuters
China slightly eases COVID test rules for travellers from U.K.
China removed on Thursday some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from Britain, part of changes to its draconian virus rules to better cope with a pandemic driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Travellers from Britain will no longer need to take a PCR test seven days before flying, and a requirements for an antibody test has also been scrapped, China's embassy in Britain said in a statement. However, travellers from Britain will still need to do two PCR tests within 48 hours of the departure of their flight to China, and a pre-flight rapid antigen test in some cases, the embassy said.
19th May 2022 - Reuters
China removes some COVID test rules on travellers from U.S.
China has removed some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries such as the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine for some inbound travellers, as it fine-tunes measures to cope with the Omicron variant. From Friday, travellers from the United States will no longer need an RT-PCR test seven days before flying, according to notices from the Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States. Requirements for antibody tests have also been scrapped. Those travellers will still need to do two RT-PCR tests within 48 or 24 hours of their flights - depending on which airport they are flying out of - plus another pre-flight antigen test, the notices said.
19th May 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina is going big on Covid testing, so why not include vaccination too?
In the past two weeks, nucleic acid test booths have sprung up in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, part of China’s plan to make tests routine and require residents to show negative Covid-19 test results when they go to work, school or use public transport. It involves enormous resources. These test booths are open long hours and there are many because the authorities want to ensure every citizen has access within a 15-minute walk. Ma Xiaowei, head of National Health Commission (NHC), wrote in Qiushi journal this week the government planned to set up separate teams to do nucleic acid tests so healthcare workers would not be called on to do the task, but it would take time to form the teams.
18th May 2022 - South China Morning Post
From storage to transport, hurdles to getting COVID vaccine to North Koreans
As North Korea battles its first known COVID outbreak, a lack of storage, chronic power shortages and inadequately trained medical staff pose acute challenges to inoculating its 25 million people - even with outside help, analysts said. North Korea has not responded to offers of aid from South Korea and international vaccine-sharing programmes, but prefers U.S.-made Moderna and Pfizer over China's Sinovac or British-Swedish Astrazeneca shots, according to South Korean officials.
18th May 2022 - Reuters
Coronavirus vaccine booster for children authorized in the USA
Extending its leadership in coronavirus vaccines, New York’s Pfizer has widened its emergency authorization for Comirnaty in 5-11 year olds, to include a booster dose.
Discovered and developed by German firm BioNTech, Comirnaty is an innovative mRNA-based vaccine, and by far the most commercially successful coronavirus jab available.
18th May 2022 - The Pharma Letter
'Huge' pressure for Shanghai to stay COVID-free as lockdown end nears
Shanghai health authorities warn of risks of COVID rebound. Some migrant workers looking to leave Shanghai. Goldman cuts China GDP forecast, warns of further slip
E-commerce giant JD.com says consumers losing
18th May 2022 - Reuters
China relaxes some COVID test rules for U.S., other travellers
China has removed certain COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries like the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine period for some inbound travellers, as it finetunes its stringent measures to cope with the Omicron variant. The slight relaxations were made in response to factors including the "characteristics of coronavirus variants", according to notices from Chinese embassies and consulates that did not provide further details.
18th May 2022 - Reuters
'Huge' pressure for Shanghai to stay COVID-free as end to lockdown looms
Shanghai health authorities warn of risks of COVID-19 rebound. Some migrant workers are looking to leave Shanghai. E-commerce giant warns consumers losing income and confidence
18th May 2022 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
When Africans asked for COVID shots, they didn't get them. Now they don't want them
It's noisy inside the Mamprobi clinic in Accra as kids clamber over their mothers while they wait to get their measles vaccines. Outside, an area reserved for COVID-19 shots is empty. A health worker leans back in his chair and scrolls on a tablet. One woman, waiting to get her daughter inoculated, is fully aware of the dangers of measles: the high fever, the rash, the risk to eyesight. But COVID-19? She has never heard of a single case. The perception that COVID-19 doesn't pose a significant threat is common in Ghana's capital and elsewhere in Africa, whose youthful populace has suffered a fraction of the casualties that have driven vaccine uptake in places like Europe and America, where the disease tore through elderly populations. "I mean, Ghana has been spared up until now doing just what we're doing," said Nana Kwaku Addo, a 28-year-old construction worker in Accra. "I've heard people say it's common sense (to get vaccinated), but what about all the other countries that have taken it and still put people in lockdown."
18th May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai lets financial firms resume work as COVID curb ease - sources
Shanghai authorities have granted approval to 864 of the city's financial institutions to resume work, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, as it gradually eases a city-wide lockdown that began seven weeks ago. The move is part of the financial hub's plan to reopen broadly and allow normal life to resume after the lockdown was enacted to curb China's worst outbreak since the coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan in late 2019 halted most economic activity.
18th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina’s Economic Distress Deepens as Lockdowns Drag On
China’s economy descended deeper into a Covid-19-induced doldrums last month, raising questions about whether Beijing’s planned stimulus measures can prevent a prolonged downturn. Consumer spending and factory output tumbled in April, while growth in infrastructure investment—which Beijing has been counting on to prop up growth this year—slowed sharply, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported Monday.
18th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China's COVID controls will impact foreign investment for years - US lobby
China's strict COVID-19 controls will hamper foreign investment into the country for years to come as limits on travel block the pipeline for projects, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce warned on Tuesday. There are few signs that American companies are leaving the China market, but the years-long process of research and due diligence for projects has been delayed, Michael Hart said at an event launching the chamber's annual report.
18th May 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong to push on with third stage of vaccine pass scheme, 328 cases logged
Hong Kong will press ahead with a policy requiring residents to receive the third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to enter most premises by the end of the month, the city’s leader has confirmed, although a million people have yet to receive such a shot. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said the third phase of the vaccine pass scheme would be implemented on May 31 as planned, even as the administration faces mounting pressure to review its effectiveness.
17th May 2022 - South China Morning Post
Shanghai’s Covid-19 Case Count Drops as City Prepares to Reopen
Shanghai marked a third straight day with no community transmissions of Covid-19, a key milestone toward ending an outbreak that has brought China’s financial capital to a grinding halt. Shanghai on Tuesday reported 777 new locally transmitted cases from a day earlier, compared with more than 25,000 daily infections at the height of the outbreak in mid-April. All the infections were found among 910,000 people in isolation facilities or confined at home—a sign that, for now, the virus’s ability to spread more widely in the city of 25 million people has been curtailed.
17th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19: Hong Kong leader confirms next phase of Vaccine Pass to go ahead as health experts urge relaxation
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has confirmed that the next phase of Hong Kong’s Covid-19 Vaccine Pass will go ahead as scheduled on May 31, despite experts urging the government to relax the requirement for those under 60. Lam’s confirmation came on Tuesday after two University of Hong Kong (HKU) medics wrote an opinion piece in Ming Pao arguing that the scheme, which will require Hongkongers to have received three doses of a Covid-19 to enter certain types of premises from May 31, was “coercive.”
17th May 2022 - Hong Kong Free Press
What happens when the government stops buying Covid-19 vaccines?
The federal government has distributed Covid-19 vaccines and treatments for free so far, but most likely, the handouts won’t last forever. At some point, Covid-19 vaccines and treatments will be bought and sold just like other drugs and medical products. But big questions loom about how and when the transition will happen, about how bumpy it will be. The issue has gained urgency in recent weeks as Congress has been reluctant to provide the Biden administration with any additional funds to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. That means the government is out of money to purchase more vaccines, oral antivirals, and therapeutics, not to mention next-generation vaccines and therapies tailored to particular variants.
17th May 2022 - STAT News
FDA to soon authorize Pfizer's COVID booster shot for younger kids - NYT
U.S. health regulators are expected to authorize a booster shot of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 as soon as Tuesday, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the authorization last month. They have cited data from a mid- to late-stage study showing a third dose of their shot increased protection against the original coronavirus version and the Omicron variant among children in the age group
17th May 2022 - Reuters
Biden offering additional 8 free COVID-19 tests to public
The government website for people to request free COVID-19 at-home tests from the U.S. government is now accepting a third round of orders. The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. households can request an additional eight free at-home tests to be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service. The announcement comes as coronavirus cases are rising again in some areas of the country.
17th May 2022 - Associated Press
JD.com beats revenue estimates but CEO cautious over COVID outbreaks
E-commerce group JD.com Inc, beat estimates for quarterly revenue as more people shopped on its platform following COVID lockdowns in China, but its CEO was cautious on the outlook due to logistical disruptions and sluggish consumption.
The resurgence of COVID-19 in the world's second-largest economy in March and the strict lockdowns it has taken since to curb its spread, including in its most populous city Shanghai, have heavily disrupted normal life and business activity.
17th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullFDA to soon authorize Pfizer's COVID booster shot for younger kids - NYT
U.S. health regulators are expected to authorize a booster shot of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 as soon as Tuesday, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the authorization last month. They have cited data from a mid- to late-stage study showing a third dose of their shot increased protection against the original coronavirus version and the Omicron variant among children in the age group.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Global Covid-19 vaccines equity of access is a ‘shared goal’ as production surges, says industry
Global equity of access to Covid-19 vaccines should be a shared goal, according to the research-based biopharmaceutical industry, with production set to reach 16.3 billion doses by the end of June. In a joint statement at the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, IPHA and BPCI, the industry’s representative organizations, said waiving intellectual property rights will not accelerate global Covid-19 vaccines access.
16th May 2022 - The Pharma Letter
Shanghai targets June COVID lockdown exit as China economy slumps
Shanghai set out plans on Monday for the end of a painful COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks, heavily bruising China's economy, and for the return of more normal life from June 1.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai aims to reopen more businesses shut by COVID, Beijing battles on
Shanghai will gradually begin reopening businesses such as shopping malls and hair salons in China's financial and manufacturing hub from Monday after weeks in strict COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing battles a small but stubborn outbreak. All but shut down for more than six weeks, Shanghai is tightening curbs in some areas that it hopes marks a final push in its campaign against the virus, which has infuriated and exhausted residents of China's largest and most cosmopolitan city.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Factbox: Shanghai provides roadmap out of lockdown
Shanghai authorities on Monday provided their clearest timetable yet on lifting the city's lockdown that has been in place for over six weeks, saying they plan to fully restore normal life from June 1. Draconian measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in China's largest city have generated widespread frustration and anger among its 25 million residents and contributed to a slowdown in the country's economic activity. Most people have been forbidden to leave their homes unless for emergency medical treatment or to buy daily necessities.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
COVID lockdowns may end but China is still sneezing
With swathes of China spending April under lockdown -- 46 cities according to one estimate -- it was inevitable that dining out, shopping, factory output and energy usage would all take big hits. The dire data overshadowed announcements that some COVID curbs would be loosened. A Q2 economic contraction looks inevitable. What's more, the 6.7% urban unemployment rate -- the highest since 2018 -- won't escape the notice of authorities, wary of any kind of unrest.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Dalian iron ore rebounds on supply woes, easing of China COVID curbs
Chinese iron ore futures rose on Monday, supported by supply concerns and shrinking portside inventories of the steelmaking ingredient, while the easing of some COVID-19 curbs in the world's top steel producer also lifted trader sentiment.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 3.9% higher at 834.50 yuan ($122.80) a tonne, after posting its biggest weekly loss in nearly three months on Friday.
16th May 2022 - Reuters
New York City Officials Say People Should Wear Masks Inside Again
New York City officials are recommending residents wear masks in indoor public spaces amid climbing Covid-19 cases in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan issued the advisory Monday, requesting New Yorkers over the age of two years old wear masks in indoor public spaces such as grocery stores and offices.
16th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Shanghai says lockdown to ease as virus spread mostly ends
Most of Shanghai has stopped the spread of the coronavirus in the community and fewer than 1 million people remain under strict lockdown, authorities said Monday, as the city moves toward reopening and economic data showed the gloomy impact of China’s “zero-COVID” policy. Vice Mayor Zong Ming said 15 out of Shanghai’s 16 districts had eliminated virus transmission among those not already in quarantine. “The epidemic in our city is under effective control. Prevention measures have achieved incremental success,” Zong said at a news briefing.
16th May 2022 - Associated Press
Lacking vaccines, North Korea battles COVID with antibiotics, home remedies
Standing tall in bright red hazmat suits, five North Korean health workers stride towards an ambulance to do battle with a COVID-19 outbreak that - in the presumed absence of vaccines - the country is using antibiotics and home remedies to treat. The isolated state is one of only two countries yet to begin a vaccination campaign and, until last week, had insisted it was COVID-free. Now it is mobilizing forces including the army and a public information campaign to combat what authorities have acknowledged is an "explosive" outbreak
16th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID claims 1 million U.S. lives, leaving trail of loss
The United States has now recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, crossing a once-unthinkable milestone about two years after the first cases upended everyday life and quickly transformed it. The 1 million mark is a stark reminder of the staggering grief and loss caused by the pandemic even as the threat posed by the virus wanes in the minds of many people. It represents about one death for every 327 Americans, or more than the entire population of San Francisco or Seattle.
14th May 2022 - Financial Post
Taiwan to roll out fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week: CECC
People aged 65 and above, or those over 60 who are immunocompromised will be able to receive a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine beginning next week at the earliest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Friday. Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), deputy head of Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control and CECC spokesman, said individuals must wait at least five months after receiving their third dose before getting a fourth. The vaccination schedule for eligible individuals will be announced soon, Chuang said at a press briefing. According to the CECC, the decision to roll out a fourth COVID-19 jab was made during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting at the end of April.
13th May 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Russia would consider North Korea request for COVID vaccine supply
Russia will promptly consider any request from North Korea for COVID-19 vaccine supplies, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. "North Korean comrades are well aware of our various inoculations, they are aware of our extensive experience with COVID," Peskov said. "If there are appeals from Pyongyang, they will be dealt with promptly." At least one person confirmed to have COVID-19 has died in North Korea and hundreds of thousands have shown fever symptoms, state media said on Friday, offering hints at the potentially dire scale of the country's first confirmed outbreak of the pandemic
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Biden may need to 'claw back' funding for COVID, Jha says
The White House is preparing for a scenario in which Congress fails to approve President Joe Biden's request for additional COVID funds by reviewing old contracts to see if there is any money it can "claw back," the president's top COVID adviser said on Thursday. The United States is still in a pandemic and continues to face an evolving coronavirus despite making strides over the past two years, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha told Reuters in an interview.
13th May 2022 - Reuters
Mass Covid Testing, Already a Familiar Ritual, Becomes China’s New Normal
China is doubling down on mass testing as a key weapon against Covid-19 even as costs mount and the highly infectious Omicron variant exposes challenges with the strategy. Mass testing has become a part of daily life across the country. Similar to how many people in the West have had to show a vaccine pass to dine out, enter the office or get on a plane, in China, the thing not to leave home without is a negative Covid test. In many cities, a test taken within the past 48 or 72 hours is required for any facet of public life, such as grocery shopping or taking public transportation. The government is setting up thousands of stationary PCR-testing stations across the country as part of an official campaign to institutionalize testing. In some cities, the goal is to have one within a 15-minute walking distance of any resident.
13th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
North Korea reports 15 deaths and nearly 300,000 new ‘fever’ cases as Covid outbreak spreads
North Korea said on Sunday a total of 42 people had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown aimed at stopping the impoverished country’s first confirmed Covid-19 outbreak. At least 296,180 more people came down with fever symptoms, and 15 more had died as of Sunday, the outlet said. North Korea’s admission on Thursday that it is battling an “explosive” Covid-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities and no vaccine programme.
13th May 2022 - The Guardian
North Korea reports 15 more suspected COVID-19 deaths
North Korea has confirmed 15 more deaths and hundreds of thousands of additional patients with fevers as it mobilizes more than a million health and other workers to try to suppress the country’s first COVID-19 outbreak, state media reported Sunday. After maintaining a widely disputed claim that it’s been coronavirus-free for more than two years, North Korea announced Thursday that it had found its first COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began.
It said a fever has spread across the country “explosively” since late April but hasn’t disclosed exactly how many COVID-19 cases were found. Some experts say North Korea lacks the diagnostic kits needed to test a large number of suspected COVID-19 patients.
13th May 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullNorth Korea 'isolates and treats' 187,000 people for fever after reporting its first Covid-19 cases
North Korea has treated 187,000 people for fever after the country reported its first Covid cases. The state-run news agency KCNA said 'up to 187,800 people are being isolated and treated' and six people who were sick with fever had died, including one who tested positive for the Omicron variant. The report added: 'A fever whose cause couldn't be identified explosively spread nationwide from late April.' North Korea on Thursday confirmed its first-ever case of Covid-19, with state media calling it a 'severe national emergency incident' after more than two years of keeping the pandemic at bay. KCNA said samples taken from patients sick with fever in Pyongyang on Sunday were 'consistent with' the virus' highly transmissible Omicron variant. The country's top officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, held a crisis politburo meeting to discuss the outbreak and announced they would implement a 'maximum emergency' virus control system.
13th May 2022 - Daily Mail
S.Africa's new COVID cases cross 10000 for first time since January
South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Wednesday reported 10,017 new COVID-19 cases, the first day since January the institute has reported more than 10,000 new infections. Health authorities have warned South Africa may be entering a fifth wave of infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent and only exited a fourth wave in January.
Healthcare worker collects a swab from Bronwen Cook for a PCR test against COVID-19 before traveling to London, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg
13th May 2022 - Reuters
S.Africa's Ramaphosa to multilateral agencies: buy COVID vaccines from African providers
South Africa's president told a global COVID-19 summit on Thursday that multilateral agencies and philanthropic organisations should buy vaccines and booster doses from African manufacturers to ensure that manufacturing capacity on the continent was retained. South African firm Aspen's COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity is at risk because of a lack of orders.
12th May 2022 - Reuters
U.S. will share COVID-19 vaccine technology, Biden tells global summit
The United States will share technologies used to make COVID-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization and is working to expand rapid testing and antiviral treatments for hard-to-reach populations, President Joe Biden said on Thursday. Speaking at the second global COVID-19 summit, Biden called on Congress to provide additional funds so that the U.S. may contribute more to the global pandemic response.
12th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong health experts call for shorter grace period for third Covid jab
Hong Kong authorities should shorten the grace period residents have to get their third Covid-19 jab as required by the vaccine pass to encourage faster uptake, health experts have said. Official figures found that close to 50 per cent of the population has been vaccinated with a third dose, but the figure for residents aged 70 or above is only 31.3 per cent and the rate for those 80 or above is just 18.2 per cent.
11th May 2022 - South China Morning Post
Lifting zero-Covid policies in China could risk 1.6m deaths, says study
The lifting of zero-Covid policies in China would see a “tsunami” of infections and almost 1.6 million deaths, a study claims, citing in part China’s low vaccination rate of elderly residents. China’s government remains committed to a zero-Covid policy, employing resource intensive mass testing and case surveillance, and enforcing lockdowns, strict quarantine and isolation. A speech last week by the president, Xi Jinping, reaffirmed the commitment, despite the challenge posed by the Omicron variant which has already overwhelmed other countries’ zero-Covid policies. The peer reviewed study by Shanghai’s Fudan University, published in the Nature journal, said a decision by Chinese authorities to lift such measures could see more than 112 million symptomatic cases of Covid-19, five million hospitalisations, and 1.55 million deaths.
11th May 2022 - The Guardian
Africa's COVID vaccine production line in jeopardy
A year ago, South Africa celebrated the opening of the continent's first COVID-19 vaccine production line. Now it's at risk of being shut down due to low demand. About 40% of adult South Africans are fully vaccinated. On the whole continent, just 15%. The World Health Organization has set a target of 70% coverage for all countries by June 2022. So far, only Mauritius and Seychelles reached that number in Africa. Most countries will likely miss it.
11th May 2022 - DW (English)
Govt may not allow different Covid vaccine as booster shot: Report
In India, the Ministry of Health may not allow a coronavirus vaccine as booster shot different than the primary jab following a study on mixing different vaccines, according to a news report on Wednesday. A study published by Christian Medical College in Vellore (CMC), found that a booster shot different from the primary vaccines, such as Covishield or Covaxin, did not produce satisfactory results, the Economic Times reported. The study was carried out on 200 participants to determine how a fully vaccinated person reacts to a booster dose different than the primary vaccine.
11th May 2022 - Business Standard
Biden likely to arrive at his own Covid-19 summit empty-handed, as he struggles to secure funding at home and abroad
President Joe Biden is co-hosting the second global Covid-19 summit on Thursday, where he will ask wealthy countries to ramp up their financial contributions to vaccinations, testing and treatments -- even as he is struggling to secure funding to fight the virus at home and abroad. The Biden administration asked Congress in March to authorize $22.5 billion in additional Covid-19 assistance, including $5 billion for the global pandemic, but the package has been repeatedly waylaid. The Senate reached a bipartisan deal in April to approve $10 billion in aid, but it stripped out global Covid-19 financing entirely. This has put the President in an awkward position: He will probably show up to his own summit empty-handed.
11th May 2022 - CNN
China calls WHO chief 'irresponsible' for saying zero-COVID strategy 'not sustainable'
China hit back on Wednesday against what it called "irresponsible" comments by the head of the World Health Organization, who described the country's uncompromising and increasingly painful "zero COVID" policy as "not sustainable." The policy has placed hundreds of millions of people across dozens of cities under various degrees of movement restrictions, most dramatically in Shanghai, causing significant economic damage in China and beyond and fuelling wide-spread frustration.
11th May 2022 - Reuters.com
Moderna Ousts New Finance Chief Jorge Gomez Amid Probe at Dentsply
On Monday, Jorge Gomez took the reins as the finance chief of Moderna, leaving behind the less flashy world of dental products at his previous employer, Dentsply Sirona. A day later, Mr. Gomez was out. Moderna, maker of a leading Covid-19 vaccine, said its newly hired chief financial officer left the company on Tuesday, citing a newly revealed internal investigation by Dentsply into matters that include financial reporting. David Meline, who had just retired as Moderna’s finance chief after a two-year stint, will retake the post while the company reopens its search for a successor.
11th May 2022 - Wall Street Journal
China berates WHO chief for 'irresponsible' remarks on its zero-COVID policy
China's foreign ministry called on World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to avoid making "irresponsible" remarks, after he said China's zero-COVID policy was not sustainable. Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended China's measures on fighting the pandemic and said China hopes the WHO Director-General can view China's COVID policies objectively.
11th May 2022 - Reuters
After 65 days in limbo, American finally waves goodbye to China's COVID lockdown
For the last 65 days Laura Hudson has been on a mission to leave China, navigating through all of its COVID restrictions to get back to the United States. On Wednesday, she finally boarded an Air China plane at Beijing's international airport that would take her home. As an airport official checked her temperature was normal, the 41-year-old from Arizona began to cry.
11th May 2022 - Reuters
Lucid CEO concerned about chip supplies from China due to COVID-19
The chief executive of Lucid Group Inc on Wednesday expressed concern about chip supplies from China due to COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns, adding that the U.S. electric vehicle startup is taking measures to mitigate the impact.
"My biggest concern probably is semiconductors from China and the impact of COVID in that part of the world," Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said at a conference held by the Financial Times.
11th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina risks Omicron 'tsunami' and 1.6mn deaths if it abandons zero-Covid strategy, study shows
The head of the World Health Organization has warned that China’s zero-Covid strategy is unsustainable, as new modelling showed the country risked unleashing a “tsunami” of coronavirus infections and causing 1.6mn deaths if it abandons the policy. “As we all know, the virus is evolving, changing its behaviours, becoming more transmissible. With that changing behaviour, changing your measures will be very important. When we talk about the zero-Covid strategy, we don’t think it’s sustainable,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said on Tuesday. He said the WHO had discussed the issue with Chinese experts, adding that “considering the behaviour of the virus I think a shift [in China’s strategy] will be very important”.
10th May 2022 - Financial Times
Canada must focus on global vaccine access to curb COVID-19, expert warns MPs
Canada needs to turn its COVID-19 aid attention to expanding vaccine production everywhere or the virus will continue to run wild, mutate and bring new waves of disease, says a prominent expert. Dr. Madhukar Pai, a Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global health at McGill University, told the House of Commons foreign affairs committee he doesn’t think rich countries like Canada have learned a thing from the first two years of the pandemic. “The selfishness, greed and myopia of the richest countries in the world that we have seen the naked display of in the last two years, I’m 100 per cent convinced in the next crisis, we will behave the exact same way,” he said Monday.
10th May 2022 - Global News
High-risk COVID-19 patients can now get two antiviral prescription drugs — but some are still missing out
For Australians at high risk of developing severe COVID-19, getting access to potentially lifesaving treatment recently became easier — but experts say some are still missing out. On May 1, COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid — the most effective oral treatment to date — was listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which means it can now be prescribed by a GP or nurse and dispensed at a community pharmacy. It's the second antiviral drug to be listed on the PBS for people at high risk of severe COVID-19, following the addition of molnupiravir (also known as "Lagevrio") back in March.
10th May 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Moderna says U.S. on the hook in COVID-19 vaccine patent case
Facing claims that its COVID-19 vaccine violates the patent rights of two biopharma companies, Moderna told a Delaware federal court on Friday that the companies should have sued the U.S. government instead. Moderna said it is shielded from the lawsuit brought by Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant, thanks to its agreement to supply the vaccine to the federal government. It cited a federal law that was previously used to keep patent claims from interfering with the supply of war materials during World War I.
10th May 2022 - Reuters
WHO chief says China's zero-COVID policy not 'sustainable'
The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy is not sustainable given what is known of the disease, in rare public comments by the U.N. agency on a government's handling of the virus. "We don't think that it is sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing. Speaking after Tedros, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said the impact of a "zero-COVID" policy on human rights also needs to be taken into consideration alongside the effect on a country's economy from any COVID policy.
10th May 2022 - Reuters
Analysis: Test, test, test? Scientists question costly mass COVID checks
For many people worldwide, having cotton swabs thrust up their nose or down their throat to test for COVID-19 has become a routine and familiar annoyance. But two years into the pandemic, health officials in some countries are questioning the merits of repeated, mass testing when it comes to containing infections, particularly considering the billions it costs. Chief among them is Denmark, which championed one of the world's most prolific COVID testing regimes early on. Lawmakers are now demanding a close study of whether that policy was effective.
10th May 2022 - Reuters
Dropping zero-COVID policy in China without safeguards risks 1.5m lives - study
China risks just over 1.5 million COVID deaths if it drops its tough zero-COVID policy without any safeguards such as ramping up vaccination and access to treatments, according to new modelling by scientists in China and the United States. The warning follows several recently published reports from senior health advisers in China who said the zero-COVID approach remains essential to defeating the pandemic and buying time for mitigating measures.
10th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullPandemic pushes Spanish workers out of the shadows
For decades, a cash-filled envelope - or "sobre" - was how hundreds of thousands of Spaniards working without legal contracts in tourism, agriculture or construction collected their salaries. COVID-19, however, may finally be putting paid to the "sobre", economic data and workers' experiences suggest - accelerating a six-year-long crackdown in Spain on the shadow economy and providing a welcome boost to the country's public finances.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
Aptiv Shanghai plant suspends some shipments after COVID cases - sources
Aptiv stopped shipping over the weekend some parts from a Shanghai plant that supplies Tesla Inc and General Motors Co after COVID-19 infections were found among its workers, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The suspension of shipments from Aptiv could represent a setback to Tesla, which had planned to bring output in Shanghai back to the levels before the city locked down to control a wave of infections and forced a shutdown through much of April.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
China's April exports slow, imports unchanged amid expanding virus curbs
Article reports that China's export growth slowed to single digits, the weakest in almost two years, while imports barely changed in April as tighter and wider COVID-19 curbs halted factory production and crimped domestic demand, adding to wider economic woes. Exports in dollar terms grew 3.9% in April from a year earlier, dropping sharply from the 14.7% growth reported in March although slightly better than analysts' forecast of 3.2%. It was the slowest pace since June 2020.
Imports were broadly stable year-on-year, improving slightly from a 0.1% fall in March and a bit better than the 3.0% contraction tipped by the Reuters poll.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
WHO, Gavi not planning COVID vaccine buys from S.Africa's Aspen
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVID-19 vaccine partner Gavi have no immediate plans to buy shots made by Aspen Pharmacare, the two bodies said, dealing a blow to Africa's efforts to develop its own vaccine production capacity.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan receives 1.85 million Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine doses
Taiwan received all of the 1.85 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses for people 12 years and older it had ordered this year on Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said. The 1,857,960 vaccine doses will expire on Oct. 4, and adolescents aged 12-17 who need a booster shot will be given priority to receive the vaccine, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said at the CECC press briefing
9th May 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Low Covid jab uptake among minorities shows health officials need to 'win back trust'
Low Covid vaccine uptake among ethnic groups was completely predictable and it will take up to 15 years for health officials to win back the trust of those communities, a leading academic has said. Although some improvements have been made, much more work has to be done so that low vaccine uptakes among ethnic minorities are a thing of the past, Winston Morgan, professor of toxicology, equity and inclusive practice at the University of East London, said.
9th May 2022 - iNews
Israel to end mandatory COVID-19 tests for arrivals at Tel Aviv airport
Israel said on Sunday it was ending mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, but foreigners would still have to test negative overseas before boarding a flight to the country. The health ministry said testing at Ben Gurion would no longer be required as of May 20. It cited a drop in daily infection numbers, from more than 6,000 to fewer than 2,000 over the past month, for the decision.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
WHO, Gavi not planning COVID vaccine buys from S.Africa's Aspen
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVID-19 vaccine partner Gavi have no immediate plans to buy shots made by Aspen Pharmacare, the two bodies said, dealing a blow to Africa's efforts to develop its own vaccine production capacity. Aspen completed a deal in March to package, sell and distribute Johnson & Johnson's vaccine in what was lauded as a game-changing moment for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts. But the South African company's expectations of high demand in Africa, where just a sixth of adults are fully vaccinated, have not materialised. Its CEO warned last week it would be forced to re-purpose about half of its vaccine production capacity if orders did not pick up.
9th May 2022 - Reuters
‘Late Show’ pauses production after Colbert shows COVID-19 symptoms
“The Late Show” announced Monday afternoon that it will pause production due to host Stephen Colbert showing symptoms of COVID-19. Colbert tested positive for the coronavirus last month but returned to the CBS series last week. “Stephen is experiencing symptoms consistent with a recurrence of COVID. Out of an abundance of caution for his staff, guests, and audience, he will be isolating for a few additional days,” the late-night show tweeted from its official account on Monday.
9th May 2022 - The Hill
FDA limits J&J COVID vaccine as dose shortage looms
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severely restricted use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine as federal budget documents herald a vaccine shortage this fall if second boosters are widely encouraged. In the 14 months after gaining an emergency use authorization, the J&J one-dose vaccine hit another, when the FDA limited its use to certain individuals, citing rare but serious blood clotting events following vaccination.
6th May 2022 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullCT has 12,000 free Paxlovid doses to treat COVID, but few people are taking it. Here’s why
Connecticut has many thousands of doses of free COVID antivirals available. But few patients are being prescribed the drugs. Approved earlier this year under an emergency-use authorization, Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Moderna’s molnupiravir are the first outpatient therapeutics available to fight COVID, according to state Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani. “So far, all the treatments that we've had, and that have evolved over the last two years have been things that you need to be in the hospital to receive,” she said. “This is the first advance that we have, that is an oral medication, that people can go to a pharmacy and can pick it up.”
8th May 2022 - CT Insider
Chaos at Apple supplier Quanta shows strains of Shanghai COVID lockdown
Quanta Shanghai Manufacturing City would seem like an ideal site to implement China's "closed-loop" management system to prevent the spread of COVID that requires staff to live and work on-site in a secure bubble. Sprawled over land the size of 20 football fields, the campus houses factories, living quarters for 40,000 workers, some living 12 per room, and even a supermarket. But as COVID-19 breeched Quanta's defences, the system broke down into chaos on Thursday.
8th May 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai tightens lockdown to hit zero-COVID goal by late May
Shanghai is tightening its already strict COVID-19 lockdown in a fresh push to eliminate infections outside quarantined areas of China's biggest city by late this month, people familiar with the matter said. Curbs will likely vary across the city's 16 districts as some have already hit the target, but the people said movement curbs will generally remain until the end of May due to fears of a rebound, despite recently falling case numbers in the country's worst coronavirus outbreak. Accounts from residents in several districts as well as social media posts showed the government of the city of 25 million accelerating and expanding an effort to transfer the close contacts of positive cases to central quarantines centres.
8th May 2022 - Reuters
Beijing kicks off fresh round of COVID tests as Shanghai postpones crucial exams
China's capital Beijing kicked off a fresh round of mass testing for COVID-19 on Saturday and shut more bus routes and metro stations, as it seeks to avert the fate of Shanghai, where millions of residents have been locked down for over a month.
The draconian movement curbs on Shanghai, an economic and financial hub, have caused frustration among its 25 million residents and triggered rare protests over issues such as access to food and medical care, loss of income and crowded as well as unsanitary conditions at central quarantine centres.
7th May 2022 - Reuters
Universities Have Returned in Person, But Some Disabled Students Don't Want to Go Back
Mya Pol said it takes her about 30 minutes to get from her dorm at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to her communications class. The trip across campus would take most of her peers less than half that time, she said. Ms. Pol, a 21-year-old senior communications major, uses a wheelchair. She said that every day she wonders how different her college experience would have been if she could have attended classes remotely, as she has during most of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Disabled people have been asking for remote access to work and education forever,” Ms. Pol said. “That sprung up pretty quickly with Covid and was fantastic. It created a lot more access for individuals who couldn’t make the class.”
7th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Beijing District Shuts Gyms, Movie Theaters to Halt Covid Spread
A key district in China’s capital has ordered some businesses providing non-essential services such as gyms and movie theaters to close to prevent the spread of Covid infections after President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his stringent Covid Zero policy. Beijing’s eastern Chaoyang district, home to embassies and offices of multinationals including Apple Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., ordered companies “providing services other than those supporting residents’ livelihoods” to be closed until further notice, an official said at a briefing on Friday evening. Businesses ordered closed include karaoke bars, internet cafes, museums and art galleries, said Yang Beibei, deputy director of Chaoyang district.
7th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Coronavirus Forces Cancellations in Jazz Fest's 2nd Weekend
Willie Nelson is cancelling an upcoming performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival and postponing other shows after a positive case of the coronavirus in his band. The 89-year-old musician posted on his band's website on Friday that “due to a positive Covid case in the Willie Nelson Family Band” two upcoming shows scheduled to happen May 6 and May 7 would be postponed and that Nelson's Sunday performance at Jazz Fest would be cancelled. Nelson was slated to close the Gentilly Stage — the same stage where his son Lukas Nelson is performing earlier in the day with his band the Promise of the Real. No replacement for the elder Nelson has yet been announced.
7th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Jon Batiste 'So Disappointed' to Cancel Shows After Positive Covid Test
Jon Batiste said he was "so disappointed" as he cancelled several upcoming shows after testing positive for Covid-19. The Grammy-winning artist said he would be absent from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and have to postpone the premiere of his American Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York - a show he had been working on for years. Batiste said the decision to cancel was to "keep my family, my friends and our loyal fans safe" and reassured them that he would be returning to the stage soon.
7th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullA Covid vaccine waiver? WTO has a plan for that.
World Trade Organization officials have circulated a draft proposal that would temporarily waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, paving the way for members to start discussing the plan. That will compel members, including the deal’s brokers, to signal whether they’ll support the divisive proposal. The deal, which emerged from talks among U.S., European, South African and Indian representatives, would temporarily ease patent restrictions on Covid-19 vaccines for developing countries that exported less than 10 percent of the world’s coronavirus vaccine doses in 2021.
5th May 2022 - Politico
Western Australia could hit fresh COVID-19 peak as AMA remains nervous over removal of mask mandate
After Western Australia removed almost all of its COVID-19 rules last week, yesterday's new peak of 9,782 daily cases was pretty much expected. And with case numbers tending to be higher on Thursdays, it's possible today's tally will be another record. The Chief Health Officer warned this would likely happen, and it was a consequence of easing restrictions accepted by both Premier Mark McGowan and the Health Minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson. Asked about the rise yesterday, Ms Sanderson reiterated the key statistics are hospitalisations and intensive care admissions, which have remained relatively consistent.
5th May 2022 - ABC.Net.au
In Covid-19 Battle, Taiwan Finds Alternative to Chinese-Style Lockdowns
Two of the last governments on earth to stick with zero-Covid policy are separated by only 100 miles of water. As both contend with Omicron outbreaks, the distance between their approaches to the virus is expanding rapidly. In China, government authorities have imposed full or partial lockdowns on dozens of cities, home to hundreds of millions of people, in a frantic bid to suffocate multiplying infection clusters. In Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims just off the coast of China’s Fujian province, the government has responded to its own Omicron outbreak by phasing out contact-tracing, reducing quarantine times and rolling out a campaign to soothe public concerns about the virus.
5th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Africa CDC urges COVID-19 vaccine buyers to order from S.Africa's Aspen
Africa's top public health body urged all those purchasing COVID-19 vaccines for the continent to place orders with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare, saying the market was key to developing vaccine manufacturing on the continent. The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was doing everything it could behind the scenes to prevent a situation where Aspen closes its facility due to a lack of orders.
5th May 2022 - Reuters.com
COVID-hit Beijing returns to work after subdued Labour Day break
Beijing residents tentatively returned to work on Thursday after a muted five-day Labour Day holiday devoid of the usual trips across the country or lavish family dinners, as China pledged to fight any criticism of its uncompromising "zero-COVID" policy. The long break is usually one of the most lucrative times of the year for restaurants, hotels and other businesses in China. This year, travellers spent 43% less than in 2021, data showed on Thursday
5th May 2022 - Reuters.com
S.Africa's Aspen to slash COVID vaccine capacity within 6 weeks if no orders - CEO
Aspen Pharmacare will switch about half of its COVID-19 vaccine production capacity onto other products if demand doesn't pick up within six weeks, its CEO warned, as South Africa's president and health officials urged more Africans to take up the shots. Aspen completed a deal in March to package, sell and distribute Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in what was considered a game-changing moment for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts.
5th May 2022 - Reuters.com
China’s Services Sector in Doldrums as Covid-19 Lockdowns Bite
Activity in China’s services sector fell in April to its weakest level since the early days of the pandemic, according to one indicator, as lockdowns aimed at containing Covid-19 shut restaurants and stores and kept millions of people at home. The data add to evidence that China’s economy slowed sharply last month as authorities imposed restrictions on businesses and daily life in major cities including Shanghai.
5th May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
New Africa Covid-19 Cases Outside Southern Region Remain Low
African countries saw a 38% jump in coronavirus cases last week even as the official number of deaths fell, supporting evidence that recent surges are being driven by more transmissible but less lethal strains. “The saving grace is that we have fewer that are being hospitalized and fewer that are actually losing their lives as a result of exposure to this virus,” Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention deputy director, told reporters Thursday in a virtual briefing. The vast majority of the continent’s 37,111 new weekly cases were reported by South Africa, where a pickup in infections is being led by the BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages of the omicron variant. Still, most African nations haven’t yet characterized these new strains, Ouma said.
5th May 2022 - Bloomberg
North Korea Lifts Sweeping Lockdown After One Day, Yonhap Says
North Korea on Thursday lifted a temporary lockdown it had imposed a day earlier after reports from across the country of cases of fevers of unknown origins, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing multiple South Korean government officials. The brief lockdown followed a military parade last week marking the anniversary of the founding of its army. Pyongyang also held festivities a few weeks ago for the 110th birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il Sung -- the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un -- where the country organized mass events despite maintaining strict Covid-19 border closures in place since early 2020. It was unclear which parts of the country were under the daylong lockdown. There is speculation, the fever cases were caused by waterborne diseases such as typhoid because a coronavirus infection would have prompted more stringent curbs, according to Yonhap.
5th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong reopens beaches, Beijing relaxes quarantine rules
Hong Kong reopened beaches and pools and relaxed other pandemic restrictions Thursday, a day after China’s capital, Beijing, announced it would ease its tough quarantine rules for arrivals from overseas. The two Chinese cities are at opposite ends of COVID-19 outbreaks. Hong Kong is emerging from by far its deadliest wave, which killed 9,000 people. In Beijing, a new wave is just beginning and authorities have imposed a series of restrictions on residents to try to snuff it out.
5th May 2022 - Associated Press
Travel industry, airlines urge end to COVID testing to enter U.S.
Major U.S. airlines, business and travel groups and other companies urged the White House on Thursday to abandon COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated international passengers traveling to the United States. "Given the slow economic recovery of the business and international travel sectors, and in light of medical advancements and the improved public health metrics in the U.S., we encourage you to immediately remove the inbound testing requirement for vaccinated air travelers," said the letter signed by American Airlines, Carnival Corp, Marriott International, Walt Disney Co's Disney Parks, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Travel Association and others.
5th May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullBeijing reports 42 new symptomatic COVID cases, 8 asymptomatic for May 4
Beijing reported 42 new symptomatic coronavirus cases for May 4, down from 46 cases a day earlier, state television said on Thursday.
5th May 2022 - Reuters.com
Regeneron's COVID drug sales outside U.S. help revenue beat
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals reported better-than-expected revenue aided by sales from its COVID-19 antibody outside the United States and strong demand for its blockbuster drugs Dupixent and Eylea.
5th May 2022 - Reuters
China's Big Pledges Set to Test Covid-Weary Markets in Reopening
Article reports that Chinese markets will return to action Thursday after a three-day break, putting to test whether Beijing has done enough to convince investors that strict Covid lockdowns won’t hamper efforts to boost economic growth and pledges to go gentle on Big Tech are genuine. Stocks may come under pressure following losses in Hong Kong shares earlier this week, a reversal of Friday’s rally after Chinese leaders vowed to spur a faltering economy and signaled a softening stance toward private enterprise. Economic pessimism means the yuan will likely continue to struggle and bonds may be supported, although the outcome of a key Federal Reserve meeting Wednesday also will help shape their directions.
4th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong to Open Up as Shanghai, Beijing Stick to China's Covid Zero Plan
Article reports that as Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing stick ever more closely to Covid Zero principles, no matter the economic cost, Hong Kong is methodically moving toward opening up to the rest of the world. On Tuesday, the government brought forward a plan to ease social distancing rules, allowing people to go mask-free when exercising outdoors and doubling the maximum number of diners per table to eight. That came two days after Hong Kong ended a two-year ban on visits by all non-residents and eased some restrictions on inbound flights.
The moves reflect a broader push by influential figures in the city to focus on retaining Hong Kong’s appeal as an international financial hub, particularly as President Xi Jinping’s rigid Covid Zero strategy leaves little prospect of opening the land border with the mainland.
4th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Coronavirus: Beijing outbreak ramps up pressure on China’s economic momentum
China’s economy is expected to take a further hit as authorities in Beijing rush to contain a coronavirus outbreak with mass testing and tough restrictions that have left streets and shops empty in the capital during the five-day Labour Day holiday.
Activity in both China’s manufacturing and services sectors fell to its lowest point in more than two years last month, data released on Saturday showed, in the latest sign that the government’s hardline zero-Covid policy is wreaking significant damage to the world’s second biggest economy.
4th May 2022 - South China Morning Post
Six Signs That Will Tell Us When Secretive China Is Abandoning Covid Zero
China’s staunch defense of its Covid Zero policy has meant the country won’t join the global pivot toward living with the virus anytime soon. But authorities won’t cling to their unwavering adherence to that approach forever either. The rigid strategy, which has pummeled the world’s second-biggest economy, disrupted supply chains and brought the lives of millions in many mainland cities to a miserable standstill, has been undergoing minor adjustments as the virus mutates. Its eventual dismantling, however, will be gradual, involving step-by-step easing rather than a sudden end to all curbs in one fell swoop, experts say. Though the government is ramping up the rhetoric on how it won’t back down from aggressive and sweeping curbs — ranging from mass testing and lockdowns to contact tracing and border restrictions in the near term — officials have also started talking about what it would take to claim “triumph” over Covid-19.
4th May 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th May 2022
View this newsletter in fullSome in Shanghai Come Out for Air as Beijing Resumes Mass COVID Tests
Some of Shanghai's 25 million people managed to get out on Tuesday for short walks and shopping after enduring more than a month under a COVID-19 lockdown, while China's capital, Beijing, focused on mass tests and said it would keep schools closed.
4th May 2022 - Reuters
NHS to consider closing hundreds of COVID-19 vaccination sites
NHS commissioners will consider closing or 'pausing' hundreds of COVID-19 vaccination sites across England as the pandemic jab programme winds down.
3rd May 2022 - GP online
Time for a fourth Covid vaccine dose? Here's why medical professionals are skeptical
Countries are beginning to offer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to vulnerable groups, but medical professionals are undecided on whether it would benefit the wider population. The U.S. FDA has so far authorized a fourth shot only for those aged 50 and above, as well as those who are immunocompromised. And the U.S. CDC was skeptical of the need for a fourth dose for healthy adults in the absence of a clearer public health strategy. Those decisions came as a study from Israel found that although a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offers protection against serious illness for at least six weeks after the shot, it provides only short-lived protection against infection, which wanes after just four weeks.
3rd May 2022 - CNBC
ACT to drop COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers, teachers in Canberra
Workers in healthcare and education settings across Canberra will soon no longer be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the ACT Health Minister has announced. Speaking in the ACT Legislative Assembly, Rachel Stephen-Smith flagged the changes would come into place on May 13, and would no longer require healthcare workers or teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. She said the move was based on advice provided by Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman. But Ms Stephen-Smith said the mandatory vaccination requirements would still remain in place for workers in aged care and disability settings.
3rd May 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Serbia lifts COVID-19 entry restrictions – EURACTIV.com
Serbia will lift all pandemic-related entry restrictions for all travellers from Tuesday, the government has announced. Travellers will no longer be required to present a negative PCR, rapid antigen test, proof they had COVID-19, or a vaccination certificate when entering the country from Tuesday (3 May), the government’s statement reads.
3rd May 2022 - EURACTIV
CDC moves tourism hot spot out of 'high' risk level for Covid-19
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered the Covid-19 travel risk for one of the most popular destinations in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico was moved down a level on the CDC's scale from "high" risk to "moderate" risk on May 2, along with four other places around the world. Tourism is an important segment of the nation's economy, and Mexico has had some of the world's loosest border restrictions throughout the pandemic. There are no vaccination or testing requirements to visit.
3rd May 2022 - CNN
Denmark to destroy 1.1 million excess COVID-19 vaccines
Danish health officials say that 1.1 million excess COVID-19 vaccines will be discarded in the coming weeks because their expiration date is near, and efforts to donate them to developing countries have failed. Statens Serum Institut (SSI), a government agency that maps the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19 in Denmark, said the epidemic in the Scandinavian country “is currently under control, and the vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high”.
3rd May 2022 - Al Jazeera
Covid-19: Hong Kong to reopen beaches, pools on Thur, no masks for outdoor exercise; bars to reopen May 19
Hong Kong will reopen beaches and pools, masks will no longer be required during outdoor exercise, and restaurants will be allowed to sit eight people to a table from Thursday, as the city prepares to further ease Covid-related restrictions. Bars and clubs will also be allowed to reopen on May 19, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced during a press conference on Tuesday.
3rd May 2022 - Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong to further ease COVID curbs, bars to stay open until 2 a.m.
Hong Kong will further ease COVID-19 restrictions, allowing bars to open until 2 a.m. and raising the number of diners permitted at a table to eight from four, as cases in the global financial hub continue to ease, leader Carrie Lam said. Beaches and swimming pools would reopen from Thursday, when restaurants could also cater to four more people at each table, Lam said at a regular news briefing.
3rd May 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan cuts COVID quarantine for arrivals even as cases rise
Taiwan announced on Tuesday it was cutting to seven days from 10 mandatory quarantine for all arrivals, its latest relaxation of the rules to try to live with COVID-19 and resume normal life even as the number of domestic infections spikes. Taiwan has kept its quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia have relaxed or lifted them completely, though it had already reduced the time spent in isolation from two weeks to 10 days in March.
3rd May 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd May 2022
View this newsletter in fullSetback for Shanghai's COVID battle; Beijing focus on mass testing
China's commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on Monday as authorities reported 58 new COVID-19 cases outside areas under strict lockdown, while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating. Tough coronavirus curbs in Shanghai have stirred rare public anger, with millions of the city's 25 million people stuck indoors for more than a month, some sealed inside fenced-off residential compounds and many struggling for daily necessities. While Shanghai officials said the situation is improving, images on social media have unnerved the public at a time when hospitals and mortuaries in the city are overwhelmed. On Monday, authorities said they were investigating five officials after videos showed a local care home transferring an elderly person in a body bag to a mortuary. The person was later found to be still alive.
2nd May 2022 - Yahoo Finance
The New Jet Set: How the COVID-driven boom in private jets is still flying high
Guy Stockbridge runs multiple businesses from his headquarters in central California, including landscape companies that ripple across his home state and a utility solar business with operations in 17 states. Flying is a way of life for Stockbridge and others at his company, Elite Team Offices, based in Clovis. For years they flew both privately and on commercial flights out of Fresno, roughly 10 miles from Clovis. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and private jet ownership became more and more attractive.
2nd May 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Setback for Shanghai's COVID battle as Beijing ramps up mass testing
China's commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on Monday as authorities reported 58 new COVID-19 cases outside areas under strict lockdown, while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating. Tough coronavirus curbs in Shanghai have stirred rare public anger, with millions of the city's 25 million people stuck indoors for more than a month, some sealed inside fenced-off residential compounds and many struggling for daily necessities.
2nd May 2022 - Reuters
Beijing, Shanghai Outbreaks Renew Debate Over China’s Covid-19 Strategy
With Beijing and Shanghai struggling to control Covid-19 outbreaks, China’s pandemic strategy faces a moment of truth. The highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus has shut down Shanghai for more than a month. Its threat to do the same to the country’s capital is fueling debate over whether China needs to shift its zero-tolerance approach. Most of Shanghai’s 25 million residents remain confined to their homes, with little expectation of a quick return to normal life. Daily new infections have fallen in recent days, but public-health experts say any loosening of control measures could prompt a resurgence, overwhelming the healthcare system and exacting an unacceptably high toll on the elderly and unvaccinated.
2nd May 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China Contagion Threatens to Derail the World’s Emerging Markets
A widespread selloff in China is rippling through emerging markets, threatening to snuff out growth and drag down everything from stocks to currencies and bonds.
Fresh Covid outbreaks -- and the government’s stringent policy to contain them -- are spooking global investors who fear shutdowns in China will echo across the world by lowering demand and disrupting supply chains. That’s pushing them to sell not just China’s currency, bonds and stocks but the assets of any developing nation which relies heavily on trade with the second-biggest economy. The result is the sharpest slide in emerging markets in two years, not unlike the meltdown in 2015 when China’s woes led to a rout in their bonds and currencies, besides wiping out $2 trillion from equity values. Since then, the country’s influence on the global economy has only grown: It’s now the largest buyer of commodities, meaning its slump may impact exporters of raw materials and their markets more than ever.
2nd May 2022 - Bloomberg
Greece lifts COVID curbs for travellers ahead of key summer season
Greece lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for foreign and domestic flights, its civil aviation authority said, ahead of the summer tourism season that officials hope will see revenues bouncing back from the pandemic slump. To fly in or out of the country, travellers were previously required to show either a vaccination certificate, a certificate saying they had recovered from coronavirus or a negative test.
1st May 2022 - Reuters
As Beijing tightens COVID curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life
The Chinese capital Beijing tightened COVID restrictions on Sunday as it battled an outbreak, while Shanghai let more of its 25 million residents venture out for light and air after reporting a second day of zero infections outside of quarantine areas.
The outbreak in Shanghai, which began in March, has been China's worst since the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Hundreds of thousands have been infected and the city has forbidden residents from leaving their homes, to great public anger.
1st May 2022 - Reuters
How to Make the CDC Matter Again
For many years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was known as the world’s preeminent public-health agency. No longer. During the pandemic, the CDC stumbled repeatedly. Accused of incompetence, overreach and muddled messaging, it is now in need of repair. Director Rochelle Walensky was right to order a review of the agency’s operations in early April. She shouldn’t shrink from significant reforms. To be sure, some of the CDC’s troubles have resulted from political interference. Donald Trump’s White House sought to undermine the agency by second-guessing its guidance and advice. Political operatives pushed to revise some of its publications and revoked its authority to gather hospital Covid data from the states.
1st May 2022 - Bloomberg
Italy, Greece Relax Covid Restrictions, Open to Tourists
For travellers heading to Europe, summer vacations just got a whole lot easier. Italy and Greece relaxed some COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday before Europe's peak summer tourist season, in a sign that life was increasingly returning to normal. Greece’s civil aviation authority announced that it was lifting all COVID-19 rules for international and domestic flights except for the wearing of face masks during flights and at airports. Previously, air travelers were required to show proof of vaccination, a negative test or a recent recovery from the disease. As of Sunday, visitors to Italy no longer have to fill out the EU passenger locator form, a complicated online ordeal required at airport check-in.
1st May 2022 - Bloomberg
China’s Covid-19 Defenses Have a Missing Piece: Vaccinating the Elderly
In its fervor to fight Covid-19, China has gone all out with a now-familiar protocol of mass testing and lockdowns. It now has to catch up on a missing piece in its defense: Many of the country’s elderly and most vulnerable citizens haven’t gotten vaccinated. While about 88% of Chinese people had received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of mid-March, the ratio among those over 80—those most at risk of severe illness and death from an infection—was just 51%. Fewer than one in five people over 80 had received a booster as of mid-March, according to government data. In Shanghai, that figure is 15%. Among Chinese over 60, 50 million people remain entirely unvaccinated.
30th Apr 2022 - Wall Street Journal
Ecuador lifts indoor and outdoor mask mandates
Ecuador will immediately lift mask mandates for both indoor and outdoor spaces thanks to significant gains made against coronavirus, President Guillermo Lasso said on Thursday. The decision is based on vaccination figures of 87% for those aged 3 and over and COVID-19 test positivity rates of just 5%, he said, as well as an effort to give second booster shots to adults.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
China's COVID policy in line with pursuing economic progress, expert says
China's "dynamic-zero" policy against COVID-19 is in line with pursuing economic progress, rather than in conflict with it, a senior health expert said on Friday. The battle against COVID is an all out "people's war", Liang Wannian, head of the COVID response expert panel under the National Health Commission, made the comment at a news briefing.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong's mandatory COVID testing in schools fuels plastic waste woes
A Hong Kong government rule that all school students and staff take daily COVID-19 tests will add massively to the city's plastic waste problem, environmental activists say, with some 20 million kits a month set to be dumped at bursting landfills. The mandatory rapid antigen tests (RAT), and their plastic accessories are expected to worsen marine and land pollution in the financial hub of 7.4 million people where some beaches and hiking trails are already awash with microplastics.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong eases COVID rules for aircrews, lifts overseas travel alert
Hong Kong will shorten mandatory hotel quarantine for passenger flight crews to three days from seven, while cargo crews will be exempt, modest steps at unwinding coronavirus curbs that have turned the city into one of the world's most isolated places. The changes, which take effect in May, give the global financial hub's aviation trade and logistics industries "much needed survival space", the government said
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai reports zero cases outside quarantined areas for April 29
China's Shanghai reported zero COVID-19 cases outside its quarantined areas for April 29, the first time since the recent outbreak in the eastern financial hub, according to local health authorities. The city recorded 8,932 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases on April 29, versus 9,545 a day earlier, the local government said in a statement on Saturday. Confirmed symptomatic cases in Shanghai stood at 1,249, down from 5,487 the previous day, it said, adding that all the asymptomatic and confirmed cases were found in quarantined areas.
30th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullTourist favourite Thailand's recovery lags on COVID rule changes
As regional peers have eased entry requirements, Thailand has clung to a cumbersome process. "Whichever (country) offers easy, smooth, less complicated procedures wins my heart," said Johansen. Tourism professionals say Thailand's complicated entry rules are now holding back recovery in an industry that contributed 12% of GDP before the pandemic. Forward bookings for 2022 show Thailand reaching 25% of pre-pandemic levels, behind levels of 72% and 65% each for Singapore and the Philippines.
29th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Govt promises to add halal vaccine to booster program
The Health Ministry in Jakarta has announced that it will add one of the more widely available COVID-19 vaccines with halal certification to the state-led booster jab rollout, in an effort to assuage the concerns of the country’s Muslim majority. A ministry official confirmed on Tuesday that it would add the CoronaVac vaccine, co-manufactured by state-run pharmaceuticals company BioFarma and China’s Sinovac Biotech, to its current roster of booster shot offerings.
28th Apr 2022 - The Jakarta Post
COVID-19 contacts to receive fewer free tests during '3+4' quarantine
People in Taiwan listed as contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients will now be given three free rapid tests, instead of five, during their seven-day isolation and self-initiated epidemic prevention period, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Thursday. Under the CECC's new "3+4" quarantine policy that took effect Tuesday, contacts of COVID-19 cases were being given five free rapid tests by the government during their three days of home quarantine and four days of "self-initiated epidemic prevention."
28th Apr 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Nearly 60,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits sold in 2 hours
Nearly 60,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits were sold in two hours across Taiwan as the government launched its rapid test kit rationing scheme on Thursday. As of 9 a.m. on Thursday, 59,214 test kits had been sold at 2,323 stores and health centers, Director-General of the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Lee Po-chang said.
28th Apr 2022 - Focus Taiwan News Channel
Shanghai's focus shifts to vaccination of elderly as new cases decline
The COVID-hit city of Shanghai is making more resources available to improve vaccination rates among the elderly as daily case numbers decline and it looks for a way out of four weeks of stringent lockdown restrictions. The city, battling China's biggest ever coronavirus outbreak, saw new asymptomatic cases fall to 9,330 on April 27, down 22% from a day earlier and its lowest rate in 24 days, with symptomatic infections also down by almost a fifth.
28th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Latin American nations ease restrictions as COVID cases drop
Colombians will soon be going to movie theaters without having to wear face masks. Chile opens its borders next week for the first time in two years. Mexico’s president has declared the pandemic over. And in Rio de Janeiro, tens of thousands attended Carnival parades just two months after the world-famous spectacle was postponed to prevent COVID-19 infections. Even as coronavirus cases rise half a world away in China and authorities there impose new lockdowns, plummeting infection rates in Latin America have countries eliminating restrictions on mass gatherings, lifting some travel requirements and scrapping mask mandates that have been in place for two years.
28th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
New tests to decide Shanghai reopening as Beijing stocks up
Shanghai authorities said new COVID-19 testing over the next few days will determine which neighborhoods can safely start reopening, as residents in Beijing watched carefully for word for whether the capital will lock down. On Wednesday, China reported 14,222 new cases of coronavirus infection, the vast majority in people not showing symptoms. Shanghai residents will begin another round of testing over the next few days and areas that have achieved “societal zero COVID” could see some measure of limited freedom, the vice head of the city health committee, Zhao Dandan, said.
28th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
'These lives matter': Oxfam and partners urge J&J, Pfizer and Moderna investors to focus on vaccine equity efforts
As the world struggles with COVID-19 more than two years after the virus first broke out, vaccine disparities continue to undermine the global response in some regions. During the annual meetings for three major vaccine players, access advocates are asking investors to step in. While 65.1% of the world population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, only 15.2% of people in low-income countries can say the same, according to Our World In Data. Vaccine inequity could cost the global economy more than $2 trillion by 2025 and spur “bouts of social unrest,” according to a CNBC report last summer. Oxfam has a goal for “everyone, everywhere” to have access to COVID-19 vaccines. The group says three major vaccine players shoulder much of the blame for vaccine disparities. During their annual meetings, it's renewing calls more transparency and access.
28th Apr 2022 - Fierce Pharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullJapan to limit scope of fourth jabs to older people and those at higher risk
In Japan, the health ministry adopted a plan Wednesday to limit eligibility for fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to those age 60 or over, as well as those who are age 18 or over with underlying conditions. Arrangements for fourth doses, positioned as part of a publicly funded emergency vaccination program, are aimed at preventing people from developing severe COVID-19 symptoms. Under the program, those age 60 or older will be obliged to make efforts to receive fourth vaccine shots.
27th Apr 2022 - The Japan Times
Transparency urged to raise COVID-19 vaccine uptake
Issues around vaccine acceptance must be addressed alongside equity of access and logistics if the goal of vaccinating 70% of the world's population against COVID-19 is to be met, says a report by global health policy experts. Emerging causes of so-called "vaccine hesitancy," described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines," should be monitored continually in order to better understand the problem, according to the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP).
27th Apr 2022 - Medical Xpress
Australians urged to get flu shots as Covid deaths rise and winter sets in
Australians have been urged to get their flu vaccinations to help hospitals cope in the months ahead as they deal with a rise in Covid-19 cases, and as some states experience double-digit daily death tolls. At least 42 coronavirus deaths were recorded on Wednesday in Australia, with 10 in New South Wales, 13 in Victoria, 10 in Western Australia and nine in Queensland. There were 4,027 Covid deaths nationally in the first quarter of 2022, data from the Actuaries Institute shows, including 1,668 in January, 1,520 in February and 839 in March. So far in April there have been 770 deaths.
27th Apr 2022 - The Guardian
Covid News: Vaccines for Young Children Delayed by Incomplete Data, F.D.A. Official Says
The Food and Drug Administration has not yet cleared a coronavirus vaccine for children under 5 because the vaccine manufacturers have not finished their applications for authorization to distribute doses, a top official at the agency suggested on Tuesday. The official — Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees vaccine regulation for the F.D.A. — said the agency will release a schedule this week for outside expert review of vaccines for the nation’s 18 million children younger than 5. That is the only age group still not eligible for coronavirus vaccination. Despite growing pressure, including from Congress, the F.D.A. might not rule on whether to authorize a pediatric vaccine dose for that group until June, administration officials have said.
27th Apr 2022 - The New York Times
EU looks at ramping up COVID vaccinations of kids, developing antivirals
The European Commission said that between 60% and 80% of the EU population was estimated to have been infected with COVID-19, as the bloc enters a post-emergency phase in which mass reporting of cases was no longer necessary. In preparing for this less acute phase, European Union governments should ramp up COVID-19 immunisations of children, the bloc's executive body said, signallingit was considering plans to develop antivirals. "It is estimated that between 60% to 80% of the EU population has by now had COVID," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told a news conference. The EU public health agency said reported cases had covered about 30% of the European population so far, but if unreported infections were added, cases could be as high as 350 million, about 77% of the European population. With a recent drop in infections and deaths linked to COVID-19, the EU is now shifting away from mass testing and reporting of cases, Kyriakides said, confirming what Reuters reported on Tuesday.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
U.S. to widen COVID antiviral pill distribution
Pfizer's COVID-19 pill Paxlovid is packaged in Ascoli. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is aiming to expand access to COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments like Pfizer Inc's Paxlovid by doubling the number of locations at which they are available, the White House said on Tuesday. Pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy program for distributing antiviral treatments will be able to order the free treatments directly from the U.S. government starting this week. Currently, pharmacies depend on states to obtain the pills. The government sends the treatments to select pharmacies, as well as directly to states and community centers. Under the current system, the treatments are available in around 20,000 locations. The administration expects to boost their direct distribution to more than 30,000 locations soon and reach 40,000 sites over the coming weeks, the White House said. "Treatments are really the next phase of this pandemic, where we have to make the treatments, these highly effective treatments, widely available," Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said in an interview on CNN. Demand for Paxlovid has been unexpectedly light due to complicated eligibility requirements, reduced COVID testing, and potential for drug interactions.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Turkey ready to lift all COVID-19 measures, Erdogan says
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey is ready to lift all measures against the coronavirus, adding that mask wearing will no longer be obligatory indoors. Speaking after the final meeting of the advisory science council, Erdogan said masks will still be mandated on public transport and in medical institutions until daily new cases drop below 1,000. Turkey had previously lifted the requirement to wear masks outdoors and in indoor areas with good ventilation.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Financial lobby group urges Shanghai to ease COVID rules for staff stuck in offices
A leading lobby group for global financial services firms has urged Shanghai authorities to let hundreds of exhausted staff go home after a month-long strict COVID-19 lockdown that has kept them in office buildings. The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) in a letter dated April 26 urged the authorities to let financial firms rotate staff who need to work from offices.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Exclusive: EU to move away from emergency phase of COVID pandemic - document
The European Commission is set to say the EU has entered a new post-emergency phase of the pandemic in which testing should be targeted and monitoring of COVID-19 cases should be similar to sample-based flu surveillance, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. The shift comes amid a gradual drop of cases and a fall in the number of deaths linked to COVID-19, thanks to the spread of the less virulent Omicron variant and the immunisation of over 70% of the EU population, with half of the population having received also a booster shot.
27th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hangzhou Starts Mass Covid Tests; Shanghai Cases Drop
The Chinese city of Hangzhou, home to tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., will start mass testing for Covid-19, while cases in Shanghai fell for a fifth day. The testing drive will cover most of Hangzhou’s downtown area, with 10,000 free test sites to be set up, the municipal government said in a statement late Wednesday. It urged residents to get tested every 48 hours. Just a short train ride from Shanghai, the city of around 12 million people is home to a small but notable network of tech companies, including games maker NetEase Inc. and video-surveillance product company Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co.
27th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullWithout funding, US will lose Covid vaccines, treatments: White House
For much of the past two years, America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Now, as drugmakers develop the next generation of therapies, the White House is warning that if Congress doesn't act urgently the U.S. will have to take a number. Already the congressional stalemate over virus funding has forced the federal government to curtail free treatment for the uninsured and to ration monoclonal antibody supplies. And Biden administration officials are expressing increasing alarm that the U.S. is also losing out on critical opportunities to secure booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country maintain its reemerging sense of normalcy, even in the face of potential new variants and case spikes.
26th Apr 2022 - Business Standard
China's Covid booster campaign slows as staff redirected to mass testing
China’s booster vaccination drive is slowing as medical staff are redirected to carry out mass testing with coronavirus cases rising across the country. Relatively low vaccination rates will leave tens of millions of Chinese people vulnerable to severe illness if the government’s tough “zero-Covid” policy fails to contain the Omicron variant. In the final week of March, China administered 770,000 third-dose jabs a day to over 60s following outbreaks in Shanghai and Jilin. But that figure had fallen to 590,000 a day by mid-April, according to data released by the country’s health department.
26th Apr 2022 - Financial Times
WA announces major overhaul to mask, proof of vaccination COVID-19 rules
West Australians will finally be able to ditch their face masks in most indoor settings, as the state prepares to ease a swathe of public health measures. From 12.01am Friday, people aged 12 and over will only be required to wear masks will in hospitals, aged care, disability care facilities and on public transport, taxis and rideshares. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson announced proof of vaccination requirements will also be scrapped except at hospitals and residential aged care facilities.
26th Apr 2022 - 7news.com,au
Biden administration secures 20 million courses of Covid-19 antiviral pill
The Biden administration has secured the purchase of 20 million treatment courses of Paxlovid, Pfizer's antiviral Covid-19 pill, a senior administration official told CNN on Monday. The administration will work with the manufacturer to accelerate production and delivery of the new drug to pharmacies across the country, the official told reporters. A tranche of 100,000 courses will initially be available to pharmacies per quarter while demand and uptake are monitored.
26th Apr 2022 - CNN
Mexico to enable COVID vaccination of all children aged 12 and above
Mexico will let all children aged over 12 be registered for COVID-19 vaccination from Thursday, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said. Lopez-Gatell, the country's coronavirus czar, was speaking at a regular government news conference on Tuesday.
26th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Turkey ready to lift all COVID-19 measures, Erdogan says
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey is ready to lift all measures against the coronavirus, adding that mask wearing will no longer be obligatory indoors. Speaking after the final meeting of the advisory science council, Erdogan said masks will still be mandated on public transport and in medical institutions until daily new cases drop below 1,000. Turkey had previously lifted the requirement to wear masks outdoors and in indoor areas with good ventilation.
26th Apr 2022 - Reuters
South Korea Downgrades Covid-19 From Riskiest-Disease Category
South Korea has downgraded Covid-19 from the country’s riskiest category of infectious disease, a first step toward treating the virus more like the seasonal flu. The country is one of the first to make such a move. The downgrade, approved Monday by health officials, will take effect after a four-week transition period. Once it does, South Koreans who test positive will no longer be required to go into quarantine, which currently lasts seven days by law. Doctors will no longer need to report a positive case immediately, as infection-tracking diminishes in importance. Those showing symptoms will be able to get treatment at local clinics rather than solely at hospitals, due to the reduced fears of virus spread.
26th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. judge to block plan to lift COVID border restrictions for migrants
A federal judge in Louisiana said that he intends to rule that U.S. authorities cannot immediately proceed with plans to lift pandemic restrictions that empowered U.S. agents at the Mexico border to turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays stated his intention after a hearing in a case brought by 21 states against the administration of President Joe Biden. The judge said both sides would confer regarding the specific terms of a temporary restraining order and would attempt to reach agreement.
26th Apr 2022 - Reuters Canada
Coronavirus: daily cases fall below 400 as Hong Kong sticks with plan to further ease social-distancing rules in second half of May
Hong Kong will stick to its plan to further relax social-distancing measures in the second half of May, the city’s leader has said, ruling out an earlier reopening even as the daily number of cases fell below 400 for the first time in nearly three months. But Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also shrugged off worries Hong Kong could return to a more hermetic lifestyle again, saying a drastic resurgence of infections was unlikely due to the level of immunity the city had already attained.
26th Apr 2022 - scmp.com
Administration expands availability of COVID antiviral pill
President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as it seeks to reassure doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe illness or death from the virus. Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer, was first approved in December. Supply of the regimen was initially very limited, but as COVID-19 cases across the country have fallen and manufacturing has increased it is now far more abundant. The White House is now moving to raise awareness of the pill and taking steps to make it easier to access.
26th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
Albania to end virus restrictions before summer vacations
Albanian authorities have decided to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions before the summer vacation season. The Technical Committee of Experts, the country’s highest executive body during the pandemic, said Tuesday that coronavirus-related measures will end in Albania as of May 1. The decision means masks no longer will be required indoors and nightclubs won’t be subject to an 11 p.m. curfew Proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test for the virus won’t be needed at border crossings.
26th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
Shanghai’s Lockdown Missteps Undermine Financial Hub Ambitions
Expats are ditching the city, jeopardizing efforts by local authorities to lure “high-end” foreign talent. “Until this latest crisis, Shanghai had established a good reputation as an attractive place to do business relative to other places in China,” says Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. “This is obviously a huge test for the Shanghai government: How to rebound back to its old self?”
26th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Karnataka to make wearing masks mandatory again
Karnataka Health Department on Monday said that wearing facemasks is mandatory as a preventive step to control the surge of Covid-19 cases.
25th Apr 2022 - India Times
Millions of COVID-19 shots set to go to waste, as vaccine rollout slows
While top U.S. health officials are urging some Americans to get yet another coronavirus booster shot, local health departments across the country are grappling with a growing dilemma -- how to address a declining demand for vaccines, while minimizing the waste of unused millions of doses currently in state stockpiles and at risk of expiring. Since the emergency use authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. last winter, federal data shows that states received a staggering 720 million doses, and more than 570 million of those shots have been administered.
25th Apr 2022 - ABC News
Can you use an expired at-home Covid-19 test?
Rapid antigen Covid-19 tests, better known as home tests, have become more common in households across the country as supplies have increased. These tests are designed to give you results in less than 30 minutes from the comfort of your own home. But if you have several boxes of them stored away, perhaps left over from winter's Omicron surge or from the federal program that sends up to eight free tests to US households, you might wonder whether they're safe and accurate to use beyond the expiration date on the package.
25th Apr 2022 - CNN
Beijing's biggest district begins COVID mass testing
Beijing residents snapped up food and other supplies as the city's biggest district began mass COVID-19 testing of all residents on Monday, prompting fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown after dozens of cases in the capital in recent days. Authorities in Chaoyang, home to 3.45 million people, late on Sunday ordered residents and those who work there to be tested three times this week as Beijing warned the virus had "stealthily" spread in the city for about a week before being detected.
25th Apr 2022 - Reuters
China Covid Shock Sees Beijing Consider Risky Debt Option Again
China has signaled a willingness to allow local governments to increase off-balance sheet debt again after a crackdown in recent years to bring it under control. The People’s Bank of China said last week that banks should meet the “reasonable funding needs” of local government financing vehicles, or LGFVs, and not “blindly” suspend or withdraw loans from the companies. The measures were one of 23 listed by the central bank to help boost lending and support industries battered by Covid outbreaks and lockdowns. While Beijing still remains committed to debt control, the economy’s slump is forcing policy makers to ease up on some restrictions. To bolster growth, local governments have been instructed to boost investment in infrastructure, but since they face a cash crunch because of a property market slump, many will need financial help from LGFVs.
25th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
North Korea: COVAX scraps the reclusive country's vaccine allocations
As mask mandates and social distancing requirements lift around the world, North Korea remains one of two countries that have not administered any coronavirus vaccines, with no sign of how it can ever begin to reopen despite a brewing humanitarian crisis for its people. The vaccines that were allocated for North Korea through a United Nations-backed global vaccination effort are no longer available, officials said this month, after Pyongyang repeatedly rejected the initiative’s offers of millions of doses. North Korea, already one of the most closed societies in the world, remains in a strict pandemic lockdown and has shuttered its borders except to a minimal level of trade with China, with grave implications for the health and food security of its population.
24th Apr 2022 - The Washington Post
WHO backs Paxlovid for high-risk COVID patients
Paxlovid is an oral SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor called nirmatrelvir that is given with a low dose of the HIV antiviral drug ritonavir, which can boost the level of protease inhibitors. The drug combo is designed to be given at the first sign of illness and is taken twice a day for 5 days. In December, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the drug for emergency use. In a statement, the WHO said it based the recommendation on new data from two randomized controlled trials that included 3,078 patients, which suggested that Paxlovid can cut the risk of hospitalization by 85% among high-risk groups. The WHO said its recommendation applies to those who are at highest risk for severe disease, such as those who are unvaccinated, older, or immunocompromised. It added that data showed benefits were negligible in lower-risk patients. However, the WHO aired concerns about two obstacles for rollout of the drug to low- and middle-income countries. One is access to early testing and diagnosis, since the drug needs to be given in the earlier stages of infection. The WHO pointed to data that suggest average daily testing rates in lower-income countries are one-eightieth that of higher-income countries.
22nd Apr 2022 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Cases Jump in Beijing as New Deaths Triple in Shanghai
Beijing said it is at a critical point in its efforts to halt a Covid-19 outbreak in the city, as new cases spread from school students and a tour group, while deaths in Shanghai more than tripled from a day earlier. The Chinese capital recorded 22 new cases on Sunday, its highest daily tally this year. Shanghai, which a week ago had recorded no new deaths in the latest wave of infections, said 39 Covid patents died Saturday—more than three times Friday’s toll. While still low by global standards, the latest numbers are a challenge to the ability of China’s top leaders to wipe out outbreaks with their zero-Covid policy. As pockets of infections flare up in the country’s most important cities, local officials are desperate to avoid a repeat of the economic disruption and growing public discontent seen in the financial hub of Shanghai, large parts of which have been under lockdown for weeks.
25th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
People who live, work in Beijing's Chaoyang will have to take 3 COVID tests in coming week
Beijing's Chaoyang district will require people who live and work in the district to undergo three coronavirus tests this coming week, the city government of Beijing said on Sunday. Chaoyang is the biggest district in Beijing and is home to 3.45 million people. The city government's requirement comes after Beijing reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
24th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Beijing on alert after COVID-19 cases discovered in school
Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing. City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results on Friday. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases that day that were counted separately. Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict “zero-COVID” strategy has drawn global attention. China has doubled down on the approach even in face of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
24th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Shanghai tightens city’s lockdown in ‘societal zero-Covid’ pursuit
Shanghai added 17,629 new cases in the previous 24 hours, 4.7 per cent fewer than a day earlier, according to data released on Friday. Symptomatic cases fell 26.7 per cent to 1,931, in the biggest one-day decline since March 1, while 11 patients died
23rd Apr 2022 - South China Morning Post
Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise
The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. Colleges in Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nation’s capital.
This is the third straight academic year that has been upended by COVID-19, meaning soon-to-be seniors have yet to experience a normal college year.
23rd Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Singapore Phases Out the Use of a Controversial Covid Contact Tracing App
Singapore will move away from a key Covid-19 contact tracing app that previously attracted controversy due to government disclosures about its use for criminal investigations, but retain the data under a previously passed law. The health ministry on Friday said most venues will no longer require the public to check in using the TraceTogether program from April 26, a mobile application and device used by authorities for identifying the close contacts and locations visited by infected persons.
23rd Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Polish health minister upbeat on Moderna vaccine talks
Poland can reach a compromise with Moderna on increasing the flexibility of COVID-19 vaccine contracts, the health minister said on Friday, striking an upbeat tone after after initial talks with the U.S. pharmaceutical company. Poland has said it will not will not take or pay for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine under the European Union's supply contract as it already has sufficient doses, potentially setting the stage for a legal battle with manufacturers. The country has seen lower vaccine uptake than many other European countries and is seeing its public finances stretched by the effects of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, which has resulted in 2.9 million refugees entering Poland.
22nd Apr 2022 - Reuters
Philadelphia Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate
Philadelphia lifted its citywide indoor mask mandate just days after becoming the first major U.S. city to reimpose such a requirement, officials said. Officials lifted the mandate Friday after the city’s Board of Health voted Thursday evening to rescind it, citing improvements in local Covid-19 data. The city also said it is changing how it looks at metrics such as new Covid-19 cases, that triggered the reinstatement of the mask mandate this month. It would no longer use the system of responses that imposed various measures such as mask mandates based on data. Officials said strong recommendations are adequate at this stage of the pandemic for changing people’s behavior.
22nd Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China’s GDP, dubious COVID statistics and East Timor’s election
Not for the first time, China once again dominated the news this week. The release of new economic data provided a temperature check of the world’s second-largest economy, while dubious COVID-19 death rates focused attention on Beijing’s reputation for secrecy and narrative control at all costs.Elsewhere, Asia’s youngest nation went to the polls, and Japan got a rare taste of rising inflation after decades of sluggish economic growth.
22nd Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Thailand to 'fully re-open'
The Test & Go travel scheme for foreign arrivals and RT-PCR testing upon arrival will end this month as vaccinated travellers will only need to take self-antigen tests during their stay from May 1 as part of a further easing of entry rules to boost the economy and tourism. However, the Thailand Pass registration will be retained. The change was approved at a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday. "Test & Go will be scrapped and there will be a shift to antigen testing on May 1. This will be more convenient and faster for visitors. Tourism is also starting to recover,'' Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said after chairing the meeting at Government House.
22nd Apr 2022 - ฺBangkok Post
COVID rules are winding back, but some Australians are still locking down
Cities around Australia are again heaving with life. Masks are off, vaccine mandates are being wound back, capacity limits are a thing of the past and close contact rules are at their most relaxed for more than two years. "I think it's fantastic for everyone that can partake in it and feels comfortable to do so," said Victorian man Stephen Feitsma. "I wish I could, that we could do the same." Mr Feitsma spoke to the ABC from his home on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula, where he has spent almost all of his time for the last two years in a bid to avoid being exposed to COVID-19.
22nd Apr 2022 - ABC News
Covid-19 Cases Jump in Beijing as New Deaths Triple in Shanghai
Beijing said it is at a critical point in its efforts to halt a Covid-19 outbreak in the city, as new cases spread from school students and a tour group, while deaths in Shanghai more than tripled from a day earlier. The Chinese capital recorded 22 new cases on Sunday, its highest daily tally this year. Shanghai, which a week ago had recorded no new deaths in the latest wave of infections, said 39 Covid patents died Saturday—more than three times Friday’s toll. While still low by global standards, the latest numbers are a challenge to the ability of China’s top leaders to wipe out outbreaks with their zero-Covid policy. As pockets of infections flare up in the country’s most important cities, local officials are desperate to avoid a repeat of the economic disruption and growing public discontent seen in the financial hub of Shanghai, large parts of which have been under lockdown for weeks.
25th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
People who live, work in Beijing's Chaoyang will have to take 3 COVID tests in coming week
Beijing's Chaoyang district will require people who live and work in the district to undergo three coronavirus tests this coming week, the city government of Beijing said on Sunday. Chaoyang is the biggest district in Beijing and is home to 3.45 million people. The city government's requirement comes after Beijing reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
24th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Beijing on alert after COVID-19 cases discovered in school
Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing. City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results on Friday. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases that day that were counted separately. Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict “zero-COVID” strategy has drawn global attention. China has doubled down on the approach even in face of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
24th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Shanghai tightens city’s lockdown in ‘societal zero-Covid’ pursuit
Shanghai added 17,629 new cases in the previous 24 hours, 4.7 per cent fewer than a day earlier, according to data released on Friday. Symptomatic cases fell 26.7 per cent to 1,931, in the biggest one-day decline since March 1, while 11 patients died
23rd Apr 2022 - South China Morning Post
Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise
The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. Colleges in Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nation’s capital.
This is the third straight academic year that has been upended by COVID-19, meaning soon-to-be seniors have yet to experience a normal college year.
23rd Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Singapore Phases Out the Use of a Controversial Covid Contact Tracing App
Singapore will move away from a key Covid-19 contact tracing app that previously attracted controversy due to government disclosures about its use for criminal investigations, but retain the data under a previously passed law. The health ministry on Friday said most venues will no longer require the public to check in using the TraceTogether program from April 26, a mobile application and device used by authorities for identifying the close contacts and locations visited by infected persons.
23rd Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Polish health minister upbeat on Moderna vaccine talks
Poland can reach a compromise with Moderna on increasing the flexibility of COVID-19 vaccine contracts, the health minister said on Friday, striking an upbeat tone after after initial talks with the U.S. pharmaceutical company. Poland has said it will not will not take or pay for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine under the European Union's supply contract as it already has sufficient doses, potentially setting the stage for a legal battle with manufacturers. The country has seen lower vaccine uptake than many other European countries and is seeing its public finances stretched by the effects of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, which has resulted in 2.9 million refugees entering Poland.
22nd Apr 2022 - Reuters
Philadelphia Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate
Philadelphia lifted its citywide indoor mask mandate just days after becoming the first major U.S. city to reimpose such a requirement, officials said. Officials lifted the mandate Friday after the city’s Board of Health voted Thursday evening to rescind it, citing improvements in local Covid-19 data. The city also said it is changing how it looks at metrics such as new Covid-19 cases, that triggered the reinstatement of the mask mandate this month. It would no longer use the system of responses that imposed various measures such as mask mandates based on data. Officials said strong recommendations are adequate at this stage of the pandemic for changing people’s behavior.
22nd Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China’s GDP, dubious COVID statistics and East Timor’s election
Not for the first time, China once again dominated the news this week. The release of new economic data provided a temperature check of the world’s second-largest economy, while dubious COVID-19 death rates focused attention on Beijing’s reputation for secrecy and narrative control at all costs.Elsewhere, Asia’s youngest nation went to the polls, and Japan got a rare taste of rising inflation after decades of sluggish economic growth.
22nd Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Thailand to 'fully re-open'
The Test & Go travel scheme for foreign arrivals and RT-PCR testing upon arrival will end this month as vaccinated travellers will only need to take self-antigen tests during their stay from May 1 as part of a further easing of entry rules to boost the economy and tourism. However, the Thailand Pass registration will be retained. The change was approved at a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday. "Test & Go will be scrapped and there will be a shift to antigen testing on May 1. This will be more convenient and faster for visitors. Tourism is also starting to recover,'' Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said after chairing the meeting at Government House.
22nd Apr 2022 - ฺBangkok Post
COVID rules are winding back, but some Australians are still locking down
Cities around Australia are again heaving with life. Masks are off, vaccine mandates are being wound back, capacity limits are a thing of the past and close contact rules are at their most relaxed for more than two years. "I think it's fantastic for everyone that can partake in it and feels comfortable to do so," said Victorian man Stephen Feitsma. "I wish I could, that we could do the same." Mr Feitsma spoke to the ABC from his home on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula, where he has spent almost all of his time for the last two years in a bid to avoid being exposed to COVID-19.
22nd Apr 2022 - ABC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullAspen In Talks With African Leaders on Low Covid Vaccine Orders
Article reports that Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. is in talks with African leaders about how to raise demand for Covid-19 vaccines after the continent’s biggest drugmaker warned a lack of orders may force it to stop making the shots. Discussions are “underway and I assure you it’s been elevated to the highest level on the continent,” John Nkengasong, director of Africa CDC, said at a briefing on Thursday. “I’m sure more details will be provided in coming days, once we have more details from Africa’s political leadership.” Nkengasong last week appealed to African countries to place orders with local manufacturers including Durban, South Africa-based Aspen, which makes doses on behalf of Johnson & Johnson and in March said it agreed to make the shots under its own brand.
21st Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Coronavirus Northern Ireland: Health bosses take action due to poor uptake of vaccine in young kids
Only 1.39% of children aged five to 11 in Northern Ireland have been vaccinated against Covid-19, health bosses have said. The Public Health Agency (PHA) has created a vaccination toolkit to support uptake as it said safety concerns may be a driving factor for the low uptake in youngsters here. The vaccine has been available to children deemed to be at risk from the virus and those who live with someone who is immunocompromised since December but was opened up to all five to 11 year olds in February.
21st Apr 2022 - Belfast Telegraph
CDC advisers mull what's next for Covid-19 boosters
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to mull over what the future of Covid-19 booster shots might look like -- and they acknowledge that entirely different vaccine formulations could be needed. At their meeting Wednesday, the members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices discussed their next steps around recommending additional booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines for the general public. Currently, additional booster doses are recommended only for certain people with weakened immune systems and adults 50 and older.
21st Apr 2022 - CNN
After rejecting COVID rule, Arizona could lose oversight of workplace safety
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Wednesday moved to revoke Arizona's ability to police workplace safety within the state after it refused to adopt a federal rule requiring COVID-19 protections for healthcare workers. OSHA in a proposal published in the Federal Register said Arizona's failure to enforce the emergency COVID-19 rule last year was the latest in a decade-long series of instances where the state shirked its duty to adopt safety standards at least as strict as comparable federal requirements.
21st Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Incoming S.Korean leader's team to review lifting of COVID curbs
South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is at odds with a decision by the outgoing government to lift nearly all coronavirus curbs this week, vowing to reconsider a plan to exempt all patients from quarantine requirements from May. In a major step this week towards a return to normal life, the government of President Moon Jae-in lifted almost all its social distancing curbs, such as midnight curfew for restaurants and a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.
21st Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders
The Biden administration said Thursday it is extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most foreign visitors since March 2020.
21st Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Boston urges masks as battle brews over transit rule
Boston urged people to start wearing masks Thursday and the Biden administration weighed its next legal step in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes court fight over the abrupt end of the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. The Boston Public Health Commission noted a rise in hospitalizations, as well as a 65% increase in cases and an even larger spike in COVID-19 levels in local wastewater samples. It also stressed that the guidance was merely a recommendation, not an order. The country is wrestling with how to deal with the next phase of the pandemic and find the right balance in enacting health measures at a time when many Americans are ready to move on after two exhausting years.
21st Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
US extends COVID vaccine requirement at land borders
The administration of US President Joe Biden has extended a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for non-US citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the United States’s borders with Mexico and Canada. In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the extension followed a consultation with federal health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
21st Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Pfizer faces criticism for arguing that intellectual property for its Covid-19 pill is a human right
umerous advocacy groups and institutional shareholders are chiding Pfizer for arguing that its intellectual property is a human right and would be violated if the Dominican Republican government issues a compulsory license for its Covid-19 pill.
Advocates say the company invoked human rights in a recent hearing in which it attempted to convince the Dominican government not to issue such a licence for its pill, Paxlovid.
20th Apr 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullGrandmother given vaccine exemption now facing possible deportation from WA over jab status
A grandmother is facing possible deportation after her entry into Western Australia was denied over her COVID-19 vaccination status. Claire Henderson travelled to Perth from the UK to see her family after not seeing them for almost three years because of the pandemic. The 64-year-old's son Michael said her visa, G2G pass and vaccination exemption were all approved in November last year.
20th Apr 2022 - 9News.com.au
Awash in Covid Vaccines, Romania Faces Storage Headache
Romania is struggling to find storage for millions of Covid vaccine doses it hasn’t used, even as more are slated to arrive this year. More than two years into the pandemic, the country remains one of the European Union’s least vaccinated. Now the government is asking the EU for help and trying to sell or donate doses from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. to resolve a storage headache that’s set to worsen while avoiding wasting the shots. About 6.5 million doses delivered in January and February have been sold to Germany and Hungary, but another 39 million are scheduled to arrive this year and next, according to Health Minister Alexandru Rafila. One country was offered 1.1 million doses for free and has “yet to show interest in picking them up.”
20th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Japan mulls 4th vaccine shots for elderly, chronically ill patients
Japan is considering making the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions eligible for fourth coronavirus vaccine shots, in line with recommendations by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, government sources said Tuesday. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will also consider whether to make medical staff eligible for the shots after some experts voiced support for the move, the sources said. The ministry will finalize the plan after hearing views from experts in a vaccine panel meeting slated for April 27, the sources said.
20th Apr 2022 - Kyodo News Plus
Boost now? Boost later? Tricky calculation for a 4th coronavirus shot.
Even highly informed consumers of pandemic news may struggle to sift through the latest US government guidance and newest scientific studies. And even at this stage in the crisis, they may be unclear on what additional boosters can and can’t do. Public health officials who authorized a second booster shot last month for people 50 and older and for immunocompromised people 12 and older have insisted it’s a stopgap, aimed primarily at keeping the most vulnerable people out of the hospital or the cemetery. A second booster appears to add to protection against severe illness in people 60 and older but offers only a modest, temporary shield against infection.
20th Apr 2022 - The Washington Post
Fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot possible for some in Mexico, official says
Certain groups of people in Mexico may be able to receive a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told reporters at a regular news conference that while the government does not currently have plans to roll out a second booster shot nationally, certain people may be eligible to receive one.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Norway offers 4th COVID vaccine dose to those aged 80 and over
Norway will offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to those aged 80 and over, the country's Institute of Public Health said on Wednesday.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan firms in China hub make uneven restart from COVID curbs
Taiwan firms making chip and electronic components reported a mixed picture on Wednesday on work resumption in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan after COVID-19 curbs, with some warning deliveries would be postponed until next month. China has put Shanghai under a tight lockdown since late March and neighbouring Kunshan has also tightened curbs to control the country's biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in the city of Wuhan
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
Shanghai hopes COVID tide turning, with fewer cases outside quarantine areas
China's commercial capital of Shanghai reported no new COVID-19 infections outside quarantine areas in two districts on Wednesday, fanning hopes that the tide is turning in its pandemic battle, as some factories began to return to work. State media trumpeted the resumption of production by electric car company Tesla Inc at its Shanghai plant on Tuesday, after a halt of more than three weeks. The U.S. carmaker was on a list of 666 firms the Chinese government said last week would get priority to reopen, or keep operations running, in Shanghai.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
For China investors, COVID lockdowns are the clear and present danger
Prolonged lockdowns in Shanghai, as China doubles down on its zero-COVID policy, have become the predominant risk to its economy and markets, forcing money managers to cut holdings or turn defensive on stocks. Global fund managers such as Pictet Wealth Management and Principal Global Investors and China-focused managers such as MegaTrust Investment and Water Wisdom Asset Management point to the worrying toll that weeks of tough anti-virus measures in many major cities have taken on people and businesses. "The city-wide lockdown in Shanghai is a big deal," said Qi Wang, chief executive officer of MegaTrust Investment (HK).
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Alleged Covid-19 Fraud Schemes Totaling $150 Million Draw Criminal Charges
Federal prosecutors have charged about 20 people in the past two weeks with allegedly engaging in various fraud schemes related to the Covid-19 pandemic that amounted to about $150 million in improper government claims, around $20 million of which have been paid, officials said. The Justice Department has stepped up efforts to uncover theft from programs that were pumping billions of dollars into the healthcare system after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. The new cases are filed in districts around the country, and provide a sweeping look at how some healthcare providers allegedly sought to cheat Medicare and other programs by bundling charges for unnecessary services—or those that weren’t ever provided—with the delivery of relatively inexpensive Covid-19 tests.
20th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullJ&J pulls COVID vaccine sales forecast due to low demand, supply glut
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday rescinded its forecast for sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, as hesitancy in low income countries has led to a glut of supply of a shot once hoped to be the inoculation of choice for the developing world. The company had previously predicted as much as $3.5 billion in 2022 sales from the single-dose vaccine, but demand has withered. Still, the company reported strong results for its medical devices business and raised its dividend, driving shares up around 3%.
20th Apr 2022 - Reuters
NSW to end COVID-19 household isolation rules
NSW and Victoria will end isolation requirements for household contacts of COVID-positive people by this weekend as both states pass the peak of the latest Omicron wave. The removal of one of the last major remaining pandemic restrictions means people who live with positive coronavirus cases will no longer need to isolate at home for seven days.
19th Apr 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
Italy averted 150000 COVID-19 deaths due to vaccinations
Infections, hospitalisations and deaths associated with COVID-19 could have been much higher without the help of vaccinations in Italy, a recent report published by the National Institute of Health (ISS) has found. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign has avoided about eight million cases, over 500,000 hospitalisations, 55,000 intensive care stays and about 150,000 deaths in Italy, according to the data. The estimate refers to the period between 27 December 2020, when the campaign started, and 31 January 2022. As of 18 April, Italy registered 162,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
19th Apr 2022 - EURACTIV
South Korea lifts most COVID precautions as new cases dip to two-month low
South Korea lifted almost all of its COVID-19 precautions on Monday in a major step towards a return to normal life as the Omicron variant recedes and daily infections retreated to a more than two-month low of fewer than 50,000. A midnight curfew on restaurants and other businesses was scrapped, along with a cap of 10 people allowed to gather. From next week, people will be allowed to eat snacks in cinemas and other indoor public facilities such as stadiums. People are still required to wear masks, however, with the government planning to review whether to lift a rule for masks outdoors in two weeks
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan says COVID vaccine talks held up on China sales deal
Talks on Taiwan buying the child version of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have stalled as Pfizer does not have the right to sell it and BioNTech and its Chinese partner do not make it, a Taiwanese minister said on Monday. The sales rights for the vaccine in Greater China, including Taiwan, belong to BioNTech and its Chinese sales agent, Shanghai Fosun. A deal for the main version of the vaccine ran aground last year after Taiwan accused China of political interference, which Beijing denied.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong zero-COVID policies create mountains of plastic waste
Hong Kong arrivals meet plastic everywhere in quarantine hotels: Remote controls are wrapped in cellophane, pillows are encased in plastic bags, food comes with plastic cutlery. Hong Kong’s strict quarantine policies - intended to halt COVID-19 at the border and in the community - have been criticised for damaging the economy and mental health. Environmentalists say the policies are also hurting the environment by generating excess waste.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Poland declines to take or pay for more COVID-19 vaccines for now
Poland will not take or pay for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine under the European Union's supply contract, its health minister said on Tuesday, setting the stage for a legal battle with manufacturers. Poland, along with other EU members, has been receiving COVID-19 vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic under supply contracts agreed between the European Commission and vaccine makers such as BioNTech and Pfizer or Moderna. However, the country has seen lower vaccine uptake than most of the European Union and has surplus vaccine stock, part of which it has sold or donated to other countries.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Analysis: Demand for Pfizer's COVID pills lags around the world
Worldwide demand for Pfizer's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid has been unexpectedly light due to complicated eligibility requirements, reduced testing, and potential for drug interactions, a Reuters review of data and interviews with experts has found. Demand also has been hampered by the perception that Omicron infections are not that severe. Paxlovid was expected to be a major tool in the fight against COVID after it reduced hospitalizations or deaths in high-risk patients by around 90% in a clinical trial.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai prepares to ease Covid lockdown as factories reopen
Shanghai is preparing to ease its lockdown over the city’s 25 million people with authorities hoping Covid transmissions will mostly be limited to quarantine facilities.
Factories are returning to production in closed-loop systems, with Tesla staff reportedly told to sleep on site. Amid China’s worst outbreak since Wuhan at the start of the pandemic, Shanghai continues to report tens of thousands of cases a day, with the majority among people in quarantine or isolation. On Monday, Reuters reported officials had set a target of reaching “zero-Covid at the community level” by Wednesday.
19th Apr 2022 - The Guardian
Analysis: China's Xi sticks with COVID stance despite anger, economic headwinds
For many leaders, mounting public anger and a rapidly worsening economic outlook would be cause for worry and a policy rethink. But Chinese President Xi Jinping, who doubtless would prefer smoother sailing in the run-up to a third leadership term, is doubling down on a signature "dynamic zero" COVID-19 policy that has been increasingly tested by the more infectious Omicron variant. Xi's high-profile reiteration of the policy, made last week during a visit to the southern island of Hainan that capped days of state-media support for it, reflects a political imperative not to reverse course and look weak in a year in which he needs to appear strong, analysts said.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Biden Administration Weighs Next Steps After Judge Throws Out Transportation Mask Mandate
A federal judge’s decision to strike down the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mask mandate for public transportation undercuts a key safety message delivered by the White House, leaving the administration with a set of legally and politically difficult decisions to make on the pandemic. The Justice Department said Tuesday it would appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes in the coming weeks that a mask mandate remains necessary to protect public health. “The department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,” a Justice Department spokesman said in a statement. “That is an important authority the department will continue to work to preserve.”
19th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Canada to keep mask mandate after judge strikes down U.S. rule
Canada's government said on Tuesday it has no plans to stop requiring masks on planes after a Florida judge struck down a U.S. version of the law. "We are taking a layered approach to keeping travelers safe, and masks remain an incredibly useful tool in our arsenal against COVID-19," a spokesperson for Canada's Transport Minister wrote in an email. The spokesperson confirmed masks will be required on Canadian airlines and on flights that depart from or arrive in Canada. The federal government also requires travelers to wear masks and track close contacts for 14 days after arriving in Canada.
19th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. CDC lifts COVID 'Do Not Travel' recommendations on about 90 countries
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had dropped its "Do Not Travel" COVID-19 recommendations for about 90 international destinations. Last week, the CDC said it was revising its travel recommendations and said it would its reserve Level 4 travel health notices "for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts." The countries and other regions dropped to "Level 3: High," which still discourages travel by unvaccinated Americans, include the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Turkey, Australia, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Russia.
18th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Mask Mandate Overturned for Planes, Public Transportation by Florida Judge
A federal judge overturned the U.S. government mask mandate on airplanes, trains and other public transportation, dealing a blow to the Biden administration as fights continue nationwide over policies tied to the Covid-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Florida, vacated the mask requirement nationwide and directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse the policy put in place in February 2021. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Health Freedom Defense Fund. Mizelle, an appointee of former president Donald Trump, ruled that the CDC had incorrectly described the mask mandate as a form of “sanitation” to justify its authority in the matter.
18th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Inside a Shanghai Mass Quarantine Center: No Showers, Lights On 24/7
China doesn’t make public the total number of people in its isolation facilities, but official data published Friday show there were more than 270,000 asymptomatic cases nationwide under medical observation. It couldn’t be determined how many are in government centers, and there are signs that, as these fill up, more people are being allowed to quarantine at home. Shanghai has built more than 100 makeshift hospitals with a total capacity of more than 160,000 beds for Covid-positive individuals with mild or no symptoms, according to state media. The city had 7,776 people hospitalized and more than 220,000 under medical observation, China Daily reported Thursday.
18th Apr 2022 - Wall Street Journal
Shanghai targets lockdown turning point by Wednesday
Shanghai has set a target to stop the spread of COVID-19 outside of quarantined areas by Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter said, which would allow the city to further ease its lockdown and start returning to normal life as public frustrations grow. The target will require officials to accelerate COVID testing and the transfer of positive cases to quarantine centres, according to a speech by a local Communist Party official dated Saturday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
18th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Nicola Sturgeon Reported to Police Over Apparent Face Mask Law Breach
Nicola Sturgeon has been reported to police after footage showed her apparently breaching Scotland's Covid face mask law on the council election campaign trail.
A video posted on social media appears to show Scotland's First Minister not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber's in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday. There is currently a legal requirement to wear a face covering in most indoor public places in Scotland, including shops, public transport and hairdressers. In the video, Ms Sturgeon appears to be seen without a face covering as she mingles with customers and pats the head of a man in a barber's chair while mimicking the sound of an electric razor.
17th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Is the world moving on from COVID too quickly?
Many countries have been loosening COVID protocols but is the move being made too soon or has the worst of the pandemic passed? According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University the global tally of new coronavirus cases has fallen drastically, but global deaths have been climbing. Earlier this month Shanghai, the commercial hub of China, ground to a halt under a strict lockdown as the Omicron variant took over. The city remains closed and there are worries the quarantine is triggering a hunger crisis. The new XE variant of the virus, first detected in the United Kingdom, has now been detected in Japan. The subvariant has already spread rapidly across the UK infecting about one in every thirteen people there, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – the highest number since April 2020.
15th Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Bangladesh, Nepal celebrate new years after pandemic pause
After a two-year break, thousands of people in Bangladesh and Nepal on Thursday celebrated their respective new years with colorful processions and musical soirees as the coronavirus pandemic eased and life swung back to normal. In Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, people clad in the traditional red attire ushered in the Bengali year 1429. They marched, sang and danced at a prominent arts college on the Dhaka University campus and in historic Ramna Park. Similar processions were organized in other parts of Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, but the celebration was subdued as the Muslim-majority Bangladesh was also observing the fasting month of Ramadan amid scorching heat.
15th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Anti-virus shutdowns in China spread as infections rise
Anti-virus controls that have shut down some of China’s biggest cities and fueled public irritation are spreading as infections rise, hurting a weak economy and prompting warnings of possible global shockwaves. Shanghai is easing rules that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes after complaints they had trouble getting food. But most of its businesses still are closed. Access to Guangzhou, an industrial center of 19 million people near Hong Kong, was suspended this week. Other cities are cutting off access or closing factories and schools. Spring planting by Chinese farmers who feed 1.4 billion people might be disrupted, Nomura economists warned Thursday. That could boost demand for imported wheat and other food, pushing up already high global prices.
15th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
China's GDP growth seen slowing to 5.0% in 2022 on COVID hit
China's economic growth is likely to slow to 5.0% in 2022 amid renewed COVID-19 outbreaks and a weakening global recovery, a Reuters poll showed, raising pressure on the central bank to ease policy further. The forecast growth for 2022 would be lower than the 5.2% analysts tipped in a Reuters poll in January, suggesting the government faces an uphill battle in hitting this year's target of around 5.5%. Growth is then forecast to pick up to 5.2% in 2023.
15th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong confirms it will ease COVID restrictions from April 21
Hong Kong confirmed on Thursday it will ease some of the world's most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, allowing beauty parlours, cinemas and gyms to reopen from April 21 as infections in the global financial hub hover below 2,000 per day. The Chinese-ruled city has been hit by a fifth wave of coronavirus since early this year that has battered business and led to more than 8,600 deaths, many in the past two months, although cases have dropped in recent days. Coronavirus restrictions have battered businesss and helped fuel a net outflow of around 70,000 people in February and March, up from nearly 17,000 in December, raising concerns over the city's status as a global financial centre
15th Apr 2022 - Reuters
S.Korea to lift most COVID curbs from next week as Omicron wanes
South Korea said on Friday it will drop most COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions next week including a midnight curfew on eateries as the Omicron surge in cases shows signs of waning, although people will still have to wear masks. From April 18, the midnight curfew on restaurants and other businesses will be scrapped, along with the cap on private gatherings which was set at 10, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a coronavirus response meeting.
15th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Lockdown Financial Aid in China Leaves Households Behind
China’s government is channeling its Covid-related financial aid toward businesses rather than households, an approach that’s increasingly being challenged as consumers struggle to cope under stringent lockdowns. Officials say the support for firms aims to preserve jobs, but many households required to stay at home for weeks on end are battling to pay rent and other living costs, according to social media posts and charity workers. A total of 45 Chinese cities are now imposing partial or total lockdowns, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., restricting the movement of some 370 million people.
14th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Flirts With Shorter Quarantines for Overseas Arrivals Amid Shanghai Covid Outbreak
China is moving tentatively forward with a plan to test shortened quarantines for international arrivals as it seeks to gradually open up and ease the economic damage wrought by strict Covid-19 control policies, even as the country’s financial capital struggles to contain a major outbreak. International travelers arriving in eight pilot cities will be subject to 10 days of quarantine in a designated facility, followed by seven days of self monitoring at home, according to a copy of a document issued by China’s cabinet, the State Council, that has circulated widely on Chinese social media and was verified by people who have seen the original.
14th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Delta Air Lines drops surcharge for unvaccinated employees
Delta Air Lines has dropped a $200 per month surcharge that it had been levying against unvaccinated employees who were on the company’s health plan. “We have dropped as of this month the additional insurance surcharge given the fact that we really do believe that the pandemic has moved to a seasonal virus,” CEO Ed Bastian said on a call Wednesday with analysts and reporters. “Any employees that haven’t been vaccinated will not be paying extra insurance costs going forward.” U.S. airlines tried different approaches to get employees vaccinated against COVID-19, including a mandate by United Airlines, which ended up dismissing about 200 employees. Delta was the only one to impose an insurance surcharge, and it credited the move with helping get more than 90% of its U.S.-based workers vaccinated.
13th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine available in the NT, as testing rules ease for those recovering from the virus
In Australia, a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine is now available to eligible Territorians, Northern Territory Health Minister Natasha Fyles has announced. The dose is recommended as an extra booster shot for vulnerable people who are at greatest risk of severe illness from the coronavirus.
13th Apr 2022 - ABC.Net.au
How accurate are COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, and when is the best time to use them?
Rapid antigen tests, better known as RATs, have become an important tool in Australia's arsenal against COVID-19. While PCR tests are still available, many of us have turned to rapid tests out of convenience or as part of a requirement to return to work or school. RATs can provide results within minutes, but they also have their limitations: they're less accurate, cost money (unlike PCRs, which are free), and can provide false negative or false positive results.
13th Apr 2022 - ABC.Net.au
The CDC’s new Covid-19 guidelines are facing their first test
In late February, the CDC made big changes to its recommendations for monitoring and responding to Covid-19 surges. Now, as US cases are once more on the rise, these recommendations face their first test. But how will we know if they are working? The hard truth, several public health experts tell Vox, is that determining whether they are effective will be difficult. Even in the best-case scenario, where institutions follow the guidelines and the latest wave recedes, it would be hard to prove that the CDC’s framework deserves the credit.
13th Apr 2022 - Vox.com
China trying out reduced quarantine for some groups in eight cities - media
China is trying out reduced quarantine times for overseas arrivals and close contacts of positive cases in eight cities, in a potential easing of some of the world's most stringent pandemic entry controls, financial media outlet Caixin reported. Shanghai and Guangzhou are among the cities picked by the State Council for a trial that will see quarantine times reduced to 10 days from 14 days currently, plus seven days of health monitoring with regular testing as before, Caixin said.
13th Apr 2022 - Reuters
No relaxation of COVID measures for China, says President Xi
China must not relax COVID control and prevention measures, President Xi Jinping said during a visit to the southern island of Hainan on Wednesday, state radio reported. His comments came as China's commercial capital, Shanghai, reported more than 25,000 new cases. It is under huge pressure to contain China's biggest COVID outbreak since the coronavirus was first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
13th Apr 2022 - Reuters
S.Korea to expand rollout of second COVID booster shot to people over 60
South Korea's health ministry said on Wednesday it will administer a second COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people over 60 as the country continues to battle the highly contagious Omicron variant. "The government plans to expand the fourth round of vaccination to those aged 60 and older," Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a meeting, adding the infection rate in the age group has continued to rise to stand above 20%.
13th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever
New research released Tuesday showed a particularly large jump in overdose deaths among 14- to 18-year-olds. Adolescent overdose death counts were fairly constant for most of the last decade, at around 500 a year, according to the paper published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. They almost doubled in 2020, to 954, and the researchers estimated that the total hit nearly 1,150 last year. Joseph Friedman, a UCLA researcher who was the paper’s lead author, called the spike “unprecedented.” Those teen overdose deaths were only around 1% of the U.S. total. But adolescents experienced a greater relative increase than the overall population, even though surveys suggest drug use among teens is down.
12th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Shanghai Factory Closures Mount as Covid-19 Lockdowns Hit Supply Chains
More factories in and around Shanghai, including two run by an Apple Inc.supplier, are halting production because of extended Covid-19 lockdowns in the region, adding to pressure on the global supply chain. Analysts said Shanghai-area manufacturers were having more trouble getting parts delivered because China’s restrictions on movement are making it difficult for trucks to enter the region. That means some factories can’t operate normally even if they manage to keep workers on the job. Pegatron Corp., a major assembler of Apple products, said Tuesday it has temporarily suspended production at factories in Shanghai and nearby Jiangsu province in compliance with local government requirements.
12th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Shanghai lets some residents leave home, cautiously eases COVID curbs
Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as "full or partial lockdowns," China's leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its "zero-COVID" strategy, but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
UN official urges acceleration in coronavirus vaccinations
The U.N. official spearheading global vaccination efforts against the coronavirus said Monday the number of countries where 10% or less of the population has been vaccinated dropped from 34 to 18 since January and called for accelerated progress to end the pandemic. Assistant Secretary-General Ted Chaiban told the U.N. Security Council that with over 6 million lives lost to COVID-19 and just over 1 million new coronavirus infections reported to the World Health Organization in the last 24 hours, it is urgent to increase vaccinations in countries where it wasn't possible to boost rates in 2021.
12th Apr 2022 - Medical Xpress
COVID vaccines: why second boosters are being offered to vulnerable people in the UK – but not young and healthy people yet
Until recently, the UK government limited a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems over the age of 16. But, following a resurgence of COVID cases in the UK, the government has followed some other countries such as Israel, Germany and Sweden, and expanded the eligibility for a second booster shot. People aged 12 and over who have a weakened immune system, care home residents and people aged 75 and over are now eligible. But if you’re young and healthy you may be wondering whether you are going to be offered a fourth dose, and indeed, if a fourth dose is necessary for you. Let’s take a look at what we know so far
12th Apr 2022 - The Conversation
Britain widens access to Pfizer's COVID antiviral drug through trial
Britain will expand access to Pfizer's (PFE.N) oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment to thousands more people by adding it to a trial to assess how best to use the drug in its highly vaccinated population, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Paxlovid, a combination of Pfizer's new pill with an older antiviral ritonavir, was made available to thousands of people with compromised immune systems in Britain in February.
Now Paxlovid is being added to the Panoramic national study in England, which is making antivirals available to a wide number of patients while collecting data on how the drugs should best be used in a vaccinated adult population.
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai eases COVID curbs for some even as factory halts widen
Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as "full or partial lockdowns," China's leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its "zero-COVID" strategy, but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection.
12th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors, said Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the health commissioner. Health officials believe the recent spike is being driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of omicron, which has spread rapidly throughout Europe and Asia, and has become dominant in the U.S. in recent weeks.
12th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Filipinos urged to get booster shots to save 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has encouraged citizens to get their needed booster shots against COVID-19 so as not to waste vaccines already available for use.
Concepcion earlier revealed that 27M doses of COVID vaccines are set to expire by July. These vaccines which are a combination of procured vaccines and donations, are part of a total of around 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in storage.The 80 million doses of various brands of COVID-19 vaccines with an estimated worth of P40 billion are currently stored in the Department of Health’s 3rd party logistics warehouses, regional warehouses and Zuellig’s warehouse. “We call on fellow Filipinos to think about their safety and the safety of their families as well and get their booster shots immediately. As citizens, we also have a responsibility to help our government in its efforts to control the pandemic and ensure our safety while keeping the economy open,” Concepcion said.
10th Apr 2022 - Philstar.com
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullVaccine Makers Pfizer, Moderna Hire New CFOs
Vaccine makers Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. named company outsiders as chief financial officers as they look to deploy some of the cash they have generated during the Covid-19 pandemic. New York-based Pfizer on Monday said David Denton will take over as CFO on May 2. Mr. Denton has served as finance chief of home-goods retailer Lowe’s Cos. since 2018. Before that, he led the finances of CVS Health Corp. , the Woonsocket, R.I.-based drugstore and health-services chain. Mr. Denton succeeds longtime CFO Frank D’Amelio, who announced his retirement in November. Mr. D’Amelio, who took over as finance chief in 2007, will remain with Pfizer through the transition period.
11th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Heathrow, Gatwick Flight Status: Dozens Canceled Over Staff Shortages
Dozens of UK flights were cancelled on Monday as airlines continue to struggle with staff shortages. British Airways axed at least 64 domestic or European flights to or from Heathrow. Affected UK routes were between the west London airport and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle. Among the international routes affected were services to and from Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris and Stockholm.
British Airways said passengers were given advanced warning of the cancellations.
11th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Shanghai Covid crisis puts China tech on eggshells
Financial elites are confronting a once-unthinkable problem in modern China’s wealthiest city: widespread food shortages. Officials in Shanghai have called . It’s a chance for the companies to win political brownie points and new users amid regulatory crackdowns.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
People 50 and older are eligible for a second COVID booster. Who should get one?
Many people who've been supportive of COVID-19 vaccines all along are now wondering whether they should get a second booster. Last month, the government authorized an additional booster for anyone 50 and older whose last shot was more than four months ago. But just because an extra shot is permitted doesn't mean everyone should get one, health experts say – at least not yet. For those with a healthy immune system, the first two doses dramatically reduce the risk of death from COVID-19. Studies show a third shot likely takes severe disease off the table, too, even with omicron, which swept across the world and infected roughly half of all Americans. But scientific research doesn't offer much guidance on a fourth shot, and the decision has to be highly personal, experts said.
11th Apr 2022 - USA Today
Ontario's top doctor to provide COVID-19 update for first time in more than 4 weeks
Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, is set to provide an update on how the province is managing COVID-19 and expanding access to antivirals. The news conference, which will be the first Moore has held since early March, comes on the heels of a report by Public Health Ontario that shows COVID-19 cases, test positivity rates and hospitalizations have gone up since March 21, when the province ended mandatory masking in most indoor spaces.
11th Apr 2022 - CBC.ca
Debate over COVID-19 close contact isolation as Australia faces peak of Omicron BA.2 wave
As Australia moves into winter, changes to restrictions are up for discussion as governments try to strike the balance between living with COVID-19 and protecting the community. Advice from the Commonwealth's peak chief public health panel, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), has suggested close contact isolation should come to an end soon. Most jurisdictions have issued exemptions for close contacts in critical workforces to ensure essential services can continue, but some are now questioning the need for asymptomatic close contacts to spend a week in isolation.
11th Apr 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Japan cancels a third of contracted Astrazeneca vaccine purchase
Japan has cancelled the purchase of about 40 million Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses it agreed to buy last year, a health ministry official said in parliament on Monday. The contract allowed the government to cancel a portion of the supply if it was unneeded, the official said in response to lawmakers' questioning. Japan had originally agreed to buy 120 million of the shots, with the bulk made domestically by Daiichi Sankyo and other local partners.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Germany agrees deal with CureVac, GSK for mRNA vaccines until 2029
Germany has signed a contract with CureVac and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline for domestically produced mRNA vaccines to bolster supplies in case of public health emergencies, the German biotech firm said on Monday. The five-year contract allows for production of up to 80 million doses at short notice until 2029, CureVac said, adding that those doses could be for the remainder of the current pandemic or future outbreaks.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan orders Pfizer's COVID-19 pill as infections rise
Taiwan has ordered 700,000 units of Pfizer's anti-viral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid, its health minister said on Monday, amid a steady increase in the number of infections as the government pledges to gradually reopen its borders. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to strict and early control measures. But daily infections have been rising in recent weeks, with 439 new cases reported on Monday, the second highest daily increase this year.
11th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Japan's Low-Key Covid Campaign Is More Sustainable Than China's All-Out Efforts
Shanghai is locked down and some of its residents are running out of food. As China battles its largest-ever Covid outbreak, the discourse swings between two extremes: The country must accept Covid Zero and sporadic, disruptive lockdowns; or it must live with the virus western-style — and endure all deaths that ensue. For Chinese authorities, the former may no longer work but the latter is unacceptable. But there’s an alternative: China should look to what can be learned from its neighbor Japan. Japan conducted a largely low-tech, unshowy campaign against the virus and rarely makes the list of top-performing countries. Yet among the 38 OECD members, only one has seen fewer deaths per capita than Japan — and that’s New Zealand, a nation that endured some of the world’s strictest lockdowns
11th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Germany may have to junk 3 million COVID shots by late June
Germany’s health ministry said that the country may have to discard 3 million doses of expired COVID-19 vaccine by the end of June. Ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz told reporters in Berlin that “not many doses” have been destroyed so far, though he couldn’t give an exact figure. But Kautz said that “we have more vaccine available at the moment than is being used and than we can donate.” He added that the U.N.-backed program to distribute shots to poorer countries, COVAX, isn’t currently accepting donations.
11th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
India extends COVID-19 boosters to all adults; some must pay
India began offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults on Sunday but limited free shots at government centers to front-line workers and people over age 60. The doses, which India is calling a “precautionary” shot instead of a booster, are available to people nine months after they receive their second jab, the Health Ministry said in a statement Friday. Those outside the two priority categories will need to pay for the shots at privately run facilities, the ministry said.
11th Apr 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullShanghai Has Recorded More Than 130,000 Covid Cases—and No Deaths
In a Covid-19 outbreak that has locked 25 million people at home, the city of Shanghai has reported more than 130,000 cases since March 1, but says there have been no deaths and currently only one patient with severe illness. The absence of deaths, and the low incidence of severe illness recorded in Shanghai as cases rise, stands out compared with outbreaks elsewhere, even accounting for the fact that Covid deaths often lag behind infections by several weeks. Hong Kong has followed a similarly strict model as mainland China in the pandemic, and saw a steep rise in deaths following a recent outbreak there. In March, the city reported tens of thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths a day. Taiwan, with many fewer cases than the mainland, reported a Covid death on Saturday, the fourth this year.
10th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Shanghai residents question human cost of China's COVID quarantines
Lu, 99, was a long-time resident at Shanghai's Donghai Elderly Care hospital, her loved ones secure that she was getting round-the-clock care at the city's largest such centre. That was before COVID-19 struck China's biggest city last month, the country's worst outbreak since the virus emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, infecting multiple patients, doctors and care workers at the 1,800-bed facility. Orderlies posted cries for help on social media, saying they were overwhelmed. Relatives told Reuters that there had been several deaths.
10th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Covid Could Be Surging in the U.S. Right Now and We Might Not Even Know It
The rise of Covid cases in some regions of the U.S., just as testing efforts wane, has raised the specter that the next major wave of the virus may be difficult to detect. In fact, the country could be in the midst of a surge right now and we might not even know it. Testing and viral sequencing are critical to responding quickly to new outbreaks of Covid. And yet, as the country tries to move on from the pandemic, demand for lab-based testing has declined and federal funding priorities have shifted. The change has forced some testing centers to shutter while others have hiked up prices in response to the end of government-subsidized testing programs. People are increasingly relying on at-home rapid tests if they decide to test at all. But those results are rarely reported, giving public health officials little insight into how widespread the virus truly is.
10th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Vaccine group Gavi secures $4.8 billion in funding pledges for COVAX
The global vaccine alliance Gavi has secured $4.8 billion in funding pledges for the vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, an official said on Friday, falling just shy of its target. "It is really putting us in a very comfortable position," Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, managing director for resource mobilization at Gavi, told a virtual media briefing. The group had previously said it needed an additional $5.2 billion to continue delivering COVID-19 vaccines at scale as part of its global programme that delivers shots to poorer countries
9th Apr 2022 - Reuters
China’s Covid Lockdowns Hit Supplies to Companies Like Apple and Tesla
Manufacturers are struggling to keep some of their China operations going as extended and widening Covid-19 lockdowns choke off supplies and clog up truck routes and ports, heaping more pressure on the stretched global supply chain.
Stringent government measures to contain the country’s Covid-19 outbreak, the worst in more than two years, are locking down tens of millions of people, mostly in and around the industrial heartland of Shanghai. The curbs are keeping many workers at home, restricting output at some factories and closing others, including component makers for Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc.
Tesla, which suspended work at its factory in Shanghai on March 28, still hasn’t set a date for restarting production, according to people familiar with the matter. The electric-vehicle giant said it is implementing Covid-19 control requirements and setting work arrangements according to government policies.
9th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.K. Underlying Wage Growth Stagnated After Covid, Study Shows
Britain’s underlying wage growth stagnated after the coronavirus pandemic, a study by the Resolution Foundation showed, casting doubt on concerns that the nation faces an inflationary spiral. The researcher said its measure of average pay, adjusting for differences in the nature of individual workers, remained 2.7% last year, the same as in 2019 before the coronavirus hit. Resolution said that higher headline wage growth in official figures is mainly due to the end of the government’s furlough program and out-sized gains in four industries struggling to attract workers
9th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Shanghai widens COVID testing as other Chinese cities impose curbs
Shanghai on Friday announced a record 21,000 new cases and a third consecutive day of COVID testing as a lockdown of its 26 million people showed no sign of easing and other Chinese cities tightened curbs - even in places with no recent infections. Beijing authorities intervened in Shanghai after its failure to isolate COVID by locking the city down in stages, and insists that the country stick to its zero-tolerance policy to prevent its medical system from breaking down. Authorities across China, which have mostly managed to keep COVID at bay for the last two years, are stepping up coronavirus control measures, including movement restrictions, mass testing and new quarantine centres.
9th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
'Anti-Covid pill helped me within hours'
A Kent woman with coronavirus is among the patients who have received a cutting-edge anti-Covid drug at home that improves symptoms “within hours”. The antiviral treatment which reduces the risk of serious illness have been provided to more than 32,000 patients since being introduced for patients outside of hospital in December. One of the latest treatments, known as Paxlovid, was found in trials to slash hospitalisation and deaths by 88%, and has been given to more than 6,000 patients already – with more than 1,400 patients benefitting in the last seven days alone. One patient to have benefitted is Helen West, 56, from Walderslade, Chatham who was offered Paxlovid. Helen has ankylosing spondylitis, a rare long-term condition in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed, painful and stiff, requiring her to take medication that suppresses her immune system
9th Apr 2022 - Kent Online
COVID-19: Infections have levelled off and may have started falling, official data shows
The surge in COVID infections has levelled off and may have started to decline, according to the latest official data. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 4,883,100 people in the UK had the disease in the week to 2 April.
That's a fall of 0.5% from the week before. It confirms the trend shown on the COVID dashboard a fortnight ago.
9th Apr 2022 - Sky News
Can US tenants cope with COVID eviction protections ending?
Housing rights campaigner Rob Robinson and Legal Aid’s Beth Mellen on the housing crisis in the United States. “Once the courts open up, we will see a rush to evict,” says housing rights campaigner Rob Robinson. America’s federal moratorium on evictions ended in August last year and, with COVID housing protections almost all gone, the expected wave of evictions will likely worsen the country’s homelessness crisis. Robinson himself was unhoused for two years and eventually “found his way out”. But he warns against the narrative that unhoused people should be able to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”.
9th Apr 2022 - Al Jazeera English
UK airport warns COVID-related delays could last months
A major British airport warned passengers on Friday to expect the delays plaguing travel to continue for months, as the U.K. aviation regulator told the country’s air industry to shape up after weeks of canceled flights and long airport queues. The head of Manchester Airport in northwest England said passengers could face waits of up to 90 minutes to get through security “over the next few months.” Travelers in Britain have suffered days of delays during the current Easter school holiday break, with British Airways and easyJet canceling hundreds of flights because of coronavirus-related staff absences, and long lines building at airport check-in, security and baggage points.
9th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
'Get used to it': Outbreaks give taste of living with virus
The U.S. is getting a first glimpse of what it’s like to experience COVID-19 outbreaks during this new phase of living with the virus, and the roster of the newly infected is studded with stars. Cabinet members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have all tested positive. Outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University are bringing back mask requirements to those campuses as officials seek out quarantine space. The known infections likely reveal only the tip of the iceberg — with actors and politicians regularly tested at work. Official case figures are certain to be vast undercounts of how widely the virus is circulating because of home testing and mildly sick not bothering to test at all.
9th Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullAs Queensland's COVID-19 vaccine mandates ease in social settings, they still apply to many workers
In Queensland, changes from 14 April will allow unvaccinated people to go to restaurants, clubs, museums, and stadiums. Vaccine mandates will remain for the health sector, prisons, schools and childcare centres. According to Acting Premier Cameron Dick there is not going to be any move made to get rid of vaccine mandates entirely at this stage. "We will take the advice of the Chief Health Officer and of course that's also the agreed position I understand it nationally," he said. Infectious diseases physician Dr Paul Griffin said easing the mandates in certain settings makes sense.
7th Apr 2022 - ABC.Net.au
German parliament rejects mandatory coronavirus vaccination
The German parliament on Thursday rejected a draft bill that would have made coronavirus vaccination compulsory from the age of 60 in a defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his attempt to build a cross-party consensus on the issue. Of the 683 who voted on the bill, 378 rejected it and only 296 supported it, among them Scholz and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who looked visibly disappointed when the result was announced in the plenary.
7th Apr 2022 - POLITICO Europe
FDA vaccine advisers say a plan for updating Covid-19 shots is needed
The future of Covid-19 vaccines -- including when and how often booster doses might be needed -- remains unclear and "complex," according to advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) detailed in a meeting Wednesday how emerging coronavirus variants and the future use of Covid-19 booster shots would be approached and coordinated -- and the advisers plan to continue their conversation in the coming months.
7th Apr 2022 - CNN
Airlines cancel hundreds of flights due to COVID-19 after dropping mask rules
Overseas airlines are having to cancel hundreds of flights as they grapple with coronavirus-related staffing shortages weeks after they ditched rules requiring passengers and staff to mask up in the air. The disruptions also come as the CEOs of leading U.S. airlines urge the Biden administration to roll back a federal rule requiring that masks be worn in the sky.
7th Apr 2022 - CBS News
Japan to lift COVID entry ban for 106 countries including U.S.
Japan plans to ease COVID 19-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreignnationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on Friday, the government said. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemic-induced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists. The foreign ministry said in an update on Wednesday that foreigners from the 106 countries would not be subject to denial of permission to enter Japan from Friday, but foreigners with tourist purposes were still not allowed into the country.
7th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Cyprus to lift COVID-19 travel conditions from April 18
Cyprus will lift COVID-19 conditions for travel to the island from April 18, authorities said on Thursday, ending two years of rules imposed by the pandemic. The island said it was scrapping a colour-coded assessment of other countries based on epidemiological risk, an inbound flight permission to travel and PCR or rapid lateral flow tests for those who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. People who have not been vaccinated, or not completed their booster shots would still need a PCR test or a lateral flow test, the transport ministry said
7th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Hits Broadway Once More, Leading to Cancellations, Changes
Covid is hitting Broadway again. Several highly anticipated shows have been affected by breakthrough cases of Covid-19, as Broadway looks to make up for pandemic losses with big names and longtime favorites lighting up the Great White Way. “Macbeth,” starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga and directed by Sam Gold, said Tuesday it was canceling shows through Saturday at 8 p.m. ET because of “a limited number of positive COVID test results within the company.” Mr. Craig, who is returning to the stage for the first time in six years, tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
6th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Sanctioned Oil Piling Up Off China as Virus Outbreak Worsens
Tankers carrying 22 million barrels of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil are piling up off China, according to Kpler, as the country battles a virus outbreak that’s sapping demand and causing logistics problems. China has been one of the only buyers of sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil over the last few years. The world’s largest crude importer is also still taking Russian supplies that are being largely shunned since the invasion of Ukraine. The trade in the discounted oil is now being disrupted by the country’s worsening virus outbreak, with waiting times to unload ships increasing.
6th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Irish people aged 65 and over to receive fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine
Irish people aged 65 and over should receive a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the Republic of Ireland's National Immunisation Advisory Committee has said. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has accepted the recommendation. Those aged 12 and older, who are immunocompromised, will also receive another booster.
6th Apr 2022 - The Irish News
Ontarians 60+ to be eligible for 4th COVID-19 vaccine doses starting Thursday
Ontario is opening up eligibility for fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses to those aged 60 and older as wastewater data suggests the number of infections are almost as high as in early January, when Omicron was at its peak. Ontarians 60 and up, as well as all Indigenous residents and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 or older, will be able to book their second booster shot through the province's online portal starting Thursday at 8 a.m, the province said.
6th Apr 2022 - CBC.ca
Spain to mostly ditch indoor mask wearing from April 20
Spain will lift a requirement to wear face masks indoors except on public transport and in hospitals and retirement homes from April 20, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Wednesday. Since the Omicron variant of the coronavirus drove up infections to record highs in January the caseload has receded sharply and COVID patients now account for just 3.5% of hospital occupation. She said advisers have recommended lifting the obligation after the Easter long weekend.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Canada panel makes initial recommendations on second COVID booster shot
An official Canadian panel has provided initial recommendations on the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for some Canadians as infections rise in many parts of the country, Health Canada said on Tuesday. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended Canadian jurisdictions to prepare for the deployment of a second vaccine booster dose program over the coming weeks prioritizing people 80 years old and over and residents of long-term care.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
COVAX, African Union decline to buy more doses of Moderna's COVID shots
COVAX, the global project to share COVID-19 vaccines, and the African Union have declined options to buy additional doses of Moderna's shot, as developing nations struggle to allocate supplies. The global alliance did not exercise the option for 166 million doses of the shot for the third quarter of 2022, as well for 166 million doses in the fourth quarter, which expired on April 1, a Moderna spokesperson said.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
'COVID is not a cold' - Germany U-turns on ending mandatory isolation
Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch COVID-19, the health minister said on Wednesday, reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over. "Coronavirus is not a cold. That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Twitter, adding he had made a mistake by suggesting an end to mandatory quarantine.
6th Apr 2022 - Reuters
STAT-Harris Poll: Most Americans would get a Covid-19 booster shot if recommended
As a Food and Drug Administration panel meets to sort out the ongoing use of booster shots for Covid-19, a new survey by STAT and The Harris Poll finds six in 10 Americans have already decided they will get another booster if it’s recommended for them. Just under one-quarter of U.S. adults indicated they will only receive a second booster shot if a new variant arises or there is a surge in Covid-19 cases in their area, and 18% have no plans to get a booster at all, according to the survey, which polled 2,028 U.S. adults between March 25 and 27.
6th Apr 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCanada panel makes initial recommendations on second COVID booster shot
An official Canadian panel has provided initial recommendations on the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for some Canadians as infections rise in many parts of the country, Health Canada said. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended Canadian jurisdictions to prepare for the deployment of a second vaccine booster dose program over the coming weeks prioritizing people 80 years old and over and residents of long-term care.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Is Covid Over? African Union, Covax Turn Down Moderna (MRNA) Vaccine Doses
Two buyers of Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries have declined options to purchase hundreds of millions of additional doses from Moderna Inc., a sign of waning demand as the pandemic eases. The African Union and Covax, the World Health Organization-backed group, decided not to obtain more of the vaccine as developing nations struggle to turn supplies into inoculations. Lower-income countries left behind in the global rollout are now grappling with a lack of funds, hesitancy, supply-chain obstacles and other factors that are hampering distribution.
5th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
US to donate more than 100mn children's Covid doses to poorer countries
The Biden administration will soon start donating children’s doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to poorer countries for the first time, although officials warn some might not reach their intended recipients because of a fight in Congress over pandemic funding. The donation of more than 100mn doses for five to 11-year-olds, which is set to be announced on Tuesday, is part of the administration’s pledge to give a total of 1.2bn doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. But Biden administration officials say a congressional dispute over billions of dollars’ worth of extra Covid funding could mean the jabs do not get to where they are needed.
5th Apr 2022 - Financial Times
Here's what's in the $10 billion Covid-19 aid bill
The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal to provide an additional $10 billion in Covid-19 assistance, less than half of what the White House originally had requested. It would allow the Biden administration to purchase more vaccines and therapeutics, as well as maintain testing capacity and research. But it does not include $5 billion in funding for global Covid-19 aid, nor would it replenish the program that pays for testing, treating and vaccinating the uninsured. The deal would be paid for using unspent funds from the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which was enacted in March 2021.
5th Apr 2022 - CNN
Court leery of forcing OSHA to adopt COVID healthcare worker rule
A U.S. appeals court on Monday sounded skeptical of claims by a group of unions that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can be forced to adopt a permanent rule to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19. Judges on a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel pressed the unions' lawyer on how the court could have the power to require OSHA to adopt a rule, particularly after the agency said it needed more time to review the issue.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Mexico says WTO COVID vaccine deal should go beyond IP waiver
Any World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on COVID-19 vaccines should include more than just a waiver on intellectual property, Mexico's representative to the trade body said, in a sign that consensus is proving tough to forge. The United States, the European Union, India and South Africa reached a provisional consensus on elements of a long-sought IP waiver for the vaccines, according to a document that circulated among governments last month
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters Canada
U.S. Senate negotiators reach deal on $10 billion for COVID aid
Negotiators in Congress have agreed to an additional $10 billion in COVID-19 funding to address U.S. needs but have dropped international aid from the package, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday. The compromise, if passed, would be less than half of the $22.5 billion initially sought by U.S. President Joe Biden to combat COVID, prepare for future variants and shore up the nation's pandemic infrastructure.
5th Apr 2022 - Reuters
Congressional Negotiators Settle on $10 Billion for Covid-19 Tests, Treatments
Senators unveiled a $10 billion deal to further fund the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic with money repurposed from earlier aid rounds, well below what the White House originally requested for vaccines and therapeutics. The package will allow the U.S. to purchase supplies, including more tests and vaccines, that the Biden administration said would be needed to continue to fight the virus. The $10 billion pulls from unused money in earlier bills passed by Congress, rather than representing new spending.
5th Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullThai PM takes delivery of 3.2 million Pfizer vaccines donated by France; Covid-19 cases still registering above 24,000 in country
The French ambassador to Thailand on Monday handed over 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Ambassador Thierry Mathou met Prayut at Government House on Monday morning to formally hand over the vaccine shipment donated to Thailand by France. After the meeting, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkrongchana said Prayut thanked France for the donation and lauded the envoy for helping coordinate close bilateral ties.
4th Apr 2022 - The Star
WTO official: IP waiver on COVID vaccines would not facilitate access immediately
The negotiations for a waiver on intellectual property (IP) rights in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are still ongoing, but a final agreement would not immediately loosen up access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, according to a WTO official. There is an established principle to override intellectual property rights “baked” into the WTO TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), said Antony Taubman, director of the intellectual property, government procurement and competition division in the WTO.
4th Apr 2022 - EURACTIV
How to book a Covid vaccine for children with 5 to 11-year-olds now eligible
The Covid-19 vaccine is being extended to children aged between 5 and 11, giving five million more Britons access to the jab. It comes with case numbers across the UK extremely high, due to the spread of the highly infectious BA.2 offshoot of the Omicron variant. The children will be given a dose of Pfizer a third of the size of that given to those aged 12 and over. There will be a follow-up jab 12 weeks later. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation approved the jab for under-12s in February, but the NHS has been prioritising fourth doses for the clinically vulnerable and over-75s.
4th Apr 2022 - iNews
Hong Kong university entrance exams ‘to go ahead as scheduled’ as coronavirus infections continue to fall
Special centres will be set up at the Hong Kong government’s isolation facility at Penny’s Bay for university entrance exam candidates who are close contacts of Covid-19 patients or infected themselves, with the annual assessments scheduled to start from April 22. Education authorities on Monday said candidates who chose to sit the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams at the special centres would then have to remain at the facility for a full stint in quarantine, which lasts at least seven days, depending on their vaccination status
4th Apr 2022 - South China Morning Post
U.S. FDA advisers to discuss additional COVID vaccine boosters
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's expert advisers will discuss the timing of additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters and the people eligible for the extra shots in a meeting later this week, the health agency said on Monday. The independent advisers will also discuss at the April 6 meeting the FDA's role in how future versions of COVID vaccines are created to help fight new variants. It could be similar to the current process of selecting the composition of the seasonal flu shot, where regulators pick the strain to use for the coming year's vaccines, FDA staff said in briefing documents
4th Apr 2022 - Reuters.com
It's time for a new COVID-19 vaccination strategy in Ontario, experts urge
Ontario is entering a sixth wave of COVID-19 with few remaining public health measures and experts say now is the time for a renewed vaccination strategy aimed at boosting third-dose uptake, shots for kids and preparing for wider fourth doses. When first and second doses became available, Ontario - and Canada at large - was the envy of the world in how quickly the population got vaccinated, said Dr. Fahad Razak, an internist and member of the province's science advisory table. But while 91 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, only about 60 per cent have received three.
4th Apr 2022 - CP24
Singapore, Oh So Carefully, Lets Down Its Masks
The most amazing thing about the margarita in my hand at 10:35 p.m. Tuesday was that it was there at all. It was the first evening of a new, relatively relaxed Covid regime in Singapore. Strict curbs on the late-night sale of alcohol were lifted, masks ceased to be compulsory outdoors and social gatherings could number 10 people. Singing was no longer outlawed. This was a moment worth toasting, cautiously. While the changes stop short of a revolution — the city-state isn’t known for spontaneous lurches — they are nevertheless significant. Singapore mandated face coverings outdoors longer than many places, and made transgressions punishable.
4th Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid vaccine Covaxin supply through UN procurement agencies suspended by WHO
In a statement issued by the organisation on Saturday, the suspension has been carried out in response to the outcomes of its post EUL (emergency use authorisation) inspection, which was held between March 14 and 22, 2022 and the need to conduct process and facility upgrade to address recently identified GMP (good manufacturing practice) deficiencies. Due to suspension of production for export, there will be interruption in supply of Covaxin, WHO said. The risk assessment to date does not show change in the risk-benefit ratio. The data, which is available to WHO, shows the vaccine is still effective and there is no safety concern, WHO said.
3rd Apr 2022 - WION
In Shanghai, Strict Covid Rules Separate Children From Parents
As a viral video ricocheted around China’s internet, showing toddlers and infants in a Shanghai medical facility, crying as they were crammed in threes and fours on metal-barred beds, one 39-year-old mother was particularly distraught. “I searched for any sight of my daughter in the video but couldn’t find her,” said the mother, who asked to be identified only by her surname, Zhu. Ms. Zhu said she had been separated from her 2½-year-old daughter on Tuesday after they tested positive for Covid in Shanghai, home of what is quickly becoming China’s biggest coronavirus outbreak in more than two years. In the following days, Ms. Zhu said she was left with virtually no news or photos of her daughter, who she said was sent to a separate facility for Covid-infected children and infants.
3rd Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Masks Come Off, Mandates Loosen as Companies Relax Covid-19 Protocols
U.S. companies are relaxing many of the vaccine and other Covid-related requirements that had become a staple of corporate life in the pandemic. As office occupancy nears pandemic-era highs in many U.S. cities, a number of employers have communicated new, looser safety protocols to workers. Some companies made masks optional in the office for all workers, while others dropped testing requirements for the unvaccinated or simplified the daily return-to-office questionnaires. The new protocols in many cases follow updated guidance from health authorities, who have moved away from blanket preventive measures in favor of a more targeted approach focused on limiting infection and severe illness in high-risk areas. Infections have edged up again in the U.S. and the Omicron BA.2 variant accounts for more new Covid-19 cases.
3rd Apr 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
I Just Had Covid. Should I Wait to Get Boosted?
I'm over 50, triple-vaxxed with Moderna and I had Covid-19 in late February. Should I get a booster shot now or wait three or four months? The booster-timing game is one a lot of us have been playing. I’ve had friends tell me they’ve delayed getting boosters not just after a case of Covid, but also to lessen their risk of catching the virus before a big vacation or a wedding. It’s just the latest iteration of pandemic-risk roulette. We’re all trying to figure out how to get the most bang out of our booster. This past week, the Food and Drug Administration gave the green light for an additional booster — a fourth shot — for those over age 50. But many Americans still haven’t gotten their first booster shot — or any shot. If you’ve had Covid since January or February, says Jessica Justman, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at Columbia University Medical Center, it makes sense to hold off on a booster, no matter how old you are.
3rd Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Sinopharm Says Second-Generation Vaccine Approved for Trial
China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. said its second-generation recombinant protein Covid-19 vaccine has received approval from Beijing for clinical trials. Better known as Sinopharm, the state-owned enterprise’s vaccine-developing unit, China National Biotec Group, announced the news on its WeChat account on Sunday. The improved vaccine has already been approved by the United Arab Emirates as a booster shot and enhances immune response to the coronavirus, the company said in December. China is currently grappling with its worst infection outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, reporting more than 13,000 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan arrived in the country’s virus hotspot of Shanghai to oversee prevention efforts, as she ordered officials to curtail the outbreak “as soon as possible,” according to Xinhua. Cases in the financial hub exceeded 8,000 on Saturday including 7,788 asymptomatic infections. Shanghai will start a new round of mass testing on Monday, authorities said.
3rd Apr 2022 - Bloomberg
Taiwan says new COVID cases won't affect re-opening plans
A recent rise in Taiwan's domestic COVID-19 cases will not affect plans to gradually re-open as hardly any of the new infections have caused serious illness, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Sunday. Unlike large parts of the rest of the world, Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control due to strict and early control measures, including an efficient contact and tracing system and largely closing its borders. In the first quarter of this year Taiwan reported 1,266 domestic cases, and only one death, though the government has been on alert as infections spiked over the past week or so, while remaining at comparatively low numbers, with 183 new cases on Sunday.
3rd Apr 2022 - Reuters
Indonesia greets Ramadan with mass prayer as COVID curbs ease
The world's largest Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta's grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year. Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal mosque in the Indonesian capital to join the Tarawih prayer, special prayers performed only during the month of Ramadan, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event. For the past two years Indonesia has grappled with one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Asia, but this Ramadan, traditionally a time of community, reflection and prayer, cases have eased enough to allow for mass gatherings.
3rd Apr 2022 - Reuters
Number of COVID patients in US hospitals reaches record low
COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge. The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020. The freed up beds are expected to help U.S. hospitals retain exhausted staff, treat non-COVID-19 patients more quickly and cut down on inflated costs. More family members can visit loved ones. And doctors hope to see a correction to the slide in pediatric visits, yearly checkups and cancer screenings.
2nd Apr 2022 - The Associated Press
Meta no longer requiring COVID booster shots for staff in U.S. offices
Facebook-owner Meta is no longer requiring employees to have COVID-19 boosters to enter its offices in the United States, a company spokesperson said on Friday. The social media company previously said that all workers returning to the office would have to present proof of their booster jabs, while the company monitored the Omicron variant situation. "We updated our requirements in early March to align with CDC guidance, and now COVID-19 boosters are no longer required for entry, though strongly recommended. The primary vaccination requirement (1- or 2-shot series) remains in place," said Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton.
1st Apr 2022 - Reuters
China's farmers face fertiliser crunch as COVID measures hamper deliveries
China's COVID-19 curbs are disrupting the supply of fertiliser to the country's northeastern bread basket just a month away from spring planting, threatening this year's corn and soybean crops if not resolved soon. Farmers typically have fertiliser prepared in early April before applying to fields later in the month during planting. But China's worst outbreak of COVID since the pandemic began two years ago have triggered strict controls on movement of people and goods, sharply slowing deliveries. Fertiliser producers, dealers, analysts and associations said rules requiring truck drivers to take COVID tests every 24 hours, a need to obtain special passes to deliver goods and factory suspensions due to local COVID cases are all contributing to tight supplies.
1st Apr 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai COVID curbs prompt half of U.S. firms in China to cut revenue forecasts - survey
More than half of U.S. multinational companies in China have reduced their annual revenue projections, mostly due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, according to a joint survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing published on Friday. Responses to the survey, conducted with 167 companies operating throughout China including 76 in manufacturing, found 82% of manufacturers reported slowed or reduced production due to a lack of employees, inability to obtain supplies, or government-ordered lockdowns. More than half, or 54%, have cut 2022 revenue projections following the outbreak, though 38% said it was too early to estimate the impact.
1st Apr 2022 - Reuters
U.S. to end COVID order blocking asylum seekers at border with Mexico
The United States will end a sweeping, pandemic-related expulsion policy that has effectively closed down the U.S. asylum system at the border with Mexico, U.S. health officials said on Friday, arguing it was no longer needed to protect public health. The Title 42 order will remain in effect until May 23 to allow border officials time to prepare for its termination and to ramp up COVID-19 vaccines for arriving migrants, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a 30-page order.
1st Apr 2022 - Reuters
COVID weighing less and less on the U.S. job market
The coronavirus pandemic's grip on the U.S. job market notably loosened in March, two years after a state of emergency was declared, as the number of people homebound by COVID-19 concerns hit a new low and fewer people reported having to work remotely. In all, the government's benchmark monthly nonfarm payrolls report out Friday showed that by several metrics - including the total number of unemployed dropping below 6 million and a 3.6% unemployment rate - the U.S. job market had all but recovered from the devastating hit delivered in the first two months of the pandemic when 22 million people were thrown out of work
1st Apr 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong residents return home as Covid travel curbs eased; 5,823 cases logged
Thousands of residents started travelling back to Hong Kong and holidaymakers raced to book flights to faraway destinations on Friday after authorities eased some of the city’s tough Covid-19 travel curbs, while health officials recorded 5,823 new infections. From Friday, the compulsory quarantine period for those arriving in Hong Kong was halved to seven days. The government also lifted a flight ban imposed on January 8 on Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the United States. Announcing the easing of restrictions on Thursday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said more than 2,000 Hong Kong residents stranded overseas were also expected to return on Friday. This also meant thousands of foreign domestic helpers stranded in the Philippines could return to the city, with employment agencies expecting to clear the backlog in the next two months.
1st Apr 2022 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Apr 2022
View this newsletter in fullHealth Ministry provides coronavirus vaccine to refugees using UNHCR certificate
In Egypt, the Ministry of Health and Population announced that they will provide the coronavirus vaccines to refugees and asylum seekers through medical teams without registering on the ministry’s website, pointing out that the vaccination can be obtained with a passport or a UNHCR certificate. The ministry pointed out, in an official statement, that coronavirus vaccines were available at several metro stations. The Ministry added it targets vaccinating 70 percent of citizens by the end of June to reach herd immunity, so that coronavirus precautionary measures could be eased.
31st Mar 2022 - Egypt Independent
Groups urge Biden to reject potential WTO 'concept' on COVID-19 vaccine barriers
Doctors without Borders, Oxfam America, Amnesty International and other top civil society groups on Wednesday urged US President Joe Biden to reject a potential deal on COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organization. In a letter, the groups called the proposal a "rehash" of a European Union position that fell far short of the rights waiver Biden backed in May 2021 to speed vaccines to developing countries.
31st Mar 2022 - Reuters
Biden gets second booster shot, pushes for more COVID funding
U.S. President Joe Biden rolled up his sleeve for a second COVID-19 booster shot on Wednesday as his administration rolled out efforts to help Americans live with the coronavirus, including a new website and a renewed push for vaccinations and funding. "If we fail to invest, we leave ourselves vulnerable if another wave hits," Biden said in remarks at the White House to launch COVID.gov, a clearinghouse of information aimed at helping people manage the virus as they seek a return to normalcy.
31st Mar 2022 - Reuters
German panel recommends booster for recipients of 4 vaccines
Germany’s independent vaccination advisory panel is recommending a booster shot with a messenger RNA vaccine for people who have had a full course of four Chinese, Indian and Russian COVID-19 vaccines that aren’t currently approved for use in the European Union. In a draft recommendation Thursday, the panel, known by its German acronym STIKO, said the advice applies to people given a full course and also a booster of the Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, the Indian-made Covaxin and Russia’s Sputnik V.
31st Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Germany plans to relax COVID quarantine rules as cases soar
Germany plans to end mandatory quarantine for most people who catch COVID-19, the health ministry proposed on Thursday, as numbers isolating with the infection top four million. Under the existing rules, people with COVID must quarantine for at least seven days. But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to change that to a voluntary five days of self-isolation with the recommendation of a COVID test at the end of that period, proposals seen by Reuters showed.
31st Mar 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai reports 4144 new asymptomatic, 358 new symptomatic COVID cases for March 31
China's financial hub of Shanghai reported 4,144 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and 358 symptomatic cases for March 31, the city government said on its official WeChat account on Friday. That compared with 5,298 new asymptomatic cases and 355 new cases with symptoms reported a day earlier. Shanghai put the vast majority of its residents under COVID lockdown from Friday, as it expanded curbs to include the western half of the city and extended restrictions in the east where people have already been forced to stay home since Monday
31st Mar 2022 - Reuters
China's Covid-Zero Strategy: What Could Xi Jinping Do Next?
China’s Covid Zero strategy has been drastic and effective, saving lives and keeping the economy on track. But a new wave of virus cases is highlighting the growing costs of that approach – as well as the perils of any attempt to change it.
Authorities are fighting to curb the spread of the omicron variant among a population that lacks natural immunity and only has access to home-grown vaccines that are less effective than some of the global alternatives. Shanghai – the country’s financial center – is locking down just weeks after the technology hub of Shenzhen was forced to do so.
31st Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 31st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in full'We demand an explanation!' Shanghai residents vent COVID lockdown irritation
Frustrated and locked down, residents of Shanghai have taken to social media to vent, questioning the practicality of persisting with China's zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 in its most populous city. In the home to 26 million people, videos and images of crowded quarantine centres were shared as authorities extended lockdown from the east of the city to parts of the west, posting calls for help with medical treatment and purchasing food. One video widely shared on Chinese social media featured an angry exchange between a group of patients and hazmat suit-clad healthcare workers at the vast Shanghai World Expo Center - temporarily converted into a giant quarantine facility.
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Vaccine mandate for South Australian teachers and transport workers dropped as COVID-19 cases approach record
Unvaccinated teachers and school staff in South Australia, as well as public transport workers and taxi and rideshare drivers, will be able to return to work tomorrow. Vaccine mandates on workers in the school and passenger transport sectors will lift at midnight, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens announced. Both sectors have faced workforce pressures amid escalating COVID-19 cases in South Australia.
30th Mar 2022 - abc.net.au
CDC: If you got J&J's vaccine and booster, consider an mRNA shot now
The nearly 17 million Americans who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine are less protected against serious illness and hospitalizations than those who got the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, according to federal data released Tuesday. The latest data suggest Johnson & Johnson recipients should get a booster with one of the messenger RNA vaccines, if they haven’t already done so — and even consider a second messenger RNA booster for the greatest protection. The data come from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that analyzed the results of mix-and-match vaccine-and-booster combinations during a four-month period when the highly transmissible omicron variant was dominant.
30th Mar 2022 - The Washington Post
Who is eligible for fourth Covid vaccine in Scotland? How to book 'spring booster' jab
A second Covid booster dose is now being offered to high risk groups of people across Scotland. Coronavirus infection can be more serious for those who are older as well as those with a weakened immune system, meaning it is important to ensure protection levels remain high. To help ensure this, a fourth dose of the vaccine is being offered as a precaution to those who are deemed to be at higher risk. This dose - which is a second booster - is being given to reduce your risk of getting seriously ill from coronavirus, requiring hospital treatment or even dying if you become ill with coronavirus.
30th Mar 2022 - Daily Record
People with cancer ‘risk being left behind’ under new Covid-19 testing guidance
Some cancer patients are at risk of being “left behind” under new guidance which sets out who is eligible for free Covid-19 tests, a charity has warned. Macmillan Cancer Support said it was welcome that people with symptoms of Covid-19 who are vulnerable to the effects of the disease will still be eligible for free tests. But it urged minister to extend the offer of free testing to include immunocompromised people without symptoms.
30th Mar 2022 - The Independent
EU health ministers call for common approach to 2nd boosters for elderly
European health ministers urged the bloc's executive on Tuesday to back a fourth COVID-19 shot for people over the age of 60 to boost immunity in the absence of vaccines that specifically protect against the Omicron variant. Pointing to data from Israel, minister Karl Lauterbach said a recommendation was "urgently necessary" to reduce the risk of death from an infection. He raised the issue at a meeting of health ministers in Brussels on Tuesday and said most of them supported the idea of harmonising European vaccination strategies
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters
White House launches COVID.gov amid push for more funds, booster shots
The Biden administration on Wednesday launched a new website to provide a clearinghouse of information on COVID-19 as part of a continuing effort to prepare to live with the coronavirus. The launch of COVID.gov comes a day after U.S. health officials approves a second booster shot for Americans age 50 and older and those who are immunocompromised, two years after the start of the pandemic
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Indonesia seeks longer shelf life donations as 19 mln COVID shots expired
Nineteen million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Indonesia's national stockpile have expired this year and 1.5 million more are set to expire next month, as donated shots arrive with a short shelf life, a health official said on Wednesday. Indonesia and many other developing nations are ramping up their vaccination campaign, aided by donations from wealthy countries, but they have been calling for donations with a longer shelf life.
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters
UK says healthcare workers, vulnerable will still get free COVID tests
Britain said on Tuesday that healthcare workers, social care staff and the most vulnerable will still get COVID-19 tests without any charge when it ends free testing for the general public next month. When he announced all coronavirus restrictions would be scrapped in February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said free tests would end on April 1, saying the country could not afford their cost
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters UK
Swiss to lift last of COVID-19 restrictions from April 1
Switzerland will lift the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions from Friday, the government said, as the country seeks to live with the virus. The obligation to wear a mask on public transport and at health facilities, as well as the requirement to self-isolate for five days after a positive test will be removed, the government said. Responsibility for containing the virus will be handed to local authorities, it added, with a phase of heightened vigilance planned over the next 12 months.
30th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden administration to offer Covid-19 vaccines to migrants
The Biden administration will offer Covid-19 vaccines to migrants taken into custody at the US-Mexico border, according to two sources familiar with the planning, and confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, as officials prepare for an influx of migrants. The plan, which had earlier been a source of tension at the White House, could extend to thousands of migrants encountered at the US southern border. The Department of Homeland Security will be able to initially provide up to 2,700 vaccines per day, it said in a notice to Congress obtained by CNN, increasing to 6,000 daily by the end of May.
29th Mar 2022 - MSN.com
Moderna's Covid Booster Shot Will Be Offered to South African Health Workers
Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine will be offered as a booster to some South African health workers, who received either one or two shots of Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation as part of a vaccine trial involving almost half a million people. The Moderna shot will be offered to 10,000 health workers in a trial known as Sherpa that is likely to start in the second half of April, Glenda Gray, the co-lead of J&J’s vaccine trials in South Africa and president of the South African Medical Research Council. The aim of the study, which will target participants in the earlier Sisonke trial, is to compare how well the Moderna shot works in comparison to Pfizer Inc.’s shot as a boost, Gray said in an interview on Monday.
29th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
China’s patchy vaccine campaign leaves elderly at risk
China’s patchy vaccination campaign has left half of its elderly population exposed to a higher risk of severe Covid-19, just as the country tackles surging outbreaks of the infectious Omicron variant in Shanghai and other regions. Shanghai on Monday began a two-phase lockdown of all 26mn of its residents to combat a wave of largely asymptomatic cases that have been rapidly multiplying in the community.
29th Mar 2022 - Financial Times
Covid-19 spring booster vaccination to begin in coming days
The Covid-19 spring booster vaccination is to begin in Northern Ireland in the coming days. People aged 75 years and over, residents in care homes for older people, and those aged 12 years and over with weakened immune systems will be offered a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The Public Health Agency (PHA) said the spring booster should be offered around six months after an individual received their first booster dose. The agency is now urging those eligible to book an appointment
29th Mar 2022 - The Irish News
The world's refugees remain last in line for covid-19 vaccines
Two years into the pandemic, 34.7% of the world’s population have not had a single dose of vaccine. For vulnerable groups such as refugees and internally displaced persons—85% of whom are hosted in low and middle income countries—the disparity in comparison with the citizens of the countries they live in is stark. India, for example, has 500 million unvaccinated people, one of the world’s highest numbers. Many of these unvaccinated people are the nation’s most marginalised (57% of the eligible population are fully vaccinated).
29th Mar 2022 - The BMJ
German health minister urges EU to clear 2nd booster for elderly
Germany's health minister said on Tuesday he would urge the European Union to back a fourth COVID-19 shot for people over the age of 60 years to boost immunity in the absence of vaccines that specifically protect against the Omicron variant. Pointing to data from Israel, minister Karl Lauterbach said a recommendation was "urgently necessary" to reduce the risk of death from an infection and that he would raise the issue at a meeting of health ministers in Brussels.
29th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Brazil health regulator says time to ease COVID travel restrictions
Brazilian health regulator Anvisa recommended that COVID-19 travel restrictions be eased due to a drop in cases and deaths, requiring only full vaccination and doing away with quarantine for unvaccinated travelers. People entering the country who have not been vaccinated will still need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, but quarantining will be eliminated immediately. Travelers' health declarations used for tracing COVID cases will no longer be required, with immediate effect, while testing for vaccinated travelers will be suspended from May 1, Anvisa said.
29th Mar 2022 - Reuters Canada
Germany speaks out against COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he did not agree with a planned intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines as patents are a crucial way of encouraging companies to continue pushing ahead with new research. The waiver drafted by the United States, European Union, India and South Africa earlier in March would need formal approval from the WTO's 164 member countries, including Germany, before being adopted
29th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullMIT Reinstates SAT, ACT Mandates Many Colleges Dropped During Covid
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reinstating its standardized testing requirements, citing that most students are now able to access the exams safely.
Vaccine availability and an increase in students taking tests at school have alleviated challenges that had made it especially difficult for high-schoolers to sit for the SAT and ACT during the pandemic, MIT said Monday in a statement. Many colleges across the U.S. have made the requirements optional amid ongoing Covid disruptions and concerns that the tests unfairly favor wealthier students. The math component of the exams are especially important in evaluating whether a prospective student will do well at MIT, the college said.
28th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
FDA expected to authorize second coronavirus booster for 50 and older
The Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize a second coronavirus vaccine booster for anyone 50 and older, a bid to provide an extra layer of protection amid concerns Europe’s rise in infections from an omicron subvariant could hit the United States, according to several government officials. The authorizations for second Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna boosters could be announced as soon as Tuesday
28th Mar 2022 - The Washington Post
Laos eyes giving 4th coronavirus vaccine doses
The Lao Ministry of Health plans to offer fourth doses of coronavirus vaccines to health care workers and people at risk of serious illness starting in April to shield them and other vulnerable groups from the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Booster shots will be used to ramp up levels of antibodies against the virus, which will reduce the risk of severe illness, local newspaper Vientiane Times reported
28th Mar 2022 - The Manila Times
The ‘zero-Covid’ approach got bad press, but it worked – and it could work again
Many people thought No-Covid was impossible, but the handful of places that embraced it proved them wrong. Now that some of those places are themselves shifting to a reduction or mitigation strategy, countries that opted for mitigation from the beginning are enjoying a “we told you so” moment. But No-Covid’s early champions had to shift in part because other countries let the virus rip. Even if their strategy didn’t remain the optimal one, it bought them time to prepare others. It’s important that we remember that when the next pandemic sidles along.
28th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Bulgaria to remove COVID-19 restrictions
The Bulgarian government will remove all restrictive measures against COVID-19 from 1 April, including the mandatory wearing of protective masks in closed public spaces and restrictions on public events. Bulgarian authorities say the decision to drop all measures was taken after the issue was discussed in detail over the past month.
28th Mar 2022 - EURACTIV
COVID-19: China's coronavirus zero policy is actually two policies - it just depends where you are
China's "dynamic COVID zero" policy is actually two policies, depending on where you are. To start with, and while cases were lower than they are today, officials relied on shutting down localised areas and testing residents, to stop outbreaks as they started - styled as the "precision" approach. But that has been abandoned in many places, as the Omicron wave has worsened.
28th Mar 2022 - Sky News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullShanghai orders mass Pudong lockdown in push to contain Covid-19 surge
In a major U-turn late on Sunday night, authorities in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai ordered a vast swathe of the city into a lockdown from Monday to try to contain the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.
27th Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post on MSN.com
Pfizer, Moderna and J&J Face Shareholder Pressure to Broaden Covid-19 Vaccine Access
Socially conscious investors and global-health activists are turning to shareholders to press Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson to make more of their shots available to people in poorer countries. Groups including the antipoverty organization Oxfam have succeeded in placing proposals on shareholder proxy ballots that ask drugmakers to do more to widen access to the Covid-19 vaccines, such as exploring the transfer of their technology to other manufacturers. The proxy battles are the latest effort seeking to push Covid-19 vaccine makers to share their technology in order to boost supplies at lower-income countries, after some of the countries asked the World Trade Organization to lift patent restrictions and activists urged the U.S. government to share companies’ vaccine technology with other countries.
27th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Tesla to halt Shanghai factory production amid COVID curbs, Bloomberg News reports
Tesla Inc is planning to suspend production at its Shanghai factory for at least one day, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, as China's financial hub said it would go into a lockdown in two stages to conduct COVID-19 testing. Tesla's production in the plant will be halted on Monday, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that the electric car maker hasn't yet informed workers if it would extend the suspension beyond Monday. Tesla did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
27th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong to halve COVID flight-ban penalty to 7 days
Hong Kong said on Sunday it is shortening the ban on airlines that are found to have carried three or more passengers who test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, as the number of local cases continues to ease from its peak. Starting on Friday, the ban on individual airline routes will be halved to seven days as part of an ongoing "flight suspension mechanism", the government said in a statement.
The change comes after the government said last week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1.
27th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Nearly half of foreign businesses in Hong Kong are planning to relocate
Foreign businesses have for decades reaped the benefits of setting up shop in Hong Kong, a historically stable, expat-friendly finance hub at the doorstep of mainland China. But lately, as Beijing has tightened its grip on the former British colony, those firms are increasingly eyeing the exits. Nearly half of all European businesses in Hong Kong are considering relocating in the next year, according to a new report. Companies cite the local government's extremely strict Covid-19 protocols that mirror those on the mainland. Among the firms planning to leave, 25% said they would fully relocate out of Hong Kong in the next 12 months, while 24% plan to relocate at least partially. Only 17% of the companies said they don't have any relocation plans for the next 12 months.
27th Mar 2022 - CNN
S'pore to simplify Covid-19 rules for gatherings, travel; up to 5 household visitors allowed at any one time per day
Singapore is changing its Covid-19 rules to make them easier to understand, in a move to better adapt to future changes in the pandemic situation. These changes will impact healthcare protocols for infected people, workplace testing requirements, border measures and safe management measures. "These rules have accumulated over the past two years and become quite unwieldy," said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. "By streamlining them, we can adopt a posture that will better enable us to open up when the time is right."
27th Mar 2022 - The Straits Times
Exclusive: China's Sinopec pauses Russia projects, Beijing wary of sanctions
Article reports that China's state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine. The move by Asia's biggest oil refiner to hit the brakes on a potentially half-billion-dollar investment in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China highlights the risks, even to Russia's most important diplomatic partner, of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions.
26th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Many in Malaysia to lose fully-vaccinated status if they don't get Covid-19 booster
Some two million recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine by Sinovac are set to lose their fully vaccinated status if they do not receive their boosters by April 1, said Malaysia's Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. "Based on the latest data, about 2.09 million recipients of the Sinovac vaccine for their primary series have yet to get their booster shots," he told a press conference in Parliament on Thursday (March 24). "They will stand to lose their fully vaccinated status when the deadline ends."
The deadline for adult primary recipients of CoronaVac - the vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech - is March 31, after it was extended from Feb 28. Mr Khairy also said that those who had yet to get their Sinovac booster would be deemed "not fully vaccinated" by Singapore.
26th Mar 2022 - The Straits Times
Hospital staff attacked with acid on French island of Martinique
Security staff at a hospital on the French Caribbean island of Martinique have been attacked with acid, French government ministers said on Friday, highlighting unrest on the island due to anger over government policies and COVID-19 protocols. Unrest in areas such as the French West Indies and Corsica could increasingly become an issue for voters, ahead of next month's French presidential election. "Yesterday morning, during a meeting between the new hospital chief Jerome Le Briere and hospital trade unions, around thirty demonstrators tried to disrupt the meeting, with six security staff getting acid thrown onto their faces," said a joint statement on Friday by French Health Minister Olivier Veran
26th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Miranda to Miss Oscars After Wife Tests Positive for COVID
Lin-Manuel Miranda, one of this year's most prominent Oscar nominees, will sit out the ceremony after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Miranda shared the unfortunate news on Twitter Saturday afternoon. He said that even though he has tested negative himself, he will stay away from Sunday's ceremony out of caution.
“Made it to Hollywood,” Miranda wrote. “This weekend, my wife tested + (positive) for COVID. She’s doing fine. Kids & I have tested - (negative) but out of caution, I won’t be going to the Oscars tomorrow night.” The Oscar-nominated composer added he was “cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you.”
26th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
US small-business owners face tax headaches on top of COVID woes
Small businesses that have been buffeted by the pandemic, inflation and shipping woes have another challenge to add to their plate: taxes. Tax season can be complicated for everyone, but as the April 18 filing deadline looms, small-business owners, contractors, entrepreneurs and others face a raft of ever-changing rules and regulations. Plus, many are dealing with delayed returns and refunds from prior tax periods. The Internal Revenue Service has warned of a backlog and says more delays are to be expected. “It’s worse this year than last year,” said Gene Marks, owner of The Marks Group, a small business consulting firm in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. “It seems to get worse every year, and this year definitely worse than it’s been in prior years.”
25th Mar 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullWe’ve found one factor that predicts which countries best survive Covid
In 2019, the Global Health Security Index published a report ranking countries on their preparedness for pandemics. The US scored highest, followed by the UK. Two years later, both countries rank among those with the greatest loss of life from Covid. How could this be? A large part of the answer is trust. Countries that looked good on paper in 2019, such as the US, UK, Spain and Slovenia, found they lacked this intangible but critical layer of defence. And this figure from our research over the past two years at the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker shows it in stark terms. On the left (see below) you can see that a higher global health security score in 2019 is not correlated with fewer deaths during the pandemic, at least among the countries whose health systems have a minimum threshold of capacity.
25th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Japan to Start Preparations for 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Shots
The Japanese health ministry on Thursday decided to start preparations for administrating fourth shots of novel coronavirus vaccines. The ministry plans to administer the fourth shots as "temporary vaccinations," like the first, second and third shots. It assumes the use of Pfizer Inc.'s or Moderna Inc.'s vaccine for the fourth shots. The timing to start giving the fourth shots and the interval between the third and fourth shots will continue to be discussed.
24th Mar 2022 - Nippon.com
One million Scots have not had a booster vaccine amid warnings over waning immunity
Figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) show 983,875 adults have not received a third dose or booster, six months after the programme began. More than 500,000 of these are at least 12 weeks on from their second dose. The Scottish Government admitted fewer appointments had taken place than expected, after PHS reported that 21,000 vaccine doses were thrown away in February after reaching their expiry dates.
24th Mar 2022 - The Scotsman
Rich countries getting new COVID vaccine before poorer ones
The company behind a COVID-19 vaccine touted as a key tool for the developing world has sent tens of millions of doses to wealthy nations but provided none yet to the U.N.-backed effort to supply poorer countries, a sign that inequity persists in the global response to the pandemic. COVAX had planned to make available 250 million doses from Novavax by March, but the U.N. agency in charge of deliveries says the first shipments now likely won't be made until April or May.
24th Mar 2022 - The Independent
Covid-19: Free PCR tests to end for most in April
In Northern Ireland, most people will no longer be able to access a free PCR test from 22 April, the health minister has said. Lateral flow tests (LFTs) will continue to be free, but only for people displaying Covid-19 symptoms and this policy continues to be reviewed. Routine contact tracing is also set to be phased out between the middle of April and the end of June. Health Minister Robin Swann said the changes reflected the "new realities of the pandemic".
24th Mar 2022 - BBC News
With 4th COVID-19 vaccine doses looming, experts say not so fast
Even as most eligible Americans have yet to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine boosters, Pfizer and Moderna have now asked the FDA to authorize yet another booster dose -- especially for elderly Americans, a group that tends to have weaker immune protection. Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize fourth doses for people older than 65, while Moderna asked for authorization for everyone 18 and older (though company executives said the greatest need would be among older adults).
24th Mar 2022 - ABC News
It is not too late to achieve global covid-19 vaccine equity
Gavin Yamey and colleagues say that a new, urgent push for global vaccine equity could help avert suffering and deaths, protect economies, and prevent new virus variants
24th Mar 2022 - The BMJ
Covid-19: Less than 2% of young kids in NI vaccinated as health professor warns of 'serious' long Covid risk
Only 2,483 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to children in Northern Ireland between the ages of five and 11. Less than 2% of the cohort has received a dose despite the fact that the vaccine was made available to all children in the age group over a month ago.
24th Mar 2022 - Belfast Telegraph
COVID-19: Pandemic can't be beaten without easy access to testing, warns WHO envoy Dr David Nabarro
People must continue to have "easy access" to testing with "still an awful lot of people getting sick and dying" from COVID, the World Health Organisation has told Sky News. Speaking on the second anniversary of the first UK national lockdown, Dr David Nabarro, the WHO's special envoy on the virus, appealed for people to remember it is "still nasty" - and that without mass testing it is difficult to monitor "where the virus is". From 1 April, lateral flow tests will no longer be freely available, the government has said.
24th Mar 2022 - Sky News
U.S. airline CEOs urge Biden to lift COVID mask mandate -letter
The chief executives of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other carriers have urged U.S. President Joe Biden to end a federal mask mandate on airplanes and international pre-departure testing requirements. The airline executives, including the chairman of Southwest Airlines and JetBlue's CEO, said in a letter the restrictions "are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment."
24th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Zimbabwe renews COVID vaccination drive, targets schoolkids
Zimbabwe has launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to rescue a drive faltering due to vaccine hesitancy and complacency. This week schools in the southern African country have become vaccination zones with children in school uniforms lining up to get the injections. Many parents say they support the vaccination drive to prevent schools from becoming centers of infection, although others remain skeptical.
24th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 restrictions are lifting, but unvaccinated Canadians still can't board planes or trains
Canada's vaccine mandate — which took effect in November 2021 to boost vaccination rates — prevents unvaccinated Canadians from boarding a commercial plane or train in Canada to both domestic and international destinations. Now that COVID-19 restrictions are fast disappearing, some unvaccinated Canadians question why the federal government still maintains the mandate.
23rd Mar 2022 - CBC News
Hong Kong schools need 90 per cent student jab rate to resume full-day classes
Schools must ensure 90 per cent of their students have received at least two vaccine shots against Covid-19 if they hope to resume whole-day lessons in the classroom next month, Hong Kong’s education minister has announced. Confirming a previous Post report, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also said that all teachers and school staff must have received at least two vaccine doses before returning to campus, unless they had a valid medical exemption.
23rd Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post
A tale of two Covid Americas: can the US unite behind a pandemic strategy?
With US health authorities braced for another potential Covid-19 wave, likely to be fueled by the subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2, the country is still deeply divided over its approach to its pandemic future – even as restrictions have been relaxed across all states. Since scientists recorded the first case of the Sars-CoV-2 virus in the US just over two years ago, politicization has been a hallmark of the American pandemic experience.
23rd Mar 2022 - The Guardian
‘A new beginning’: New Zealand to drop Covid vaccine passes and mandates
New Zealand will do away with vaccine passes and vaccine mandates for some of the workforce in early April, in a major loosening of the country’s tough Covid-19 restrictions. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced the changes on Wednesday morning, citing high vaccination rates, better data to identify which environments are high risk, and modelling that suggests the country’s Omicron outbreak would peak in early April.
23rd Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Polish government to lift more COVID-19 restrictions despite expert concerns
In Poland, the government wants to lift more pandemic restrictions although medical experts are concerned about not enough people being vaccinated against COVID-19 for the country to develop herd immunity and the mass arrival of unvaccinated Ukrainians. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told the media on 17 March that he had recommended that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki abolish the mask-wearing obligation in buildings.
23rd Mar 2022 - EURACTIV
Ministers urged to ensure Covid-19 testing remains free for NHS staff
The NHS Confederation is leading a call for ministers to provide clarity over Covid-19 testing requirements for NHS staff and for access to free tests to remain in place for the workforce, especially for those who are patient-facing. The concerns from organisations representing NHS staff come as Covid-19 rates across the UK continue to spike, with hospital admissions also on the rise.
23rd Mar 2022 - Nursing Times
South Africa’s Ramaphosa eases COVID-19 restrictions to lift economy
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said restrictive COVID-19 regulations that have weighed on the nation’s struggling economy for two years would be removed on Wednesday, with the national state of disaster also to end soon. The state of disaster currently regulates the country’s COVID-19 rules and has been in place since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Its extension last week until April 15 drew criticism from businesses hard hit by its measures.
23rd Mar 2022 - CNBC Africa
Mexico sticking to plan to package Russian COVID-19 vaccine
Mexico is sticking to its plan to package domestically the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V because health matters are separate from political conflicts, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. In October, state-run vaccine company Birmex signed an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets Sputnik V, to package the product in Mexico. "We're going to continue with our plan, commitments made are kept," said the president, who has ruled out imposing economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
23rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. travel industry urges White House to lift COVID restrictions, mask mandate
The U.S. Travel Association urged the White House to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions and repeal a mandate requiring masks on airplanes and in other transit modes by April 18, according to a letter seen by Reuters. In a letter to Dr. Ashish Jha, the incoming White House COVID response coordinator, the group called for an immediate end to the pre-departure testing requirement for all fully vaccinated inbound international persons and ending the mask mandate by April 18 "or announcing a plan and timeline to repeal the federal mask mandate within the subsequent 90 days."
23rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong hopes to 'resolve' COVID flight-ban rule as cases ease
Hong Kong is looking to resolve a problem over a ban on airlines which bring in COVID-positive passengers as it eases travel curbs that have sealed off the city for two years, its leader said on Wednesday. The government said this week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1 but it was not clear if airlines would face a two-week ban if they bring in infected people, as is currently the case.
23rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
As Asian hot spots battle Omicron, US eyes supply of 4th vaccine doses
A handful of Asian countries that were hit later by Omicron variant surges are in different phases of their outbreaks, with South Korea seeing a possible peak. In US developments, White House officials—bracing for a possible fresh spike in infections—warned that current funding shortfalls could block the government from buying enough COVID-19 vaccine for fourth doses for the general population.
22nd Mar 2022 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullFrance sees biggest jump in COVID cases since early February
France saw the biggest jump in new COVID-19 cases since February, health ministry data showed on Tuesday, with 180,777 new infections over 24 hours, and hospital numbers also rose for the third consecutive day. The new cases brought the cumulative number of registered infections to 24.3 million as the resumption of classes following two weeks of school holidays marked a sharp resurgence of the epidemic. The seven-day moving average of new cases rose further to just under 99,000, where it had been from end-December till mid-February, driven by the contagious Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
22nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Fauci does not expect major surge in COVID cases in U.S.
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday he would not be surprised to see an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States, but he does not expect a major surge. "I would not be surprised at all, if we do see somewhat of an uptick," Fauci told a Washington Post event. "I don't really see, unless something changes dramatically, that there would be a major surge." Fauci said the expected rise in coronavirus cases would be due to the increasing dominance of the highly transmissible BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, the relaxation of mask-wearing requirements and waning immunity in the population.
22nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. travel industry urges White House to lift COVID restrictions, mask mandate
The U.S. Travel Association on Tuesday urged the White House to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions and repeal a mandate requiring masks on airplanes and in other transit modes by April 18, according to a letter seen by Reuters. In a letter to Dr. Ashish Jha, the incoming White House COVID response coordinator, the group called for an immediate end to the pre-departure testing requirement for all fully vaccinated inbound international persons and ending the mask mandate by April 18 "or announcing a plan and timeline to repeal the federal mask mandate within the subsequent 90 days."
22nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Biden Administration to Stop Reimbursing Hospitals for Covid-19 Care for Uninsured
Some people without health insurance will begin getting bills for Covid-19 treatments and testing after the Biden administration on Tuesday starts winding down a federal program that reimburses providers for virus-related care for the uninsured and that officials say is running out of funds. The White House says it will end the reimbursement program, which started under the Trump administration and also pays hospitals and other healthcare providers for things such as administering Covid-19 vaccines to uninsured people, by the end of April because it is running out of money. The administration and hospitals are urging lawmakers to approve more funding for the program.
22nd Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19: Fourth vaccine dose potentially on the cards for health workers, at-risk people
Officials are looking into the possibility of rolling out a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine for vulnerable and high risk groups. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced he would this week receive advice on a fourth shot specifically for those at highest risk of Covid-19 illness: older people, and those with pre-existing conditions. He said he also asked whether the offer should be extended to other groups, such as the health workforce, who were among the first to receive boosters
22nd Mar 2022 - Stuff.co.nz
With Covid cases surging across Australia, will a fourth vaccine dose be required?
Health experts are weighing up whether a second booster rollout will soon be needed as Covid-19 cases again surge across Australia and winter approaches. A number of nations, including the UK, are rapidly expanding eligibility for a fourth dose, but some experts have questioned its effectiveness.
22nd Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Coronavirus: Cabinet discusses fourth dose amid surge in cases
In Cyprus, the Cabinet approved the administration of a Covid booster jab to children aged 12 and over and the rollout of a fourth vaccine dose to those aged 70 and over and the immunocompromised. Following the administration of an mRNA booster jab to severely immunosuppressed children aged 12 and over at the end of February, the council of ministers approved its administration to all teenagers as long as six months have elapsed since the latest dose.
22nd Mar 2022 - Cyprus Mail
How to book the 4th Covid jab: Who can get the spring booster vaccine and when other groups could be eligible
In England, a second Covid-19 booster vaccine is being rolled out this week, with those in vulnerable groups able to come forward to receive a fourth jab. It comes as cases rise sharply again across the country, thanks to restrictions ending and the emergence of a highly infectious BA.2 offshoot of the Omicron variant. More than 552,000 people have reported testing positive in the last seven days – a 38.1 per cent increase on the week prior.
22nd Mar 2022 - iNews
Hong Kong Covid Shift Won't Move China, Xi's Virus Czar Says
China should stick to its strict Covid Zero strategy, according to the country’s top virus expert, whose comments come alongside signals that the approach is being tweaked to ease economic pain even as infections climb. “There should not be an iota of relaxation as we need to cherish the hard-earned achievement,” said Liang Wannian, a seasoned epidemiologist who has overseen China’s Covid response since the beginning of the pandemic and was recently sent to Hong Kong to guide efforts to contain its worst ever outbreak. Measures could be fine-tuned to be more targeted and deployed quicker in order to keep up with the easily transmissible omicron variant, he said.
22nd Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Tests Show the Omicron BA.2 Subvariant Is Gaining Ground in U.S.
The omicron subvariant BA.2 is continuing to gain ground in the U.S., according to Covid-19 tests sequenced over the last two weeks. Helix, a San Diego-based genomics firm, has been watching the BA.2 variant since it first popped up in the U.S. in early January. Although it was initially slow to take hold, Helix now estimates that 50% to 70% of all Covid cases nationwide are BA.2. Will Lee, Helix’s chief science officer, said this type of surveillance is essential and can help arm the U.S. health care system against future variants.
22nd Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Spring Covid-19 booster campaign to get underway in a matter of weeks
Northern Ireland's spring Covid booster campaign is set to get underway within a matter of weeks. A further dose of the vaccine is to be made available to over 75s, immunosuppressed over the age of 12 and care home residents. Community pharmacies are due to administer the vaccine to care home residents, trusts will run clinics for immunocompromised patients and GP surgeries will run clinics for all patients over the age of 75. While appointments have not yet opened to the public, they are to coincide with the same timetable across the UK.
21st Mar 2022 - Belfast Telegraph
Kenya aims to inoculate 19 mln adults against COVID-19 by June
Kenya has so far vaccinated 15.9 million adults against COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said on Monday in a report, putting the country on course to achieve its target of wholly vaccinating 70 percent of its adult population by June. According to the ministry, 7.9 million people are fully vaccinated with two doses. Kenya plans to fully vaccinate 19 million adults by mid-year and an entire adult population of 27 million people by the end of the year. The 7.9 million vaccinations mean the east African nation has achieved 42 percent of its target of vaccinating the 19 million adults, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the country's total vaccination of both adults and teenagers stood at 17.3 million. Out of the number, 8.96 million are partially vaccinated.
21st Mar 2022 - Xinhua
U.S. FDA advisers to discuss second COVID vaccine boosters in April
A panel of independent advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to meet on April 6 to discuss considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc. The panel will also discuss the process for selecting COVID-19 vaccine strain to address current and emerging variants, the U.S. FDA said.
21st Mar 2022 - Yahoo Finance
Moderna to supply additional 7 mln doses of COVID booster vaccine to Switzerland
Moderna has signed a new agreement with Switzerland for the supply of another seven million doses of its COVID-19 booster vaccine for delivery in 2023. The agreement also includes an option of seven million doses for delivery in 2023 and 2024. These doses are in addition to the seven million doses of booster vaccine that Switzerland previously secured.
21st Mar 2022 - Nasdaq
New SA Premier Peter Malinauskas meets with COVID leadership team to discuss announcement expected tomorrow
New South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas is expected to make an announcement tomorrow after a lengthy meeting with the leadership team behind the state's COVID-19 strategy. Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier sat down with Mr Malinauskas for a lengthy briefing on the COVID-19 situation in South Australia today.
21st Mar 2022 - ABC.Net.au
Hong Kong to ease strict COVID measures from April, lifts flight ban
Hong Kong plans to relax some anti-COVID-19 measures next month, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries, reducing quarantine time for arrivals from abroad and reopening schools. The moves, announced on Monday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, could quieten some criticism from residents who have become increasingly frustrated with the city's stringent measures, some of which have been in place for over two years.
21st Mar 2022 - Nasdaq
Indonesia set to lift quarantine rules for overseas tourists
Indonesia will lift all quarantine requirements for overseas visitors entering the country, its tourism minister said Monday, two years after it imposed border restrictions due to COVID-19. Tourism and Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno told reporters that foreign tourists will still be required to have a negative PCR test before entering the country. Quarantine requirements will be lifted from Tuesday, he added. Indonesia had already implemented a two-week trial of quarantine-free travel in Bali, Batam and Bintan islands, where coronavirus numbers have been falling. The government is hoping the easing of travel restrictions will boost the number of foreign tourist this year to over 3 million.
21st Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Shanghai Disneyland closes as virus rises, Shenzhen reopens
Shanghai Disneyland closed Monday as China’s most populous city tried to contain its biggest coronavirus flareup in two years, while the southern business center of Shenzhen allowed shops and offices to reopen after a weeklong closure. Meanwhile, the cities of Changchun and Jilin in the northeast began another round of citywide virus testing following a surge in infections. Jilin tightened anti-disease curbs, ordering its 2 million residents to stay home. China’s case numbers in its latest infection wave are low compared with other major countries, but authorities are enforcing a “zero tolerance” strategy that has suspended access to some major cities.
21st Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Hong Kong eases quarantine amid angst over ‘zero COVID’ isolation
Hong Kong will scrap flight bans and reduce quarantine for arrivals, amid mounting frustration with a strict “zero COVID” policy that has turned the financial centre into one of the world’s most isolated cities. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Monday authorities will lift flight bans on nine countries including the United Kingdom and the United States and cut hotel quarantine for incoming travellers with a negative COVID-19 test result from 14 days to seven. Lam also said plans for compulsory COVID-19 testing for the entire city will be put on hold. The announcement comes days after Lam acknowledged that tolerance for the city’s pandemic strategy was “fading” among the general public and businesses.
21st Mar 2022 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong leader says COVID flight ban on 9 countries no longer necessary
Hong Kong plans to relax some anti-COVID-19 measures next month, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries, reducing quarantine time for arrivals from abroad and reopening schools. The moves, announced on Monday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, could quieten some criticism from residents who have become increasingly frustrated with the city's stringent measures, some of which have been in place for over two years. The flight ban would be lifted from April 1, while hotel quarantine for arrivals could be cut to seven days from 14 if residents tested negative, Lam told a news briefing. She had previously said measures would be in place until April 20.
21st Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong's COVID sports ban hits residents, young athletes
Competitive swimmer Jody Lee’s goal is to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024, but with only two years left to qualify, Hong Kong’s months-long shutdown of swimming pools is making achieving his dream tougher. Pools and all other sports facilities, including tennis courts, golf courses and gyms, have been shut since January – and for more than 13 months total since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Lee, 15, has been trying to keep fit by training in the ocean, braving red tides and currents, but the city closed beaches on Thursday, making it even harder to swim. “I have no idea where my swimming level is ... Things will get especially hard for me in terms of trying to qualify for the Olympics.”
21st Mar 2022 - Reuters
Life During Hong Kong's Worst Covid-19 Outbreak: Full Hospitals, Quiet Streets
Hong Kong has faced a record surge in Covid-19 cases and the world’s highest death rate, prompting authorities to impose strict restrictions. WSJ’s Diana Chan reports on how everyday life has changed in the city, from panic buying to an exodus of residents
20th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
The Pandemic Is Two Years Old. Baseball’s Vaccination Problem is Just Beginning.
Major League Baseball players have been more reluctant to take the Covid-19 vaccine than their counterparts in any of the other American professional sports. Now that decision could have a significant impact on how the upcoming season unfolds. Because of Canadian border restrictions, unvaccinated players won’t be allowed to enter the country to play against the Toronto Blue Jays. They won’t be paid or receive service time for any games missed because of their vaccination status under the industry’s new labor contract, which the owners and players’ union agreed to last week. The rule will, for the first time, provide a clear glimpse into how many players have declined to take the shots, which have been found to be safe and effective by experts around the world. While the NFL, NBA, NHL and WNBA have all reported that nearly all of their players have been vaccinated, baseball is a different story.
20th Mar 2022 - Wall Street Journal
Mainland China Reports First Coronavirus Deaths in More Than a Year as Omicron Spreads
China reported its first deaths from Covid-19 in the mainland in more than a year as the country battles a surge of Omicron infections across the country. Two patients died of Covid-19 in the northeastern province of Jilin, which has been hard hit by the Omicron wave, China’s National Health Commission said Saturday. The deaths, both of which occurred the previous day, are the nation’s first recorded fatalities since Jan. 26, 2021. Earlier in the week, Chinese health authorities barred Jilin’s 24 million residents from leaving the province, which borders Russia and North Korea, the first time such restrictions have been imposed on an entire province since Hubei province, home to the city of Wuhan, was locked down at the start of the pandemic.
20th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Austria reintroduces face masks as coronavirus cases surge
People in Austria will be required to wear FFP2 face masks indoors again as COVID-19 cases are rising once more, the country's Health Minister Johannes Rauch said. "I don't like doing that," Rauch said during a press conference Friday evening, adding that the new rule will apply from Wednesday and that isolation rules will be revised too. He said details about the reviewed restrictions will come "over the weekend." Rauch conceded that easing restriction measures had come too early. Austria is the first country in the EU to reintroduce tougher constraints during the current wave. The number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing in the country during the past two weeks.
20th Mar 2022 - POLITICO Europe
Where the US stands on Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5
A month after the US Food and Drug Administration delayed key steps toward authorizing Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5, many parents are more eager for the shots than ever. Dr. Daniel Leonard, a pediatric hospitalist who is working on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial for these kids, said people are driving in from several states away to take part. "We're here in south central Nebraska, and while many may not think that this would be the epicenter of scientific progress, the influx that I've had with people from Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa -- some driving eight or nine hours each way overnight to participate in the study," he said. "They are dedicated."
20th Mar 2022 - CNN
Hong Kong will review COVID-19 restrictions as cases decline
Hong Kong’s leader says the government will consider lifting strict social distancing measures as new COVID-19 infections in the city continue trending downward
20th Mar 2022 - ABC News
Chinese officials urge elderly to get COVID vaccine, cite lesson of Hong Kong
Older people in China should get vaccinated against COVID-19, senior Chinese health officials said on Friday, adding that deaths among the elderly in the latest wave to hit Hong Kong serve as a lesson for the mainland. "The outbreak in Hong Kong is a particularly profound lesson for us, an example that if the vaccination rate for the elderly is low, the rate of severe cases and deaths will be high," Wang Hesheng, deputy director of the National Health Commission, told a news briefing.
"We must not regret when it is too late," he said.
20th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Japan offers aid and COVID vaccines to Cambodia
Japan on Sunday pledged to offer Cambodia about $428 million in aid and 1.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme. The pledges were part of several agreements signed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen during Kishida's visit to Phnom Penh. Japan will provide a support loan of 45 billion yen ($378 million) and grant aid through contribution to international organisations of 6 billion yen ($50 million). Kishida also expressed support for Cambodia's democratic process "such as holding elections in a way that reflects diverse voices from Cambodian people through projects such as the promotion of dialogue", a joint statement said.
20th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai pushes ahead with mass COVID tests as new cases spike
The Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai is pushing ahead with a mass testing initiative as it tries to curb a new spike in COVID-19 infections, but some districts were easing lockdown rules in an effort to minimise disruptions. The city, home to about 25 million people, saw symptomatic local community infections hit 57 on March 17, with another 203 domestically transmitted asymptomatic cases, up from eight and 150 respectively a day earlier.
20th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong plans to review COVID restrictions on Monday as cases ease
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Sunday she plans to review COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, just days after acknowledging that many people in the global financial hub were "losing patience" with the city's coronavirus policies. The Chinese-ruled city has some of the most stringent COVID-19 rules in the world, with a ban on flights from nine countries including Australia and Britain, and hotel quarantine of up to two weeks for incoming travellers. The city has also imposed a ban on gatherings of more than two people, while most public venues are closed, including beaches and playgrounds, face masks are compulsory and there is no face-to-face learning for students.
20th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. COVID chief Zients to be replaced by Brown University health expert Jha
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday named public health expert Dr. Ashish Jha to replace White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients, who will leave his post next month, as the administration prepares for new COVID-19 variants and infection surges that could hit the country. Jha, a highly respected internist who leads the Brown University School of Public Health, takes on the role as the United States shifts to a new phase of the pandemic two years after the coronavirus upended the nation, the White House said. "Americans are safely moving back to more normal routines, using the effective new tools we have to enable us to reduce severe COVID cases and make workplaces and schools safer," Biden said in a statement. "But our work in combating COVID is far from done
18th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Moderna to deliver 70 million Covid-19 booster vaccine doses to Japan
Moderna has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan for delivering an additional 70 million doses of its Covid-19 booster vaccine or an updated booster vaccine candidate. The modified booster vaccine candidate will be supplied on obtaining authorisation in the region. The company intends to supply the vaccine doses to Japan in the second half of this year.
17th Mar 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Coronavirus: Hungary Sending 156,000 Vaccines to Vietnam
Hungary is donating 156,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine to Vietnam, according to its Foreign Minister. Hungary is grateful for the medical equipment it received from Vietnam during the first wave of the pandemic, he added, and in the spirit of partnership, Hungary freed up and sold 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam before donating another 100,000 doses to the country.
17th Mar 2022 - Hungary Today
Germany mulls COVID-19 vaccine mandate, easing restrictions
Lawmakers in Germany are debating a possible COVID-19 vaccine mandate as the country hit a new record for the number of newly confirmed cases Thursday. Still, some government officials are championing an easing of restrictions. The country's disease control agency reported 294,931 new cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute said there have been a further 278 COVID-related deaths, taking the toll since the start of the pandemic to 126,420. A final decision on an initial proposal to make vaccinations compulsory for all adults in Germany isn't expected for several weeks.
17th Mar 2022 - The Independent
Italy to announce plan to scrap COVID restrictions
The Italian government was set to announce a two-step plan on Thursday scrapping most of its coronavirus restrictions as the country nears the end of its state of emergency. Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government was to meet to approve a plan to soften the curbs, a cabinet statement said. Draghi and Health Minister Roberto Speranza will hold a news conference afterwards to detail the decisions.
17th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Analysis: Clear roadmap needed for Hong Kong's revival as COVID sweeps through city -experts
In just under two months, Hong Kong went from being one of the best places in the world at controlling COVID-19 to one of the worst. Deaths have skyrocketed, the health system is swamped, morgues are overflowing and public confidence in the city government is at an all-time low. While the government sticks to a "zero-COVID" policy similar to that of mainland China, city leader Carrie Lam hinted on Thursday she could ease restrictions amid concerns over the city's status as a global financial hub.
17th Mar 2022 - Reuters
China's Shenzhen plans 'orderly' work resumption, COVID vigilance
China's technology hub of Shenzhen will allow firms to resume work in an "orderly" manner after the restriction of non-essential businesses in an effort to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, a city official said Thursday. Shenzhen, close to Hong Kong, reported 71 new local confirmed transmissions on Wednesday, up from 55 the previous day. While the outbreak is small by international standards, authorities are leaving nothing to chance.
17th Mar 2022 - Reuters
S.Korea looks to end COVID restrictions despite record surge in cases, deaths
South Korea recorded a record 621,328 new daily COVID-19 cases and a daily record 429 deaths, authorities said on Thursday, as the country which once took an aggressive anti-pandemic approach is set to end COVID restrictions. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the highly infectious Omicron variant was driving the record wave of infections and while a public survey revealed many expected to catch the virus, few feared serious health consequences.
17th Mar 2022 - Reuters
China should take more effective COVID measures, minimise economic, social impact -Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country to take more effective COVID-19 measures and minimise the impact of the epidemic on economic development, state television said on Thursday, as the country battles a new wave of infections. China is fighting its biggest wave of locally transmitted COVID cases since it contained the initial outbreak centred on Wuhan in 2020. Even as much of the world has relaxed or ended coronavirus restrictions, millions of people in northeastern China are under lockdown and authorities have imposed restrictions on business activities and cargo transport in major cities such as Shenzhen.
17th Mar 2022 - Reuters
As Banks Get Fed Up, Hong Kong Reviews Covid Policies
Rising frustration from the public and financial institutions is driving a review of pandemic control measures in Hong Kong, where a suite of stark containment measures have been in place since January to fight the city’s worst-ever Covid-19 outbreak. Chief Executive Carrie Lam pointed to the strain on residents and damage to the reputation of the once vibrant Asian financial hub for the review, asking for a few more days before she unveils what could be sweeping changes to the city’s approach next week. “I have a very strong feeling that people’s tolerance is fading,” Lam told reporters at a briefing on Thursday. “I have a very good feeling that some of our financial institutions are losing patience about this isolated status of Hong Kong,” she said. “Nobody attaches as much importance as myself to Hong Kong’s international status.”
17th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
China’s Shenzhen to reopen, still trying to contain virus
Companies in Shenzhen, a major Chinese business center, will be allowed to reopen while efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks progress, the government said Thursday, following a citywide shutdown that rattled financial markets. Testing of everyone in the city of 17.5 million people is “progressing smoothly,” said a deputy mayor, Huang Qiang, at a news conference. He said 71 new cases were found in the 24 hours through midnight Wednesday. China’s case numbers in its latest wave of outbreaks in areas throughout the country are relatively low. But authorities are enforcing a “zero tolerance” strategy that has temporarily shut down major cities to find isolate every infected person.
17th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullLong Covid Could Reveal Clues to Alzheimer's, Lyme Disease
Last week, the U.S. Congress failed to approve $15 billion needed to continue Covid-19 precautions, even though today’s low case counts are likely to rise, as they are in Europe, with the sub-variant called BA.2. We’ve learned that some expensive mitigation measures, such as deep cleaning, are a waste of money, and could be scrapped, but funding for studying Covid should increase — not just for prevention measures and vaccines, but for research into the long-term consequences of infection. Some people who got Covid-19 early in the pandemic still haven’t recovered, and what looked like “long Covid” might, for some people, be a permanent condition if no treatment is found.
17th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
New Zealand to open borders to vaccinated travellers from next month
New Zealand is re-opening its borders to the world, after two years spent closed off by the pandemic. From 13 April, vaccinated tourists from Australia will be able to enter the country without isolating. From 2 May vaccinated tourists from other visa-waiver countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, Singapore and others, will be allowed entry.
16th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Covid Scotland: 27000 doses of vaccine wasted in a single month as expiry dates reached
Some 13 per cent of doses given were wasted, compared to an average of just 1.5 per cent from September to January. Just half of those aged 18 to 29 have received a booster jag, while the figure for all adults is 78 per cent, below the Scottish Government benchmark of 80 per cent. In response to a “significant” increase in Covid patients, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has banned all but essential visiting in several wards at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Royal Alexandra Hospital from Thursday. NHS Lanarkshire has already taken this step. The majority of vaccine doses wasted in February – around 21,000 – were due to passing expiry dates, according to a new report from Public Health Scotland (PHS).
16th Mar 2022 - The Scotsman
Netherlands relaxes COVID-19 rules despite rising infection rate
Exactly two years since the restrictions were first introduced, Health Minister Ernst Kuipers declared that it is now safe to relax the measures. People are still advised to frequently wash their hands and isolate themselves when coming in contact with people who tested positive. Teleworking, COVID travel certificates, and having a negative test result to attend an event will no longer be mandatory. The new measures will come into effect next Wednesday (23 March). However, the Netherlands is still facing a rise in COVID-19 hospitalisation cases. As of Tuesday, 291 people were admitted to hospitals. There are currently 1952 hospitalised cases, 156 of which are in ICUs. This is not an isolated case as much of the EU is seeing a spike in cases.
16th Mar 2022 - EURACTIV
Japan to fully lift COVID-19 restrictions as infections slow
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday announced plans to fully lift coronavirus restrictions on March 21 as new infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant slow. The COVID-19 restrictions currently in place in 18 prefectures, including the Tokyo area, will end on Monday as planned, Kishida said at a news conference on Wednesday, as his government seeks to cautiously expand consumer activity to help the badly hurt economy get back on track. It will be the first time Japan has been free of virus restrictions since early January. Daily caseloads have steadily declined in Japan in recent weeks after surging to new highs exceeding 100,000 in early February. New cases have fallen by about half.
16th Mar 2022 - The Independent
UK easing COVID-19 testing, monitoring despite case uptick
After dropping nearly all coronavirus restrictions last month, Britain is now ending some of its most widespread COVID-19 testing and monitoring programs, a move some scientists fear will complicate efforts to track the virus and detect worrisome new variants. Officials have largely dismissed those concerns, despite a recent uptick in cases across Europe, insisting that high immunization rates will help dampen future waves of disease. Based on how quickly new variants have arisen, some experts suggest the next one could arrive as early as May. They warn that U.K. authorities should be using the time to prepare, rather than winding down their pandemic defenses. Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, called it “an unfortunate pattern” that has been seen repeatedly throughout the outbreak.
16th Mar 2022 - ABC News
U.S. will run out of key COVID treatments without more funds, White House says
The U.S. government will run out of supplies of COVID-19 treatments known as monoclonal antibodies as soon as late May and will have to scale back plans to get more unless Congress provides more funding, the White House said on Tuesday. Raising the alarm about depleted funding for the U.S. pandemic response, the White House said the government also would not have enough money to provide additional COVID-19 booster shots or variant-specific vaccines without a new injection of cash. The White House has requested $22.5 billion in immediate emergency funding to fight the pandemic, but, after objections from Republicans and some Democrats, the money was removed from the latest government funding bill passed by lawmakers last week
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Senate votes to overturn transit mask mandate; Biden vows veto
The U.S. Senate voted 57 to 40 on Tuesday to overturn a 13-month-old public health order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of public transportation, drawing a quick veto threat from President Joe Biden. Last week, the White House said it would extend the current COVID-19 mask requirements at airports, train stations, ride share vehicles and other transit modes through April 18 but pledged a new review. The order was set to expire on Friday. The mandate has drawn significant opposition from Republicans who note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that 98% of Americans live in places where it is safe to ditch indoor masks.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
India rolls out COVID vaccine doses for children aged 12-14
India on Wednesday started administering doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to young people aged 12 to 14 as public and private schools re-opened. The government aims to swiftly expand vaccine coverage by also dropping a restriction on booster doses for those older than 60 only if they had a co-morbidity condition.
"Today is an important day in India's efforts to vaccinate our citizens," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter. The children, estimated by the government to number 50 million, will receive the Corbevax vaccine, made by Biological E, a domestic firm that secured emergency approval for its use in children.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
New Zealand to reopen borders sooner than planned after years of COVID isolation
New Zealand is bringing forward the opening of its international borders to some travellers after more than two years of COVID-19 isolation, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying an influx of tourists will boost the nation's economy. The change means the end of some of the toughest border controls in the world during the COVID pandemic, imposed as the government tried to keep the coronavirus out, comes months ahead of the previous schedule. New Zealand's policies helped keep infections and deaths low. But with the Omicron variant now rampant, criticism has grown as business, particularly tourism, and agricultural sectors see little value in staying shut off from the world.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Japan to buy 145 mln Pfizer, Moderna COVID vaccines for 4th shots -Kyodo
Japan plans to buy a combined 145 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines with an eye to rolling out a fourth shot, Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a government source. Japan has not made a decision on the fourth vaccine doses as the country currently delivers its first booster shots - or third doses. Local media reports have said another booster roll-out could start this summer
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Japan says it will remove more COVID curbs as infections ebb
Japan said on Wednesday it is lifting COVID-19 restrictions imposed on Tokyo and 17 other prefectures as a wave of infections caused by the Omicron variant ebbs.
An Omicron wave led to record infection rates in the capital and throughout Japan in February, the nation's deadliest wave of the pandemic so far. Tokyo logged 10,221 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down 13.6% from a week earlier.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference that quasi-emergency restrictions would be lifted as of March 21 and the country would slowly start returning to normal, since new infections had dropped substantially.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
WTO chief welcomes COVID shot patent plan, drugmakers balk
The World Trade Organization (WTO) praised a provisional deal to waive patent rights for COVID-19 vaccines after more than a year of deadlock, though drugmakers said the move risked undermining the industry's ability to respond to future health crises. The United States, the European Union, India and South Africa agreed on Tuesday on key elements for a waiver. It now needs the backing of the 164 members of the WTO, which takes decisions based on consensus, so rejection by just one country could still block an accord.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullNew Zealand to reopen borders earlier than planned
New Zealand said on Wednesday it would open its border for some visitors earlier than previously forecast, hoping an influx of tourists will boost the economy. Vaccinated Australians can travel to New Zealand from April 12 and then from May 1 tourists from visa-waiver countries such as the United States and Britain will be able to visit, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference. The border was not expected to fully reopen until October under the current plan but Ardern said this could be brought forward.
16th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Doctors should not fear liability for recommending Covid-19 vaccine
Medical practitioners in Hong Kong have been reluctant to recommend Covid-19 vaccines to patients with chronic health conditions for fear of the risk of adverse events. Significant numbers of doctors have also been hesitant about openly discussing or recommending vaccination even for those with no relevant health issues. These are the conclusions from a study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong that received little attention when published last November. The findings, which should have raised alarm bells, offer an explanation for the city’s stubbornly low vaccination rate among the elderly.
15th Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post
GP vaccine sites offering 'value for money' to continue Covid jabs until September
GP-led Covid vaccination sites will be able to continue delivering jabs until September if they have ‘sufficient capacity’, NHS England has said. But some may be asked to suspend the service if they are not delivering ‘value for money’, it added. The enhanced service was due to expire at the end of this month, but NHS England had indicated it was expected to be extended until September – as long as delivery did not impact on ‘core’ GP services.
15th Mar 2022 - Pulse
The Guardian view on rising rates of Covid: there’s no plan beyond vaccines
Last month, Boris Johnson argued that the downward trends in Covid cases and hospitalisations meant that it was time to scrap restrictions. Now both are rising. But the government is ending testing and most surveillance studies. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said that the rise was “to be expected” – though this foresight did not extend to having a plan to deal with the increase in infections. Instead, he dismissed the concern about the new Deltacron variant. The health secretary seemed nonchalant about the threat the virus now posed. Mr Javid may be right that the country has weathered the worst of the pandemic, but Covid is not yet in retreat. The Treasury’s penny-pinching means that the UK is abandoning essential defences.
15th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
In Africa, a Mix of Shots Drives an Uncertain Covid Vaccination Push
In the tumbledown concrete room that has been commandeered as this sleepy African trading center’s Covid-19 vaccination headquarters, a battered freezer holds stacks of boxes with dozens of small glass vials. Stuffed among shots for rotavirus and measles are four brands of Covid vaccines. The vaccination team gives Sinopharm, donated from China, to the youngest and healthiest people because they’ve been told it’s the least effective of the vaccines, said Abdulai Conteh, who runs the operation. AstraZeneca, in which they have more faith, is normally just for people with underlying medical conditions. But the town recently received a big shipment that will expire soon, so the health workers are rushing to use it all up. Johnson & Johnson is given mostly to teachers, as a single shot.
15th Mar 2022 - The New York Times
Scientists call for immediate rollout of Covid jab for UK primary school children
Scientists are calling for the immediate rollout of Covid vaccines to primary-aged children in the UK, as new data suggests that even a single dose of the Pfizer jab helps to prevent older children against infection, and shortens the duration and severity of symptoms if they do get infected. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, 2- to 11-year-olds have the highest rate of infections of any UK age group, with 4.2% testing positive during the week ending 5 March. Secondary-aged children (up to Year 11) have the lowest rate of infections, with 2.4% testing positive.
15th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Wilko apologises for saying staff could come to work if they had Covid
In the UK, Wilko has admitted it “got it wrong” for telling staff they could come into work if they tested positive for Covid-19, and apologised after it was criticised for issuing “reckless” guidance amid a new wave of coronavirus infections and hospitalisations. The homeware retailchain, which has 414 stores and 16,000 employees across the UK, sent a memo to staff with guidance on its workplace policy after the government’s relaxation of rules as part of its “living with Covid” plan published last month.
15th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Masks, PCR tests no longer needed in Namibia as COVID cases fall
The wearing of masks in public in Namibia and negative PCR tests for vaccinated visitors are no longer required, President Hage Geingob said on Tuesday, as active COVID-19 cases fall to just a couple of hundred. Infections peaked at more than 30,000 per month in June 2021 but the southern African country has averaged 14 cases per day during the last seven days, with the total active cases at 222.
15th Mar 2022 - Reuters
JPMorgan to resume hiring unvaccinated individuals, drop mask mandate -memo
JPMorgan will resume hiring unvaccinated individuals from April 4, the bank said in an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday, as it looks to ease rules put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank is also dropping the mask mandate in it offices for all employees, making wearing masks voluntary for both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees, according to the memo.
15th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Tokyo will not request extension of COVID restrictions -Nikkei
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will not request an extension of COVID-19 countermeasures scheduled to end on March 21, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday. The Japanese government will likely announce on Wednesday whether to lift the so-called quasi-state of emergency curbs currently applied in 18 of Japan's 47 prefectures including the capital, Tokyo, local media have said.
15th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Shanghai official rules out need for COVID lockdown at the moment
China's financial hub of Shanghai is not under lockdown, and does not need one "at the moment" to minimise the disruption to people's daily lives from the COVID-19 outbreak, state television quoted a city government official as saying. Although its cases are few by global standards, Shanghai is battling its worst flare-up of infections since China reined in, early in 2020, its first outbreak emerging from the central city of Wuhan.
15th Mar 2022 - Reuters
China’s New Covid-19 Cases More Than Double as Millions Live Under Lockdowns
China is modifying its Covid-19 playbook amid a surge in cases as it seeks to avoid strains on its healthcare system. Health authorities said patients with no symptoms or only mild ones should go to centralized isolation facilities so that hospitals can focus on more serious cases. The change in the mandatory hospitalization rules that have seen China through most of the pandemic is an acknowledgment that its current approach risks overwhelming hospitals amid a rapid increase in cases. China recorded more than 15,000 symptomatic locally transmitted infections in 28 provinces so far in March, largely due to the spread of the more infectious Omicron variant, Mi Feng, spokesman for China’s National Health Commission, told a news conference Tuesday.
15th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullFoxconn halts Shenzhen operations, adjusts China production on COVID curbs
China's efforts to curb its largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years has forced companies from Apple supplier Foxconn to automakers Toyota and Volkswagen to suspend some operations, raising concerns over supply chain disruptions. Multiple Chinese provinces and cities have tightened restrictions in line with Beijing's zero-tolerance goal of suppressing contagion as quickly as possible, among them the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen. Shenzhen, China's Silicon Valley, is carrying out mass testing after dozens of new local cases were recorded. Officials have suspended public transport and urged people to work at home this week as much as possible.
15th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Novavax's COVID vaccine rollout in EU off to a slow start
Demand for the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Novavax has been underwhelming in the EU's main countries in the early rollout, so far undermining hopes that it could convince vaccine sceptics to get a shot. Over 85% of adults in the 27-country EU bloc have received at least one dose and nearly two-thirds of them have also had a booster, but tens of millions remain unvaccinated. The Novavax vaccine, the latest to receive the EU regulators' approval under the trade name of Nuvaxovid, was expected to persuade some sceptics because it is based on a more conventional technology than the other four vaccines authorised so far in the EU.
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19 vaccination teams to visit ‘all Hong Kong care homes by Friday’
Covid-19 vaccination teams will visit all care facilities in Hong Kong by Friday in a bid to push inoculation among the elderly, while at-home jabs will also be offered to residents with mobility issues, the city’s civil service chief has said. Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who is responsible for the local vaccination campaign, said on Sunday that 52 per cent of residents at 1,096 elderly care homes had received at least one vaccine dose.
14th Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post
Lack of Covid-19 testing and reporting worries iwi vaccinators
In New Zealand, Iwi collective Te Ranga Tupua says the reason Whanganui, Rangitīkei, South Taranaki and the Waimarino regions have not seen an explosion in Covid-19 cases could be down to people "going bush". Te Ranga Tupua has been sending mobile clinics into the least vaccinated areas of the four regions since early December in an effort to lift Māori vaccination rates. But now it's raising concerns that people are either not getting tests or failing to report rapid antigen test (RAT) results.
14th Mar 2022 - RNZ
New Brunswick lifts all COVID-19 restrictions for 2nd time, hopes for different outcome
No more provincially mandated masks. No more limits on gatherings or distancing rules. No more legally required isolation for people infected with COVID-19. New Brunswick lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions at 12:01 a.m. AT Monday with the end of the mandatory order, nearly two years after it began.
14th Mar 2022 - CBC.ca
Test to Treat: pharmacists say Biden’s major new Covid initiative won’t work
A major new Biden administration initiative to facilitate access to Covid-19 antivirals will have a limited impact and fail to mitigate certain health inequities, major pharmacist groups argue, because pharmacists are restricted from prescribing the pills. Announced in Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, the “Test to Treat” program is meant to address the maddening difficulty Americans have had in accessing Covid-19 treatments. The administration will channel newly increasing stocks of antiviral pills to major retail pharmacies that have in-house clinics, providing one-stop testing and antivirals access.
14th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Australians told to get boosters amid COVID threat from new Omicron strain
Australian authorities warned the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots could unleash a new wave of infections amid the threat from the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain. Australia battled record cases and hospitalisation rates during the initial Omicron wave, but they have steadied over the past six weeks. Most states have been easing social distancing rules, with mask requirements being rolled back at indoor venues and businesses asking staff to return to offices.
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. seeks to expand Trump-era COVID data collection under CDC
The Biden administration wants to expand a federal COVID-19 tracking system created during the pandemic to provide a more detailed view of how respiratory and other infectious diseases are affecting patients and hospital resources, according to a draft of proposed rules reviewed by Reuters. The plan would build upon a hospital data collection system designed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration. Management of the program was transferred last month to HHS's lead public health agency, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Moscow mayor ends mask requirement, citing improving COVID situation
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Monday cancelled a long-standing requirement for people to wear protective medical masks in public, citing the improving situation with COVID-19 and the need to support businesses facing sanctions pressure. Daily coronavirus cases peaked at 203,949 on Feb. 11 as the highly contagious Omicron variant spread rapidly across the country, but have fallen steadily since then. On Monday, 41,055 new infections were recorded.
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
India to start vaccinating 12- to 14-year-olds against COVID-19
India will start administering COVID-19 vaccinations to 12- to 14-year-olds from March 16, the country's health ministry said on Monday, as schools reopen across the country with standard restrictions amid a significant fall in cases. The government also decided to remove the condition of co-morbidity for people above 60 years to receive a booster shot, the ministry said
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Lockdowns Spread Across China as Race to Contain Covid-19 Outbreak Intensifies
Fallout from China’s race to halt its worsening coronavirus outbreak is growing as authorities order lockdowns and other restrictions across more of the country. All 24 million residents of northeastern Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea, were locked down on Monday, the first time since Covid-19 was first detected two years ago in Wuhan that such restrictions have been imposed on an entire province. Shenzhen city began a weeklong lockdown on Monday, closing public transport, nonessential businesses and schools, while companies in Shanghai began shutting down over the weekend.
14th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullTwo years on, complacency still plagues global COVID-19 response
On March 11 2020, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of “alarming levels of inaction” from governments as he declared that the COVID-19 outbreak had become a pandemic. Two years on, with a number of highly effective vaccines, we have the tools needed to end this pandemic. But the complacency of some governments has only become worse. Politicians in rich countries are trying to “move on” from the pandemic; to manipulate the emotional fatigue of the public and tell them what they want to hear: that this pandemic is over. They want to pretend that COVID-19 is a problem of the past – a problem for poorer countries. That notion is as reckless as it is false.
14th Mar 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Former U.S. President Obama tests positive for COVID-19
Article reports that former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was feeling fine other than a scratchy throat.
"I've had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise," Obama wrote on Twitter. "Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative."
14th Mar 2022 - Reuters
China imposes new curbs amid worst COVID outbreak in two years
China has placed about 17 million residents under lockdown, as virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400 and anxiety mounted over the resilience of its ‘zero-Covid’ approach in the face of the worst outbreak in two years. The southern tech hub of Shenzhen – home to about 13 million people – told all residents to stay at home as it struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to the neighbouring virus-ravaged city of Hong Kong. The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will last until March 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing. A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai, China’s biggest city, and lock down northeastern cities, as almost 18 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants. The city of Jilin – centre of the outbreak in the northeast – was partially locked down on Saturday, while residents of Yanji, an urban area of nearly 700,000 bordering North Korea, were confined to their homes on Sunday.
13th Mar 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Philippines approves emergency use of Pfizer's COVID-19 drug Paxlovid
The Philippines has approved the emergency use of Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID-19 drug, the country's food and drug agency said on Friday. It is the third COVID-19 drug approved by the agency for emergency use, after Roche's antibody cocktail and Merck's treatment pill. Paxlovid can be used to treat adult patients who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk for severe infection, the agency said.
12th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Japan considers offering fourth COVID vaccine shot - Yomiuri
Japan is considering offering a fourth coronavirus vaccine shot later this year, a newspaper reported on Friday, while a government spokesman said a decision would be made based on the severity of the pandemic. The Yomiuri daily said if a decision was made to give a fourth shot they would likely be vaccines supplied by Pfizer and Moderna, and they could be offered this summer.
12th Mar 2022 - Reuters
France to launch fourth COVID shot for over-80s, PM says
France is to start offering a fourth COVID-19 vaccination shot to people over 80 years old who had their previous booster dose more than three months ago, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told daily Le Parisien in an interview published on Saturday. The prime minister had said in January that France was ready to launch a campaign for fourth vaccine shots, or second booster, as soon as health authorities gave the green light.
12th Mar 2022 - Reuters
UK economy bounces back from Omicron as more people dine out
Britain’s economy bounced back from the effects of the Omicron Covid variant at a faster pace than expected during January, as consumers returned to eating and drinking out in pubs and restaurants. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said all sectors of the economy returned to growth, helping to lift gross domestic product by 0.8% in January from a month earlier, fuelled by a rise in consumer-facing services. GDP was estimated to be 0.8% above its pre-pandemic level, reflecting a weaker impact on the economy than expected after the emergence of the Omicron variant led to a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. City economists had forecast a slower growth rate of 0.2%.
12th Mar 2022 - The Guardian
China daily local COVID cases hit two-year high of over 1500
Mainland China reported more than 1,500 new local COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the most since the first nationwide outbreak in early 2020, as the Omicron variant prompted Beijing to introduce self-testing kits for the first time. China's current case count is far fewer than those of many other countries, but the growing number could complicate Beijing's "dynamic-clearance" ambition to suppress contagion as quickly as possible. Beijing has ordered its localities to stick to the "dynamic clearing" policy and to prevent a large-scale rebound, prompting several cities to take measures such as cancelling group events, launching rounds of mass testing and cutting face-to-face classes in school.
12th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Top China Covid Fighter Is Woman Who Hit Party's Glass Ceiling
Among the resources President Xi Jinping has deployed to arrest surging Covid deaths in Hong Kong is the Communist Party’s pandemic fighter: a 71-year-old woman whose career at the near-top illuminates the glass ceiling in the world’s most populous country. Sun Chunlan is the only female vice premier in China’s entrenched patriarchy, the sole woman on its powerful 25-member Politburo and, more recently, the top official overseeing its pandemic control. Now, she’s been marshaled to help across the Hong Kong border, local media including the South China Morning Post have reported. Unlike the “nice guy” cadres Xi derides for failing to act, Sun’s pandemic response has been portrayed in state media as decisive. After Xi’an hospitals left non-Covid patients to die during a lockdown this year, she ordered medics on the ground to “not turn away patients under any excuse.” When Covid-19 emerged in Wuhan, the septuagenarian spent almost 100 days there without vaccines helping authorities isolate each case, a strategy pivotal to Beijing’s unparalleled success in holding back the virus.
11th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina Covid Infections Top 1000 for the First Time in Two Years
China’s daily Covid-19 caseload exceeded 1,000 for the first time in two years, as the highly infectious omicron variant spawns outbreaks at a scale only seen at the peak of the start of the pandemic in Wuhan. The country reported 1,100 domestic infections on Friday, data from the National Health Commission showed. The tally has ballooned from just over 300 cases a day in less than a week, presenting a significant challenge to China’s ongoing, zero-tolerance approach to the virus. The Covid Zero strategy that helped keep China largely virus-free for much of the pandemic now appears to be buckling as omicron repeatedly breaks through one of the the world’s most stringent remaining containment regimes. Covid’s spread in the nation’s biggest cities, including financial hub Shanghai, also makes it difficult to deploy the aggressive but disruptive restrictions officials are increasingly turning to, chief among them lockdowns.
11th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid Study Finds 18 Million Deaths, Three Times Official Tally
The pandemic’s death toll may be three times higher than official Covid-19 records suggest, according to a study that found stark differences across countries and regions. As many as 18.2 million people probably died from Covid in the first two years of the pandemic, researchers found in the first peer-reviewed global estimate of excess deaths. They pointed to a lack of testing and unreliable mortality data to explain the discrepancy with official estimates of roughly 5.9 million deaths. “At the global level, this is quite the biggest mortality shock since the Spanish flu,” said Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, where the study was conducted.
11th Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. to extend airplane, transit mask mandate through April 18
President Joe Biden's administration will extend requirements for travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in transit hubs through April 18 as public health authorities review when mask requirements should be dropped, the White House confirmed. The move extends the current requirements that were set to expire March 18 by a month.
11th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Changes to South African Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Planned
Just under a third of South Africa's remaining Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer are set to expire by July 2022. After that, any unused doses will have to be destroyed. Until then the health department is trying to increase uptake of the doses and donate spare shots. South Africa has received all the 30 million Pfizer Covid jabs it has procured from the drug manufacturer and the last batch that was delivered - a consignment of 4,831,560 shots that arrived between October and December 2021 - expires at the end of July, health department data shows. After that date, Pfizer jabs not used or redistributed to other countries will have to be destroyed and more doses are unlikely to be procured directly from the company.
10th Mar 2022 - AllAfrica.com
Coronavirus: Hungary to Donate 523,000 Doses of Vaccine to Cambodia
Hungary is sending 523,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Cambodia in an effort to further aid the worldwide fight against the pandemic, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday. Although the war in Ukraine overshadows it, the fight against the pandemic is not over, and many countries lack the vaccines to ease their struggle, Szijjártó said.
10th Mar 2022 - Hungary Today
Health Workers Plan for Years of Covid-19 Vaccine Outreach to Black People
Community health workers are redoubling their efforts to sustain Covid-19 vaccine coverage among Black people, saying that gaps remain between willingness to get the shots and the ability of some people to find them conveniently. Early in the U.S. vaccination drive, some Black people said they doubted the safety of the shots or couldn’t get to inoculation sites easily, and their coverage rate lagged that of the general population. Outreach and public-information campaigns helped close the gap by September, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found in a survey of 1,519 adults that month that the share of Black adults who said they had gotten an initial vaccination matched the rate for white adults.
10th Mar 2022 - Wall Street Journal
Canada's Ontario to drop COVID curbs, including mask mandate
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Wednesday it would end masking requirements for most indoor spaces later this month, and scrap virtually all COVID-19-related public health measures by end-April, citing the reduced threat of the pandemic. The province also said it would end strict inoculation rules on hospitals, colleges and universities next week. The broad mask mandate ends on March 21, though masks will still be required in healthcare settings and on public transit until April 27.
10th Mar 2022 - Reuters Canada
Hong Kong leader plans to reopen city only after controlling latest COVID outbreak
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Thursday it was not the time to lift a ban on flights from nine countries including the United States and Britain, with plans to reopen the city only after the government controls a deepening coronavirus outbreak. The global financial hub has some of the most draconian restrictions in place to combat a surge in coronavirus cases that has seen the city suffer the most deaths globally per million people in the week to March 7, according to the Our World in Data publication. Total infections have surged to about 600,000, including about 3,000 deaths - most in the past two weeks.
10th Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Travel Mask Mandate Extended by One Month to April 18
Travelers in the U.S. will have to continue wearing masks on airplanes, buses and other forms of transit through April 18 under a federal mandate that the Biden administration is extending, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Transportation Security Administration said Thursday. The TSA’s directive requiring masks on public transit was set to expire after March 18, but it will remain in effect for another month at the CDC’s recommendation—a move industry officials had widely expected. During that time, the CDC will work to revise its framework around when masks should be required on forms of transportation, basing its assessment on Covid-19 case levels, new variant risks and other data, the agencies said.
10th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong races to build isolation facilities as COVID cases surge
Hong Kong is rushing to build facilities for COVID-19 patients, with Reuters drone footage showing construction work in full swing after a temporary bridge linking the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to the Asian financial hub opened at the weekend.
10th Mar 2022 - Reuters
PH gets more than 1 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
The Philippines received another shipment of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – more than 1 million doses – on Wednesday, the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 said. The delivery is composed of 128,700 Pfizer vaccine doses for 12 years old and above, and 1,056,000 doses of reformulated Pfizer vaccine for minors aged 5 to 11. All in all, 1,184,700 doses of Pfizer’s anti-coronavirus vaccine were delivered to the Philippines on Wednesday night.
9th Mar 2022 - Inquirer.net
Hong Kong leader urges suitable timing for mass testing effort
Compulsory mass testing for coronavirus would be useful but needs to be done at a suitable time, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Wednesday, following anxiety among the 7.4 million residents of the financial hub bracing for a citywide lockdown.
9th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong to focus COVID resources on elderly, no date set for mass tests
Hong Kong announced plans to devote more medical resources to elderly people on Wednesday as COVID-19 infections swept through care homes and deaths climbed rapidly among the mainly unvaccinated seniors. The government will strengthen medical treatment and resources and set up more isolation and temporary care facilities for elderly coronavirus patients, Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a media briefing.
9th Mar 2022 - Reuters
WHO Africa’s 1st woman leader helps continent fight COVID
People stand when Dr. Matshidiso Moeti enters a room at the World Health Organization’s Africa headquarters in Republic of Congo. Small in stature, big in presence, Moeti is the first woman to lead WHO’s regional Africa office, the capstone of her trailblazing career in which she has overcome discrimination in apartheid South Africa to become one of the world’s top health administrators. Moeti is facing her toughest challenge: helping Africa respond to the coronavirus pandemic as the continent trails the rest of the world in testing and vaccination efforts. She has become one of the world’s most compelling voices urging better consideration of Africa’s people — especially women, who’ve in many ways been hit hardest by COVID.
9th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Hawaii to lift last US state mask mandate by March 26
The last statewide mask mandate in the U.S. will be lifted by March 26, Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced Tuesday. No states will require masks indoors after 11:59 p.m. March 25. Hawaii is the last to drop the pandemic safety measure, with indoor mask mandates in Oregon and Washington state expiring at 11:59 p.m. Friday. Ige said Hawaii’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations are decreasing.
9th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Congress looks to cut $2 billion from COVID aviation jobs fund
A proposed bill to fund the U.S. government's operations through September would cut $2 billion from a COVID-19 program to boost aviation manufacturing and repair businesses. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday that redirects $15.6 billion in COVID-19 relief programs to other COVID programs. In total, the U.S. Transportation Department has offered $673 million nationwide in three rounds of awards in the $3 billion program. The aviation manufacturing payroll subsidy program created in 2021 covers up to half of eligible companies' compensation costs for up to six months. Some major aerospace firms like Boeing and General Electric opted not to participate.
9th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullFlorida's top health official says healthy children should not get coronavirus vaccine
Florida’s governor and chief health official announced a new state policy that will recommend against giving a coronavirus vaccine to healthy children, regardless of their age — a policy that flies in the face of recommendations by every medical group in the nation. The announcement came at the conclusion of a 90-minute forum that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) hosted in West Palm Beach. “The Curtain Close on COVID Theater” was live-streamed from a studio with hundreds of participants appearing on a towering screen behind the panelists. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo prefaced the change by deriding the school closures and mask and vaccine mandates issued by many states since the start of the pandemic as “terrible, harmful policies.”
8th Mar 2022 - The Washington Post
Covid disappointments spur Africa’s homegrown vaccine makers
African countries had hoped the Covax vaccine-sharing scheme would guarantee them timely access to jabs, but a lack of regional vaccine production and a bidding war with richer, western nations meant much of the continent has been last in line for doses. According to the FT’s vaccine tracker, 73 per cent of EU residents have been fully vaccinated against Covid, compared with 13 per cent in Africa. Health authorities and scientific institutions in Africa have now set themselves a different target. By 2040 they want 60 per cent of all vaccines given on the continent to be manufactured in Africa, up from 1 per cent now.
8th Mar 2022 - Financial Times
Malaysia to reopen borders from April with quarantine waiver
Malaysia will reopen its borders fully from April 1 and allow entry without quarantine for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday. Malaysia has since March 2020 maintained some of the tightest entry curbs in Asia to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks, with most foreign nationals barred from entry and returning Malaysians required to undergo quarantine.
8th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Florida breaks with CDC, recommends no COVID vaccine for healthy children
Florida's top health official said on Monday the state would recommend against the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children, breaking with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In announcing the move during press briefing convened by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the state's surgeon general Dr. Joseph Lapado cited studies that showed few COVID fatalities among healthy children and elevated risk among young boys receiving the vaccine of side effects such as myocarditis.
8th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Japan's ANA lines up low-cost carrier in bet on post-COVID tourism boom
Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc plans to launch a new international low-cost carrier in late 2023 or early 2024, joining its rival Japan Airlines Co in a bet on a revival in tourism as the impact of the COVID pandemic fades. ANA said on Tuesday the carrier, Air Japan, would fly mid-range international flights to Asia-Pacific destinations, without disclosing planned routes. ANA already has a separate low cost carrier (LCC), Peach Aviation, which flies domestic routes as well as to a handful of short-haul Asian destinations.
8th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Unvaccinated Elderly Send Hong Kong’s Covid-19 Death Rate to World’s Highest
Almost a year ago, Rio Ling decided to hold off on vaccinating his 86-year-old father against the coronavirus because he was more worried about possible side effects than the virus itself, given that Hong Kong had kept cases low under its “Zero-Covid” policy. By the time he gave the go-ahead in January, after the Omicron variant had broken through the city’s defenses, it was too late. A few hours after finally receiving the inoculation in late February, Mr. Ling’s dad, who has high blood pressure and dementia, tested positive for Covid-19. Half a million people over 70 weren’t vaccinated when Omicron began surging through the city. Like other places, Hong Kong gave its elderly priority to get their shots, but persistent fears about vaccine safety, fueled by local media reports about deaths following vaccinations, and Hong Kong’s low case count led many to delay.
8th Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
WHO says COVID boosters needed, reversing previous call
An expert group convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday it “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to booster doses amid the global spread of omicron, in a reversal of the U.N. agency’s insistence last year that boosters weren’t necessary and contributed to vaccine inequity. In a statement, WHO said its expert group concluded that immunization with authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death amid the continuing spread of the hugely contagious omicron variant. WHO said in January that boosters were recommended once countries had adequate supplies and after protecting their most vulnerable.
8th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Rio relaxes the use of masks as pandemic wanes in Brazil
Rio de Janeiro is relaxing the use of masks as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes in Brazil. “Following the determinations of our scientific committee we will have a decree tomorrow to end the mandatory use of masks indoors and outdoors,” Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said on Twitter on Monday. Earlier, data from Johns Hopkins University showed the global death toll of the virus surpassed 6 million people. Brazil is one of the hardest-hit nations, counting more than 650,000 confirmed deaths, the second most after the United States.
8th Mar 2022 - Associated Press
China says Hong Kong must stick to "dynamic zero" COVID strategy
A top Chinese health official rallied embattled Hong Kong on Tuesday to stick with a "dynamic zero" coronavirus strategy and warned that the city's "lifeline" health system was at risk and the situation had to be turned around as soon as possible.
Hong Kong reported more than 43,100 new cases on Tuesday after the launch of an online platform for people to record infections in a surge that has seen the city suffering the most deaths globally per million people in the week to March 6, according to the Our World in Data publication.
China has championed the "dynamic zero" strategy that involves stamping out infections with strict mitigation measures as opposed to the approach adopted in other places of relying on high vaccination rates and moderate mitigation like masks in an effort to "live with COVID".
8th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. CDC urges Americans to avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday urged Americans to avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Thailand over COVID-19 cases. The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to "Level Four: Very High" for the three destinations. In total, the CDC urges Americans to avoid travel to about 135 countries and territories. The CDC lists another 33 destinations as "Level 3: High" and recommends unvaccinated Americans avoid travel. It lowered six destinations on Monday to Level 3: Anguilla, Cape Verde, Fiji, Mexico, Philippines and United Arab Emirates.
8th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Covid Scotland: Spring booster marks new era in vaccine programme
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) describes the Spring booster as a “precautionary” measure, and has already hinted at plans for another round in Autumn 2022. It will remain to be seen what effect this has on vaccine uptake. There may be none, given the only groups currently invited are most at risk, either through age or immunity. But these are the same invited each year for the flu vaccine, which has a lower uptake.
7th Mar 2022 - The Scotsman
Covid-19 vaccine: More than 1500 people affected by incorrect storage
In New Zealand, more than 1500 people who received a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago may not be fully protected after the doses were stored at an incorrect temperature. The issue mainly affected booster shots but some were of first and second doses of the vaccine. SDHB medical officer of health Susan Jack said: "There is no risk of harm to individuals that have received a vaccine stored at an incorrect temperature. However, in these circumstances the vaccine is not considered to be potent nor to produce a reliable level of immunity".
7th Mar 2022 - RNZ
COVID-19: Experts warn against waiting for Omicron vaccines
Following the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, several pharmaceutical companies have announced that they will be manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines that specifically target the latest variant of concern. In January, Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, announced that studies were being done to compare its original COVID-19 vaccine with doses designed to match Omicron. At the beginning of the year, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the redesigned vaccine could be ready to launch as soon as March. Moderna made a similar announcement, revealing that the company has begun testing its own Omicron-specific vaccine and that clinical data should be available by March as well.
7th Mar 2022 - CTV News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullIndonesia, Malaysia to ease COVID curbs on foreign visitors further
Indonesia is considering a quarantine waiver for foreign visitors to its holiday island of Bali from next week, officials said, while neighbour Malaysia announced the removal of curbs on travellers from Thailand and Cambodia. Indonesia and Malaysia have imposed some of the strictest entry procedures in Asia to try to contain COVID-19 outbreaks and keep new variants at bay, but the restrictions have battered their tourism sectors.
6th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong residents urged not to panic ahead of COVID mass testing
Hong Kong reported 31,008 new COVID-19 cases and 153 deaths on Sunday as the city's chief secretary said residents should not worry about a looming mass testing scheme, with details to be announced and authorities ensuring a steady supply of food. The global financial hub is clinging to a "dynamic zero" coronavirus strategy as a massive spike in infections pushed hospitals, isolation centres and funeral parlours beyond capacity. Health experts said around 15% of the city's 7.4 million residents are already infected.
6th Mar 2022 - Reuters
South Africa: SA Records 1995 New Covid-19 Cases
South Africa has recorded 1 995 new COVID-19 cases which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 677 686. The majority of new cases stem from Gauteng (37%), followed by Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, each accounting for 21% and 17% respectively. Mpumalanga accounted for 6%, the Free State and North West each accounted for 5%, Eastern Cape accounted for 4% and Limpopo and the Northern Cape each accounted for 2% of the new cases.
The Department of Health has recorded 28 deaths, and of these, five occurred in the past 24 - 48 hours. This brings the total fatalities in South Africa to 99 458 to date. According to the department, there has been an increase of 55 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. With regard to tests conducted, 23 138 425 tests were conducted in both public and private sectors. In the public sector, 10 572 868 tests were conducted, while 12 565 557 tests were conducted in the private sector.
5th Mar 2022 - AllAfrica
Hong Kong delivery workers in short supply as pressure mounts to fulfil orders
E-commerce platform HKTVmall struggles to make deliveries as workers test positive for coronavirus, placed in quarantine. City’s largest wholesaler says rice supply is sufficient but delivering goods to supermarkets, retail stores has proved difficult
5th Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post
New York City rolls back its COVID restrictions
Fact check: Phony images masquerading as CNN coverage go viral amid war…
Ukrainian woman weds Chicago fiancé ahead of return home New York City has become the latest and largest city in the U.S. to announce it's dropping most of its COVID-19 restrictions as the Omicron surge continues to wind down. Starting Monday, businesses will no longer be required to ask for vaccination cards, and masks will no longer be mandated in public schools for children ages 5 and older. "We have to get our economy back on track," Mayor Eric Adams said on Friday. The city, which was once considered the epicenter of the pandemic, now has a positivity rate of only 1.6% over a 7-day average. In neighboring New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy announced he is lifting the statewide public health emergency — which includes a mask mandate for schools and day care centers.
5th Mar 2022 - MSNNnow
COVID-19: Cases down 59% in Riverside County compared to two weeks ago
As California gears up for even more masking changes, particularly in public schools, local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue on their downward trend. Riverside County added 1,252 new COVID-19 cases between Monday and Friday. That's down 59% compared to two weeks ago when there were 3,054 COVID-19 cases reported between Feb. 14 and 18. On Friday, the county's case rate was 12.0 per 100,000 residents, and its positivity rate was 5.3%. Both rates are down from what they were on Monday: 17.5 per 100,000 and 6.7%. Among local school districts, Palm Springs Unified School District reported 28 student cases and one staff case on Friday.
5th Mar 2022 - Yahoo
Leicester hospitals are hosting fourth dose coronavirus vaccine trials - one person's experience
Leicester's hospitals are running Covid-19 vaccine trials to assess the effectiveness of a fourth dose to boost previous jabs. A number of trusts and NHS sites across the country are taking part in the 'Cov-Boost' studies. One of those studies is looking at the effectiveness of a vaccine designed to protect against the omicron variant, when given as a fourth dose booster.
5th Mar 2022 - Leicestershire Live
Big cities drop more COVID-19 measures in push for normalcy
New York City and Los Angeles are lifting some of their strictest COVID-19 prevention measures as officials in big cities around the U.S. push for a return to normalcy after two grueling years of the pandemic. New York City, which has long prided itself as having the nation’s toughest COVID-19 safety protocols, will do away with several of its mandates next week, including required masking in public schools and vaccination requirements at restaurants, entertainment and cultural venues, the mayor announced Friday. On the other side of the country, residents in Los Angeles County were no longer required as of Friday to wear masks at restaurants, bars, gyms, shops and other businesses, though the city of Los Angeles is still requiring many indoor businesses to verify that their patrons are fully vaccinated.
5th Mar 2022 - The Associated Press
Most EU women blame COVID pandemic for spike in gender violence -poll
Nearly three out of four European Union women think the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred an increase in physical and psychological violence against them, according to a Eurobarometer poll published on Friday. The poll, commissioned by the European Parliament ahead of Women's Day on March 8, shows 77% of women in the EU think the pandemic caused a rise in gender violence in their countries, with nine in 10 respondents in Greece and Portugal saying so.
4th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Almost a third of people report lingering symptom 6-12 months after COVID-19 -study
Almost a third of people report at least one ongoing symptom between 6 and 12 months after their coronavirus infection, a survey of 152,000 people in Denmark has found. The study includes one of the largest groups yet of people who were not hospitalised with COVID, and followed them for longer than other major studies, the researchers from Denmark's State Serum Institute (SSI) said. The questionnaire-based study suggested that the most commonly reported long-term symptoms were changes in sense of smell and taste, as well as fatigue.
4th Mar 2022 - Reuters
The evolving post-COVID U.S. job market in five charts
In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the U.S. economy, the labor market has rebounded far faster than most had predicted after roughly 22 million jobs were wiped out in the space of two months in the spring of 2020. As remarkable as the rebound has proven to be, the comeback from the low point in April 2020 has not been evenly spread across industries and demographic groups, with restaurant employment, for instance, still in a deep hole and the share of Black women with jobs trailing the recovery in other groups.
4th Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhite House unveils Covid strategy to usher in new normal as pandemic eases
The White House released a 96-page plan on Wednesday to shift the fight against Covid-19 and “help move America forward safely”, past a crisis footing to a new “normal”. Announcement of the plan follows promises made in Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech, which emphasized rapid rollout of a new “test to treat” model with free anti-viral pills after a positive test. This comes just a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened mask guidance nationally, as more and more Democratic leaders have lifted pandemic-era restrictions and with the president urging workers to return to the office in-person.
3rd Mar 2022 - The Guardian
Why are COVID vaccination rates still low in some countries?
Why are COVID-19 vaccination rates still low in some countries? Limited supplies remain a problem, but experts say other challenges now include unpredictable deliveries, weak health care systems and vaccine hesitancy. Most countries with low vaccination rates are in Africa. As of late February, 13 countries in Africa have fully vaccinated less than 5% of their populations, according to Phionah Atuhebwe, an officer for the World Health Organization's regional office for Africa. Many rich countries had planned to donate doses once their own populations were vaccinated, but the emergence of the delta and omicron variants spurred booster campaigns that further delayed those plans. Vaccine makers have largely declined to share their formulas or technology, further restricting production.
3rd Mar 2022 - The Independent
Biden's Covid-19 Promises Aren't All Scientifically Possible Yet
Biden’s most notable comment on the virus was the promise to make testing widely available at pharmacies and allow those who test positive to get free access to antiviral pills. That makes sense because in clinical trials, Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid showed close to 90% efficacy at reducing hospitalizations when given to people who test positive for Covid-19 within five days of reporting symptoms. But giving away Paxlovid isn’t quite that simple, because the drug interferes with the absorption of other drugs. Many people who are vulnerable enough to be good candidates for Paxlovid are going to be on multiple other drugs and would need a doctor’s supervision to take the five-day course of pills safely.
3rd Mar 2022 - Bloomberg
Too early for China to seek 'coexistence' with COVID - govt expert
It is still too early for China to consider easing its stringent coronavirus restrictions, with the highly infectious Omicron strain still capable of causing large numbers of deaths, said Liang Wannian, head of an expert group on COVID-19 prevention. Describing China's so-called 'dynamic clearance' strategy as a "magic weapon", Liang said in an interview with China's state broadcaster CCTV that "coexisting" with the virus was still not an option. He said Omicron was still significantly more deadly than influenza and capable of putting great strain on the country's medical resources.
3rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
WHO sees little impact on COVID-19 vaccine supplies to Africa from Ukraine war
The World Health Organization does not expect any immediate impact on vaccine supply to Africa from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, senior officials on the continent said on Thursday. Russia's Sputnik vaccines are part of an effort by wealthier countries to plug the COVID-19 vaccine gap in Africa, but so far they remain a minimal component of imports to the continent. Russia's invasion entered its second week on Thursday and there are concerns that the focus on the war could interrupt vaccine shipments to Africa.
3rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
France to lift COVID vaccine passport rules on March 14, just before presidential election
Rules requiring people to show a COVID-19 vaccine passport to access venues will be lifted in France on March 14 - about a month before the presidential election - said French Prime Minister Jean Castex, as the country gradually eases COVID health protocols amid signs the virus is receeding in France. "The health situation is improving," Castex told TF1 television on Thursday. Face masks will also no longer be needed indoors from March 14, with the exception of public transport.
3rd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Test to treat, variant vaccines part of new federal COVID-19 plan
Members of the Biden COVID-19 preparedness team addressed the nation unmasked and from the same room as they spoke about the country's move to a "new normal" stage of the pandemic, where COVID-19 is no longer a national emergency. Echoing statements made during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, Jeff Zients, White House COVID response coordinator, said, "We have reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19 because of the significant progress we made as a country, and we are moving forward safely."
2nd Mar 2022 - CIDRAP
As Omicron recedes, White House shifts to a more targeted Covid strategy
The threat of the Omicron variant is receding and cities around the country are lifting their mask mandates, but the Biden administration isn’t ready to declare an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the White House is out with a new plan focused on continued, commonsense public health measures like expanding access to coronavirus therapies and improving ventilation in indoor spaces. While the new strategy is largely a continuation of existing efforts, it represents a shift from policies aimed at preventing the spread of Covid and toward more targeted efforts to prevent society’s most vulnerable from becoming severely ill. The overarching goal is to move to a world in which the government allows life to proceed as normal, while keeping a watchful eye for new outbreaks or viral variants.
2nd Mar 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullUK's bilateral donation of 1 million vaccine doses will reinforce Bangladesh’s fight against COVID-19
The UK bilaterally donated 1 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh. The vaccine consignment arrived in Bangladesh on 23 February 2022. This bilateral donation from the UK will reinforce Bangladesh's fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the country's economic recovery.
2nd Mar 2022 - News Medical
Hawaii to lift COVID-19 travel quarantine rules this month
Hawaii plans to lift its COVID-19 quarantine requirement for travelers this month, meaning that starting on March 26 those arriving from other places in the U.S. won’t have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to avoid sequestering themselves for five days. Hawaii is the only U.S. state to implement a coronavirus quarantine program of this kind. Gov. David Ige said at a news conference the requirement saved lives and was a major factor in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in the islands. Hawaii has one of the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the nation.
2nd Mar 2022 - Seattle Times
Ontario judge declines to impose COVID-19 vaccines on children
An Ontario judge says he is not prepared to accept as fact that vaccinating children against COVID-19 is what’s best for them simply because it’s encouraged by the government, noting a number of factors – including the children’s own preferences – must be taken into account. In a decision issued last week, Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz rejected a father’s motion to have his two younger children – ages 12 and 10 – vaccinated despite their mother’s and their own objections, and cautioned against dismissing certain viewpoints without evidence.
2nd Mar 2022 - Global News
White House will roll out next phase of Covid-19 response Wednesday
The White House will roll out a new strategy laying out the next phase of its response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, two administration officials told CNN, outlining a vision that involves fewer disruptions to daily life while preparing for the unpredictable potential of another game-changing variant. The White House's coronavirus response team and the administration's leading health officials will announce the "National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan" during an event on Wednesday, the officials said.
2nd Mar 2022 - CNN
WA records 1,766 new local COVID-19 cases as state prepares to lift hard border and reopen
The day before Western Australia reopens to the world, the state has recorded 1,766 new local cases of COVID-19, with the hospital system put on red alert and Premier Mark McGowan announcing a $72 million support package for affected businesses. Another four cases were found in travellers, bringing the total number of new infections to 1,770.
2nd Mar 2022 - abc.net.au
COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases and deaths start to plateau as provinces lift measures
The decline of COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations across Canada has led many provinces to aggressively lift public health restrictions — yet data shows those declines have begun to plateau. Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba ended several measures on Tuesday, including vaccination requirements for businesses and capacity limits. Other provinces, including Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, eased restrictions a day earlier, with Saskatchewan ending them entirely on Monday.
2nd Mar 2022 - Global News
Covid-19 mandates lifted even as cases climb
Numerous states and countries have begun lifting Covid-19 mandates even though there are more deaths due to the virus now than there were during the majority of the pandemic. For the past month, there have been more than 2,000 Covid-19 related deaths a day in the US reported, which has been the highest count since the first winter Covid-19 surge before vaccines were available. At present, Covid is attributed to 20% of all deaths worldwide. The demographics have now changed to younger and unvaccinated individuals dying, compared with older individuals who accounted for most of the casualties before vaccines were available.
2nd Mar 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
India's output, exports of Russia's Sputnik vaccine at risk due to Ukraine crisis
India's production and exports of Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccines are expected to slow further following U.S. sanctions on Russia's sovereign wealth fund that promotes the shot globally, three Indian pharmaceutical industry sources told Reuters. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) had billed India as one of Sputnik's biggest production hubs and markets, though local sales have stagnated at 1.2 million doses out of 1.8 billion doses of various vaccines administered in the country.
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Biden announces new COVID initiative that gives Americans free pills
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration has launched a new initiative that will allow Americans to get tested for COVID-19 at a pharmacy and immediately receive free pills if they test positive. "We're launching the "Test to Treat" initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they're positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot, at no cost," Biden said during his State of the Union speech.
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Germany pledges more funds for COVID vaccines in poor countries
Germany will provide a further $1.5 billion to a global initiative for better access to coronavirus vaccines for poorer countries, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday. "The global COVID-19 pandemic has not been overcome," Lindner told reporters after a virtual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven leading economies. Germany would also provide an additional 224 million euros for logistics on the ground, or "in-country delivery costs", Lindner said.
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
White House to unveil COVID preparedness plan on Wednesday
The Biden administration will announce on Wednesday a national preparedness plan for COVID-19, mapping out how "to move forward safely and get back to our more normal routines," the White House said in a statement. To be unveiled by top White House COVID-19 advisers including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the plan comes as coronavirus infections decline in the United States and masking and social distancing guidelines are eased.
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Britain revokes mandatory COVID shots for health workers
Britain confirmed that a requirement for health workers to have a COVID-19 vaccination would no longer be introduced in April and care home workers would no longer be required to have the shots from March 15. Health minister Sajid Javid in January said that the government intended to revoke the regulations, subject to consultation. On Tuesday the health ministry said that following the consultation, the requirement would be dropped
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters UK
Germany wipes its list of COVID ‘high-risk areas’ clean
Germany is removing all countries currently on its list of “high-risk areas” as part of a rethink of its coronavirus travel rules that will take effect on Thursday. The country’s disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said that from now on Germany’s list will only include places where high infection rates are linked to variants of COVID-19 that are more virulent than the currently dominant omicron variant, which in many cases leads to relatively mild illness. That change will result in the current list of “high-risk areas,” which contains dozens of countries and territories, being wiped clean from Thursday on.
2nd Mar 2022 - Associated Press
Hong Kong urges residents fretting over COVID measures not to panic
Hong Kong's government said any decision to impose a COVID-19 lockdown would take into account the global financial hub's status and ensure basic needs, and it urged anxious residents who thronged supermarkets this week not to panic.
2nd Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Mar 2022
View this newsletter in full63M Filipinos fully immunized vs COVID-19 a year into vaccine drive
More than 63 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 a year since the government began its immunization program, the Department of Health said Tuesday. In a briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said more than 135 million vaccine doses have been administered as of February 28.
1st Mar 2022 - Philstar.com
More mask mandates fall as poor COVID vaccine protection noted in young kids
New York City schools will lose the masks this week, and the city's vaccine requirements for restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters will likely expire next week and not be reinstated, according to the New York Times, as new not-peer-reviewed data show poor COVID-19 vaccine protection in kids 5 to 11 years old.
1st Mar 2022 - CIDRAP
Dubai entry requirements: Travel restrictions ease in UAE with Covid tests scrapped for fully vaccinated
Fully vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to present a negative PCR test upon arrival in Dubai after the country eased its Covid entry rules over the weekend. Unvaccinated travellers will be able to enter either with a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours before arrival or with proof of recovery from Covid within the past month.
1st Mar 2022 - iNews
Hong Kong elderly left it late for Covid shots, families fear time running out
In Hong Kong, the worsening fifth wave, which first hit the city in late December, has affected homes for the elderly badly, with confirmed cases in 580 facilities and 2,900 residents and 865 staff infected, according to health authorities. The vaccination rate among the elderly remains relatively low compared with other age groups. Just over 30 per cent of those aged 80 and above have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
1st Mar 2022 - South China Morning Post
Italy entry requirements: Travel restrictions ease as Covid tests scrapped for fully vaccinated arrivals
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Italy will no longer need to provide proof of a negative Covid test from Tuesday. From 1 March, Italy is easing entry restrictions for all arrivals from non-EU countries, including the UK. The country will accept proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative Covid test result for entry.
1st Mar 2022 - iNews
Covid: Medics concerned at vulnerable child low vaccine rate
Doctors have expressed concern over the low number of 5 to 11-year-olds, classed as vulnerable or living with a vulnerable person, getting vaccinated. The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) serving Wiltshire, Swindon and Bath said only 4.7%, or 250 out of 5,300 eligible children, have been vaccinated after being sent an invitation.
1st Mar 2022 - BBC News
1 million Sputnik coronavirus vaccines expire in Guatemala
Health authorities in Guatemala say over a million doses of the Russian Sputnik coronavirus vaccine have expired, because nobody wanted to take the shot. Francisco Coma, the country’s health minister, said Monday that there was a “rejection” among the population toward the vaccine, even though a lot of Guatemalans remain unvaccinated.
1st Mar 2022 - ABC News
Hong Kong’s Covid-19 Measures Pressure Finance in Asian Financial Hub
Hong Kong’s most recent measures to combat Covid-19 are unsettling its large community of bankers and investors, many of whom were already struggling to square business and family commitments with severely curtailed travel. Some financial professionals have asked employers whether they can relocate, while a few expatriates have decided in recent months to resign and move home. Others are considering options that could split up their families for months or more as they try to move their children into more stable schooling and away from the risk of mandatory quarantine.
1st Mar 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Indonesia extends AstraZeneca vaccine shelf life as 6 mln doses near expiry
Indonesia has extended the shelf life of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to nine months, as nearly six million doses it received in donations approached their expiration dates, a health ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The decision underscores the challenges many developing countries face in their slow inoculation campaigns, as vaccines donated by wealthy countries arrive with a relatively short shelf life of just a few months or weeks
1st Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. to extend international minimum flight requirement waivers over COVID
The US government proposed extending temporary waivers of international minimum flight requirements at some US airports through late October due to COVID-19. Airlines can lose their slots at some congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The waivers have been in place since the pandemic began in March 2020. International passenger air travel in 2021 was down 46% to 61 million over 2019 levels, but up over the 34 million international air passengers in 2020.
1st Mar 2022 - Reuters
U.S. parents still divided over school COVID masking rules -survey
As public schools around the United States lift COVID-19 mask mandates, parents are divided over the issue, with nearly 43% saying face covering requirements should remain in place to prevent virus transmission, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Most parents who responded also expressed concern about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for children under age 5, saying they do not have enough information, according to the KFF survey of 1,502 adults conducted between Feb. 9 and 21.
1st Mar 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Mar 2022
View this newsletter in fullPfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine less effective in ages 5-11 -New York study
Two doses of the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine was protective against severe disease in children aged 5 to 11 during the recent Omicron variant surge, but quickly lost most of its ability to prevent infection in the age group, according to a study by New York State researchers. The vaccine's efficacy against infection among those children declined to 12% at the end of January from 68% in mid-December compared to kids who did not get vaccinated, according the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed.
28th Feb 2022 - Reuters
USAID boosts Jamaica's push to get COVID-19 vaccines to private health facilities
In Jamaica, eight private entities in the health sector have signed grants totalling US$600,000 with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to continue the roll-out of the health ministry's outsourcing of COVID-19 vaccines. The ministry is trying to administer 75,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines through private entities. So far, approximately 17,000 doses have been given outside of the public health system, state minister for health Juliet Cuthbert Flynn noted during a signing ceremony
28th Feb 2022 - The Jamaica Observer
90% adolescents administered 1st Covid-19 vaccine dose in Delhi: Data
Ninety per cent of adolescents in the age group of 15 to 18 years in Delhi have been administered the first dose of vaccine against COVID-19 since the launch of the drive on January 3, according to official data. Up to February 24, 54 per cent of them had also received the second dose of the vaccine, the data presented during a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) earlier this week mentioned.
28th Feb 2022 - Business Standard
Vaccination very essential, will help combat 4th Covid wave, UNICEF advisor says
Though the chances of severity in children infected with Covid-19 is very low, vaccination is very essential and it would help combat the fourth wave, said Dr Mrudula Phadke, senior advisor to Government of Maharashtra and UNICEF on Child Health. Speaking about Multiple Inflammatory Syndrome of Children, a syndrome that affects almost every organ, she said “Only 1 in 10,000 children may experience severe disease on being infected with Covid-19. But there is a condition called MIS-C, where almost every organ is affected. Hence our children should be vaccinated,” she insisted.
28th Feb 2022 - Deccan Herald
Covid-19: Lagging vaccination leaves the Caribbean vulnerable, says PAHO
The sluggish pace of covid-19 vaccination in the Caribbean is leaving the region vulnerable to current and future outbreaks of the disease, senior Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) officials have warned. Unlike much of Latin America, where vaccination campaigns started slowly but ramped up quickly through 2021 when more doses became available, vaccination coverage across the Caribbean remains low. Of the 13 countries in the Americas that are yet to reach the World Health Organization’s 2021 goal of 40% vaccination coverage, 10 are in the Caribbean. Only regional outliers Cuba—which produces its own vaccines—and the Dominican Republic have fully vaccinated more than half of their population. Haiti, which has been hit by natural disasters and political turmoil, has fully vaccinated less than 1% of its citizens against covid-19.
28th Feb 2022 - The BMJ
New Covid vaccinations drop in US as cases and hospitalizations decline
The number of new people getting vaccinated in America has steadily declined in recent months, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The seven-day average of new vaccinations now mirrors the rates from December 2020, when there was a limited supply of the vaccines. But doctors emphasize that the virus remains a threat in the US and that people who are not vaccinated are at greater risk of become severely ill or dying. They point to the fact that the seven-day average of new cases on 23 February in the United States was 76,667, according to the New York Times data. On 23 February last year, the seven-day average was 67,854.
28th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Agong encourages people to take Covid-19 booster shots
The process of transitioning Malaysia from the Covid-19 pandemic stage into endemicity must be made carefully although the country is increasingly ready to make such a transition. Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah cited several indicators which show that the country is ready to transition into the endemic phase. Among the indicators include the Nikkei Asia Covid-19 Recovery Index which ranked Malaysia at 13th spot out of 122 countries around the world. Al-Sultan Abdullah also noted that the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP) has helped to inoculate 98 per cent of the adult population in the country.
28th Feb 2022 - New Straits Times
Analysis: Is WHO's aim to vaccinate 70% of world by June still realistic?
Vaccinating 70% of the population in every country in the world against COVID-19 by mid-2022 has been the World Health Organization's (WHO) rallying cry to end the pandemic. But recently, public health experts say that while boosting immunity globally remains essential, the figure is neither achievable nor meaningful. It has always been ambitious: Currently, just 12% of people in low-income nations have had one shot, according to Our World In Data. Earlier targets set by WHO – to reach 10% by September 2021, for example – were also missed.
28th Feb 2022 - Reuters
South Korea rolls back COVID-19 vaccine pass as infections burden testing centres
South Korea will temporarily lift a requirement for vaccine passes or negative COVID-19 tests at a number of businesses to ease the strain on testing centres, authorities said on Monday, as the country faces a wave of Omicron infections. The move will allow public testing and health facilities to devote more resources to battling the wave of new cases, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol told a COVID-19 response meeting.
28th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Nearly half of Biden’s 500M free COVID tests still unclaimed
Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, COVIDtests.gov received over 45 million orders. Now officials say fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four free rapid tests per household, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
27th Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullItaly reports 38,375 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 210 deaths
Italy reported 38,375 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 40,948 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths rose to 210 from 193.
Italy has registered 154,416 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.7 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 11,103 on Saturday, from 11,706 a day earlier.
26th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong Delays First Retail Green Bond Launch Due to Covid-19
Hong Kong’s government is delaying the launch of its inaugural retail green bond due to the spread of coronavirus cases in the city. The government postponed the subscription period and issuance of the bond in order to “avoid the social contact arising from the application process and reduce the risk of the spread of the disease,” according to a statement posted on Hong Kong’s government website on Saturday. The subscription period was originally scheduled for March 1 to 11. The government plans to sell up to HK$6 billion ($768 million) in green debt directly to investors for the first time, with proceeds used to back nine types of sustainable projects run by the city, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
26th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
CDC Eases Mask Guidelines, Reflecting Covid-19’s Retreat
Federal officials eased their guidelines on Covid-19 masking, including at schools, in a shift that reflects decreased risks from the Omicron variant, a steep drop in cases and mitigation efforts nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday changed the metrics it uses to assess Covid-19 risk by county across the U.S. Risk will now be assessed based on three factors, the CDC said: new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days; new Covid-19-related hospital admissions; and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients. Before Friday, the CDC sorted counties into one of four risk categories based on Covid-19 case numbers and test positivity rates. Now, the agency is breaking counties down into three different groups: high, medium or low local Covid-19 risk. The CDC’s assessment of Covid-19 levels by county will be available on the agency’s website.
26th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance, others wary
Grace Thomas is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but still not ready to take off her mask, especially around the kids at the home day care she runs in Chicago.
But whether the children continue to wear masks remains to be seen after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that healthy people in most areas of the country can safely stop wearing masks as cases continue to fall. Thomas, 62, plans to ask parents to have their children wear masks to prevent the day care from being a potential source of transmission, but “you can’t make them wear masks if they don’t want to,” she said. Many Americans, including parents of school children, have been clamoring for an end to masking while others remain wary that the pandemic could throw a new curveball. Now, states, cities and school districts are assessing Friday’s guidance to determine whether it’s safe to stop mask-wearing — long after others threw out such mandates and many Americans ignored them.
26th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
EXCLUSIVE Sartorius in $11 bln bid for COVID vaccine reagent vendor Maravai -sources
Laboratory supplies vendor Sartorius AG has approached Maravai LifeSciences Holdings Inc , a U.S. provider of capping reagents for COVID-19 vaccines, with an $11 billion acquisition offer, people familiar with the matter said. Maravai rejected the $42 per share all-cash offer from Goettingen, Germany-based Sartorius earlier this month as inadequate, the sources said. It is not clear whether Sartorius will return with a new offer or whether Maravai will attract acquisition interest from other laboratory equipment and supplies providers.
26th Feb 2022 - Reuters
How covid-19 has exposed the weaknesses in rural healthcare
Rural regions made vulnerable by limited healthcare infrastructure, lower rates of vaccination, and opposition to government policies are the new frontlines in the pandemic. Yet support systems have not adjusted to the growing rural needs for health education, testing, vaccination, and treatment. Michael Forster Rothbart, Kata Karáth, and Lungelo Ndhlovu report from the US, Ecuador, and Zimbabwe
25th Feb 2022 - The BMJ
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullSwiss to donate up to 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
Switzerland will donate up to 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries by the middle of this year, having secured more than enough to cover its own population of around 8.7 million, the government said on Wednesday. Around 34 million doses of vaccine will be available to Switzerland in 2022 - 20 million in the first half of the year and 14 million in the second, the cabinet said.
24th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Google drops coronavirus vaccine requirement for US office workers
In a major update to Covid-19 protocols, Google will no longer mandate vaccines as a condition of employment for US workers. "Based on current conditions in the Bay Area, we're pleased that our employees who choose to come in now have the ability to access more onsite spaces and services to work and connect with colleagues," a Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNET. "We are giving employees who welcome the chance to come into the office the option to do that wherever we safely can, while allowing those who aren't ready to keep working from home."
24th Feb 2022 - Business Standard
Japan to accept J&J COVID vaccine for border entry next month
Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The J&J shot, which has not been approved in Japan, will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for non-residents to enter, after a nearly two-year ban on such travellers.
24th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Italy will exit COVID state of emergency on March 31, Draghi says
The Italian government will end the COVID-19 state of emergency on March 31, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday, promising a gradual return to normal after more than two years of the health crisis. Coronavirus cases and deaths have receded in recent weeks and the government has come under pressure from businesses and some political parties to roll back the restrictions that have been progressively introduced since early 2020.
24th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Singapore Halts Easing of Virus Restrictions as Covid Cases Surge
Singapore will push back plans to ease limits on home gatherings and other pandemic curbs as a resurgent Covid-19 outbreak tests the country’s pivot to living with the virus. The plans to ease and simplify some virus rules in phases, originally due to happen on Feb. 25 and March 4, will be delayed, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health on Thursday. This is because of the current surge in daily cases and the extensive work needed to go through detailed rules that have accumulated across different settings over the past two years, it said.
24th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Africa CDC Urges Vaccine Donors to Stagger Deliveries of Shots
The African Union’s public health agency urged Covid-19 vaccine donors to help ensure that the distribution of shots is aligned with take-up so that all of them are used. “We have not asked them to pause the donations, but to coordinate with us so that the new donations arrive in a way so that countries can use them,” John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a webinar Thursday. “This is very different from saying don’t donate at all.”
24th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Moderna Beats Profit Estimates, Fueled by Covid-19 Vaccine Sales
Moderna Inc. posted better-than-expected profits for the last three months of 2021 as the company’s Covid-19 vaccine continued to power its year-over-year growth, while executives mulled plans to roll out an additional booster shot. In the latest quarter, Moderna’s revenue reached $7.21 billion, with nearly all of that coming from vaccine sales. The Cambridge, Mass., company said it distributed a total of 807 million doses of the vaccine, Spikevax, last year. For all of 2021, Moderna posted revenue of $18.5 billion, nearly all of it from Covid-19 vaccine sales. That figure could rise this year: The company said it has signed advanced purchase agreements from national governments to supply $19 billion worth of vaccines for full-year 2022, with options for more.
24th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
US vaccination drive is bottoming out as omicron subsides
The vaccination drive in the U.S. is grinding to a halt, and demand has all but collapsed in places like this deeply conservative manufacturing town where many weren’t interested in the shots to begin with. The average number of Americans getting their first shot is down to about 90,000 a day, the lowest point since the first few days of the U.S. vaccination campaign, in December 2020. And hopes of any substantial improvement in the immediate future have largely evaporated. About 76% of the U.S. population has received at least one shot. Less than 65% of all Americans are fully vaccinated.
23rd Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong budget proposals offer COVID relief with tax breaks, handouts
Hong Kong will offer tax breaks, handouts and subsidies to small businesses and residents, to mitigate the impact of the most stringent social restrictions imposed in the city to curb the spread of COVID-19, Finance Secretary Paul Chan said. The 2022/23 budget proposals were announced as hundreds of bars, restaurants and small retailers warned they were months away from closure, and shopping malls were deserted while the city endured its worst COVID-19 outbreak so far. "Hong Kong is currently experiencing its hardest time in the fight against the epidemic, and we are facing enormous challenges," Chan told legislators via videoconference on Wednesday.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Polish prime minister says Poland will remove most COVID curbs
Poland will remove most COVID-19 restrictions from March 1, while keeping the obligation to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Reduced testing is concerning, WHO official says
A World Health Organization official on Tuesday expressed concern about reduced testing and surveillance of the coronavirus in countries around the world, saying monitoring remains critical. “We need to be strategic about this, but we cannot abandon it,” said WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove during an online question-and-answer session. “And what we do not want to see is the dismantling of these surveillance systems that have been put in place for covid-19.”
23rd Feb 2022 - The Washington Post
North Korea should be convinced into accepting 60 million Covid vaccine doses, says UN official
North Korea should be provided at least 60 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and the international community should come together to chart out a strategy for this, an independent UN human rights investigator has said. “It is imperative that the population of North Korea start to be vaccinated… so that the government will have no excuse to maintain the closing of the borders,” Tomas Ojea Quintana, a UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said on Wednesday.
23rd Feb 2022 - The Independent
Germany expects deliveries of Novavax COVID vaccine later this week
The delivery process for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is underway and the first contingents will arrive in individual Germany states later this week, a health ministry spokesperson told a regular news conference on Wednesday.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong budget offers COVID relief with tax breaks, handouts
Hong Kong will offer tax breaks, handouts and subsidies to small businesses and residents, to mitigate the impact of the most stringent social restrictions imposed in the city to curb the spread of COVID-19, Finance Secretary Paul Chan said. The 2022/23 budget proposals were announced as hundreds of bars, restaurants and small retailers warned they were months away from closure, and shopping malls were deserted while the city endured its worst COVID-19 outbreak so far.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Cambodia vaccinates children aged three to five against COVID
Cambodia started vaccinating children as young as three against COVID-19 on Wednesday, becoming one of the first countries to cover the age group of those below five. The Southeast Asian nation has vaccinated more than 90% of its population of 16 million, for one of the highest rates in the region, official data show. In January, it started rolling out a fourth dose for high-risk groups.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Romania to donate 1.1 million AstraZeneca COVID vaccines
Romania will donate 1.1 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and Libya, the health ministry said on Wednesday. Romania is the European Union's second-least vaccinated country after Bulgaria, with roughly 42% of the population fully inoculated, reflecting mistrust in state institutions and poor vaccine education. With supplies far outstripping demand for COVID-19 shots, the Bucharest government has sold or donated excess shots before their expiry date.
23rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong's Biggest Developer Offers Land for Covid Isolation
Hong Kong’s biggest property developer offered to make land and commercial properties available to the government to help contain the city’s Covid-19 outbreak.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. will provide two land plots in the New Territories for use as temporary isolation and treatment facilities, the company said in an emailed statement late Tuesday. One of the sites is co-owned by Henderson Land Development Co.
23rd Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Sanofi, Glaxo Seek Covid-19 Vaccine Approval in Crowded Market
Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline GSK PLC said they would seek authorization for their Covid-19 vaccine, a sign that pharmaceutical companies still see an opportunity for new shots despite ebbing demand in the West. While vaccine uptake across the West has slowed significantly after a big push by governments to inoculate their populations, some companies say new vaccines could be used as boosters, or in low- and middle-income countries. Novavax Inc., another latecomer, recently sought emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its shot, which has already been authorized in the European Union.
Sanofi and Glaxo said Wednesday that their shot was 100% effective at preventing severe disease and 75% effective against moderate-to-severe illness. The shot was 57.9% effective at preventing any symptomatic disease, a result the companies said was in line with expected vaccine effectiveness in the current environment, where variants have blunted the protection afforded by shots. In a separate trial, the shot was shown to increase antibody levels by 18 to 30 times when given as a booster following a primary series of the already-authorized mRNA and adenovirus vaccines.
23rd Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus booster Scotland: Scots over-75s and the most vulnerable to receive fourth Covid vaccine dose
Appointments for the spring booster dose will be offered to those aged 75 and over, as will as those living in care homes for older people, and those aged 12 and above who are immunosuppressed. The vaccinations will be given at least 24 weeks after their most recent jag, with the first appointments to take place in the second week of March
22nd Feb 2022 - The Scotsman
Iran returns ‘US-made’ donated COVID vaccines to Poland
Iran has returned 820,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines donated by Poland because they were manufactured in the United States. State TV on Monday quoted Mohammad Hashemi, a health ministry official, as saying that Poland donated about a million doses of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran. “But when the vaccines arrived in Iran, we found out that 820,000 doses of them which were imported from Poland were from the United States,” he said.
22nd Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera
Parents of kids under 5 anxiously await coronavirus vaccine
In the US, parents of children younger than 5 say they feel forgotten and left behind, watching others reclaim normalcy while they stay home with kids who are too young to be vaccinated and have to quarantine when there is an exposure to the coronavirus at day care or school. Parents are now dealing with another twist in a two-year roller-coaster ride after a coronavirus vaccine for the youngest children was further delayed this month. The Food and Drug Administration said it would wait to make a decision on authorizing the vaccine until data on a third dose becomes available — opening up a host of new questions and concerns.
22nd Feb 2022 - The Washington Post
EU, Germany expect Novavax deliveries to begin this week
The European Commission and the German government said on Monday they expect deliveries of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid to begin over the course of this week. Novavax's recombinant protein vaccine uses a more established technology than mRNA, the novel method behind the two most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines in Germany made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Bulgaria to ease coronavirus restrictions as cases drop
Bulgaria plans to lift the obligatory COVID-19 "green certificate" for entry to restaurants, shopping malls and other public venues from March 20 as coronavirus infections ease, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said. The health pass - a digital or paper certificate showing someone has been vaccinated, tested negative or recently recovered from the virus - was made obligatory for most indoor spaces in Bulgaria last October. Its introduction has prompted a series of protests in the European Union's least vaccinated member state, angering bar and restaurant owners and anti-vaccine activists.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
HSBC says Hong Kong COVID clampdown may hurt ability to hire, keep staff
HSBC said Hong Kong's strict curbs on travel and social interaction are hurting the economy and may impact the ability to hire and keep staff in the Asian financial hub, in one of the strongest comments yet by a global lender on the city's tough measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. "The evolving Covid-19 restrictions in Hong Kong, including travel, public gathering and social distancing restrictions, are impacting the Hong Kong economy, and may affect the ability to attract and retain staff," the lender said
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Dubai airport CEO sees more countries dropping COVID travel testing rules soon
The head of Dubai International Airport, one of the world's busiest, expects more countries to soon start ending rules for vaccinated passengers to be tested for COVID-19. The United Kingdom does not require vaccinated passengers to take a COVID test, while Gulf state Bahrain this month said those arriving would no longer needed to be tested. "I do expect across the world, the testing regime for travel will start to disappear pretty quickly and we're hopeful that there will be an announcement over the next few weeks from many different places," Chief Executive Paul Griffiths said.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
CDC taps Palantir to support COVID-19 drug supply in U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Palantir Technologies a $5.3 million contract to manage distribution of COVID-19 drugs in the United States. The contract for supporting distribution of therapeutics is for a duration of six months, Palantir said. The new partnership is an extension of an existing use of Palantir's Tiberius platform for vaccine distribution, for which the company was selected in 2020.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Britain to offer further COVID-19 boosters to elderly and immunosuppressed
Britain said it would offer further COVID-19 booster shots to the elderly, care home residents and immunosuppressed people as part of a plan to learn to live with the disease without legal restrictions. Britain's health minister Sajid Javid said he would accept the recommendation of the country's vaccine advisers, and said that all four nations of the United Kingdom would offer the extra shots.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters UK
Hong Kong to enforce mass testing amid predicted surge in COVID infections
Hong Kong will roll out compulsory testing for COVID-19 starting in mid-March for its 7.4 million residents, leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday, as university researchers predicted new infections could peak at a staggering 180,000 a day next month. Stringent coronavirus rules would be in place until mid-April with schools breaking early for summer and resuming the new year in August, she said, as authorities battle an "exponential" rise in infections which have overwhelmed the healthcare system.
22nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
State legislatures renew the push to roll back Covid-related public health measures
State legislators are mobilizing anew to roll back public health measures meant to contain the spread of Covid-19. They are introducing bills in both liberal and conservative states that target measures like vaccine and mask requirements, which have become political lightning rods throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Several state lawmakers are also pushing legislation that would prevent hospitals and nursing homes from restricting visitors during outbreaks. The legislative blitz comes on the heels of a similar push last year, when over half of U.S. states took some action to roll back public health powers
22nd Feb 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullStratec Founder Weighs Options After Covid Boom
Stratec SE’s founder is exploring options for the German health-care technology provider that could include a potential sale, people familiar with the matter said. Hermann Leistner and his family have received preliminary private equity interest in their 40.55% stake, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Any deal for Leistner’s stake could trigger a bid for all of Stratec, which has a market value of 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion). Stratec shares rose as much as 11% on Monday. Deliberations are in the early stages, and there’s no certainty they’ll result in a transaction, the people said. A representative for Stratec declined to comment.
21st Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Children aged 12-15 to be offered a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine
Children aged 12 to 15 years are to be offered a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in a bid to reduce infection rates among this age group. The move follows a recommendation by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac), which has been accepted by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. The go-ahead was given by Niac despite the lack of authorisation by the European Medicines Agency for boosters doses for this age group. The EMA is currently assessing an application by Pfizer/BioNTech for use of its booster vaccine in adolescents from 12 years. Because off-licence use is being allowed in Ireland, Mr Donnelly said special attention would be paid to the provision of support and guidance information as part of the informed consent process for children and young people and their parents.
21st Feb 2022 - The Irish Times
The Novavax vaccine is here. So who was waiting for it?
During the push last year to vaccinate the state against coronavirus, staff at Bay Centre Medical at Byron Bay, an area known for its lower vaccination rates, lost count of the number of patients “waiting for Novavax”. So, when their first order of 100 doses arrived last week, the practice’s doctors started calling around. They made a total of 10 bookings. “I don’t think we’ll order it again, really,” said practice manager Karina Masterson, adding unvaccinated people were now more commonly asking for vaccine exemption certificates because they caught the virus over summer. Monday marked the official first day of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine being available in Australia, the fourth brand of shot now obtainable, and the vaccine cited by a number of otherwise hesitant people as their entry to the rollout. (Some GPs and pharmacies started giving the shots last week after receiving shipments early.)
21st Feb 2022 - Sydney Morning Herald
Three-fourths of Hong Kong parents won’t allow young children to get Covid shots
More than three-quarters of parents with young children have said they will not let their youngsters receive a Covid-19 vaccine, with 80 per cent citing side effects or death as their main concern, according to a survey. The survey was published by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, which last month interviewed 322 parents of children aged five to 15. According to the survey findings, released on Sunday, about 76 per cent of respondents with children aged five to 11 said they were unwilling to vaccinate them within the next six months, three times more than the amount of parents with older children.
21st Feb 2022 - South China Morning Post
UK needs 'early warning system' for new Covid variants says vaccine expert
The UK needs an 'early warning system' to track new variants when Covid restrictions are lifted, a leading vaccine expert has said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to announce his living with Covid plan today (Monday, February 21) which will see the scrapping of regulations put in place to control the pandemic.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there is a need to monitor variants to see if they are more dangerous than Omicron. The director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford said: “One of the key things is, whenever we do reduce restrictions, we need to have a number of measures in place for that period, and one of the most critical is surveillance for the virus, an early warning system if you like, which tells us about new variants emerging and gives an ability to monitor whether those new variants are indeed causing more severe disease than Omicron did.
21st Feb 2022 - Wales Online
A fourth Covid-19 shot might be recommended this fall, as officials 'continually' look at emerging data
As the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out -- or are discussing the possibility of -- fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable. In the United States, leading public health officials say they are "very carefully" monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.
21st Feb 2022 - CNN
New Zealand will lift Covid restrictions only when ‘well beyond’ peak, Jacinda Ardern says
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said Covid-19 restrictions, including mandates and vaccine passes, will begin to lift once the country gets “well beyond” the Omicron outbreak’s peak. At a post-cabinet press conference on Monday, Ardern said case numbers were likely to peak in mid-to-late March, or three to six weeks away. Case numbers were expected to double every three to four days. “It’s likely then, that very soon, we will all know people who have Covid or we will potentially get it ourselves,” she said. Ardern said at an earlier stage of the pandemic, this prospect would have been “scary”, but now there are three main reasons why it is less so: the highly vaccinated population; Omicron being a mild to moderate illness due to high vaccination rates and boosters making hospitalisation 10 times less likely; and public health measures like masks, gathering limits and vaccine passes slowing down the spread to ensure everyone who needs a hospital bed can get it.
21st Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Germany hopes protein-based Covid vaccine will sway sceptics
Germany will offer its population a new protein-based Covid-19 vaccine comparable to conventional flu jabs this week, in the hope of swaying a sizeable minority that remains sceptical of the novel mRNA technology used in the most commonly used vaccines. About 1.4m doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine developed by the US biotech company Novavax are to arrive in Germany this week, the country’s health minister, Karl Lauterbach, confirmed last Friday. A further million doses are to arrive the week after, with the German government’s total order for the year 2022 amounting to 34m doses. Novavax’s product has until now been used only in Indonesia and the Philippines, but it was permitted for use in the EU last December. It is still awaiting authorisation in the US, as some concerns about the company’s production capacity persist.
21st Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Experts react to PM outlining easing of health restrictions
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's announcement flagging the easing of some vaccine mandates and a move away from vaccine passes once the Omicron peak has passed is the "right move", says one expert. At today's post-Cabinet press conference, Ardern said it looked likely New Zealand's would hit an Omicron peak in roughly mid to late March before cases rapidly declined and then stabilised at a lower level. At the point, Ardern said, public health measures could begin to be eased. "Put simply, the reason we will be able to move away from vaccine passes and many mandates is because many more people will have had Covid. "In the same way as coming out the other side of the peak will give us a chance to step down through the traffic light system, and ease things like gathering limits, it will also enable us to move on from vaccine passes and ease mandates in places where they are less likely to impact on vulnerable people. They will remain important in some areas, though, for some time."
21st Feb 2022 - New Zealand Herald
Majority of Japanese unhappy with progress of booster shots - survey
Most Japanese think the rollout of booster shots against COVID-19 is too slow and many give mixed reviews to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's handling of the pandemic, including last week's decision to ease border rules, a poll showed. Anger over the Japanese government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic helped sink the administration of Kishida's predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, and Kishida faces a crucial election for the upper house of parliament in July.
21st Feb 2022 - Reuters
New Zealand's Ardern signals mandates will ease after Omicron peaks
New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social distancing measures after the Omicron peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police. Inspired by truckers' demonstrations in Canada, thousands of protesters have blocked streets near the parliament in the capital Wellington for two weeks with trucks, cars and motorcycles, piling pressure on the government to scrap vaccine mandates.
Ardern refused to set a hard date, but said there would be a narrowing of vaccine requirements after Omicron reaches a peak, which is expected in mid to late March.
21st Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong maps terms of COVID vaccine pass amid record high cases
Hong Kong will expand its vaccine bubble to include shopping malls and supermarkets, authorities confirmed on Monday, but added there would be exemptions and random inspections in some places, as they battle a new record surge in COVID-19 cases. The outbreak has overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the global financial hub, with a new daily high of 7,533 infections and 13 deaths, among them an 11-month-old child, building pressure on the government. As most major cities learn to live with the virus, Hong Kong has imposed its toughest curbs yet, with Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that reining in the disease is the city's "overriding mission".
21st Feb 2022 - Reuters
Italy recommends fourth COVID vaccine dose for immunocompromised
Italy's health ministry has recommended that people with a severely compromised immune system receive a fourth mRNA vaccine shot against COVID-19, provided that at least 120 days have passed from their previous booster, it said on Sunday.
The special commissioner appointed by the government for the COVID-19 emergency will set the date for the recommendation to come into force based on the needs of the vaccine campaign, the ministry said. The ministry added that the decision reflects the still high circulation of the virus and the effectiveness that booster shots had shown in preventing COVID-related deaths and, more generally, symptoms that would require hospitalisation.
21st Feb 2022 - Reuters
S.Africa changes COVID vaccination rules to try to boost uptake
South Africa's health department said on Monday that it was changing COVID-19 vaccination rules to try to increase uptake, as inoculations have slowed and the country has ample vaccine stocks. The government is shortening the interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine from 42 to 21 days and will allow people who have received two doses of Pfizer to get a booster dose three months after their second shot as opposed to six months previously. It will also offer the option of "mixing and matching" booster jabs, with adults who were given one dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine being offered either a J&J or Pfizer booster two months after their J&J shot.
21st Feb 2022 - Reuters
U.K. Unions Challenge Johnson’s Move to End Covid Rules
U.K. trade unions are challenging plans by Boris Johnson to end Covid-19 regulations in England, saying the prime minister should put public health first. The Trades Union Congress, an umbrella group for British unions representing more than 5.5 million people, said Monday that the government should first commit to improving sick pay and supporting people with weakened immune systems and long Covid. The group warned that introducing charges for Covid tests at a time of rising consumer prices would be “an act of madness.” Johnson is set to announce an end to England’s rules on Monday, a day after the U.K.’s 95-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for the virus. The Cabinet is scheduled to meet Monday to sign off on the so-called Living with Covid plan ahead of a statement by the premier to Parliament.
21st Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong’s Contact Tracing App Now Flags Unvaccinated Users
Hong Kong’s Covid contact-tracing app has begun flagging users who haven’t uploaded vaccination records, as the city struggles to contain a resurgent outbreak that’s taxing its health system. The LeaveHomeSafe app -- mandatory for entrance to many restaurants and other public venues -- was updated over the weekend and now flashes a red QR code on its check-in page for users that haven’t linked to an official immunization record.
21st Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Feb 2022
View this newsletter in full'Fortress Australia' to welcome tourists for first time under COVID
Australia will welcome international tourists on Monday after nearly two years of sealing its borders, relying on high COVID-19 vaccination rates to live with the pandemic as infections decline. "The wait is over," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Sunday briefing at the Melbourne International Airport. Australia's opening to tourists is the clearest example yet of the government's shift from a strict zero-COVID approach to living with the virus and vaccinating the public to minimise deaths and severe illness.
20th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong ‘risks losing’ its status as leading Asian hub, Winters says
Hong Kong risks falling behind other Asian cities as the region’s main financial hub if tough coronavirus restrictions are left in place for too long, the boss of Standard Chartered has said. Bill Winters warned that although the former British colony’s status as an offshore financial centre for China had been reinforced in recent years, there was a question mark over its status as the leading Asian hub.
19th Feb 2022 - The Times
Shades of the early pandemic as Omicron tests Hong Kong
Bundled in a quilted jacket, covered with two thin blankets, Alice Yeung insisted she was not cold. Five hours before, she had tested positive for COVID-19. With no symptoms, but no vaccine, either, she was shipped from her nursing home to Caritas Medical Centre in the Kowloon region on Thursday. There, she and 50 or so strangers waited outside the emergency room on one of winter’s coolest nights as medical staff inside drowned under a resurgent epidemic. “No problem!” said the 69-year-old Yeung, with the practised optimism of the kindergarten aide she had once been. Like tens of thousands of seniors, Yeung had ignored the government’s fitful efforts to vaccinate them for most of the last two years. Local newspapers carried reports that people had died after getting jabs, or suffered paralysis. “Big headlines,” she said. With the government pushing vaccines harder in recent weeks, she had signed up to get her jab on February 25.
19th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
South Korea extends business curfew as COVID-19 cases top 100,000
South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases topped 100,000 for the first time amid its Omicron outbreak, as authorities announced a slight easing of restrictions ahead of the March 9 presidential election. Authorities announced on Friday they would move a curfew on restaurants and cafés from 9 pm to 10 pm, amid a growing backlash from business owners.
19th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
The UK promised to ‘shield’ us, but now we are being left behind
Last Wednesday, the British government announced plans to drop all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England by the end of the month, including the legal requirement for infected people to self-isolate. Doing this, they said, would make England the “freest country in Europe”. But millions of us who are immunosuppressed are not free. For the past six months, I have been living alone, separated from my family. I have an autoimmune condition called lupus and because of my illness and the immunosuppressing medication I’m on, I am extremely vulnerable to COVID. With infection rates continuing to soar, I am isolating in a rented flat across the street from our home, so my teenage daughter can attend school. This is an option we’re lucky enough to be able to afford, and not one all people like me have available.
19th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
UK shoppers return to stores after Omicron knock
British shoppers began to return to stores last month after many stayed away during a wave of COVID-19 cases that peaked at the turn of the year, although fast-rising inflation is curbing their spending power. Retail sales volumes rose by 1.9% in January after a 4.0% decline in December, the Office for National Statistics said, the largest rise since lockdown rules for non-essential stores in England were relaxed in April 2021. The monthly increase was greater than the average 1.0% gain forecast in a Reuters poll, although December's drop in sales was slightly bigger than first estimated.
18th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Japan PM Kishida's border easing as COVID deaths spike draws ire online
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to relax the strictest COVID-19 border controls among wealthy nations has pleased nobody, with businesses and student groups worried it might not be enough while online critics blast his change of tack. Japan has largely been closed off to non-residents for almost two years, keeping out hundreds of thousands of students and foreign workers sorely needed to fill a labour gap left by the nation's shrinking, aging population. Kishida said on Thursday that from March the number of people allowed to enter Japan will increase to 5,000 a day from 3,500 now, while quarantine would be shortened or eliminated entirely
18th Feb 2022 - Reuters
China's 'dynamic' zero-COVID strategy will boost economy - watchdog
China's "dynamic clearance" strategy aimed at minimising COVID-19 infections is boosting the economy, not undermining it, the country's top anti-corruption body said on Friday in response to concerns about the prospects for growth this year. As other countries relax restrictions, China has maintained a zero-tolerance approach, shutting down transmission routes whenever they arise, ordering mass testing programmes and maintaining mask mandates. Some analysts have forecast a decline in economic growth this year, saying the challenge posed by the more infectious Omicron variant would significantly raise containment costs and further disrupt China's supply chains.
18th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Polish PM says chances of deal on EU COVID cash have 'slightly improved'
Poland has made progress in talks with the European Commission on unblocking COVID-19 recovery funds, its prime minister said on Friday, adding that he believed a deal could be reached. Brussels has yet to approve Warsaw's National Recovery Plan, which is necessary to unblock the 36 billion euros ($40.89 billion) in funding, due to a dispute over judicial reforms the bloc says undermine the independence of the courts. "The chances after today's talks have slightly improved," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference in Brussels broadcast by Polish television, while stressing that it remained to be seen if an agreement could be forged in coming weeks
18th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong Considers Citywide Testing as Omicron Overwhelms Defenses
Officials are considering citywide coronavirus testing in Hong Kong, adopting a strategy used in mainland China after Beijing demanded more be done to control an Omicron surge that has quickly overrun the city’s health system. Under the plan, all 7.4 million residents would be tested from early March with Chinese authorities sending health experts and medical workers to help carry out the mammoth task, people familiar with the matter said. Some tests would be sent across the border to Shenzhen for results to be processed quickly, one person said. A day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on the city to bring the outbreak to heel, mainland authorities have begun stepping up plans to send help to the city. Hong Kong has quickly become the center of the worst outbreak in Chinese territory since the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan more than two years ago, presenting a major test for the country’s so-called dynamic clearing policy, which aims to eliminate clusters whenever they appear.
18th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
How Omicron and Politics Punctured Hong Kong
Omicron has breached Hong Kong’s defenses. The semiautonomous city, which until January had logged less than 13,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, is now discovering 6,000 a day. Given that vaccination rates are very low among the vulnerable elderly, a surge of deaths seems likely to be only a matter of time. Economists had begun marking down their growth expectations for 2022 even before the true severity of the outbreak became apparent. Fitch cut its Hong Kong growth estimate in half to 1.5% on Feb. 9. Natixis now expects zero growth in retail sales, down from 8.1% in 2021, assuming current social-distancing restrictions stick around and aren’t tightened further—which they probably will be.
18th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
The End Game of China’s Zero-Covid Policy Nightmare
On December 22, 2021, the entire western Chinese city of Xi’an was put into lockdown. “It was all of a sudden,” says Fan, a Xi’An native and university student in his early twenties who didn’t give his full name, due to privacy concerns. “The university wouldn’t let us go outside of the dorms. Our freedom was restricted, and they stopped all our classes. I couldn’t leave and I couldn’t go home. We were stuck.” Xi’an, a city of 13 million people, spent the end of December 2021 and much of January 2022 in one of China’s most severe lockdowns. The trigger? A handful of cases of Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, China has clung to a zero-Covid strategy consisting of strict containment measures that have served the nation remarkably well. China’s official death toll has remained under 5,000, and its total reported caseload of 124,900 is significantly lower than the 78 million cases in the United States or the 18.4 million in the United Kingdom. Aside from travel disruptions, life has been largely normal—and China’s success at containing the virus has become a source of national pride.
18th Feb 2022 - Wired UK
Australia reports 43 COVID deaths before expanded border reopening
Australia recorded 43 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, as it readies to welcome international tourists on Monday for the first time in nearly two years. The country, which shut its borders in March of 2020, has been gradually reopening since November, allowing first Australians to travel, then international students and workers, and now leisure travellers. Once a champion of a zero-COVID strategy, the country has moved to live with the coronavirus in the community, chiefly through high vaccination rates that have resulted in less severe cases and fewer hospitalisations.
18th Feb 2022 - Reuters
As Omicron Surged, Covid-19 Spread Through Patients in Hospitals
As the Omicron variant surged through communities across the U.S., it also spread inside hospitals and infected non-Covid-19 patients, reaching a record number, a Wall Street Journal analysis of U.S. government data found. The daily total of patients with Covid-19 that they caught in hospitals reached a record of about 4,700 during the Omicron wave in January, according to the analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. The figure had peaked at around 1,100 patients with hospital-acquired infections during the Delta wave and 2,050 at the height of the pandemic’s first winter surge, the analysis found, among the first looks at how commonly the coronavirus spread inside the facilities during surges. The numbers dropped as the surges retreated.
18th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong's Lam Says Mass Testing Details Still Being Worked Out
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the city is planning to make it mandatory for all residents to get tested for Covid-19, deploying a tactic widely used to curtail the virus on China’s mainland as the financial hub struggles to contain an escalating outbreak. The city will also delay the chief executive’s election by more than a month, Lam said at a press conference Friday, where she described plans for universal testing that might need to be linked to residents’ government identity cards.
17th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullCDC contemplating change to mask guidance in coming weeks
The leading US health officials said on Wednesday that the nation is moving closer to the point that Covid-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing that the government is contemplating a change to its mask guidance in the coming weeks. Noting recent declines in Covid-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths, she acknowledged “people are so eager” for health officials to ease masking rules and other measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. “We all share the same goal – to get to a point where Covid-19 is no longer disrupting our daily lives, a time when it won’t be a constant crisis – rather something we can prevent, protect against, and treat,” Walensky said.
17th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
US parents of under-fives clamor for off-label use over Covid vaccine delays
When providers sign an agreement to provide Covid-19 vaccine shots, they also agree not to give the vaccine off-label, or use it for purposes other than what it was approved to do. In this case, the Moderna vaccine is approved for adults aged 18 and up, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for those aged 16 and up. But the vaccines are still under emergency use authorizations for younger patients.
Providers who give off-label vaccinations in the US may not be protected by legislation that keeps them from being held liable in the case of a rare adverse event.
17th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
COVID-19: Mass testing and lockdown plans in Hong Kong criticised as 'ridiculous nonsense' by expert
Hong Kong may test a million people each day, local media has reported, as the city struggles to contain its omicron wave. But an expert has told Sky News it would be "ridiculous nonsense" to conduct mass testing. The government will also aim to secure 10,000 hotel rooms for COVID-19 patients. Overwhelmed hospitals have been treating patients in stretchers on the streets due to a lack of capacity. The city confirmed 6,116 confirmed cases today, another record high, and 24 deaths
17th Feb 2022 - Sky News
Covid-19 news: 5-to-11-year-olds in England to get vaccines from April
Children aged between five and 11 in England will be able to get a covid jab. All five to 11-year-olds in England will be offered a low-dose Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. It follows months of deliberations by the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI reportedly decided that vaccinating children in this age group is beneficial, but of less benefit than for older age groups. This is partly because children are less likely to become severely ill from covid-19 and also because many children have already caught the virus. However, vaccinating children soon should prevent a certain number from developing severe illness in future waves of infection. The JCVI estimates that vaccinating one million children will prevent 98 hospitalisations if the next covid wave is severe, and about 17 hospitalisations if the next wave is relatively mild like omicron.
17th Feb 2022 - New Scientist
Japan eases strict border controls criticised by business, educators
Japan will ease border controls imposed to counter the pandemic, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, softening measures that have been among the strictest imposed by wealthy nations and have been slammed by business and educators. About 150,000 foreign students have been kept out of Japan, along with workers desperately needed by an ageing nation with a shrinking population, prompting warnings of labour shortages and damage to its international reputation.
From March, authorities will raise the number of people allowed to enter to 5,000 a day, from 3,500 now, Kishida told a news conference.
17th Feb 2022 - Reuters
U.S. officials prepare for pandemic's next phase as Omicron wanes
U.S. health officials said on Wednesday they are preparing for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as Omicron-related cases decline, including updating CDC guidance on mask-wearing and shoring up U.S. testing capacity. The plans come as a growing number of U.S. states have begun to ease COVID-19 restrictions as cases decline. The seven-day average of daily cases dropped 40% from the previous week, while the daily hospital admission average dropped 28% and the average daily deaths dropped 9%, according to CDC data. "We're moving toward a time when COVID isn't a crisis, but is something we can protect against and treat.
17th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong considers mass testing as COVID fight intensifies
Hong Kong's coronavirus battle intensified on Thursday as authorities reported that new cases had multiplied by 60 times so far this month, and the city's leader said city-wide testing was being considered in the global financial hub. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with some patients, including the elderly, left lying on beds outside in chilly, sometimes rainy weather, in shocking scenes that prompted an apology from authorities in the Chinese-controlled city. Schools, gyms, cinemas and most public venues are shut and many office employees are working from home. But many residents are fatigued by the harsh restrictions imposed to protect against the pandemic, even as most other major cities in the world adjust to living with the virus.
17th Feb 2022 - Reuters
China’s ‘Zero-Covid’ Policy Holds Lessons for Other Nations
Ever since China adopted its policy of stamping out every Covid-19 infection, outsiders have wondered whether it could last. With each new, more infectious variant, “zero Covid” has required more vigilant and frequent crackdowns on daily activity. And yet it has lasted. And seen from inside China, the results are remarkable. Foreigners in Beijing for the Olympics may be confined to a dystopian bubble in constant fear of being quarantined. But outside the bubble, life in the city looks close to normal with stores, museums and offices operating and subway and road traffic in line with this time of year in 2019. Americans only now are moving on from the coronavirus. Most Chinese did so back in 2020.
17th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.K. to Offer Pfizer's Covid Shot to All Children Aged 5 to 11
Children aged 5 to 11 in England will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations to widen protection for the population as the government moves to scrap remaining pandemic restrictions. The National Health Service will make shots available to children across that age group starting in April, so “parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of Covid-19,” U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement Wednesday. Javid said most young children are generally at very low risk of serious illness from Covid and the priority remains for the NHS to provide vaccines and boosters to adults and vulnerable young people, and catch-up with other childhood immunization programs delayed by the pandemic.
17th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Germany Moves to Unwind Covid Curbs as Pandemic Risks Subside
Germany will reopen nightclubs and ease restrictions on stores and restaurants as part of a three-step plan to unwind pandemic-related restrictions, joining the wave of countries scaling back emergency measures. Europe’s largest economy aims to lift most curbs by March 20, taking a more cautious approach than many of its neighbors. The move was agreed on Wednesday after talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and state leaders and comes just days after Germany posted record infection levels. Germany’s outbreak started to recede in recent days and the improving outlook prompted calls from across the political spectrum to follow countries like the U.K., Ireland and Denmark in easing restrictions.
17th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Japan set to announce easing of strict border measures
Article reports that Japan will ease border controls imposed to counter the pandemic, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, softening measures that have been among the strictest imposed by wealthy nations and have been slammed by business and educators. About 150,000 foreign students have been kept out of Japan, along with workers desperately needed by an ageing nation with a shrinking population, prompting warnings of labour shortages and damage to its international reputation
17th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullEU set to bin 25 million more vaccine doses than it has donated to Africa this year
The European Union has been accused of perpetuating “vaccine apartheid”, as new analysis suggested it could soon be forced to throw away some 25 million more coronavirus vaccine doses than it has donated to African nations so far in 2022.
Close to 55 million doses held in the EU are set to expire at the end of February, according to data shared with the People’s Vaccine Alliance and published on the eve of a Brussels summit of African and European leaders. This considerably outstrips the roughly 30 million doses donated to African nations between 1 January and 8 February, figures also collated by health analytics firm Airfinity suggest.
16th Feb 2022 - The Independent
The US is lagging on booster shots compared to other western countries
The United States has a booster shot problem. As other nations hurtle ahead in their Covid-19 vaccination programs, lagging uptake in the US of the third vaccine is concerning public health experts. As of Sunday, uptake of the third shot in the United Kingdom (55.4% of the total population), Germany (55%), France (51.1%) and Canada (44%) dwarfed the US figure of 27.6%, according to Our World in Data. Evidence showing high rates of protection against the virus from three doses, and an Omicron variant-fueled surge in cases in the US, has struggled to convince the American public to take the third shot, CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. According to CNN analysis of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, the pace of booster doses going into arms is the lowest it has been in months.
16th Feb 2022 - CNN
COVID-19 vaccines in Africa: Drug companies undermine plans
Since June 2021, the WHO has been coordinating a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine technology transfer hub in South Africa. The hub is important because it will increase the availability of mRNA vaccines, including those for COVID-19, in Africa, which currently has access to very few vaccines, compared with areas of the Global North. In a new investigation, the journalBMJTrusted Source has revealed that a consultancy hired by the vaccine manufacturer BioNTech has attempted to undermine the new mRNA hub by lobbying the South African government against the venture.
16th Feb 2022 - Medical News Today
Clinically extremely vulnerable will no longer be offered Covid guidance by Government as restrictions end
The Government is set to end all guidance for millions of people previously considered “clinically extremely vulnerable” as part of plans to start living with Covid, i has learned. Around 3.7 million people in England were identified as clinically extremely vulnerable at the start of the pandemic and told to “shield” themselves from the heightened risk of Covid infection. People on the shielding list were offered specific guidance telling them to stay at home and avoid face-to-face contact during the first wave of coronavirus infections and subsequent national lockdowns
16th Feb 2022 - iNews
Singapore resumes border reopening after pause due to Omicron outbreak
Singapore will expand quarantine-free travel to Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this month, its health ministry said on Wednesday, resuming border reopening after a pause due to an outbreak of the coronavirus.
The city-state will also restore and increase quotas under its vaccinated travel programme, which had been reduced in December to deal with the Omicron variant. Singapore will streamline border measures for all travellers, and remove an entry approval requirement for eligible residents who are long-term pass holders, the ministry said, making it easier for expatriates to travel.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Omicron surge was more deadly in Japan after booster delay, critics say
A Japanese government delay in rolling out COVID-19 booster shots left it more vulnerable than other rich countries when the Omicron variant brought a surge of deaths, say experts, local governments and a former vaccine czar. The issue could mean political trouble for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as nearly 30% of the population is aged 65 or older, and so at greater risk from the coronavirus without the protection of the booster. Kishida's predecessor stepped down after widespread criticism of his handling of the pandemic and the prime minister's ruling party faces an important test with an upper house election this year.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Biden admin seeks $30 bln more from Congress to fight COVID -sources
The Biden administration is seeking $30 billion in additional funds from Congress to fight the COVID-19 pandemic to bolster vaccines, treatments, testing supply, and research, according to sources familiar with the matter. The $30 billion request includes $17.9 billion for vaccines and therapeutics, two sources familiar with it said. Administration officials and congressional staff have been in talks about the issue, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
U.S. CDC eases warnings for cruises as new COVID infections fall
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday eased its warnings for cruise ships by a notch from the highest level, seven weeks after it advised Americans against going on cruises. The health agency made the decision to reduce the warning to level three from four in response to a decline in onboard COVID-19 cases, but still recommended that people who were not up to date with vaccines avoid cruises. The CDC in December increased the warning to level four due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant that also forced cruise operators to cancel sailings.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Austria to lift most COVID-19 restrictions by March 5
Austria will lift most of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions by March 5, including scrapping an earlier closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants and allowing nightclubs to reopen, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Wednesday. The government said the steps were being taken cautiously with daily new infections hovering below their record peak and a manageable situation in hospitals due to the smaller incidence of severe cases in the latest wave of the coronavirus, dominated by the highly contagious Omicron variant. The easing of curbs as Omicron has proven to be milder than earlier variants will deepen doubt about whether the government will implement a recently enacted law making vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory - the first such measure in the European Union.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exclusive: Short AstraZeneca shelf life complicates COVID vaccine rollout to world's poorest
The relatively short shelf life of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine is complicating the rollout to the world's poorest nations, according to officials and internal World Health Organization documents reviewed by Reuters. It is the latest headache to plague the COVAX vaccine-sharing project, co-led by the WHO and aimed at getting shots to the world's neediest people. Initially, poorer countries and COVAX lagged richer countries in securing vaccine supplies, as wealthier nations used their financial might to acquire the first available doses.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Scotland to offer COVID vaccines to all 5-11 year olds
Britain said on Wednesday it would offer COVID-19 vaccines to all 5-11 year olds, widening the rollout of vaccines in children in a decision that has been taken more slowly than in some other countries. Announcing the move, health minister Sajid Javid said he had accepted advice from experts who argued that vaccinating young children would help protect against future waves of the coronavirus. Britain has offered COVID-19 shots to vulnerable children, but has been slower than the likes of the United States, Canada, Ireland and Israel in making a broad offer of shots to all 5- to 11-year-olds.
16th Feb 2022 - Reuters
S. Korea to give out rapid tests as omicron shatters record
South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. Health officials on Wednesday reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases. The figure represents more than a 20-fold increase from the levels seen in mid-January, when omicron emerged as the country’s dominant strain, and some experts say the country could see daily cases of around 200,000 in March. While experts say omicron appears less likely to cause serious illness or death compared to the delta variant, which rattled the country in December and early January, hospitalizations have been creeping up amid the greater scale of outbreak.
16th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Germany to chart way out of coronavirus restrictions
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is conferring with Germany’s 16 state governors Wednesday to map a way out of coronavirus restrictions as official figures show new infections beginning to drift downward. Germany saw infections caused by the omicron variant, which is highly contagious but generally causes milder illness than previous variants, surge later than in several other European countries. Officials have attributed this to restrictions that include curbs on private gatherings, the closure of night clubs and requirements for people to show proof of vaccination or recovery to enter restaurants and bars.
16th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Netherlands to lift most COVID restrictions this month
The Netherlands will lift almost all its restrictions against COVID-19 by February 25 as cases and hospitalisations fall, the health minister has said. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs will go back to pre-pandemic opening hours and social distancing and face masks will no longer be obligatory in most places. However, visitors will need to show proof of either vaccination, a recent recovery from COVID-19 or a negative coronavirus test. The Dutch government had imposed some of Europe’s toughest restrictions in December after a surge in Omicron cases but has since been lifting them in stages. “The country will open again,” Health Minister Ernst Kuipers told a news conference on Tuesday. “We will go back to normal closing times we had before corona, you don’t have to keep 1.5 metres away any more,” he added.
15th Feb 2022 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullBiden Administration Seeking Additional $30 Billion for Covid-19 Response
The Biden administration told Congress it needs an additional $30 billion in coronavirus response aid, according to people familiar with the matter. Health and Human Services Department officials outlined the request for additional aid in a briefing with congressional staff on Tuesday, the people said. The request includes $17.9 billion for medical countermeasures like antivirals, $4.9 billion for testing capacity and $2.7 billion to combat future variants, the people said. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed skepticism about approving additional money to combat the coronavirus, arguing that the administration should first spend all of the money included in the $1.9 trillion pandemic response legislation signed into law last year.
16th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
‘Panicking’ Hong Kong parents rush to book Covid-19 shots for young children
Covid-19 vaccinations for children have risen sharply amid Hong Kong’s worsening fifth wave of coronavirus cases, with bookings boosted by an earlier government decision to lower the eligibility age for Sinovac shots to three years from Tuesday. Family doctors and paediatric experts have reported a surge in vaccinations for children, with one medical professional suggesting the recent coronavirus-related death of a four-year-old boy could have been a contributing factor. Paediatrician Dr Alvin Chan Yee-shing, co-chairman of the Medical Association’s advisory committee on communicable diseases, said parents had gone into “panic” mode.
15th Feb 2022 - South China Morning Post
Finland entry requirements: New travel rules scrap Covid tests for fully vaccinated and recently infected
Finland is the latest country to scrap testing for fully vaccinated travellers from the UK. From Tuesday the requirement to present a PCR or antigen test upon arrival is to be dropped for those with either with proof of vaccination, proof of a recent infection or a combination of both.
15th Feb 2022 - iNews
Covid-19 booster shot uptake is at all-time low in the US, CNN analysis finds
The pace of people getting Covid-19 vaccine booster shots in the United States has dropped to the lowest it has ever been, and many public health experts are concerned. As of Monday, about 64% of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with at least their initial two-dose series, and 28% have received a booster shot. But the pace of booster doses going into arms is the lowest it has been in months -- since the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first recommended boosters for seniors and other at-risk adults in September, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data.
15th Feb 2022 - CNN
Cyprus to ease COVID-19 access restrictions on unvaccinated
Cyprus is lifting COVID-19 restrictions on access for the unvaccinated to bars, restaurants and other venues following a leveling off of new coronavirus cases in recent days that has eased the pressure on the health care system. Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said Tuesday that unvaccinated people can enter nightclubs, soccer stadiums, theaters, hotels and cinemas starting Feb. 21 as long as they show a valid COVID-19 rapid test taken within the previous 24 hours.
15th Feb 2022 - The Independent
COVID-19: Provision of free lateral flow tests under review as reports say they are due to end
The government has said it is keeping its provision of free lateral flow tests under review as reports say they are due to end. It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce the end of all coronavirus restrictions in England. Ministers hope plans to wind down COVID testing and payments for isolation will save more than £10bn, according to reports in The Guardian and The Times.
15th Feb 2022 - Sky News
Netherlands to drop most COVID measures starting Friday
The Dutch government will lift most of its coronavirus restrictions as of Friday, as the record levels of infections triggered by the Omicron variant have not translated in a peak of hospitalisations, health minister Ernst Kuipers said on Tuesday. "The country will open up again ... happily we are in a different phase now," Kuipers said during a press conference. Bars and restaurants will be allowed to stay open until 1 a.m. (midnight GMT) as of Friday, instead of 10 p.m.
15th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullCanada's Ontario to lift some pandemic measures, Alberta ends masks in schools
The Canadian province of Ontario said it will speed up its plan to remove proof-of-vaccination requirements and lift pandemic-related capacity limits for many businesses while the western province of Alberta ended its mask requirements for school children on Monday. The moves, which the provinces' premiers attributed to a waning Omicron wave, comes as protesters opposed to pandemic measures closed three border crossings with the United States and paralyzed parts of Ottawa for three weeks
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
New Covid jabs ad campaign aimed at unvaccinated Brits amid fears they are vulnerable to fresh waves of virus
The Government has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at convincing unvaccinated people to get a Covid-19 jab amid fears they may be vulnerable in future waves of coronavirus. Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths have all been declining rapidly in the past week with the figures returning to levels seen before the start of the Omicron wave. However, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has warned that if more people return to normal life, infections could soar again in the coming months.
14th Feb 2022 - iNews
Vaccine access puts EU and Africa at odds ahead of summit
Europe's refusal to share COVID-19 vaccine technology threatens to overshadow a major gathering of European and African leaders this week. Europe wants to use the meeting — which has been delayed by 16 months due to the pandemic — to advance relations on several fronts, including trade and digital connectivity. But access to vaccines will be high on the agenda. African leaders are furious that the continent received mere "crumbs" from wealthy countries’ overflowing plate of vaccines, leaving their populations much less protected against the virus. They will be looking to the two-day summit between the EU and African Union for evidence that Europe is serious about tackling what South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has blasted as "vaccine apartheid." And Europe shows no sign of moving on what is a central issue for many African leaders — loosening access to intellectual property on vaccines. “They hoarded vaccines, they ordered more vaccines than their populations require. The greed they demonstrated was disappointing, particularly when they say they are our partners,” Ramaphosa said in December. “Because our lives in Africa are just as important as lives in Europe, North America and all over."
14th Feb 2022 - POLITICO Europe
Tunisia entry requirements: New travel restrictions see Covid tests scrapped for vaccinated arrivals
Fully vaccinated travellers visiting Tunisia from the UK will no longer be required to present a negative Covid test upon arrival. The rule change has been confirmed by the Foreign Office and comes into effect from Tuesday 15 February. Children who are unvaccinated will be allowed to test to enter, with either a PCR test less than 48 hours before travel, or an antigen test less than 24 hours before travel. Children aged six and under are exempt from all testing and vaccine requirements.
14th Feb 2022 - iNews
Germany’s plan for vaccination mandate losing momentum
Germany’s plans to introduce a general vaccination mandate this spring are faltering, as a growing number of politicians question if it will find a majority in parliament. The Bundestag was originally due to debate motions in favour and against mandatory vaccinations this week, after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, indicated he considered such a step necessary to cope with a possible resurgence of the virus in the next few months. But the timetable that was meant to see a mandate passed in March has already begun to slip, as a Free Democratic party (FDP) politician said his third-way motion proposing mandatory vaccinations for those aged 50 and over would be submitted with a delay.
14th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Covid-19 news: US and UK delay next decisions on child vaccinations
US awaits more data on vaccinating under-5s while UK government delays decision on vaccinating 5-to-11-year-olds. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed a decision on whether to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children between 6 months to 4 years of age in the US. A decision was due to be made tomorrow. On 11 February, the agency said it had decided to wait for more data from clinical trials involving under-5s before making a decision. Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted data on two doses of a three-dose regimen for 6-month-to-five-year-olds to the FDA, but “it makes sense to wait for the safety and efficacy data on all three doses to be available before we make a decision about this vaccine,” said Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The data on three shots is due to be available in early April.
14th Feb 2022 - New Scientist
In relief for retailers, Vietnam won't close factories amid COVID surge
Vietnamese factories making everything from shoes to smartphones are expected to continue production despite record COVID-19 infections, reversing a policy of sweeping lockdowns last year that hobbled global supply chains for Western retailers. One of the world's biggest garment makers, Vietnam reported more than 26,000 new infections on Sunday, or about double the peak last year, when factories supplying brands such as Nike , Zara, Apple and Samsung were shut for months.
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
South Korea to start giving fourth doses of COVID vaccine
South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday. The surge has pushed daily cases to records, but widespread vaccination, with first booster shots received by more than 57 percent of the population of 52 million, has helped limit deaths and serious infections. High-risk groups will be the first to get the fourth dose, in effect a second booster shot, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a COVID-19 response meeting.
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Sweden recommends fourth COVID-19 jab for the elderly
Sweden's Health Agency recommended on Monday that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine, the fourth jab in total, to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant. The recommendation also covered all people living in nursing homes or who receive assisted living services at home. The second booster shot should be administered at least four months after the first booster jab, the agency said in a statement. Sweden hit record levels of infections earlier this year as Omicron spread rapidly across the country.
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan says needs to re-open, eyes March cut to COVID quarantine
Taiwan aims to ease its strict COVID-19 quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and re-open to the world, the government said on Monday. Since the pandemic began two years ago, Taiwan has succeeded in keeping reported cases of COVID-19 below 20,000, having enforced a blanket two-week quarantine for everyone arriving on the island even as large parts of the rest of the world have ditched theirs.
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
New Zealand Self-Isolation Will Reduce in New Omicron Phase
New Zealand will move to a new phase in its response to omicron as case numbers of the more infectious variant of Covid-19 begin to accelerate. From midnight Tuesday, phase 2 will take effect, attempting to minimize disruption to supply chains as the virus becomes more widespread, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a news conference Monday in Wellington. This means cases and close contacts will self-isolate for less time, and a scheme will be introduced allowing critical workers to remain in their jobs. The nation today reported nearly 1,800 cases over the weekend, up from a daily average of about 300 over the preceding seven days.
14th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Merck Japan says to accelerate imports of COVID-19 treatment
The Japanese unit of Merck & Co Inc said on Monday it would accelerate imports of its oral COVID-19 treatment to help with a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant. The company will deliver 800,000 courses of the antiviral molnupiravir to Japan by March, up from an earlier scheduled 600,000, it said in a statement.
Japan agreed last year to pay Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics about $1.2 billion for 1.6 million courses of molnupiravir. The drug was approved by regulators in late December.
14th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong to vaccinate 3-year-olds amid new COVID-19 surge
Hong Kong plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as 3 as infections rage through the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The announcement late Sunday came ahead of another surge in cases. The city reported a record 2,071 new cases on Monday, with that number expected to double the next day with more than 4,500 preliminary positives identified. Hong Kong schools extended a suspension of in-class teaching for two weeks to March 6, The wave blamed on the omicron variant has already prompted new restrictions limiting in-person gatherings to no more than two households. Hong Kong residents have been rushing to grocery stories to stock up on vegetables and to hair salons to get haircuts.
14th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullWhile 99% of NYC Workers Comply With Covid-19 Vaccine Rules, 3,000 Face Cuts
About 3,000 New York City workers are set to lose their jobs for not complying with Covid-19 vaccinate requirements for city employees, representing about 0.8% of a roughly 370,000-person workforce. The vaccine requirement—which encompassed the city’s teachers, police officers and firefighters—mandated that all new city workers as of Aug. 2, 2021, be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The policy went into effect under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. City agencies were told Monday that new hires who joined after that date had until Friday to show proof they received a second vaccine dose. About 3,000 employees were on leave without pay as of the end of January due to being unvaccinated. They were told they would be let go on Friday unless they got vaccinated.
12th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Venice's 'Carnival of hope' kicks off as COVID worries ease
Thousands of people revelled in the start of the annual Carnival celebrations in Venice on Saturday, marking a slow return to normality after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the two previous editions. The 2020 Venice Carnival, which usually draws tourists from around the world, was curtailed when the pandemic broke out in Italy in February that year and then cancelled the following year as the government sought to contain infections. "This is the Carnival of hope," said Venice resident Cristian Scalise. "COVID is ending and we hope to return to our life as always."
12th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Biden Should Put the CDC in Its Place
When will the federal government see the light and let airline passengers and Amtrak riders take their masks off? Technically, this is a question for the Centers for Disease Control, which issued the the federal mask mandates. As a scientific agency, the CDC is supposed to base its decisions on scientific facts rather than political realities. But in the real world it’s bizarre to imagine a scenario in which President Joe Biden’s administration remains to the left of the governors of New York, Massachusetts and California on a high-salience issue on which there is partisan political conflict.
12th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Africa 'on track' to control the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO says
African countries are on course to control the coronavirus and its emerging variants this year, the World Health Organization's regional head for the continent has said. African countries have faced a number of challenges since the first outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in February 2020, including the impact of lockdowns on economies and livelihoods, and inequities in accessing vaccines. However, the continent also saw relatively modest infection and fatality rates, with a higher number of recoveries when compared to cases reported globally, according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
"Over the past two years, the African continent has gotten smarter, faster, and better at responding to each new surge in cases of Covid-19," said WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.
11th Feb 2022 - CNN
Covid testing: ‘Gold standard’ ONS testing set to be scrapped making it more difficult to monitor
The gold standard for measuring the level of coronavirus in the community is expected to be scrapped from this April, as part of the government’s major shift in its response to the pandemic, i understands. The weekly Covid infection survey run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which measures both infection rates and antibodies in households, is due to lapse this spring and it will be either scaled back or phased out altogether if the Treasury does not sign off on funding for another year. As part of the transition to a new phase of “living with covid” in the UK, which was accelerated by Boris Johnson this week, mass testing – including free daily covid tests for anyone who wants them – is also likely to end within weeks, alongside the requirement for anyone with the virus to self-isolate, due to be removed by the end of this month.
11th Feb 2022 - iNews
Belgium to ease COVID-19 measures as infections decline
Belgium will ease a slew of COVID-19 measures from next week, with restaurants and bars allowed to open for full hours and children under 12 no longer forced to use face masks, as authorities anticipate a further decline in infections. The government announced Friday that the nation of 11 million will go from code red, the toughest for virus measures, to code orange as of Feb. 19. “We can start easing several measures. There will be no closing time in bars and restaurants anymore and no more limits on how many people can sit together at a table,” said Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
11th Feb 2022 - ABC News
Covid-19: Robin Swann 'has authority' to lift restrictions
Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann does have the authority to lift Covid-19 restrictions, the economy minister has said. Mr Swann told other ministers he had received legal advice indicating he cannot lift all of the regulations in the absence of the executive. The executive collapsed after the resignation of Paul Givan from the post of first minister. But Gordon Lyons said Mr Swann does not need to take it to the executive. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA was responding to a letter from Mr Swann to ministers, which outlined the advice from Stormont lawyers about lifting restrictions. Mr Lyons told BBC News NI ministers were only "obligated to take issues to the executive if they are controversial, significant or cross cutting.
11th Feb 2022 - BBC News
Amazon to allow work without face masks, require vaccination for paid COVID leave
Amazon.com Inc on Thursday informed staff at its U.S. warehouses and logistics sites that they must report being fully vaccinated by March 18 if they wish to receive paid leave due to COVID-19. The company also said fully vaccinated operations staff could work without a face covering starting on Friday as local regulations allow, according to a message to workers that Amazon shared with Reuters. The online retailer attributed its policy updates to a recent decline in coronavirus cases across the United States, increasing rates of vaccination, and guidance from its medical experts and public health authorities.
11th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Germany to lift some restrictions next week as COVID peak in sight
Germany is approaching the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and will next week start easing some restrictions with a view to lifting more measures in spring, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech on Friday. "The scientific prognoses show us that the peak of the wave is in sight," Scholz said in a speech in the Bundesrat upper house. "This allows us at the meeting between the federal government and states next week to take the first reopening steps and consider more steps for spring."
11th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong's zero-COVID quest pushes medical facilities to the brink
Hong Kong's stubborn pursuit of zero COVID infections has stretched hospital and quarantine facilities nearly to their limit in the global financial hub, raising the near-term prospect of changes to admissions and isolation policies. Chinese-ruled Hong Kong is also grappling with the overload on doctors and nurses as it follows mainland authorities' strategy of curbing outbreaks as soon as possible, in contrast with many other places that aim to "live with COVID".
11th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Australians told to get COVID boosters to be considered fully vaccinated
Australian residents will need to receive booster shots to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, although authorities said foreign travellers will continue to need only two shots to enter the country. Australia's national cabinet late on Thursday endorsed the revised guidance from the country's vaccination advisory group to classify "up-to-date" inoculations as including boosters. A person's vaccination status will be considered "overdue" if they have not received a booster within six months of their second dose, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
11th Feb 2022 - Reuters
COVID: South Africa gradually 'returns to normalcy'
The world was shocked when the Omicron variant was discovered in South Africa last year. But life is almost back to normal there. The government has lifted most lockdown restrictions, and tourists are flocking back. The pandemic felt like a distant memory on the first Thursday of February in Cape Town. Once a month, galleries, restaurants, and shops in the city center open until late, turning the area into a massive pedestrian zone. "Friends told me that there would hardly be any restrictions," German tourist Dominik Irschik told DW. He had just arrived in Cape Town. "But I didn't expect this. Streets, bars, and clubs are full of people — everybody is relaxed and lives like normal again. It's great," Irschik said.
11th Feb 2022 - Deutsche Welle
EXCLUSIVE EU, Gates Foundation to support African medicines agency -source
The European Union and the Gates Foundation are set to announce financial support for nascent efforts to set up an African medicines regulator to boost the continent's drugs and vaccine production, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency (AMA) came into force in November but the agency currently exists only on paper. So far just over half of the 55 African Union (AU) member states have ratified the treaty setting up the AMA. Financial and technical support to the new agency is seen as crucial to help it to begin operations. This in turn would be a boost for the continent's vaccine and drugs industry, which needs a trusted regulator to flourish.
11th Feb 2022 - Reuters
France's 'Freedom Convoys' Head to Paris to Protest Vaccine Rules
President Emmanuel Macron called for order as protesters against France’s Covid-19 vaccine passes headed toward Paris to attempt to blockade the capital, inspired by Canada’s “freedom convoys.” Police set up barricades and armored vehicles at some Paris intersections, including along the Champs-Elysees. Tractors and water cannon were also deployed. Macron called for “order” in an interview published Friday in Ouest-France, while saying he “understood and respected” fatigue and anger spurred by the pandemic.
11th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Kids Who Get Sick From Covid Are Also Missing Out on School Lunches
First Jill Carey and her children got sick. Then they got hungry. Then the family came down with Covid-19 in early December, Carey’s son and daughter had to isolate at their home in Pennsylvania for two weeks. That meant missing school — and the reduced-price lunches the kids rely on. “I felt like I was rationing,” said Carey, a 39-year-old single mother. “I have a loaf of bread. We’ve got to make the loaf of bread last all week.” America’s low-income families, already burdened with surging food inflation and the pandemic’s lasting economic blow, are now facing a new set of challenges when it comes to feeding their kids. Intermittent, often unpredictable, interruptions to schooling can also mean losing access to the free and subsidized school meals that have long been a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to combat child hunger.
11th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullUS plans to roll out initial 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for children under 5 after FDA authorization, CDC document says
If the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine receives emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for children 6 months to 5 years old, the tentative plan is to roll out about 10 million vaccine doses initially, according to a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document posted online. The document, an updated pediatric Covid-19 vaccination planning guide, notes that "planning is for a sequenced rollout involving an initial total of approximately 10 million doses" and that providers and facilities that have ordered doses "must be able to receive vaccine shipment on Monday February 21."
10th Feb 2022 - CNN
EU to provide €125mn to help Covid vaccine distribution in Africa
The EU is giving €125mn to support Covid-19 vaccine distribution in Africa after the international Covax programme said a shortage of syringes and medical equipment was slowing efforts to vaccinate the world’s poorest people. Countries across Africa have been plagued by vaccine shortages. Public health experts have warned that the uneven rollout of vaccines could lead to new coronavirus variants emerging in areas where fewer people have been vaccinated.
10th Feb 2022 - Financial Times
Global coronavirus vaccine rollout: Half the world is now fully vaccinated
About a year after wealthier nations began rolling out coronavirus vaccines, more than half the world’s population has been fully vaccinated — a logistical feat without precedent in human history. But the global rollout remains uneven, with poor countries reporting much lower vaccination rates than rich countries. Public health experts have been warning that vaccine inequity is helping prolong the pandemic, as the focus of those seeking to speed up global vaccine coverage begins to shift from resolving a shortfall of supply to distributing doses and persuading people to get them.
10th Feb 2022 - The Washington Post
Consultation on revoking staff Covid-19 vaccination mandate launches
The British government has today launched its consultation on revoking the Covid-19 vaccination mandate for health and care staff in England. Last month, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid announced a U-turn on plans to require all patient-facing health and care staff to be double vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 2022.
10th Feb 2022 - Nursing Times
U.S. plans to roll out COVID-19 shots for children under 5 years in February
The U.S. government is planning to roll out COVID-19 shots for children under the age of 5 as soon as Feb. 21, according to a document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering authorizing the use of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in the age group even though it did not meet a key target in a clinical trial of two- to four-year-olds.
10th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Africa transitioning out of pandemic phase of COVID, says WHO
Africa is transitioning out of the pandemic phase of the COVID-19 outbreak and moving towards a situation where it will be managing the virus over the long term, the head of the World Health Organization on the continent said. "I believe that we are transitioning from the pandemic phase and we will now need to manage the presence of this virus in the long term," Dr Matshidiso Moeti told a regular online media briefing. "The pandemic is moving into a different phase ... We think that we're moving now, especially with the vaccination expected to increase, into what might become a kind of endemic living with the virus," she said.
10th Feb 2022 - Reuters
COVAX cuts N.Korea's COVID vaccine allotment after no deliveries accepted
The COVAX global COVID-19 vaccine-sharing programme has scaled back the number of doses allocated for North Korea, international aid organisations said, as the country has so far failed to arrange for any shipments. A website dashboard maintained by the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, shows the number of doses earmarked for North Korea now stands at 1.54 million, down from as many as 8.11 million last year. This year, COVAX is moving to needs-based vaccine allocations, so the accumulation of previously allocated doses to North Korea is no longer relevant, said a spokesperson for Gavi
10th Feb 2022 - Reuters
UK’s Prince Charles isolates after positive COVID-19 test
The UK’s Prince Charles has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating, his office has said. A message on his official Twitter page said Charles tested positive on Thursday morning and was “deeply disappointed” not to be able to attend a scheduled visit in the city of Winchester in southern England. Charles, 73, met dozens of people during a large reception at London’s British Museum on Wednesday evening. He was accompanied by his wife Camilla, and was in close contact with Britain’s Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, among others. Charles’ office, Clarence House, confirmed that he is triple vaccinated. It was not immediately clear what his condition was.
10th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullColumn: Has COVID finally killed inflation targeting?
The seismic supply shocks and wild price distortions of the pandemic could finally call time on 30 years of strict inflation targeting by the world's big central banks. Faced with headline and core inflation rates surging far above 2% target rates and at their highest in decades, central banks have scrambled to lift interest rates from historic lows or flag rate hikes ahead - even though they insist inflation will be close to or even below those targets within two years.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
New York state set to drop indoor mask mandate
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was due to announce the end of her state's mask mandate for most indoor public places, The New York Times reported, joining several states due to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases. The Democratic governor intends to let the mask mandate, which has been challenged in court, expire rather than seeking to renew it, the newspaper said.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
On COVID vaccine: Scholz tells Germans 'Be like the Danish'
Germans could learn a lesson from Denmark's high COVID-19 vaccination rate, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, calling on more Germans - particularly older people - to get vaccinated so the country can ease restrictions. "I'm impressed with the vaccination rate there. We can still learn a lesson," Scholz told a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Around 76% of the population in Germany has received at least one dose of a vaccine - fewer than many other western European countries and far from Denmark's 83% rate.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Second doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be rolled out in Jersey secondary schools
In Jersey, second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will be delivered in secondary schools in a bid to boost the levels of vaccination in the community. From Friday 11 February, children will be able to receive their first, second and booster doses in a school setting. Letters and leaflets are being sent to parents of all eligible students aged 12-18 about the programme. Health officials hope the move will encourage a higher take-up of the vaccine, with figures showing only around half of 12-15 year olds have had their first dose.
9th Feb 2022 - ITV News
COVID-19: Boris Johnson announces final restrictions including self-isolation could end a month earlier than planned
Boris Johnson has said he plans to remove all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England a month early. "Providing the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive, a full month early," the prime minister told MPs. The current regulations were due to expire on 24 March.
9th Feb 2022 - Sky News
Uganda seeks law making COVID-19 jabs mandatory
Uganda is preparing legislation to make COVID-19 jabs mandatory in a country with low levels of vaccination, a senior health official said. Legislation was now with parliament and the health committee is scrutinising it, the head of the national immunisation programme, Alfred Driwale, told Reuters. "It is to help prevention of a disease, it's about prevention of deaths. Considering the impact the pandemic had on the economy this law is needed," he said.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
UAE to lift gradually COVID-related restrictions - state news agency
The United Arab Emirates will gradually lift restrictions imposed to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of infections and hospitalisations has gone down, the state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday. Venues will be allowed to function at maximum capacity by mid-February, it said, citing the National Emergency Crisis Management Authority.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
"Beginning of the end": upbeat Poland cuts COVID isolation
An end to the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight, the Polish health minister said on Wednesday, as he announced a cut to the isolation period for people infected with the coronavirus and looser quarantine rules. Poland saw record daily case numbers as recently as two weeks ago, but with infections falling and the effects of Omicron appearing to be milder than previous variants, authorities believe the time is right for a lighter touch. "We are dealing with the beginning of the end of the pandemic," Adam Niedzielski told a news conference. "In February, declines in infections should be relatively large."
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Czech PM says could lift most COVID measures from March
The Czech Republic aims to increase the number of people allowed at public events in the coming weeks, with expectations that from March nearly all COVID-19 restrictions could be lifted, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday. The central European country of 10.7 million has faced its highest rates of COVID-19 so far since late January, but although the number of hospitalisations has climbed, the number of patients is well below previous peaks. From Thursday, the government is going ahead with previously announced plans to allow the unvaccinated back into restaurants and other venues as infections start to ebb.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullTravel Nurses Make Twice as Much as They Did Pre-Covid-19
Hospitals and lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to review federal pandemic-relief programs that they say have distorted pay rates for travel nurses.
Many nurses are making twice what they did before the pandemic or more on assignments at hospitals paying top dollar to fill big holes in their workforces. Some hospitals are using federal Covid-19 relief funds to cover part of the difference between rates for travel nurses and staff salaries. Health-industry trade groups and some members of Congress say staffing agencies matching workers with hospitals are capitalizing on a tight labor market, as many nurses have left during the pandemic, often because of burnout and fatigue.
9th Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.S. CDC stands by K-12 school masking guidance as states relax rules –Walensky
With COVID-19 cases still high nationwide, "now is not the moment" to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday. Her comments follow announcements by officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon that they plan to lift indoor mask mandates for K-12 public schools and other indoor spaces in coming weeks, seeking a return to normalcy as infections spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus ebb. "I know people are interested in taking masks off. I too am interested. That would be one marker that we have much of the pandemic behind us," Walenksy said in an interview.
9th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Vietnam receives Vero-Cell COVID-19 vaccine donated by China
The Ministry of National Defence received 300,000 doses of Vero-Cell COVID-19 vaccine presented by the Ministry of National Defence of China at a ceremony held at Noi Bai International Airport on February 8. Addressing the event, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo said that the vaccine donation aims to help the army and people of Vietnam overcome COVID-19, which demonstrates the sentiments of the Chinese military in particular and Chinese Government in general to the military and people of Vietnam. On behalf of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, thanked the Chinese side for the gift which he said is evidence of the friendly neighbourliness and solidarity between the two countries and two militaries in particular.
8th Feb 2022 - Vietnam Net
Coronavirus in China: travel restrictions should continue to avoid a resurgence, researchers say
A key to controlling the pandemic lies in the development and widespread use of vaccines that are more effective in preventing infection, says research paper
China’s continuous pursuit of the zero-Covid policy has come under scrutiny for its high social and economic costs
8th Feb 2022 - South China Morning Post
IBM Employees' Questions About the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Continue to Go Unanswered
According to Against Federal Mandates, an action committee started by IBM employees who oppose IBM's vaccine mandate, on February 1st, IBM revoked badge access to all worksites and client sites for all unvaccinated employees and employees who did not submit their vaccine status. IBM also stated that it will allow those who work from home to continue to do so, at least temporarily. As IBM continues its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, US IBM employees opposed to the mandate still have unanswered questions
8th Feb 2022 - Yahoo News UK
N. Korea increases virus budget after partial border opening
North Korea plans to increase its government spending on pandemic measures by one-third this year to carry out leader Kim Jong Un’s calls for a more “advanced and people-oriented” virus response, state media said Tuesday. The budget plans were passed during a session of Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday and Monday, which came weeks after the North tentatively restarted its railroad freight traffic with China following two years of extreme border closures and economic decay. Kim had hinted at broader changes to the country’s pandemic response during a political conference in December, when he called for a transition toward advanced anti-virus measures based on a “scientific foundation.”
8th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Malaysia COVID-19 panel recommends full border reopening in March
Malaysia's coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery. The Southeast Asian nation has shut its borders since March 2020 and froze the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks. The recommendation comes as neighbours waive quarantine requirements to attract vaccinated tourists, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.
8th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer's COVID product sales to top $50 bln this year, investors want more
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it expects 2022 sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral pill to top $54 billion, but that fell short of lofty Wall Street estimates and its shares were off about 3%. Still, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said final sales for its oral COVID-19 antiviral, Paxlovid, could be "way bigger" than what Pfizer has forecast since its current outlook only included contracts that have been or are close to being signed. Pfizer currently expects $22 billion in 2022 sales of the treatment, compared with Wall Street estimates of $22.88 billion.
8th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullIreland's St. Patrick's Day parade returns after three-year COVID absence
Ireland will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a parade through the streets of Dublin for the first time in three years next month - and organisers hope the green-festooned festivities will energise a tourism sector hammered by a tough lockdown regime. The March 17 public holiday, celebrated in towns and villages across the country, was one of the first big events to be cancelled in 2020, shortly before the economy was shutdown for the first time to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The government dropped almost all COVID-19 curbs last month, backed by one of Europe's highest uptake of booster vaccines. The remaining restrictions such as mask-wearing are set to end later this month. "Our national day sends the message out loud and clear – Ireland is open again for tourism and we cannot wait to roll out the "green carpet" and welcome visitors from near and far," Tourism Minister Catherine Martin said in a statement.
7th Feb 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Philippines shifts election battle to social media as COVID-19 curbs campaigning
Campaigning for the Philippines' general election gets underway officially on Tuesday, with COVID-19 curtailing the traditional fanfare and big rallies and turning the focus to social media as the key battleground for the May 9 contest. As with the 2016 polls that catapulted Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency, social media will be crucial in the three-month election buildup, while platforms will be under pressure to combat the rampant misinformation that has intensified in the Philippines in recent years, driving hate campaigns and deepening social divisions.
7th Feb 2022 - Reuters
India approves Russia’s one-shot Sputnik Light Covid vaccine
India’s government has approved Russia’s single-shot Sputnik Light vaccine, making it the ninth Covid-19 jab available in the country. In a statement shared on Twitter, India’s federal health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: “DCGI [Drugs Controller General of India] has granted emergency use permission to Single-dose Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine in India.” “This is the 9th #Covid19 vaccine in the country. This will further strengthen the nation’s collective fight against the pandemic,” he added.
7th Feb 2022 - The Independent
Can Sinovac protect Indonesia from the Omicron wave?
As a third wave of the pandemic begins to take hold across Indonesia, there are questions over its use of China’s Sinovac, after a series of studies suggesting the most commonly used COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian nation is no match for the Omicron variant of coronavirus. On Friday, the country recorded 32,211 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest official number since the Delta wave began to fade in mid-August. The positivity rate for individuals tested reached 10.29 percent on the same day, pushing Indonesia well beyond the 5 percent threshold the WHO uses to identify countries that have lost control of the virus.
7th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera
Nigeria receives 2 million doses of J&J COVID vaccine from EU countries
Nigeria has received 2 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine from Finland, Greece and Slovenia, with more EU donations set to arrive in the coming weeks, government officials said on Monday. The delivery is part of a donation pledge by the European Union to African countries via the COVAX initiative launched by the World Health Organization in 2020 to distribute vaccines to some of the world's poorest people.
7th Feb 2022 - Reuters
With superheroes and puppets, Philippines boosts child vaccination drive
Ironman, Captain America, puppeteers and performers on stilts entertained children at a vaccination centre in the Philippines on Monday, part of a drive to boost its COVID-19 inoculation campaign among its youngest citizens. Artists made swords and models from balloons as "superheroes" posed for pictures with children age 5 to 11 after they received their shots in the capital Manila. The Philippines has vaccinated about half of its 110-million population, but many areas outside urban centres are still lagging far behind, complicating efforts to suppress fresh outbreaks of the novel coronavirus.
7th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Governor ending New Jersey’s school mask mandate
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will end a statewide mask mandate to protect against COVID-19 in schools and child care centers, his office said Monday. The requirement goes into effect March 7 and comes as New Jersey’s caseload drops after an spike around the holidays fueled by the omicron variant. The governor is expected to announce the development at a news conference Monday when he is set to also answer questions. It’s not clear, for example, if individual school districts could continue to require a mandate.
7th Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Germany eyes easing COVID rules; pharmacies to offer shots
The German government is working on plans to relax coronavirus restrictions after the peak in new cases has passed, likely by the end of February. Unlike some of its European neighbors, Germany still has many pandemic restrictions in place that exclude unvaccinated people from restaurants, public venues and some stores. “Perspectives for opening are being developed,” government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters Monday in Berlin. She said the measures would be discussed at a meeting of federal and state officials on Feb. 16, but would only take effect when authorities can be sure that Germany’s health system won’t be overwhelmed.
7th Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Omicron forces S. Korea to end GPS monitoring, some checkups
South Korea will no longer use GPS monitoring to enforce quarantines and will also end daily checkup calls to low-risk coronavirus patients as a fast-developing omicron surge overwhelms health and government workers. The speed of transmissions has made it impossible to maintain a tight and proactive medical response, Jeong Eun-kyeong, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 38,691 new cases of the virus, a nine-fold increase from the levels seen in mid-January, when omicron became the country’s dominant strain.
7th Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Hong Kong residents raid supermarket shelves as COVID surge disrupts supplies
Hong Kong residents crowded supermarkets and neighbourhood fresh food markets on Monday to stock up on vegetables, noodles and other necessities after a record number of COVID-19 infections in the city and transport disruptions at the border with mainland China. The city of 7.5 million people reported a record 614 coronavirus cases on Monday, in the biggest test yet for the Chinese territory's zero-COVID strategy.
7th Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullRecord Covid cases in Russia and Ukraine complicate military plans
The Omicron variant is causing record numbers of new Covid infections in Russia and Ukraine, threatening to impact military calculations over Russia’s continued troop buildup. Analysts have cited various factors as possible contributors to whether and how Russia will launch an assault on Ukraine, ranging from Vladimir Putin’s psychological state to the strength of the western response and even the firmness of the ground during a mild winter in the region. Covid is emerging as another element that may complicate plans for the Russian and Ukrainian armies, as record case numbers in both societies are replicated among the troops. Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian land forces, told the Guardian that from about 150,000 soldiers in his ranks, 2,400 were infected by Covid.
7th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Russia eases COVID restrictions as daily cases hit record
Russia will ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions from Sunday, the consumer health watchdog announced on Saturday, despite reporting a record daily number of cases as the Omicron variant spreads across the country. The number of daily infections has been surging since January. But the highly transmissible Omicron variant has not led to a significant increase in deaths, and the Kremlin has recently dismissed concerns about the risk of new lockdowns. According to the latest order from the consumer health watchdog, from Sunday people will no longer need to self-isolate after contacting those infected with COVID-19.
6th Feb 2022 - Reuters
US COVID death toll, sped by Omicron, surpasses 900,000
Propelled by the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, the US COVID-19 death toll hit 900,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, less than two months after the country surpassed 800,000 fatalities. Friday’s sombre milestone comes 13 months into a US vaccination drive that has been beset by misinformation and political strife, though the jabs have proved safe and highly effective at preventing serious illness and death. “It is an astronomically high number,” said Dr Ashish K Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. “If you had told most Americans two years ago as this pandemic was getting going that 900,000 Americans would die over the next few years, I think most people would not have believed it.”
5th Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Merck’s Covid Pill Fumble Gives Pfizer Potential $17 Billion Win
Almost as quickly as Covid-19 erupted in early 2020, so too did the rush to find drugs, either old or new, to treat the contagion spreading around the world. While researchers soon identified some that quelled late-stage symptoms or weakly restrained the virus, Paxlovid, a pill from Pfizer Inc. that prevents severe disease, appears poised to take a solid lead in the lucrative coronavirus treatment market.
Yet an important component of Pfizer’s antiviral has links to a drug from rival Merck: boceprevir, developed decades ago to fight hepatitis C.
5th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
GoFundMe Boots Canada Trucker Fundraiser Opposing Vaccine Rules
GoFundMe has removed a fundraiser for Canadian truckers opposing vaccine mandates from its platform, saying the campaign violates terms prohibiting the promotion of violence. Protesters have occupied the streets of the Canadian capital, Ottawa, for nearly a week, demonstrating against Canadian and U.S. laws requiring truckers crossing the border to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Donations to “Freedom Convoy 2022” on GoFundMe surpassed more than C$10 million ($7.8 million) earlier this week.
5th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Australia Eyes Return of Foreign Tourists After Two-Year Lockout
Australia plans to open its borders to international tourists as soon as possible, a government minister said Sunday, following a report that they will be allowed back by the end of February after a Covid-related hiatus of almost two years. “We are getting ready to open as soon as we can,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in an ABC TV interview. “We don’t have all the information we need to be able to take the decision, but we are very close.” Overseas tourists could be back within two or three weeks, the Herald Sun paper reported earlier on Sunday, citing an unnamed senior government source.
5th Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Austria passes Covid vaccine mandate, but question marks linger over enforcement
Austria has become the first country in the EU to make vaccinations against Covid-19 mandatory for all adults, but questions remain over whether it can sway those sceptical of taking the jab and how much the Alpine state’s government is willing to press those who won’t comply. The upper house of the Austrian parliament, the Bundesrat, on Thursday evening voted 47-12 in favour of a general vaccination mandate, formally approving a law that will see those over the age of 18 who decline to take a jab face penalties of up to 3,600 euros, unless they are pregnant or severely ill. The legislation, which was signed by Austria’s president Alexander Van der Bellen on Friday and will come into effect over the coming days, has been followed with great interest across Europe, where other nations have considered taking a similar step.
4th Feb 2022 - The Guardian
Increased COVID cases at Beijing Games no reason for concern, organisers say
COVID-19 cases inside Beijing's Winter Olympic Games bubble hit the second highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4, but organisers say the situation is under control and cases confined to the 'closed loop'. The cases among Olympics-related personnel were up from 21 a day earlier while cases in the bubble that restricts the movements of Games participants, reached 19, compared with seven a day earlier.
4th Feb 2022 - Reuters
California tops 80,000 deaths as virus cases tumble
Coronavirus deaths in California have topped 80,000 and another 3,000 people are projected to die by month’s end even as infections, hospitalizations and intensive care cases are falling almost as fast as they climbed during the rapid-fire omicron wave of the pandemic. The toll reached 80,688 on Friday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. That is the highest in the U.S., but the nation’s most populous state has a per capita death rate that is among the lowest at 38th. Texas has only a few hundred fewer deaths than California but has 10 million fewer residents and therefore a higher per capita rate. “This milestone is a grim reminder of the real human toll of this pandemic,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan, who urged Californians to get vaccinated and boosted
4th Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Mark McGowan press conference: Four new mystery cases as local COVID infections rise by 25
WA’s active COVID case load has expanded by more than two dozen infections, the Premier has revealed, as the State prepares to welcome 6,000 interstate travellers on the first day of eased border restrictions. Twenty-five new local cases were recorded overnight, Mark McGowan said. Of those, 21 have been linked to current outbreaks. The source of the remaining four infections are under investigation. Some 7684 tests were undertaken in the past 24 hours.
4th Feb 2022 - PerthNow
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullSaudi Arabia requires citizens to take COVID booster shot to travel abroad starting Feb. 9
Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that citizens will be required to take the COVID-19 booster shot to be able to travel abroad starting Feb. 9, state media reported. The kingdom is also requiring visitors to present a negative PCR result before entry.
3rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Medicare opens up access to free at-home COVID-19 tests
The Biden administration, seeking to fill a frustrating gap in COVID-19 testing coverage, announced on Thursday that people with Medicare will be able to get free over-the-counter tests much more easily in the coming weeks. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Medicare will cover up to eight free tests per month, starting in early spring. The tests will be handed out at participating pharmacies and other locations. They’ll be available to people who have Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient benefit, which about 9 in 10 enrollees sign up for. Last month, the administration directed private insurers to cover up to eight free tests a month for people on their plans. Officials said at the time they were still trying to figure out what to do about Medicare, which covers more than 60 million people, most of them age 65 or older and more vulnerable to severe illness from coronavirus infection.
3rd Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Strained US hospitals seek foreign nurses amid visa windfall
With American hospitals facing a dire shortage of nurses amid a slogging pandemic, many are looking abroad for health care workers. And it could be just in time. There’s an unusually high number of green cards available this year for foreign professionals, including nurses, who want to move to the United States — twice as many as just a few years ago. That’s because U.S. consulates shut down during the coronavirus pandemic weren’t issuing visas to relatives of American citizens, and, by law, these unused slots now get transferred to eligible workers. Amy L. Erlbacher-Anderson, an immigration attorney in Omaha, Nebraska, said she has seen more demand for foreign nurses in two years than the rest of her 18-year career. And this year, she said, it’s more likely they’ll get approved to come, so long as U.S. consular offices can process all the applications.
3rd Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Schools seek volunteer teachers amid COVID staffing crunch
The answer around the U.S. could be a local police officer, National Guard soldier, state budget analyst, parent or recent high school graduate — nearly anyone willing to help keep schools’ doors open through the omicron-driven staffing crunch. States have been loosening teaching requirements to give schools more flexibility on hiring as coronavirus exposures, illness and quarantines add to strains on schools that also have been tapping librarians, custodians and support staff to help cover classrooms during the pandemic. Brian McKinney, a parent with students in second and 10th grade in Hays County, Texas, spent part of this week as a substitute, helping sixth graders through a social studies assignment that had them writing essays about the Soviet Union. A former teacher, he decided he could help as he waited out a cold snap that has slowed business at the World War II-themed miniature golf course he and his wife now own.
3rd Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
S. Korea expands rapid testing amid record COVID infections
South Korea on Thursday began enforcing a new coronavirus testing policy centered on rapid testing as health officials reported a record number of new infections following the Lunar New Year holiday. The 22,907 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency marked a second straight day of over 20,000 new infections and about a five-fold increase from daily cases seen in mid-January, when the highly contagious omicron variant first became the country’s dominant strain. Long lines snaked around testing stations in the capital Seoul and other major cities, where most people were provided rapid antigen test kits to use under the supervision of health workers, who then approved lab tests for anyone who tested positive.
3rd Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Hong Kong expands government work-from-home plans as Omicron bites
The Hong Kong government said on Thursday it would extend a work-from-home plan for civil servants as health officials warned tougher measures could follow amid a worsening COVID-19 outbreak. Aside from those involved with essential and urgent work, all other civil servants - who had been due to resume work on Friday - will remain working from home until Feb. 11. Health officials said on Thursday many untraceable transmission chains of the Omicron variant were spreading across the global financial hub - a warning that comes as many Hongkongers enjoy Lunar New Year gatherings. "There is quite severe community transmission at the moment," said
3rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Guernsey to offer Covid booster jabs to 16 and 17 year olds
All 16 and 17 year olds in Guernsey will be offered a booster dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The move brings the Bailiwick in line with the UK, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Third jabs will be offered three months after the second dose, the Committee for Health and Social Care (HSC) said.
3rd Feb 2022 - BBC News
Covid vaccine: More than a million teenagers are still unvaccinated in England as school absences rise
More than one million children between the age of 12 and 15 in England remain completely unvaccinated against Covid despite the jab being available to that age group since the end of September. Uptake of the Covid vaccine is also significantly lower in England than in Scotland for that age group. Around 58 per cent of children between the age of 12 and 15 in England have had their first jab, which is around 1.5 million children. In comparison, 68 per cent of that age group has had their first vaccine in Scotland, which is around 160,000 kids.
3rd Feb 2022 - iNews
Fortress New Zealand delays full reopening until October
New Zealand on Thursday announced a phased reopening of its border that has been largely closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but travel bodies said self-isolation rules need to be removed to revive the struggling tourism sector. Vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia can travel home from Feb. 27 without a requirement to stay at state-managed quarantine facilities, while New Zealand citizens in the rest of the world will be able to do so two weeks later, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
3rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Ardern Starts to Reopen New Zealand Border as Frustration Mounts
New Zealand will finally begin reopening to the world at the end of this month as frustration mounts over a border that’s been closed for almost two years to keep out Covid-19. The border will reopen to vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia at midnight on Feb. 27 and from the rest of the world at midnight on March 13, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a speech Thursday in Auckland. Some groups of critical and skilled workers will also be permitted to enter from those dates. Arrivals will no longer need to spend time in a government managed isolation facility, but will be required to self-isolate and return negative tests.
3rd Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
German vaccine commission to recommend fourth COVID-19 shot
Germany's expert panel on vaccine use (STIKO) is preparing to recommend a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose, the committee's head, Thomas Mertens, told media group Funke on Thursday. "We have data from Israel that shows a fourth dose significantly improves protection from a severe case of illness," Mertens told Funke. "The STIKO will make the recommendation soon," he added. The panel would recommend booster shots only with vaccines that are already available, Mertens added.
3rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
France's COVID vaccine pass to stay until ICUs are 'emptied', says health minister
France's vaccine pass will remain in place until hospitals are able to function normally without cancelling non-emergency procedures to make room for COVID patients in intensive care, Health Minister Olivier Veran said. The government says the vaccine pass helps curb the spread of the coronavirus and has spurred more people to get the COVID shot, alleviating pressure on hospitals. Critics say it impinges on civil liberties and some have taken to the streets in protest.
3rd Feb 2022 - Reuters
S. Korea expands rapid testing amid record COVID infections
South Korea on Thursday began enforcing a new coronavirus testing policy centered on rapid testing as health officials reported a record number of new infections following the Lunar New Year holiday. The 22,907 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency marked a second straight day of over 20,000 new infections and about a five-fold increase from daily cases seen in mid-January, when the highly contagious omicron variant first became the country’s dominant strain.
3rd Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Japan border policy keeps thousands of foreigners in limbo
Japan has become one of the world’s most difficult countries to enter and some are comparing it to the locked country, or “sakoku,” policy of xenophobic warlords who ruled Japan in the 17th to 19th centuries. The current border rules allow in only Japanese nationals and permanent foreign residents, and have raised the ire of foreign students and scholars who say the measures are unfair, unscientific and force talented visitors to go to other countries. Critics say the rules are also hurting Japan’s international profile and national interest.
3rd Feb 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullWashington state attorney general sues Covid-19 testing company that has more than 275 locations nationwide
Prosecutors are suing an Illinois-based Covid-19 testing company over allegedly storing tests in garbage bags, operating without licensure in some locations and improperly collecting customers' insurance information. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed the lawsuit Monday against the Center for COVID Control (CCC), its testing lab and two of its co-founders, according to a news release from his office. The company "frequently failed to report any test results at all, causing potentially COVID-19 free individuals to isolate and miss work, travel, and time with loved ones unnecessarily," and often provided inaccurate results, the lawsuit alleges.
2nd Feb 2022 - CNN
Beijing says COVID-19 situation 'controllable,' 'safe'
Beijing reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as officials said the virus situation was under control with the Olympic Games set to open later in the week. The three cases reported in the 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday all involved people under some sort of quarantine. “The current pandemic situation in the capital is overall controllable and it's headed in a good direction,” said Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the city government, at a daily press briefing. “Beijing is safe.” The Chinese capital has been on high-alert as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics starting Friday. Since Jan. 15, Beijing has reported a total of 115 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19, including six cases of the highly contagious omicron variant. In response, the city has mass tested millions of people and sealed off several neighborhoods in different parts of the city while avoiding a strict lockdown for the entire capital.
2nd Feb 2022 - The Independent
Fighting COVID will help economy recover faster, lower inflation -IMF's Georgieva
The COVID-19 pandemic remains the biggest risk to the global economy, and is contributing to rising inflation in many countries, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday. Georgieva urged redoubled efforts to boost vaccinations and beef up defenses against the coronavirus, saying such moves -- coupled with interest rate increases now being eyed or executed by central banks -- would help ease supply chain disruptions and combat inflation. "Pandemic policy is economic policy," the IMF chief said. "The biggest risk for the performance of the world economy remains this year COVID and the disruption it causes."
2nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Army begins discharging soldiers who refuse COVID-19 vaccine
U.S. soldiers who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine will be immediately discharged, the U.S. Army said on Wednesday, saying the move was critical to maintain combat readiness. The Army's order applies to regular Army soldiers, active-duty Army reservists and cadets unless they have approved or pending exemptions, it said in a statement. The discharge order is the latest from a U.S. military branch removing unvaccinated service members amid the pandemic after the Pentagon made the vaccine mandatory for all service members in August 2021.
2nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Many countries yet to see peak in Omicron wave, should ease curbs slowly -WHO
Many countries have not reached their peak in cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus and measures imposed to curb its spread should be eased slowly, the World Health Organization's technical lead on COVID-19 said on Tuesday. "We are urging caution because many countries have not gone through the peak of Omicron yet. Many countries have low levels of vaccination coverage with very vulnerable individuals within their populations," Maria Van Kerkhove told an online briefing. "And so now is not the time to lift everything all at once. We have always urged, always (be) very cautious, in applying interventions as well as lifting those interventions in a steady and in a slow way, piece by piece
2nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
'Take back life': More nations ease coronavirus restrictions
Late-night partying at clubs. Elbow-to-elbow seating in movie theaters. Going without masks in public, especially in Europe and North America: Step by step, many countries are easing their COVID-19 restrictions amid hopes the omicron wave may have passed its peak. The early moves to relax precautions, based on declining or flattening case counts in recent days, represent what could be another turning point in a nearly two-year pandemic that has been full of them. The extraordinarily contagious omicron has fueled more cases worldwide over the past 10 weeks — 90 million — than were seen during all of 2020, the outbreak’s first full year. But the World Health Organization this week said some countries can now consider carefully relaxing the rules if they have high immunity rates, their health care systems are strong and the epidemiological trends are going in the right direction.
2nd Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
As Omicron Shows Signs of Peaking in Europe, France Eases Restrictions
France allowed workers to return to offices full time Wednesday amid signs the Omicron wave of Covid-19 is approaching its peak in Europe. In the U.S., the number of infections has been in decline for weeks, helping to ease pressure on hospitals.
2nd Feb 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
More European Countries to Ease Covid Restrictions: Italy, Switzerland, Finland
Europe is accelerating steps to roll back coronavirus restrictions as efforts to control the fast-spreading omicron variant have been largely futile. Under pressure from a pandemic-weary public, politicians across the region are deeming many public-health measures increasingly unnecessary. Italy, Switzerland and Finland are set to join Denmark, Ireland and France in easing the bulk of restrictions on public life. Norway also relaxed most rules. While the virus continues to spread rapidly across the continent -- with more than 2.4 million cases over the past two days -- the alert level has dropped.
2nd Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Switzerland to Scrap Work-From-Home Requirement and Ease Other Covid Rules
Switzerland will consider lifting almost all pandemic-related rules, including showing Covid certificates in restaurants and wearing masks on public transport, later this month. The country will scrap a working-from-home requirement, turning it into a recommendation, as well as end quarantine for those who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus, from Thursday. “Today is a great day,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said. “This beautiful day marks the beginning of a new stage in this long and difficult crisis. Of course, this does not mean that the pandemic is over, but we see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
2nd Feb 2022 - Bloomberg
Swiss start relaxing pandemic measures
Switzerland began on Wednesday easing its coronavirus pandemic restrictions as fears waned that the spike in infection cases fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant would overwhelm the health care system.
2nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Britain reports 534 COVID deaths, highest in nearly a year
COVID-19 infections and deaths in the Americas are still increasing, but the rise in infections seems to be slowing down in places hit earliest by the Omicron variant, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. Most of the 7 million new cases reported in the past week were in North America -- some 4 million new infections -- while Chile and Brazil posted record numbers of daily cases. Deaths have more than doubled in Cuba, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, the regional health agency said.
2nd Feb 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullLittle cheer for Year of the Tiger in Hong Kong as COVID bites
On January 21, when the number of coronavirus cases hit 20 in the densely-populated high-rise public housing estate of Kwai Fong, residents were given two hours to prepare for a five-day lockdown. Santiago Fung’s family focused on the essentials. His mother and sister bought lettuce and vegetables. Fung picked up frozen seafood, herbs for his two pet tortoises, along with two packs of cigarettes and 24 cans of beer. “I think for five days, that’s enough,” he said as the lockdown began. Challenges mounted by the day. As hundreds of the building’s 2,800 residents crammed the lifts and lobby to get tested, positive cases zipped into the triple digits. Government-supplied meals were tasteless and arrived late. Mostly, he endured the challenge of being a 33-year-old locked down in a 300-square-foot apartment (27.9 square metres) with a younger sister and a mother who insisted they share Chinese herbs with the neighbours.
1st Feb 2022 - Al Jazeera English
NHS begins vaccinating vulnerable children against COVID-19
Around 500,000 children in England are expected to be eligible for the vaccine, which covers those in a clinical at-risk group and children who are household contacts of someone who is immunosuppressed. All GP practices have been asked to identify eligible children on their lists and vaccinations will be delivred at GP-led sites and hospital hubs. Parents and guardians have been told to wait until their are contacted by the site for their child's vaccination. Eligible children will receive two 10 microgram doses of the Pfizer vaccine, eight weeks apart. The paediatric dose of the vaccine is a third of the 30 microgram dose given to those aged over 12.
1st Feb 2022 - GP online
NHS vaccine mandate: Nurse who faced sack over staff Covid jab rules welcomes Government U-turn
A nurse who faced losing her job because she is not vaccinated against Covid-19 has welcomed the Government’s U-turn on mandatory jabs for frontline NHS staff. Concerns about the impact that dismissing about 80,000 unvaccinated NHS employees would have on an already stretched health service contributed to Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s policy change on Monday. The Government had previously set a 1 April deadline for double vaccination, meaning anyone in a patient-facing role who had not received their first dose by 3 February would be notified of their impending dismissal.
1st Feb 2022 - iNews
Austria’s mandatory Covid vaccine rule comes into force
A national coronavirus vaccine mandate has come into force in Austria, with the unjabbed facing large fines if they refuse to comply. The new law, which applies to all over-18s except pregnant women and those who are medically exempt, makes Austria the first country in Europe to compel all its adult citizens to be immunised against Covid-19. Other nations including Germany could soon follow suit. People living in Austria face penalties of up to €3,600 (£3,000) if they do not receive the necessary shots. The government has acknowledged that the measure is not universally popular, as sizeable anti-vaxx protests continue. But its insists the step is needed in the interests of public health
1st Feb 2022 - The Independent
Covid-19 news: Mandatory vaccines scrapped for NHS workers in England
Vaccinations will not be a condition of employment for NHS workers in England. NHS staff in England will not be required to have coronavirus vaccinations, health secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday. The move will be subject to a government consultation. Regulations for mandatory vaccines were due to come into effect for NHS staff on 1 April which would have made 3 Feb the last day an unvaccinated worker could start a course of vaccinations. Javid says mandatory vaccines are now less important because omicron, which is currently the dominant variant, appears to be more transmissible and less severe than the earlier delta variant. “It’s only right that our policy on vaccination as a condition of deployment is reviewed,” Javid said.
1st Feb 2022 - New Scientist
“Lab-in-a-backpack” Covid-19 test could help vaccine-poor communities
Researchers in London have developed a Covid-19 testing lab that fits into a backpack, which they say could offer poorer nations and remote communities a cheap and accessible way of detecting the virus. In a new study in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, scientists from Queen Mary University of London show that their lab-in-a-backpack approach is as effective as PCR tests at detecting Covid infections. The cost price of each test is just $3.50 (£2.60), said Stoyan Smoukov, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Queen Mary University of London. If scaled up, the backpack kits could not only slash the price of commercial testing for travel but could also help poor communities where vaccine rates are low and testing is inaccessible or too expensive.
1st Feb 2022 - Evening Standard
New Zealand Open scrapped over COVID travel restrictions
The New Zealand Open golf championship has been cancelled for the second year running, due to ongoing travel restrictions to protect the country from the pandemic, the organisers said on Tuesday. New Zealand's borders have been shut to foreigners since March 2020. The government pushed back plans for a phased reopening from mid-January to the end of February out of concern about a potential Omicron outbreak, as in neighbouring Australia. "We have done everything within our power to make this event happen," tournament chairman John Hart said on the event's website.
1st Feb 2022 - Reuters
South Africa scraps isolation for COVID positive people with no symptoms
South Africa no longer requires those who test positive for COVID-19 without symptoms to isolate and has also reduced the isolation period for those with symptoms by three days, as the country exits its fourth wave of the coronavirus, a government statement said on Monday. Following a special Cabinet meeting held earlier to decide on the amendments, the country made the changes based on the trajectory of the pandemic and levels of vaccination in the country, according to a press release issued by Mondli Gungubele, a minister in the presidency. South Africa is currently at the lowest of its five-stage COVID alert levels.
1st Feb 2022 - Reuters
All-out effort to keep Biden COVID-free; no ‘normal’ yet
When President Joe Biden met with U.S. governors at the White House on Monday, he was the only one given a glass of water — lest anyone else remove their mask to take a drink. The president was seated more than 10 feet from everyone, including Vice President Kamala Harris and members of his Cabinet. A White House staffer who was wearing a surgical mask when Biden entered the room was quickly handed an N95 version. These are just some of the extraordinary efforts on the part of the White House to keep the president from getting COVID-19, even though he’s gotten both of his regular vaccinations and his booster. It’s no surprise that unusual steps are taken to protect any president. But the strict precautions could also threaten to undercut the Biden administration’s own efforts to tell Americans — especially those who are vaccinated and boosted — that they can get on with something closer to their normal lives in the face of the omicron wave.
1st Feb 2022 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Feb 2022
View this newsletter in fullOmicron Dashes China's Hopes of Winter Olympics Boosting Economy
China’s Winter Olympics may be more of a drag on Beijing’s regional economy than a boost, as virus flare-ups and pollution curbs weigh on consumer and industrial activity. A ban on public spectators means there won’t be the usual bump up in tourism and consumption that a city hopes to gain from hosting the international games. Tighter controls to contain the outbreaks of two virus variants are keeping holidaymakers away. And restrictions on polluting industries to ensure there are clear skies over the capital during the games means steel plants are curbing output
31st Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. CDC warns against travel to Mexico, Brazil, Singapore over COVID-19
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to a dozen countries because of high rates of coronavirus infection, including Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo, Philippines and Paraguay.
The CDC now lists nearly 130 countries and territories with COVID-19 cases as "Level Four: Very High." It also added Anguilla, French Guiana, Moldova and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to its highest level on Monday. The U.S. State Department also raised its travel advisory for Mexico and some of the other nations listed by the CDC to "Level 4: Do Not Travel."
31st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Mandatory Covid-19 vaccines for NHS and social care staff 'could be scrapped'
The government is reportedly expected to perform a U-turn on its mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy for NHS and social care staff in England. It comes after the health and social care secretary announced last week that he was “reflecting” on the plans in wake of the implications of staff shortages from Omicron
31st Jan 2022 - Nursing Times
COVID-19: Boris Johnson says health secretary will provide update on mandatory jabs for health workers amid U-turn speculation
Boris Johnson has said the health secretary will be saying more later about mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for NHS staff and social care workers, amid speculation the policy could be scrapped. Health workers in England were meant to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by April, but Sajid Javid has been under growing pressure to get rid of the rule.
31st Jan 2022 - Sky News
Taiwan tries hand at COVID diplomacy again with Somaliland vaccine gift
Article reports that Taiwan's gift of 150,000 doses of its domestically developed Medigen COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region, the Taiwanese foreign ministry said on Monday, part of the island's renewed pandemic diplomacy push. Taiwan has donated millions of face masks and other goods around the world in what the government has called the "Taiwan can help, Taiwan is helping" programme to show the island is a responsible member of the international community, despite being locked out of most global bodies because of China's objections.
31st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Falling U.S. Hospitalizations, Infections Bolster Hope Omicron Wave Is Waning
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday gave its full approval to Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, branded Spikevax, for use in adults 18 and older, making it the second fully approved Covid-19 vaccine after one from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. The agency granted full approval to Moderna’s shot after conducting a more thorough review of the evidence for the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. Previously, the FDA had granted what is known as an emergency-use authorization for Moderna’s vaccine in December 2020, following a shorter-than-normal review of the shot. The FDA may grant such authorizations during public-health emergencies such as the continuing pandemic.
31st Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Face Masks Are Now Part of Spain's Inflation Basket
Spain has included the cost of face masks in its list of articles to gauge inflation, in the latest example of the far-reaching impact of the pandemic. The consumer price index basket is revised periodically and updated to “include new products whose consumption starts to be significant,” the national statistics institute said in a statement Monday. It also added online newspaper subscriptions, while dropping DVDs and compact discs. Masks are widely worn in Spain, and are mandatory in most indoor public spaces. In late December, with the omicron variant surging, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reinstated a rule ordering masks to be used outdoors. The order is pending parliamentary approval.
31st Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
F1 to Mandate Covid-19 Vaccines for All Staff
Formula One staff must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 under new FIA rules.
The policy drawn up by the sport’s governing body will be written into the regulations for the new season and will apply to all drivers, teams, media and hospitality guests. It is expected that no exemptions will be granted. The sport hopes the rule will avoid a repeat of the Novak Djokovic fiasco which overshadowed the build-up to this month’s Australian Open. All of the grid’s current drivers are understood to be vaccinated. An F1 spokesperson said: “Formula One management will require all travelling personnel to be fully vaccinated and will not request exemptions.”
31st Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Germany misses 80% COVID-19 vaccination rate target
The German government has failed to hit its goal of vaccinating 80% of the population against the coronavirus before the end of January, roughly a month before lawmakers are expected to vote on a draft law on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. As of Monday, 75.8% of Germans have received at least one vaccine dose, which places the country behind European peers such as Italy, France and Spain, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit did not name a new target date for the 80% goal but said the aim was to raise the vaccination rate going ahead.
31st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Australia offers aged care labour incentive amid COVID crisis
Australia's federal government will offer extra payments to aged care staff as over 1,200 nursing homes deal with COVID-19 outbreaks that have caused hundreds of deaths of elderly residents this year and staff shortages. There is growing concern over the impact of the Omicron variant outbreak on elderly Australians living in residential care homes, as the pandemic in the wider community peaks. On Sunday, 31 out of 52 deaths from the virus reported by New South Wales, were aged care residents.
31st Jan 2022 - Reuters
China punishes cold-chain managers for 'obstructing' COVID prevention
Investigations into China's cold-chain sector have led to several managers, officials and business owners being punished for failing to meet COVID-19 prevention standards, the country's corruption watchdog said in a notice. The Beijing branch of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) accused several people involved in the cold storage business of management and supervisory failures when it came to controlling COVID-19. It accused one manager in an industrial park in southwest Beijing of "poor leadership and non-standard management that led to the spread of the epidemic".
31st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 31st Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullSpotify Publishes Content Policy, Covid-19 Hub in Response to Joe Rogan Controversy
Guitarist Nils Lofgren is among the artists who said they have removed their music from the streaming service. Spotify Technology SA is publishing its content policy and creating a Covid-19 information hub in response to a growing chorus of artists and podcasters speaking out against Joe Rogan. “We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users,” said Chief Executive Daniel Ek in a blog post Sunday. “In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.”
30th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
T-Mobile to terminate corporate employees who aren't vaccinated by April -memo
T-Mobile US Inc will fire corporate employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 2, according to an internal company memo posted on the independent blog TMOnews.com. The blog said T-Mobile's new policy was announced on Friday in an email from its human resource chief to all staff. It follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 13 that blocked President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses. "Employees who have not yet taken action to receive their first dose and upload proof by February 21 will be placed on unpaid leave," the blog quoted the memo as saying.
30th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong government says commenting on its COVID strategy is not "illegal"
Having discussions and making "general remarks" about Hong Kong's coronavirus strategy is not illegal and does not violate the Chinese territory's national security law, the government said on Sunday, as it grapples to control a rise in cases. Hong Kong has followed China in sticking to a zero-COVID policy with the economic and psychological tolls rapidly rising, and measures becoming more draconian than those first implemented in 2020.
30th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Biden Had Strategy to Beat Covid-19. Then Variants Arrived.
President Biden took office with a detailed plan to battle Covid-19 by accelerating vaccinations, reopening schools and selling a massive stimulus proposal to help embattled state and local officials rein in the virus. The course of the pandemic has repeatedly forced the administration to deviate from that initial script. At times, administration officials have been able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. But in other cases, by their own admission, they failed to anticipate how the virus would evolve and how Americans would respond. Officials overestimated their ability to push vaccinations via incentives and mandates, and public-health experts say the focus on shots at times came at the expense of testing, therapeutics and other mitigation measures that could have better prepared the country for highly transmissible variants such as Delta and Omicron.
29th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Omicron, supply shortages risk pushing Germany into recession
With no easing of coronavirus restrictions in sight and manufacturing constraints only starting to ease, Europe’s largest economy risks falling into its second recession of the pandemic. France and Spain meanwhile reported faster-than-expected growth.
29th Jan 2022 - Al Jazeera English
Europeans eye endemic light at end of pandemic tunnel
This week, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told his country that it was the right time to start thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic in a different way. “When we have this [surge] behind us … we can start opening again, step by step,” he told local media. “It’s correct to envisage this now.” The German politician, who is a professor of epidemiology, is not the only European official making this call. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has already spoken about his plan to begin treating the coronavirus more like the flu. Spain would “have to learn to live with it, as we do with many other viruses”, he said.
29th Jan 2022 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Hong Kong Dials Back One of World’s Longest Covid-19 Quarantines
Officials shortened one of the world’s longest quarantine requirements for travelers arriving in Hong Kong to two weeks from three following pressure from international business groups over the city’s zero-Covid policies. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Thursday the order, effective from Feb. 5, was made based on scientific considerations and as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus becomes the dominant strain in more countries. Other social distancing measures such as the closure of gyms, pools and evening dining, will be extended until Feb. 17, Mrs. Lam said, while a flight ban imposed in early January for arrivals from eight countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Canada will remain in place until Feb. 18. In line with China’s national strategy of seeking to maintain no infections, the city has some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 containment policies, which until recently had kept the city free of community transmissions for months.
28th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Finland Eases Some Covid Curbs as Hospitals' Case Loads Drop
Finland’s government decided to gradually ease some restrictions intended to stop overcrowding of health care after witnessing a decline in hospitalizations caused by the coronavirus. The government is opening up some cultural venues, such as theaters and cinemas, and some sporting facilities including gyms and swimming pools, Hanna Sarkkinen, minister for social affairs and health, told reporters on Thursday. It’s also expanding the opening hours of restaurants, allowing them to remain open until 9 p.m., an extra three hours to current restrictions. Bars will still have to close at 6 p.m., she said. Final decisions on the measures are taken by local authorities, she said. According to preliminary information, a peak in infections appears to have been reached, Sarkkinen said. Facilities aren’t able to use the Covid passport to circumvent restrictions, she said.
28th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Omicron Pushes Some Companies Back to Virtual Shareholder Meetings
Some companies are switching to virtual shareholder meetings again as the Omicron variant continues to spread through the U.S. and businesses take precautions to limit infections. Many companies shifted to meeting with their investors remotely as Covid-19 cases first surged in the U.S. in the spring of 2020—a trend that continued in 2021, when 65%, or 3,316, of shareholder meetings by publicly traded U.S. businesses were conducted remotely, according to Wall Street Horizon, a data provider. So far, about 400 listed U.S. companies have announced a date for their 2022 shareholder meeting, and of those, 68% are planning to host an in-person event, Wall Street Horizon said. But, in recent weeks, large corporations including meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. and medical technology company Becton Dickinson & Co. have altered their plans and moved to an online-only event, which some corporate advisers say is the prudent thing to do.
27th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds set to start by next Monday but parents criticise lack of guidance
The official roll-out of Covid jabs for vulnerable five to 11-year-olds is set to start by next Monday but parents have complained about a lack of information. NHS England told i that the roll-out would begin by the end of the month but refused to specify a date. Paediatric doses are still unavailable across England,despite the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommending them for vulnerable five to 11-year-olds or those living with someone who is immunosuppressed.
27th Jan 2022 - iNews
U.S. has sent 400 mln COVID vaccine doses to 112 nations -White House
The United States has shipped 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as part of its earlier pledge to donate about 1.2 billion doses to low-income countries, the White House said on Wednesday. "Today, we will hit a major milestone in our global effort: 400 million vaccine doses shipped to 112 countries ... for free, no strings attached," White House COVID-19 Coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters at a briefing. The latest batch includes 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE vaccine to Bangladesh and 4.7 million doses to Pakistan, CNN reported earlier on Wednesday, citing a White House official.
27th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Sweden decides against recommending COVID vaccines for kids aged 5-12
Sweden has decided against recommending COVID vaccines for kids aged 5-11, the Health Agency said on Thursday, arguing that the benefits did not outweigh the risks. "With the knowledge we have today, with a low risk for serious disease for kids, we don't see any clear benefit with vaccinating them," Health Agency official Britta Bjorkholm told a news conference. She added that the decision could be revisited if the research changed or if a new variant changed the pandemic. Kids in high-risk groups can already get the vaccine.
27th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Parts of Beijing curb movements to fight COVID ahead of Olympics
Beijing has limited the movement of people in more parts of the city, even as it reported fewer COVID-19 cases on Thursday, to lower virus risks just over a week before the Winter Olympic Games begin in the Chinese capital. Beijing's Fengtai district said late on Wednesday residents in more areas should not leave their residential compounds for unnecessary reasons and must have a daily COVID test.
The district, which has reported more local virus cases than others in the current outbreak in Beijing, had already locked down some compounds that house tens of thousands of people. Several other city districts have imposed mobility restrictions in certain areas.
27th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Vaccine mandate to kick in for first wave of health workers
Health care workers in about half the states face a Thursday deadline to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under a Biden administration mandate that will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks. While the requirement is welcomed by some, others fear it will worsen already serious staff shortages if employees quit rather than comply. And in some Republican-led states that have taken a stand against vaccine mandates, hospitals and nursing homes could find themselves caught between conflicting state and federal demands. “We would like to see staff vaccinated. We think that it’s the safest option for residents, which is our biggest concern,” said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, a St. Louis County, Missouri, nonprofit that works on behalf of nursing home residents.
27th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
Will virus be 'over'? Most Americans think not: AP-NORC poll
And, like many, Wilson has come to believe COVID-19 is probably never fully going away. “It’ll become endemic and we’ll be stuck with it forever,” he says. “It’s frustrating, but what can you do about it?” Many Americans agree that they’re going to “be stuck with it forever” — or, at the least, for a long time. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that few — just 15% — say they’ll consider the pandemic over only when COVID-19 is largely eliminated. By contrast, 83% say they’ll feel the pandemic is over when it’s largely a mild illness.
27th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
No exit from zero-COVID: China struggles to find policy off-ramp
China's "zero-COVID" stance has put it at odds with the rest of the world and is exacting a mounting economic toll, but an exit strategy remains elusive as authorities worry about the ability of the healthcare system to cope and adapt to new strains. Chinese medical experts believed last year that higher vaccination rates would eventually allow China to relax tough rules on movement and testing as infection rates slow elsewhere. The emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant dashed those hopes.
27th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Beijing city limits movement in more areas to curb COVID cases before Olympics
Beijing has limited the movement of people in more parts of the city, even as it reported fewer COVID-19 cases on Thursday, to lower virus risks just over a week before the Winter Olympic Games begin in the Chinese capital. Beijing's Fengtai district said late on Wednesday residents in more areas should not leave their residential compounds for unnecessary reasons and must have a daily COVID test.
The district, which has reported more local virus cases than others in the current outbreak in Beijing, had already locked down some compounds that house tens of thousands of people. Several other city districts have imposed mobility restrictions in certain areas.
27th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Virus-ravaged Iran finds brief respite with mass vaccination
As much of the world sees vaccination slowing and infections soaring with the spread of omicron, Iran has found a rare, if fleeting, respite from the anxiety and trauma of the pandemic. After successive virus waves pummeled the country for nearly two years, belated mass vaccination under a new, hard-line president has, for a brief moment, left the stricken nation with a feeling of apparent safety. Now, the specter of an omicron-fueled surge looms large. Hospitals are preparing for the worst as infections tick upward after a monthslong lull. But so far, the variant has not battered the Islamic Republic as it has many Western countries where most adults got jabs a year ago. Drastic infection surges among the inoculated from the United States to Russia have revealed the vaccine’s declining defenses against infection even as its protection against hospitalization and death remains strong.
27th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
Hospitals are denying transplants for patients who aren’t vaccinated against Covid, with backing from ethicists
Boston hospital’s denial of a heart transplant to a man who is unvaccinated for Covid-19 has generated national attention, but experts say mandating vaccines is in keeping with other long-standing requirements that patients have to meet to receive an organ — including getting other shots. In this case, Brigham and Women’s Hospital dropped a 31-year-old man named DJ Ferguson from its transplant waitlist, his family said. Ferguson was concerned about side effects and the speed with which the vaccines were developed, his mother told WCVB. This is not the first such case to make headlines. Last year, both the Cleveland Clinic and University of Colorado Hospital refused to perform organ transplants for recipients who hadn’t been vaccinated.
27th Jan 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullAbbott profit, sales beat estimates on vigorous COVID test demand
Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday beat quarterly profit and sales estimates, aided by robust sales of COVID-19 test kits and strong demand for its diagnostics products, but forecast lower-than-expected COVID-19 testing sales in 2022 due to uncertainties around the future of the pandemic. The U.S. medical device maker traded down as much as 2.7% Wednesday morning following its earnings release.
Abbott said it expects $2.5 billion in sales of COVID-19 test kits in the early part of this year. The company will update its test kit estimates on a quarterly basis.
26th Jan 2022 - Reuters
U.S. Labor Dept withdrawing COVID vaccine rule for large employers
The Department of Labor said on Tuesday it will withdraw its COVID-19 vaccine-and-testing requirement for large U.S. employers after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the rule, ending a controversial bid to increase vaccination rates. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said in the federal register that while it was withdrawing the emergency temporary standard, the rule would remain as a proposal for a permanent requirement. "OSHA continues to strongly encourage the vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by COVID-19 in the workplace," the notice said.
26th Jan 2022 - Reuters
German parliament debates compulsory vaccination as COVID surges
German lawmakers agonised over whether to impose compulsory COVID-19 shots on Wednesday, as new record daily COVID-19 infections and the country's stuttering vaccination campaign forced them into an ethical and constitutional dilemma. Protesters stood in small groups around the Reichstag parliament building, surrounded by police, as politicians within presented cross-party motions.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz backs compulsory vaccines for over-18s but his coalition government is divided on the issue and he has told lawmakers to vote according to conscience.
26th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Denmark aims to scrap all domestic COVID-19 curbs by February
Denmark aims to scrap all remaining domestic COVID-19 restrictions next week, following on from similar announcements in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands in the past week despite high numbers of Omicron infections in Europe. The Nordic country already loosened restrictions two weeks ago after a month-long lockdown, allowing cinemas and music venues to reopen, but some rules remain, including limited opening hours for restaurants and mandatory face masks.
26th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Dutch bars and restaurants can reopen after lockdown - PM Rutte
Bars, restaurants and theatres in the Netherlands can reopen on Jan. 26, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday, further relaxing the country's COVID-19 restrictions despite record infection levels. Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said experts felt the reopening was possible in part because hospitalisations from the country's Omicron wave have been lower than initially feared. "We really are taking a risk today, and we have to be clear about that," Rutte said, announcing the decision at a nationally televised news conference.
26th Jan 2022 - Reuters
China’s Olympics COVID measures test residents’ patience
Repeated COVID-19 testing of millions of Beijing residents is starting to test the patience of some as the city clamps down on the virus ahead of the coming Winter Olympics. A third round of mass testing that started Wednesday for the the 2 million residents of Fengtai district drew complaints online and from residents bundled up against the wind to wait in line outdoors. The skies were sunny, but the daytime high hovered around the freezing point. “I think it is too frequent,” said a woman who only gave her surname, Ma. “I just did it yesterday and was asked to do it again today. I asked the question to the staff and they said, ‘Under the principle of testing everyone who should be tested, just do it since you are here.’”
26th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
Schools Struggle With Omicron-Fueled Teacher Shortages
A wave of Covid-19-related school staffing issues has led some states to take drastic steps to keep schools open, including enlisting state employees, retirees and National Guard members to fill in as substitute teachers.
26th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Key senators propose an overhaul of how the U.S. prepares for pandemics
One of the most significant policies in the plan, released in a draft on Tuesday, would create a 9/11-style bipartisan commission to formally investigate the United States’ pandemic response — a proposal that has failed to gain traction until now. Another would require Senate confirmation for the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The sweeping measure, which was in the works for nearly a year, is the product of negotiations between Senate health committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and ranking member Richard Burr (R-N.C.). The release comes shortly before lawmakers are facing down a deadline to fund the government by Feb. 18, a rare potential bipartisan vehicle for legislation. Murray and Burr said they plan to mark up the bill “in the coming weeks.”
25th Jan 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullVaccines will always be our best weapon against Covid – here’s how to deploy them
Since the pandemic began almost two years ago, the monster that is Covid-19 has visited every corner of Earth, killing more than 5.5 million people. But we have fought back with astounding speed and vigour, and the situation today is very different from that in early 2020. Ten billion vaccine doses will have been administered worldwide by early February. The Covax scheme has delivered 1bn vaccines to lower-income countries. As a result, global daily deaths from the virus are at their lowest point in more than a year. So, is the monster slain? No. Covid-19 will not just disappear. Only one human infectious disease has been eradicated from the planet – smallpox – and that took nearly 200 years. Polio is near to extinction, but it has taken a 70-year campaign.
25th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
‘Putting lives at risk’: Bulgaria referred to rights body over Covid vaccine rollout
Bulgaria’s government has been accused of negligence for failing to prioritise over-65s and people with pre-existing health conditions in its Covid vaccine rollout, in a case that exposes the low uptake of jabs in one of the EU’s poorest member states. The Open Society Foundations (OSF) charitable group said it was filing a formal complaint to the human-rights-focused Council of Europe, alleging that Bulgaria’s government had put lives at risk, possibly leading to thousands of avoidable deaths.
25th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Croatia's conservative party initiates COVID certificate referendum
Croatia's conservative Most party handed 82 boxes of papers in to parliament on Monday carrying the signatures of 410,533 people calling on the government to hold a referendum on whether to abolish COVID-19 certificates. The government must check the signatures, and if they are found to be valid, the date for a referendum can be set. Croatia has one of the European Union's lowest vaccination rates, with around 55% of its population inoculated against COVID-19, ahead of only Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Mandatory COVID shots could deepen German nurse shortage, say care companies
As Germany gears up to make COVID-19 vaccination compulsory in the healthcare sector, the industry fears that resistance among some workers will exacerbate staffing shortages and leave many families reliant on carers in the lurch. Around 90% of medical staff in Germany are vaccinated, compared to about 70% in the general population, but that still leaves hundreds of thousands not vaccinated. Institutions and families that are heavily reliant on workers from eastern Europe where vaccination rates are lower have particular reason to be worried, said Daniel Schloer, the owner of the SunaCare GmbH agency that matches German families with Polish carers looking for work abroad.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Norway scraps coronavirus quarantines
Norway will end its system of mandatory COVID-19 quarantines for non-vaccinated travellers and close contacts of infected persons, replacing it instead with a daily test regime, the government announced on Monday. Under the current rules, anyone arriving in Norway from an area with a quarantine obligation and who cannot show proof of vaccination, or having undergone COVID-19, needs to quarantine for at least three days. Close contacts of infected people are required to quarantine for 10 days.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Dutch bars and restaurants can reopen after lockdown - PM Rutte
Bars, restaurants and theatres in the Netherlands can reopen on Jan. 26, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday, further relaxing the country's COVID-19 restrictions despite record infection levels. Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said experts felt the reopening was possible in part because hospitalisations from the country's Omicron wave have been lower than initially feared. "We really are taking a risk today, and we have to be clear about that," Rutte said, announcing the decision at a nationally televised news conference.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
German firms fear supply chain pain from China's battle with Omicron
German companies doing business in China are worried the Omicron coronavirus variant will trigger more strict lockdown measures from Beijing that could exacerbate supply chain problems, the DIHK Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday. "The Chinese strategy with targeted lockdowns has been very efficient so far," Jens Hildebrandt, DIHK's executive board member in China, told Reuters in an interview. But the more contagious Omicron variant could challenge the zero-COVID approach by Chinese authorities, especially as more Chinese citizens will travel across the country due to the upcoming holiday season, Hildebrandt said.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
South African corruption probe flags COVID contracts worth $137 million
South African investigators have flagged COVID-19 contracts worth around 2.1 billion rand ($137.12 million) for possible corruption and fraud, a report into corruption linked to the pandemic showed on Tuesday. President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the investigation into his government's coronavirus spending in 2020 following a spate of scandals that caused public outrage. Anger over corruption was one reason why the governing African National Congress last year recorded its worst-ever election result, with its share of the vote dropping below 50% in municipal polls
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
IMF cuts growth forecasts for U.S., China and the world as Omicron spreads
The International Monetary Fund lowered its economic forecasts for the United States, China and the global economy on Tuesday, and said uncertainty about the pandemic, inflation, supply disruptions and U.S. monetary tightening posed further risks. "We project global growth this year at 4.4%, 0.5 percentage point lower than previously forecast, mainly because of downgrades for the United States and China," Gita Gopinath, the IMF's No. 2 official, read from her blog.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
J&J expects up to $3.5 bln in COVID vaccine sales this year
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday forecast $3 billion-$3.5 billion in revenue for its COVID-19 vaccine this year, compared to $2.39 billion it generated in 2021, even as the drugmaker faces manufacturing issues and uneven demand for the shot.
25th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Hospitals Ask Congress for $25 Billion Amid Omicron's Onslaught
Hospitals are asking Congress to give them another $25 billion and hand out all previously allotted funds to shore up facilities ravaged by the omicron outbreak.
The money would pay for training and extra security as hospitals cope with staff shortages, higher costs and lost revenue, the American Hospital Association said in a letter to congressional leaders. “We are now in need of additional immediate support from Congress and the administration in order to continue standing strong and to be able to provide timely access to life-saving health care to your constituents,” AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes wrote in a letter dated Jan. 20. “The current surge has impacted hospitals in ways not seen previously.”
25th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Moderna Rout Continues as Haven Plays Replace Vaccine Names
Moderna Inc. and BioNTech SE, two major providers of the Covid-19 inoculations that rallied amid the pandemic, have each tumbled roughly 40% since the start of January, leaving them poised for the biggest monthly drops ever. Novavax Inc. fell as much as 22% on Monday alone and is down over 70% since early September. CureVac NV has tumbled, too. Even pharmaceutical stalwarts have sold off with Johnson & Johnson down 6.3% in a 10-day slide. The health-care giant is set to report earnings on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc., which along with its BioNTech-partnered vaccine makes its own Covid pill, has dropped roughly 13% this month. With Omicron at peak levels and infections starting to fade, it is “unclear what the near-term role for its anti-viral will be should the variant pose as more manageable,” said Oppenheimer strategist Jared Holz.
25th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Hong Kong Push for Covid Zero Creates a Labor Shortage
Domestic helpers — cooks, cleaners and nannies in one — are in high demand, but a system that favors employers has some fearing they’ll be jobless if they seek higher wages.
25th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullVaccine distribution is creating a new kind of vaccine inequality
As vaccine shipments finally surge into poorer countries, the world is in danger of trading in one form of vaccine inequality for another, with disparities in access replaced by disparities in the ability to distribute them on the ground. After a trying period of vaccine hoarding by wealthy countries, the last 40 days of 2021 saw more doses shipped to countries in need through the U.N.-backed Covax program than in the rest of last year combined, according to the World Health Organization’s vaccine director. But distribution campaigns on the ground can take months to ramp up, even in rich nations, and a host of developing countries now receiving shipments are facing a combination of rollout challenges.
24th Jan 2022 - The Washington Post
Belgium OKs 4th vaccine shot for immunocompromised people
Belgium's health ministers have approved a recommendation to use a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine to better protect people with a weakened immune system against the virus. Christie Morreale, the minister for public health in the federal government, said Monday that she and her regional counterparts have greenlighted the proposal made by the country's health council. Morreale did not give a date for the start of the program. About 77% of Belgium's nearly 11.5 million people are now fully vaccinated, and some 6.3 million Belgians have received a booster dose
24th Jan 2022 - The Independent
Hong Kong's Hotel Quarantine Criticized After Omicron Outbreak
Hong Kong’s onerous system of hotel quarantine for travelers was meant to stop infection from seeping into a largely virus-free city. Instead, it’s become a spreading ground, seeding an omicron outbreak that’s led to thousands of people being locked down and calls for reform of the controversial setup. An outbreak at a public housing estate of over 200 confirmed and preliminarily positive cases on Monday has been traced to a traveler who caught omicron while undergoing 21 days of isolation at a hotel in Kowloon. While she entered the hotel Covid-free, the pathogen was transmitted to her from an infected person staying at the same hotel.
24th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
As Cases Mount, China Eases Olympics Covid Testing Standards
The Beijing Winter Olympics has eased a testing requirement for Covid-19 even as a growing number of cases associated with the games are being found, underscoring the challenge China faces in trying keep the infectious omicron variant at bay while minimizing disruption to the massive sporting event. With less than two weeks to go before the opening ceremony, a total of 78 cases among Olympics participants have been reported since Jan. 4, which includes “stakeholders” such as marketing and other support staff. The first case among an athletes or team official was detected at Beijing airport on Sunday.
24th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Diplomats at Beijing Olympics Risk 21 Days in Quarantine
China warned foreign diplomats attending the Winter Olympics opening ceremony they could face 21 days in quarantine if they are deemed close contacts of positive cases in the audience. The notice, sent to diplomatic missions and seen by Bloomberg News, came amid a long list of measures that attendees must comply with to attend the Feb. 4 event. They included avoiding parties, meals with friends or even elevator chitchat, along with regular Covid-19 tests and travel restrictions.
24th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Beijing Tests Shoppers Buying Fever Drugs Before Winter Olympics
China’s capital is requiring anyone who buys commonly available anti-fever medicine to undergo Covid-19 testing, as authorities try to root out undetected virus infections without locking down the country’s most important city and host of next week’s Winter Olympics. Beijing residents who purchase antipyretics, antivirals and drugs that target coughs and sore throats will get an alert on the mobile app China uses for contact tracing and which is frequently checked to allow entry to public venues. The buyer will then need to take a Covid test within 72 hours or face movement restrictions
24th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Some Hong Kong civil servants, bankers to work from home as COVID spreads
Hong Kong has told some civil servants to work from home from Tuesday, and some banks have given similar instructions to staff following a spate of COVID-19 infections in the Asian financial hub a week before the busy Lunar New Year holiday. Health authorities said there were 109 new cases on Monday, out of which 98 were locally transmitted and five were untraceable. Daily cases hit an 18-month high of 140 on Sunday, fuelled by an outbreak in a congested public housing estate.
24th Jan 2022 - Reuters
China tests 2M in Beijing, lifts COVID lockdown in Xi'an
Less than two weeks before the opening of the Winter Olympics, a few dozen COVID-19 cases in Beijing have prompted authorities to test millions of people in the capital and extend that to anyone buying cold medicine. The tough new measures came even as the city of Xi’an, a major tourist destination that is the home of the Terracotta Warrior statue army, lifted a lockdown Monday that had isolated its 13 million people for a month. More than 3,000 people have arrived for the Games since Jan. 4, including over 300 athletes and team officials, plus media and other participants, organizers said Monday. So far, 78 people have tested positive, including one who was an athlete or team official.
24th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Thailand Offers 4th Covid Shot in Tourist Spots Before Borders Reopen
Thailand is ramping up the rollout of fourth Covid-19 shots to residents in its tourism-dependent regions as the nation gears up for border reopening next month. Authorities are offering AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and seven other provinces to those who have received their third dose at least three months ago, the health ministry said. The Southeast Asian nation has already administered more than 800,000 fourth doses, mostly to healthcare workers and those in high-risk groups, official data showed.
24th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
France bars unvaccinated from restaurants, sports venues
People who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer allowed in France’s restaurants, bars, tourist sites and sports venues unless they recently recovered from the virus. The new law came into effect Monday requiring a “vaccine pass” that is central to the government’s anti-virus strategy. France is registering Europe’s highest-ever daily coronavirus infection numbers, and hospitals are continuing to fill up with virus patients, though the number of people in intensive care units has dropped in recent days.
24th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullForeign Executives in Isolated Hong Kong Head for Exit, Sick of Zero-Covid Curbs
Stringent rules to try to keep Hong Kong free of Covid-19 are driving away more foreign executives, chipping away at the city’s decades-old status as one of the world’s top business hubs. Flight bans, lengthy quarantine stays for arrivals and repeated school closures are pushing more people to a breaking point as the pandemic enters its third year and the city clings to a zero-Covid strategy abandoned by nearly all countries save for China. A growing outbreak at a public housing estate has prompted the government to lock down buildings and send more people into quarantine. Executives complain the travel restrictions have prevented them from keeping tabs on operations in other countries or visiting business partners and potential clients, even in mainland China. Meanwhile, there is the ever-present risk of being sent to quarantine if they happen to cross paths with a Covid-19 sufferer in Hong Kong just by visiting a pet store or eating lunch out.
23rd Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
In Hospital Strained by Omicron, Weary Nurses Treat Too Many Patients
The fast-moving Omicron variant is straining U.S. hospitals on a scale not seen before in the two-year-old pandemic. The facilities are confronting record or near-record levels of patients while staff struggle with burnout and call in sick in large numbers due to the virus. Even hospitals in regions where the Omicron wave has begun easing say they couldn’t keep up, forcing them to make agonizing decisions about which desperate patients they can admit and which must wait, risking more severe illness. “With 1,100 new positive cases in our employees last week, you have no choice,” Ms. Schwartz said early this month while Houston Methodist Hospital was closing about 140 beds a day on average, more than one-tenth of its capacity, largely because of staffing.
23rd Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China's Covid Victory Over America Turns Out to Be Pyrrhic
Authoritarian regimes tend to boast about themselves and denigrate their rivals. President Xi Jinping’s China is no exception. “As the Covid-19 epidemic takes away hundreds of lives every day in the U.S.,” wrote Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, on Jan. 14, “that country’s propaganda machinery is engaging in vicious smears against China’s dynamic zero-case policy of epidemic prevention … Think about it. More than 800,000 Americans died from Covid-19 in the U.S. Behind these numbers, how many sad and desperate stories are there?”
23rd Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Australia to Allow Overseas Arrivals With Rapid Antigen Test
Australia will allow international air travelers to enter the country if they provide results from a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours of departure. A RAT must be undertaken by or under the supervision of a medical practitioner that includes pharmacists or trained personnel at an authorized airport testing station, the Ministry of Health said on its website Saturday in Sydney. The change is effective from 1 a.m. Sunday. Until now any incoming traveler needed to provide a negative PCR test within three days of departure, creating the risk a person may get infected after the test and before embarking. In addition, the global spread of omicron has dramatically increased demand for PCR testing which has impacted access for those wanting pre-departure certification.
22nd Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Omicron Reinfections Unlikely Over Several Months, Fauci Says
It’s extremely unlikely that a person can be reinfected with omicron, at least in the short-term, President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser said, as the U.S. begins to see sharp declines in cases in places hit earliest by the variant. “There are reinfections, but it is unlikely that -- if you mounted a good immune response -- at least over a period of several months, it is extremely unlikely that you will be reinfected with the same variant,” Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a press briefing on Friday. Cases of reinfection have typically been in people who fell ill with one variant and then later contracted a different variant, Fauci said.
22nd Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
FDA expands use of remdesivir to patients with high risk of hospitalization
The U.S. health regulator on Friday expanded its approval for the use of Gilead Sciences' (GILD.O) antiviral drug remdesivir to treat non-hospitalized patients 12 years and older for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease with high risk of hospitalization. Previously, the use of Veklury was limited to patients requiring hospitalization.
22nd Jan 2022 - Reuters
Experts say the world needs to be vaccinated to end pandemic
COVID-19 cases have sharply risen again across the US and around the world, with the new Omicron variant accounting for most new cases. The winter surge has prompted many experts and officials to reemphasize the importance of masking indoors and social distancing, in addition to getting vaccinated, including booster shots.
21st Jan 2022 - The Boston Globe on MSN.com
GSK, Vir ramping up U.S. output of COVID antibody drug
GlaxoSmithKline and U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology will boost production of their antibody-based COVID-19 treatment by adding a second manufacturing plant to help meet soaring demand in the United States. The U.S. government last week signed a deal with the drugmakers to buy 600,000 more doses of the therapy, sotrovimab, for an undisclosed sum. The GSK-Vir therapy has shown more promise against the Omicron variant in lab studies than treatments from major rivals Eli Lilly and Regeneron.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
As Japan infections surge, so does risk of pandemic fatigue
Japan on Friday acted to contain a record surge in COVID-19 cases with a return to curbs that have however shown diminishing results, while a laggard vaccine booster programme leaves many people vulnerable to breakthrough infections. The government empowered authorities in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures to implement curbs on mobility and business activity - measures that, with three prefectures already under such devolved restrictions, now cover half of Japan's population. The highly infectious Omicron variant has driven the current wave of cases, and nationwide infections hit an all-time high of around 46,000 on Thursday.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Is COVID retreating in the U.S.? Data paints encouraging scenario
New coronavirus cases are falling in parts of the United States hardest hit by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to a Reuters analysis of public health data, offering an early indication the virus might once again be on retreat. COVID-19 infections have decreased in 15 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, an analysis of the past week through Wednesday compared with the prior week showed. In the Northeast, which saw some of the highest case loads during the latest surge, infections are down 36% week-over-week. The drop was more modest at the national level with the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases falling 1% as of Wednesday, according to the Reuters tally. COVID-19 data often lag a few days behind the actual state of affairs. "Certainly it bodes well for us in terms of the trajectory of Omicron," said Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University in New York City. While falling case numbers in parts of the country that were first and hard-hit by the variant offer tangible hope of turning a corner, infections are still on the rise across swathes of the United States. Cases are still climbing in the Midwest, which has the highest week-over-week increase at 14%, followed by the South at 8% and Western states at 7%, although the increase has slowed considerably in recent weeks.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Covid: NHS in push to vaccinate the final four million
More than four million adults in the UK have not yet had a first Covid jab and 16 million have not had their booster. This winter, NHS vaccine teams have been out on the streets trying to win over those hard-to-reach groups who might have struggled to access health services in the past. Carole Phillips, an NHS clinical director in Portsmouth, is best described as a straight talker. A former army medic who served in Afghanistan, she is now running outreach programmes in the city - trying to get the Covid vaccine to the most vulnerable. "In Portsmouth, we have still got a large percentage of the population - 20% - who haven't had their first jab," she says. "We have to reach out to these people, regardless of their lifestyle, to protect all of us in the end."
21st Jan 2022 - BBC News
Coronavirus vaccine fines: Experts urge caution as Austria and other governments plan to fine the unvaccinated
More governments are offering people a stark choice: Get vaccinated or pay up.
Austria’s lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a coronavirus vaccine mandate for all adults starting Feb. 1, with violators facing as much as $4,000 in fines. In Greece, starting this week, people older than 60 who decline the vaccine can be fined $113 per month. Italians who are older than 50 must also get vaccinated or face fines and suspensions from work, beginning next month. In Canada, meanwhile, the hard-hit province of Quebec said last week that it was considering a plan to impose a “significant” financial penalty on adults without at least a first dose of coronavirus vaccine.
21st Jan 2022 - The Washington Post
Hong Kong warns people to stop trying to prevent COVID hamster cull
Hong Kong police will deal with pet lovers who try to stop people giving up their hamsters to be put down, or who offer to care for abandoned hamsters, authorities said, after they ordered a cull of the cuddly rodents to curb the coronavirus. On Tuesday, officials ordered the killing of about 2,000 hamsters from dozens of pet shops after tracing a coronavirus outbreak to a worker at a shop, where 11 hamsters later tested positive for COVID-19. Thousands of people have offered to adopt unwanted hamsters amid a public outcry against the government and its pandemic advisers, which the office of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam called irrational.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
France to loosen COVID curbs in February, allowing popcorn in cinemas again
France will ease work-from-home rules from early February and allow nightclubs to reopen two weeks later as the general COVID-19 situation in the country is starting to improve, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Caps on the number of people allowed into sports and entertainment venues will also be lifted on Feb. 2, and masks will no longer be required outdoors from that date. People will also again, from Feb. 16, be allowed to eat popcorn - or other snacks - in cinemas.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Switzerland recommends COVID booster for children aged 12-15
Swiss public health officials updated their recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots on Friday to include everyone aged 12 and older. Pfizer's mRNA vaccine should be used as the booster shot for this age group, said the Federal Office of Public Health and the Federal Commission for Vaccination. The authority recommended the booster shot to be offered to all eligible age groups at least four months after the second dose of a two-shot coronavirus vaccine regimen.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
EU told to prepare for fourth COVID vaccine doses, if needed
Countries scramble to tame more infectious Omicron variant. Some EU countries deploying 4th doses already. Many want more data before deciding. EU health ministers met at short notice on Friday
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Poland to shorten COVID-19 quarantine to 7 days, says PM
Poland will shorten the COVID-19 quarantine period to seven days and will introduce free tests in pharmacies from Jan. 27, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday, after the country reported a record number of infections.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Ireland set to rapidly drop almost all COVID-19 restrictions
Ireland is to scrap almost all its COVID-19 restrictions on Saturday after coming though the storm of the Omicron variant that led to a massive surge in infections, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said in a national address. Ireland had the second highest incidence rate of COVID-19 in Europe just last week but also one of the continent's highest uptake of booster vaccines, which has helped keep the number of seriously ill people well below the previous peak.
21st Jan 2022 - Reuters
Covid-19: 'We'll be second-class citizens if self-isolation rules go'
Work-from-home guidance has been scrapped, mandatory mask-wearing will soon go and Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said compulsory self-isolation could be next. But what happens to people who cannot live with the virus, because their immune conditions mean vaccines may not work? For nearly two years, Julie - not her real name - has worked from home and lived like "an absolute hermit", knowing that her condition means a coronavirus infection could be more deadly. That didn't change even after her third jab, because she has to take medication to suppress her immune system, meaning her body may not be able to respond to the vaccine.
21st Jan 2022 - BBC News
Medical Glassmaker Schott to Increase Spending Amid Boost From Covid-19 Vaccines
Schott AG’s finance chief plans to increase spending this year as the specialty glass and materials manufacturer sees growing demand for its products, including syringes and vials for Covid-19 vaccines. The Mainz, Germany-based company intends to invest €450 million, equivalent to about $510 million, this fiscal year. That is up from the €340 million it spent during the year ended Sept. 30. Schott, which in 2021 produced vials for over five billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, expects to expand its plants, including a facility for syringes and vials in Müllheim in Southern Germany, for which it recently added a production line for polymer syringes, Chief Financial Officer Jens Schulte said. The company supplies vaccine makers globally, including in the U.S. and China.
20th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullFrance to unveil timetable for easing COVID restrictions
France will unveil a timetable for easing COVID-19 restrictions later on Thursday, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said, though he cautioned the wave of Omicron infections tearing through the country had not reached its peak. Attal said France's new vaccine pass rules would help allow a softening of rules even as the incidence rate of infections continues to increase.
20th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Ontario schools reopening amid calls for more COVID measures
Schoolchildren in Canada’s most populous province are going back to their classrooms this week, after many parents said they were left scrambling to respond to the Ontario government’s decision earlier this month to delay in-person learning. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on January 3 that the province would push back the planned return to in-person classes from January 5 to January 17 due to rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations linked to the Omicron variant.
20th Jan 2022 - Al Jazeera
Omicron prompts calls for Japan to treat COVID like the flu
Calls are growing in Japan to treat Covid-19 as endemic, adding to a global chorus pushing for a return to normal life as people tire of pandemic restrictions, vaccines become more accessible and virus deaths remain low. Drawing on data that shows omicron posing a less severe risk than previous variants, public figures from Tokyo’s governor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have signaled their support for downgrading the legal status of the virus in Japan. The change would widen health care access for patients, effectively casting the virus as no different than the flu.
20th Jan 2022 - Al Jazeera
US begins offering 1B free COVID tests, but many more needed
For the first time, people across the U.S. can log on to a government website and order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country’s long-troubled testing system. The website, COVIDTests.gov, allows people to order four at-home tests per household, regardless of citizenship status, and have them delivered by mail. But the tests won’t arrive for seven to 12 days, after omicron cases are expected to peak in many parts of the country. The White House also announced Wednesday that it will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers.
20th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Europe considers new COVID-19 strategy: accepting the virus
With one of Europe’s highest vaccination rates and its most pandemic-battered economies, the Spanish government is laying the groundwork to treat the next infection surge not as an emergency but an illness that is here to stay. Similar steps are under consideration in neighboring Portugal and in Britain. The idea is to move from crisis mode to control mode, approaching the virus in much the same way countries deal with flu or measles. That means accepting that infections will occur and providing extra care for at-risk people and patients with complications.
20th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Austria Starts Lottery to Boost Support for Obligatory Vaccine
Austrian lawmakers were set to pass the European Union’s first law making coronavirus vaccinations mandatory as other member states ease restrictions in the latest wave of the pandemic. The parliament’s lower house was set to approve the policy on Thursday with additional support from most deputies in two opposition groups. Only the far-right Freedom Party rejects the plan.
20th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
The Power of Free Covid Tests by Mail
On Jan. 18, the Biden administration quietly opened a portal that allows U.S. residents to order free coronavirus tests, a full day before the site’s planned formal launch. Americans swiftly took notice: Covidtests.gov and special.usps.com/testkits rocketed to the top of the federal government’s website portfolio on Tuesday, according to the U.S. analytics site. As of Wednesday morning, almost 300,000 users were engaging with these sites, accounting for 40% of the federal government’s online traffic.
20th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Thailand to resume quarantine waiver for arrivals from February
Thailand will resume its 'Test & Go' quarantine waiver for vaccinated arrivals from Feb. 1, its coronavirus task force said, in response to slowing COVID-19 infections. The scheme was suspended a month ago after only seven weeks due to the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant and uncertainty about vaccine effectiveness against it. The policy requires visitors to test on arrival and again five days later, while agreeing to have their whereabouts tracked, spokesperson Taweesin Wisanuyothin told a briefing.
20th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Taiwan to mandate COVID vaccination proof for entertainment venues
Taiwan will mandate the use of passes that provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into entertainment venues, the government said on Thursday, as it seeks to reduce infection risks while tackling a small rise in domestic Omicron cases. The Central Epidemic Command Centre said that from Friday entry into venues including bars and night clubs would require proof of full vaccination, either by showing a physical vaccine card or a new digital card.
20th Jan 2022 - Reuters
A Million Vaccine Shots Tossed in Indonesia on Short Expiry Date
More than a million Covid-19 vaccine shots expired in Indonesia before they could be given out, as most of them were donated with a short shelf life. Of the 1.1 million doses that were thrown out, about 98% were donated just one to three months away from expiry, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in parliament.
20th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Vaccine group Gavi says additional $5.2 bln needed to ensure supply
The chairman of the Gavi vaccine alliance, Jose Manuel Barroso, said that an additional $5.2 billion is needed to continue to deliver vaccines at scale. Speaking at a news briefing, Barroso said it was critical to continue to keep up the pace of vaccine supply through the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme, as more than 3 billion people in the world have yet to receive their first dose. Gavi Chief Executive Seth Berkley said there was a need to raise the additional funds in the next three months to establish a pandemic pool of a minimum 600 million additional doses, strengthen countries' delivery systems, and finance ancillary costs for syringes and transport.
20th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Some U.S. Hospitals See Covid-19 Patient Counts Decline as Omicron Retreats
Hospitals in early Omicron hot spots like New York and Washington, D.C., say the pressure is starting to ease, with many reporting fewer Covid-19 patients filling beds and smaller numbers of staff sidelined by infections. While these improvements follow declines in new Covid-19 case counts in parts of the U.S., health authorities have warned Omicron has yet to peak nationally, and hospitals around the country remain under significant strain from Covid-19 patient counts still at record levels. But there is also growing evidence Omicron’s surges, while explosive, can be short lived. “We’re really on that downturn,” said Terry Fairbanks, chief quality and safety officer at MedStar Health, a Washington, D.C.-area hospital system that had about 700 Covid-19 patients by Wednesday. The peak was 980 on Jan. 10.
20th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullChina plays lonely game of Covid whack-a-hamster
Hamsters have become the latest victims of China’s Covid-zero policy. Hong Kong is culling 2,000 read more of them after 11 tested positive, while Beijing curiously blames the mail for spreading the Omicron variant. Dogged devotion to an elimination strategy and the resulting disruptions are becoming farcical, and costly, as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus. Rising vaccination rates and the economic consequences of restrictions have prompted most policymakers to relax their approaches.
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Yellen says U.S. state, local aid strengthened cities' COVID responses
The $350 billion in coronavirus relief aid for state and local governments has allowed U.S. cities to respond faster and stronger to an ever changing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. Yellen told a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors that the response by state and local governments is helping to blunt the impact of the highly-contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Betting Omicron has peaked, England set to lift COVID rules
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the end of most COVID-19 measures introduced to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in England as he looks to live with the virus after an apparent peak in cases. Britain was the first country to limit international travel over the Omicron variant, raising alarm bells about its mutations, and in December introduced work at home advice, more mask-wearing and vaccine passes to slow its spread. But while cases soared to record highs, hospitalisations and deaths have not risen by the same extent, in part due to Britain's booster rollout and the variant's lesser severity.
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters UK
Australia calls on backpackers to help ease Omicron-fuelled labour shortage
Australia threw out an invitation to backpackers on Wednesday, seeking reinforcements for a workforce crippled by an Omicron COVID-19 outbreak as the country's health system creaks under the pandemic's strain with more deaths predicted in weeks ahead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government was waiving the A$630 ($453) visa application fee for any backpacker or student who arrives in Australia within the next 12 weeks, and encouraged them to see work as they tour the country. "Come on down now because you wanted to come to Australia," Morrison said during a televised press conference.
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Czech gov't debates mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, daily cases jump
The Czech government is due to decide on Wednesday whether to retain mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in key professions and people over 60 as the daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit a record high. Authorities said 28,469 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday, more than double the 12,371 reported for Tuesday of last week. Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the central European country of 10.7 million people and the government expects about 50,000 daily cases by the end of the month
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Xi Jinping’s Covid Defense Gets Weaker With Every Omicron Case
More than two years into the pandemic most countries are striving to live alongside Covid, accepting the virus as part of everyday life. China, where the pathogen first emerged, exists in an alternate reality, wedded to a zero-tolerance strategy that’s growing harder to maintain. Despite firmly closed borders and a vaccination rate near 90%, the highly transmissible omicron variant has been reported in seven out of 31 provinces and all of China’s biggest cities. Port disruptions and citywide shutdowns are increasingly common, and on Monday, the government signaled it’s bracing for more: The central bank cut its key interest rate after the economy posted its weakest quarter since the beginning of the pandemic.
19th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. to make 400 million N95 masks available for free to fight COVID-19 pandemic -official
The U.S. government will make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks from its strategic national stockpile available for free to the public starting next week, a White House official said, marking the Biden administration's latest effort to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The face masks will be shipped to pharmacies and community health centers this week, the official said, and available for pickup late next week.
19th Jan 2022 - Reuters
UK PM aims to relax COVID rules amid threat to position
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the country, in a bid to placate members of the ruling Conservative party as he tries to avert a possible revolt in his own ranks following revelations of parties at his residence during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Johnson’s cabinet will review the current restrictions – imposed last month amid an Omicron surge – at a meeting on Wednesday, according to UK media reports.
19th Jan 2022 - AlJazeera
Pharmacies shouldn’t be the only place to get Paxlovid, the new Covid pill
As another year of pandemic fatigue looms, the US is once again in the position of having to decide how to allocate and distribute scarce health care resources, from ICU beds to Covid-19 drugs. Important mistakes are still being made. In the penultimate week of 2021, the FDA granted emergency use authorization to Paxlovid, a two-drug antiviral developed by Pfizer for treating individuals ages 12 and up who test positive for Covid-19 and are at high risk for progression to the severe form of the disease. The problem is that there isn’t nearly enough Paxlovid to treat the staggering number of people who could benefit from it.
19th Jan 2022 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullBritain preparing for end-June switch to paid COVID tests - document
British health officials are aiming to be ready to start charging Britons for COVID-19 tests that are currently free at the end of June, a document seen by Reuters shows, in what could be a risky gambit for the government. Britain has been increasingly dependent on rapid testing to try to tackle the more-transmissible Omicron variant, which has spread rapidly through the population but is less severe. The government has previously said it will end the universal free provision of easy-to-use lateral flow devices (LFDs) at a "later stage", with individuals and businesses bearing the cost.
18th Jan 2022 - Reuters
U.S. website to order free COVID-19 tests up and running
The U.S. government's new COVIDTests.gov website, set up for American households to order four free COVID-19 tests amid the Omicron variant surge, is up and running ahead of its official launch on Wednesday, the White House said.
U.S. households can secure four tests at no cost when ordering from the website, with shipping expected within seven to 12 days of ordering, the White House said on Friday. President Joe Biden has pledged to procure 1 billion free tests for Americans, and more may be ordered in the future.
18th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Thailand to lower COVID-19 alert, ease curbs as infections slow
Thailand will lower its COVID-19 alert level and is considering easing more restrictions to boost its economy, its health minister said on Tuesday, in response to a slower infection rate. Among measures being considered are establishing more "sandbox" areas for tourists, who can skip quarantine if they stay in specified areas for seven days and undergo two COVID-19 tests. Nightclubs, pubs and bars will remained closed for now, however, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters, adding the COVID-19 alert level will be lowered to 3, from 4, on the government's 5-level system
18th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Texas, Arizona Have Recovered All the Jobs Lost When Covid-19 Hit
Texas and Arizona have joined two other states in recovering all the jobs they lost at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading a trend that is expected to include another dozen states by the middle of this year. The states, which also include Utah and Idaho, have benefited from demographic shifts before and during the pandemic—experiencing outsize payroll growth in retail, warehousing, technology and transportation industries. Companies have moved operations to the states, and workers have moved in as well, sometimes leaving more crowded and expensive urban areas. The states—all Republican controlled—also have had relatively relaxed Covid-19 restrictions during the pandemic, which economists say softened the blow on their economies.
18th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Israel sticks with 4th vaccine shot, sees Omicron wave waning in a week
Israel will continue to offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot despite preliminary findings that it is not enough to prevent Omicron infections, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, predicting contagions stoked by the variant will wane in a week. With his government scaling back Omicron counter-measures to ease the strain on the economy, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sought to cast Israel's still-high case numbers primarily as a result of an en-masse testing drive rather than infection rates.
18th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Abu Dhabi requires booster shots to enter the emirate
Facing a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, Abu Dhabi is requiring people entering the city to show proof of booster shots. The government’s health app said earlier this week that people entering the capital of the United Arab Emirates must show a “green pass,” confirming their vaccination status. The app says that visitors are no longer considered fully vaccinated unless they have received a booster at least six months after their second dose. Those wishing to enter Abu Dhabi also must have have tested negative for the virus within the last two weeks to maintain their “green” status.
18th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Rising Omicron Infections May Force Idaho to Return to Hospital Rationing
Rising Covid-19 omicron infections could force Idaho to start rationing hospital care again as health care workers fall ill, the state’s top health official warned Tuesday.
If the trend continues, “it is likely Idaho will enter crisis of standards of care for a second time,” Dave Jeppesen, director of the state Department of Health and Welfare, said during an online briefing. The state ended rationing Dec. 20.
One in four people tested for Covid-19 in Idaho are receiving positive results, the highest statewide positivity rate of the pandemic, Jeppesen said.
18th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Morrisons confirms sick pay cut for unvaccinated staff
Supermarket Morrisons has confirmed it has cut sick pay for unvaccinated workers who are forced to isolate after being exposed to Covid. It follows similar moves from big retailers including Ikea, Next and Ocado as staff absences rise. Unjabbed Morrisons workers who are told to isolate but test negative now get statutory sick pay of £96.35 a week. Covid-positive staff get full sick pay regardless of vaccination status. The firm pays staff at least £10 per hour.
18th Jan 2022 - BBC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullOmicron Fuels Fresh Surge, Threatening India’s Hospitals Anew
With less than half of India’s population fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and Omicron-variant infections rising rapidly, public-health experts warn that the healthcare system is again vulnerable—months after being overwhelmed by a surge of cases. India reported 141,986 new cases on Saturday, more than six times the number a week earlier. That official Covid-19 case count, like the government’s death tally—which stands at about 480,000—is a vast undercounting, many health experts say.
The reproduction rate of the virus—the number of new infections caused by a single contagious person—recently hit 2.69, exceeding last year’s peak of 1.69, a government adviser said Wednesday. The official case count is expected surpass its daily record of 414,000, set in May, before the surge peaks in February.
18th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Apple makes Covid-19 booster shots mandatory for all employees
Amid the surge in Omicron cases in the US, Apple is making booster vaccines mandatory for all its employees. Apple employees must submit proof of Covid-19 boosters or be required to take tests to enter stores and offices from February 15. ‘Due to waning efficacy of the primary series of Covid-19 vaccines and the emergence of highly transmissible variants such as Omicron, a booster shot is now part of staying up to date with your Covid-19 vaccination to protect against severe disease,’ according to an internal memo
17th Jan 2022 - Metro
Omicron Variant Encourages Some to Move Past Covid-19 Precautions, Despite Risks
Omicron’s ubiquity and reduced severity are encouraging some people to drop pandemic precautions, decisions that public-health experts say present new risks for people at risk of severe Covid-19 outcomes. People, including those who got vaccinated and boosted and curtailed their activities for months, are letting their guard down in the face of a variant that appears to be infecting everyone but causing largely mild illness.
17th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19: Self-isolation period in England cut to five days as 16 and 17-year-olds invited for booster jabs
The time people must spend in isolation for contracting COVID has been reduced to five days in England, as 16 and 17-year-olds have been invited to receive their COVID-19 vaccine booster. People in England can now leave quarantine after five full days providing they test negative on days five and six. Ministers reduced the isolation period from seven days to five to help address staff shortages by allowing people to return to work sooner.
17th Jan 2022 - Sky News
COVID review for England could come this week, early next - source
A review of "Plan B" measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in England could take place this week or early next, a senior government source said on Monday, part of efforts to move attention away from lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to reset his agenda after coming under fire for attending a gathering in the garden of his Downing Street office and residence in May 2020, when strict COVID-19 rules forbade almost all socialising.
17th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Omicron Surge Spurs New Covid-19 Relief Push in Congress
Hotels, fitness clubs, tour bus companies and minor league ball clubs are part of a long line of businesses seeking billions of dollars in new Covid-19 relief aid—if they can overcome opposition from many Republicans who say Congress has already given enough. Lobbyists for the businesses say their campaign has taken on new urgency as the Omicron variant sweeps across the country, forcing many companies to scale back or shut down operations as employees call in sick and customers cancel orders and reservations.
17th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
China urges local govts to minimize impact from COVID-19 curbs over Lunar New Year
China's state planner has urged local governments to minimise the impact from COVID-19 restrictions over the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to help a rebound in consumption, as rising cases of the Omicron variant threaten economic growth. "Local governments should avoid simplified, one-size-fits-all ... COVID-19 epidemic and control measures (over the holiday) and minimise the impact on the people's life," the National Development and Reform Commission said. It said low-risk places in China meet the reasonable demand for short trips from urban and rural residents, and step up the supply of everyday products over the holiday period.
17th Jan 2022 - MSN.com
1st kids’ Omicron ward opens with classes, clowns, and doctors bracing for ‘war’
Preparing themselves for an influx of kids battling COVID-19, Israeli doctors have opened the country’s first pediatric Omicron unit. With Omicron spreading fast in schools and other places where kids mix, significant hospitalizations are inevitable, according to Dr. Moshe Ashkenazi, director of the new ward at Sheba Medical Center. “Omicron appears to be less virulent than other variants, but the sheer numbers being infected will mean children being hospitalized,” Ashkenazi told The Times of Israel, adding that the current spiraling numbers bring back vivid memories of the first wave in early 2020. “We have a sense of deja vu from the first wave, and we’re preparing ourselves for a war, just as we did in the first wave,” he said.
17th Jan 2022 - The Times of Israel
Fighting Covid-19 in Kibera, one of Africa’s largest informal settlements
Nearly 10 months after a grandmother in England became the first person in the world to get vaccinated against Covid-19 outside of a clinical trial, we were finally able to start vaccinating residents of Kibera, one of Africa’s largest informal settlements. That first jab was a long time coming. In March 2021, the Kenyan government prioritized vaccination as one of the key measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, reduce community transmission, severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. The informal employment sector had significantly closed, four out of five residents of Kibera and other informal settlements had lost their income, and a majority of households were facing hunger
17th Jan 2022 - STAT News
COVID program delivers 1 billion doses to poorer countries
The World Health Organization said that a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone “is only a reminder of the work that remains” after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. A shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rwanda on Saturday included the billionth dose supplied via the COVAX program, the U.N. health agency said. WHO has long criticized unequal distribution of vaccines and called for manufacturers and other countries to prioritize COVAX. It said that, as of Thursday, 36 of its 194 member countries had vaccinated less than 10% of their population and 88 had vaccinated less than 40%.
16th Jan 2022 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullExhausted parents navigate a patchwork of U.S. school COVID-19 policies
Jennifer Pierre speaks for millions of American parents when she sums up how it feels to navigate a patchwork of school COVID-19 policies as the pandemic enters a third year. "It's so exhausting," the Sacramento, California, mother said this week.
She is happy to see her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son back in their classrooms after the long months of remote learning that hindered their social development. But even with her school district's strict safety protocols, she worries about whether the surging Omicron variant will lead to further closures and on what grounds those will be decided.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Mexico approves emergency use of Pfizer's COVID-19 pills
Mexican health regulator COFEPRIS said on Friday it had approved U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer's antiviral oral treatment against COVID-19 for emergency use in adults with light or moderate risk of complications. Paxlovid, which combines nirmatrelvir and ritonavir in a tablet, will require a prescription, it said in a statement. The treatment was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, and data suggested it retains its effectiveness against the Omicron variant, Pfizer has said.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
In rare move, Uruguay opens borders for residents infected with COVID-19
Uruguay has opened its borders to citizens and residents even if they are infected with COVID-19, a rare move amid surging cases worldwide, though passengers would need to travel in private vehicles across the border and be in a family "bubble". The South American country's government said the move was in "solidarity" with Uruguayans and residents who were infected with the virus abroad.
"All Uruguayan travelers and resident foreigners who have got Covid abroad may return to our country at any time," Uruguayan Health Minister Daniel Salinas said on his Twitter account on Friday.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Apple to require employee proof of COVID-19 booster
Apple Inc will require retail and corporate employees to provide proof of a COVID-19 booster shot, The Verge reported on Saturday, citing an internal email.
Starting Jan. 24, unvaccinated employees or those who haven't submitted proof of vaccination will need negative COVID-19 tests to enter Apple workplaces, the report said. The Verge said it was not immediately clear if the testing requirement applies to both corporate and retail employees. "Due to waning efficacy of the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and the emergence of highly transmissible variants such as Omicron, a booster shot is now part of staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination to protect against severe disease," the memo read, according to The Verge.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Dutch announce COVID lockdown easing amid record infections
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday announced the reopening of stores, hairdressers and gyms, partially lifting a lockdown despite record numbers of new COVIC-19 cases. "We are taking a big step and that also means we're taking a big risk," Rutte told a televised press conference. Non-essential stores, hairdressers, beauty salons and other service providers will be allowed to reopen under strict conditions until 5 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) for the first time since mid-December.
Rutte added that the uncertainties meant that bars, restaurants and cultural venues would have to remain closed until at least Jan. 25.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Vaccine Makers Pursue Omicron-Targeted Shots That Health Officials Say Might Not Be Needed
As Covid-19 vaccine makers prepare Omicron-specific shots, federal health authorities say there are signs they might not be necessary. Research is continuing, however, and industry and global-health officials say doses targeting the highly transmissible new variant might be needed longer-term, especially if it winds up crowding out earlier strains globally. Differing opinions on the need for Omicron-targeted shots highlights the persisting uncertainty around current vaccines’ relative efficacy against the variant weeks after it began sweeping the U.S. Researchers designed the existing Covid-19 shots to fight the original coronavirus strain that predominated in 2020. Since then, the vaccines have remained effective against newer variants like Delta that have emerged and overtaken the initial strain.
15th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Omicron Slows in Early U.S. Hot Spots, Offering First Hopes of a Peak
The steep rise in new daily Covid-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant is starting to slow in some early U.S. hot spots, including New York and Chicago, sparking some optimism that a record-breaking spike in cases may be plateauing. Public officials are viewing the data cautiously and aren’t yet declaring victory. Still, some are noting that the trend is appearing to follow similar trajectories that have played out in South Africa and the U.K., where Omicron hit earlier. “There seems to be a slowing down in the major cities that were most initially impacted by the Omicron variant,” said Enbal Shacham, an epidemiologist and associate director of the Geospatial Institute at St. Louis University. “This pattern is similar to what we saw in South Africa and what we were all kind of hoping to see.”
15th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Stretched Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fear Losing More Staff Over Vaccine Mandate
Strained hospitals and nursing homes said they fear losing workers but would require Covid-19 vaccinations for employees after the Supreme Court allowed federal officials to mandate the shots in healthcare. As the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads across the U.S., sickening patients and workers alike, hospitals and nursing homes have struggled to maintain the staffing levels they need. The vaccination mandate could complicate those efforts if facilities are forced to let go of workers who don’t comply, said healthcare industry officials, who asked for some enforcement leniency to prevent staffing losses during the crunch. Hospitals will now work to balance the vaccine mandate with their staffing needs, said Rick Pollack, chief executive of the American Hospital Association, which is urging regulators to use enforcement discretion.
15th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
U.K. Reports Fewest New Covid Cases in More Than Three Weeks
The U.K. reported fewer than 100,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since late December, raising hopes that the country is past the worst of its omicron wave. The 99,652 infections recorded on Friday compare with almost 200,000 a day at the peak of the outbreak. Hospitalizations in London, the early center of the U.K. omicron onslaught, are below the recent high reached on Jan. 5., and show signs of decline elsewhere in the country as well. While the average number of fatalities is creeping upward, deaths have stayed relatively low compared with earlier waves.
15th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Citigroup reaches 99% compliance on U.S. staff vaccine mandate
About 99% of Citigroup Inc's staff in the United States have complied with the company's COVID-19 vaccine requirements, the bank's Head of Human Resources Sara Wechter said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday. Citi staff in the U.S. who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and fired at the end of the month unless they are granted an exemption, Reuters reported last week, citing a memo.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Google mandates weekly COVID-19 tests for people entering U.S. offices
Alphabet Inc's Google is temporarily mandating weekly COVID-19 tests for any person entering Google offices or facilities in the United States, the tech giant said on Friday. Anyone who comes into Google's U.S. work sites will require a negative test and be required to wear surgical-grade masks while at the office, the company said. "To help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 during this period of heightened risk, we’re implementing new temporary health and safety measures for anyone accessing our sites in the U.S.," a Google spokesperson said.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Frustration over COVID-19 restrictions in increasingly isolated Hong Kong
Hong Kong is following mainland China's zero-tolerance approach to control COVID-19, rankling many residents of the international financial hub as much of the world shifts towards living with the coronavirus. Hong Kong effectively closed its borders and imposed social restrictions this month to deal with a spurt in COVID-19 infections due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Although the moves are less strict than those in parts of the mainland, they come after months of relative normalcy and are battering a city dependent on business travellers and accustomed to frequent dining out.
15th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Citi Says 99% of U.S. Staffers Complied With Vaccine Mandate
Citigroup Inc. said 99% of its U.S. employees have complied with its vaccine mandate, one of the strictest on Wall Street. The firm expects more employees will comply with the order before the deadline on Friday, Sara Wechter, head of human resources, said Thursday in a LinkedIn post. As part of the mandate, staffers were able to receive exemptions. “A huge thank you to everyone at Citi who took action to meet this requirement: those who were already vaccinated, those who made the decision to get vaccinated, and those who requested and received approved religious and medical accommodations or state-permitted exemptions,” Wechter said.
14th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Covid-19 Home Tests Pose Accessibility Problems for People With Disabilities
“We need to look at the Covid testing process, break it down into component parts of the process and figure out how to make those more inclusively designed,” Ms. Fleet said in an interview. That can range from examining test prices to gauging the legibility of their instructions, she added. At-home Covid-19 tests have been in high demand since December, as infections rose and people sought them ahead of holiday gatherings. Home test kits are particularly important for people who cannot stand in long lines for public testing sites or cannot reach them, accessibility advocates say.
14th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullSo long Toronto: COVID-19 pandemic hastens Canada's urban exodus
Canada's urban exodus picked up steam into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with tens of thousands of people leaving Toronto and Montreal for smaller cities or rural areas, official data showed on Thursday. More than 64,000 people left Toronto for other parts of Ontario from mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 14% from the previous 12-month period, according to Statistics Canada population estimates, with another 6,600 moving out of province.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
French teachers walk out of classrooms in strike over Covid strategy
French teachers have held one of the biggest education strikes in recent years, forcing the closure of hundreds of primary schools in protest at the government’s handling of Covid-19 measures in the education sector. Tens of thousands of teachers took part in the one-day strike. Trade unions said 75% of primary teachers walked out alongside 62% of secondary teachers. The education ministry gave much lower figures on Thursday morning, saying there was an average of 38.5% of teachers on strike in primary schools, and just under 24% in high schools. Teachers and education support staff joined a protest march through the centre of Paris to the education ministry, and others demonstrated in towns across France.
13th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Palestinians married to Israeli citizens excluded from COVID vaccine pass program
Palestinians who are married to Israeli citizens and are legal residents of Israel are unable to download the Health Ministry's Green Pass, which certifies that they are vaccinated against the coronavirus or recovered from the virus. Many Palestinians reported difficulties in acquiring the Green Pass, even if they were vaccinated in Israel. The Health Ministry said in response that the matter is being dealt with, but affected Palestinians say the issue is persisting.
13th Jan 2022 - Haaretz
Why Cuba's extraordinary Covid vaccine success could provide the best hope for low-income countries
Cuba’s prestigious biotech sector has developed five different Covid vaccines to date, including Abdala, Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus — all of which Cuba has said provide upwards of 90% protection against symptomatic Covid when administered in three doses. The country of roughly 11 million remains the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean to have produced a homegrown shot for Covid. The WHO’s potential approval of Cuba’s nationally produced Covid vaccines would carry “enormous significance” for low-income nations, John Kirk, professor emeritus at the Latin America program of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, said
13th Jan 2022 - CNBC
NHS leaders call for delay to mandatory Covid vaccine law
The most senior nurses and midwives in England have called for the government to delay its deadline for all NHS staff to be vaccinated against Covid, over fears it could “backfire”. From 1 April 2022 all NHS staff will be required by law to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, meaning all those who have yet to have a first dose will need to have it by February. The government has previously predicted the NHS could lose up to 73,000 staff following the jab deadline and, in an assessment published in December, warned patient care could be impacted.
13th Jan 2022 - The Independent
South Korea gets first supply of Pfizer's COVID-19 pills
South Korea on Thursday received its first supply of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pills to treat patients with mild or moderate symptoms. Health officials have described the Paxlovid pills as a potentially important tool to suppress hospitalizations and deaths, as the country braces for another possible surge in infections driven by the contagious omicron variant. South Korea’s initial supply is enough to support the required five-day treatment courses for 21,000 people. Officials say another batch of pills, enough to provide the required five-day courses for 10,000 people, will come by the end of January.
13th Jan 2022 - The Independent
First new COVID-19 tests to arrive in schools week of Jan. 24 - White House
U.S. schools should receive the first additional COVID-19 rapid tests being made available by the federal government in about two weeks, a White House official said, as Washington races to keep classes open amid a record-setting Omicron surge. The new tests must be ordered through state governments, but the White House is also making available lab capacity to support five million monthly PCR tests that schools can order themselves if their states are not being helpful, the official said. Those should arrive in seven to 10 days.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Netherlands to ease COVID-19 restrictions - report
Coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands will be eased from Saturday despite a wave of new infections due to the Omicron variant, Dutch media reported on Thursday. Non-essential stores, hairdressers and gyms will be allowed to reopen for a limited number of customers, broadcasters NOS and RTL said, citing government sources. Students will be welcomed back to their colleges and universities. Bars, restaurants, theatres, museums and other public places will remain closed. The government will decide formally on the changes on Friday.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Africa joins race to acquire Pfizer's COVID-19 Paxlovid pills
Africa's top public health body said it was in talks with Pfizer about securing supplies of its antiviral COVID-19 pills for the continent, the latest to join the race for a drug seen as a potential game changer in fighting the virus. The Paxlovid medication was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths, and data suggested it retains its effectiveness against the Omicron variant, Pfizer has said
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Sweden cuts recommended gap between second and third COVID shot
Sweden will cut the recommended time interval between the second and third COVID vaccine shot to five months from six, the health agency said on Wednesday. The decision will affect people between the age of 18 and 64. People above 65 were already eligible to get their booster shot five months after the second. Children aged 12 to 17 will still have to wait six months.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
England to cut minimum COVID self-isolation to five days
The minimum COVID-19 self-isolation period in England will be cut to five days from seven if someone tests negative twice, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday, a move that could reduce staffing disruption in businesses and infrastructure. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has fuelled a spike in COVID-19 cases to record highs in Britain, and the surge has cause major disruption to the staffing of hospitals, schools and transport as staff have to self-isolate.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters UK
Senegal authorizes COVID-19 booster shots, vaccines for children
Senegal has authorized COVID-19 vaccines for children over 12 and booster shots for adults, the health ministry said on Thursday, as vaccine hesitancy complicates its fight against rising infections from the Omicron variant. The booster dose will initially be aimed at people identified as vulnerable to severe illness, the health ministry said in a Twitter post on Thursday that included a ministry letter dated Jan. 11.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Poorer nations dump millions of close-to-expiry COVID-19 vaccines - UNICEF
Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry date, a UNICEF official said on Thursday. The big figure shows the difficulties of vaccinating the world despite growing supplies of shots, with COVAX getting closer to delivering 1 billion doses to a total of nearly 150 countries. "More than a 100 million have been rejected just in December alone," Etleva Kadilli, director of Supply Division at U.N. agency UNICEF told lawmakers at the European Parliament. The main reason for rejection was the delivery of doses with a short shelf-life, she said.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
French Senate approves latest COVID measures and vaccine pass
The French Senate approved on Thursday the government's latest measures to tackle the COVID-19 virus, including a vaccine pass, which has encountered some opposition among the public after President Emmanuel Macron's harsh criticism of the unvaccinated. The Senate backed the COVID measures and legislation for a COVID vaccine pass by 249 in favour, versus 63 against. The legislation had already been approved earlier this month by France's lower house of parliament.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Hungary to offer fourth COVID shot as Omicron cases spike
Hungary is to make a fourth COVID-19 shot available to people who ask for it, after a consultation with a doctor, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, told a news conference on Thursday. Gulyas made the announcement just as the Central European country of 10 million expects a substantial further increase in COVID-19 cases over the coming weeks due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
13th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullN95 Mask Prices Hit ‘Ridiculous’ Highs on Speculation Over CDC Guidance
The potential for a new recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unleashing a scramble for N95 masks and boosting their prices. The agency is considering changing its guidance to advise that people wear higher-quality masks, according to a Washington Post report. That’s contributing to a surge in prices for gold-standard N95 and KN95 face coverings on sites like Amazon.com.
12th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Omicron a 'Welcome' Variant, Says Bolsonaro Amid Surge
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said the omicron strain that’s causing a surge in Covid cases at home and abroad could be called a “vaccine virus” and is a “welcome” variant. “Some studious and serious people -- and not linked to pharmaceutical companies -- say that omicron is welcome and can in fact signal the end of the pandemic,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday in an interview with Gazeta Brasil website. Bolsonaro has stood out globally for his defiant stance in the face of the pandemic, repeatedly dubbing it “a little flu” despite the more than 600,000 Brazilians who have died from the virus in the past two years.
12th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
'Community Champions' are key to increasing Covid vaccine uptake says minister
As areas of Newcastle city centre continue to see low vaccine uptake, the Government minister in charge of the Covid-19 jabs programme has said she hopes investing in "community champions" can help reach people who've previously been hesitant. Speaking to ChronicleLive, Maggie Throup MP - vaccines minister at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - said the Government was aware of "disparities" in vaccine uptake. She said: "We know there are areas of huge disparity across the country - and also in local geographical areas as well. This is why we have been investing in community champions to go out into their communities and give people advice from someone they can relate to.
12th Jan 2022 - Chronicle Live
The US agrees to buy additional doses of GSK-Vir's Covid-19 antibody
The US Government has entered an agreement to procure 600,000 additional doses of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology’s antibody sotrovimab for early Covid-19 treatment, according to an announcement. An investigational monoclonal antibody, sotrovimab attaches to an epitope on SARS-CoV-2, which is shared with SARS-CoV-1. In May last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to single intravenous (IV) dose of sotrovimab for mild to moderate Covid-19 treatment. The SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody is indicated under EUA for use in adult and paediatric Covid-19 patients aged 12 years and above who are at great disease progression risk, including hospital admission or mortality. GSK noted that the additional doses will be supplied throughout the first quarter of this year.
12th Jan 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology
Central American bank funds Cuban COVID-19 vaccine drive
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration said it would give Cuba a loan of 46.7 million euros ($53.1 million) to help bolster the communist-run country's COVID-19 vaccine program as it seeks to ramp up production for both domestic use and export. The fresh funds will underwrite the production of 200 million additional shots, according to a statement from the bank on Monday. Cuba, a poor Caribbean island nation hard hit by the pandemic, has nonetheless already vaccinated more of its citizens against COVID-19 than most of the world's largest and richest nations.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Mexico expecting nearly 27 mln COVID-19 vaccines in coming weeks
Mexico is expecting delivery of nearly 27 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses in the coming weeks, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday, as the Omicron variant fuels a sharp increase in cases. "We're going to receive 11.7 million more doses soon ... and before March, a further 15 million, with which we estimate that the numbers needed by the health ministry will be met," Ebrard said during a regular news conference. He did not say what kind of vaccines they would be.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Germany's Scholz urges compulsory COVID-19 jabs for all adults
Germany should make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all adults, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliament on Wednesday. The leader of Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in the legislature had said on Tuesday that he expected a bill on making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory to be voted on by parliament in March.
Lawmakers from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) heckled Scholz on Wednesday over his government's plans, saying they say were splitting German society, and held up signs reading "freedom instead of division."
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Swiss halve quarantine period to five days to cope with Omicron surge
Switzerland will halve its quarantine time to five days to help cope with a wave of coronavirus infections that threatens to hamstring the economy, the government said on Wednesday. Health authorities had given their blessing on Tuesday for the move, which comes as tens of thousands more people get infected every day due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. Officials worry that the wave could overwhelm the health care system in a country where only two-thirds of the population has got two jabs and just 30% has had a booster shot.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
We Used to Clap for Nurses, Now We Let Them Burn Out
If mask-wearing is an indicator of pandemic alertness, Europe is in a state of fatigue. YouGov surveys indicate face coverings have dropped across the continent as vaccinations and booster shots pick up. In Paris, where new rules require masks even in the street, noses and mouths are regularly on display as a small act of rebellion. Behind the fading fear of Covid is the sense that omicron is not delta, and that 2022 is not 2020. Indeed, there are signs the latest virus surge is plateauing in some countries, and deaths have decoupled from cases thanks to jabs and treatments. The old continent wants to move on. French Health Minister Olivier Veran even reckons this could be Covid’s “last wave.”
12th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Germany's SPD expects vote on general vaccine mandate in March
The ruling Social Democrats (SPD) expect a bill on making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in Germany to be voted on by parliament in March, the party's leader in the legislature said on Tuesday. Parliament passed a law in December making coronavirus vaccinations compulsory for certain professions from mid-March onwards. The country is now facing a fourth wave of infections and its rate of vaccination remains relatively low compared with some other parts of Europe.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
U.S. govt to increase COVID-19 tests for schools by 10 mln per month
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new set of measures to keep classes open, including doubling COVID-19 testing capacity in schools with 10 million more tests, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly through the United States. The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, shattering the global record for daily cases in any one country. Omicron is now estimated to account for 98.3% of total new cases circulating in the country, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Irish minister confident of easing COVID curbs from February
Ireland should be in a position to start easing restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 from next month once the number of people requiring critical care remains stable, a senior minister said on Wednesday. Ireland has the second highest incidence rate of COVID-19 in Europe but also one of the continent's highest uptake of booster vaccines, helping keep the number of patients in intensive care stable and well below the peak of previous waves of the disease.
12th Jan 2022 - Reuters
VW Widens Staff Vaccination Drive to Counter Omicron Risks
Volkswagen AG is rolling out Covid-19 inoculations to relatives of its German employees, a sign of heightened alert as companies join government efforts to head off the fast-spreading omicron variant. Vaccinations for workers’ family members are starting Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman. Since June, the German auto giant has administered about 100,000 doses -- including first, second and booster shots -- at sites in its home country.
12th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Philippines Bars Unvaccinated From Public Transport in Metro Manila
The Philippines has banned unvaccinated individuals from public transport in the capital following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to restrict their movement as Covid-19 infections surge. Commuters are required to show proofs of vaccination before riding buses, jeepneys, trains and other public transport in Metro Manila, the transportation department said Wednesday. The “no vaccination, no ride” policy will be in effect while the capital is under Alert Level 3, the third-highest in a five-step scale.
12th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Democrats try to stamp out school closures as virus surges
When Chicago teachers went on strike last week to protest COVID-19 safety protections in the nation’s third-largest school district, Democratic Party officials leapt into action. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushed for a quick end to the job action and helped secure rapid tests to entice teachers back to work. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the strikers “abandoned their posts” in “an illegal walkout.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed that students should be in school. The standoff ended with a tentative agreement late Monday. Nearly two years into a pandemic that shows no signs of waning, Democrats are speaking out more forcefully against COVID-19 school closures, recognizing a rising anger among parents worried that their kids are falling behind. But in doing so, Democrats risk angering some teachers unions, which are advocating for more protections for educators as the omicron variant takes hold and whose support helped get Democrats elected.
12th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
United Airlines Reports No Covid-19 Deaths Among Vaccinated Employees in Past Eight Weeks
About 3,000 employees with United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL -0.77% have tested positive for Covid-19, but no vaccinated staffer has died from the disease over the past eight weeks, the company’s top executive said. United, the first major airline to implement a Covid-19 vaccine requirement, was reporting about one Covid-19 death per week among staffers prior to the mandate’s implementation, Scott Kirby, chief executive of United, wrote in a letter to employees on Tuesday. The company’s vaccine mandate, which was announced in August and went into effect this past fall, has likely saved the lives of eight to 10 employees, he said. “I know that some people still disagree with our policy,” Mr. Kirby said, while adding: “United is proving that requiring the vaccine is the right thing to do because it saves lives.”
11th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Heathrow demands all testing is dropped after 600,000 passengers cancelled Christmas flights
Heathrow Airport has called for all coronavirus testing to be dropped for fully-vaccinated people while revealing that "at least" 600,000 passengers cancelled flights during the key holiday month of December. The UK's largest airport said "swiftly imposed" action during the month to tackle the Omicron variant in the run-up to the festive season prompted uncertainty among travellers who faced additional bills for costly PCR tests.
11th Jan 2022 - Sky News
U.S. CDC may recommend better masks against Omicron
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering updating its mask guidance because of an increase in the number of Omicron-related coronavirus cases, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The agency will likely advise people opt for the highly protective N95 or KN95 masks worn by healthcare personnel, if they can do so consistently, the newspaper reported, citing an official close to the deliberations. The CDC guidance is expected to say that if people can "tolerate wearing a KN95 or N95 mask all day, you should," the report said.
11th Jan 2022 - Reuters
U.S. insurers must cover eight at-home COVID tests per person monthly -White House
Insurance companies will be required to cover eight over-the-counter at-home coronavirus tests per person each month starting Saturday, the Biden administration said, expanding access to highly sought-after kits as Americans grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases. The White House also said on Monday that there is no limit to the number of COVID-19 tests, including at-home tests, that insurers must cover if they are ordered or administered by a health care provider.
11th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Japan to maintain strict border restrictions until end of February
Japan will maintain its tight entry restrictions to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus until the end of February, the prime minister said on Tuesday, though some exceptions for humanitarian reasons may be considered.
Japan adopted some of the strictest border controls in the world when the Omicron variant emerged late last year, banning all new entry by non-Japanese people, including students and foreign family members of Japanese or permanent residents, except in exceptional circumstances.
11th Jan 2022 - Reuters
China orders suspension of some U.S. flights after COVID-19 cases
China has ordered the cancellation of more than two dozen scheduled flights from the United States in recent weeks after numerous passengers tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in China. China's aviation regulator has mandated the cancellations of eight total scheduled U.S. passenger airline flights for Shanghai under its COVID-19 pandemic rules: four by United Airlines and two each from Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. Delta said it canceled Detroit to Shanghai flights last Friday and Jan. 14 due to the Chinese rule requiring "all affected carriers", whose passengers test positive for COVID-19, "to cancel inbound service on certain China flights."
11th Jan 2022 - Reuters
U.S. secures 600000 more doses of GSK-Vir's COVID-19 therapy
The United States has agreed to buy 600,000 more doses of GSK and Vir Biotechnology's COVID-19 antibody therapy for an undisclosed sum, as the country bolsters its arsenal of treatments against the Omicron coronavirus variant. The additional doses of sotrovimab would be delivered in the first quarter of 2022, the drugmakers said on Tuesday, taking the tally of doses secured by nations worldwide to roughly 1.7 million. Canada and the European Union have signed deals too.
11th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Health officials let COVID-infected staff stay on the job
Health authorities around the U.S. are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers infected with the coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. The move is a reaction to the severe hospital staffing shortages and crushing caseloads that the omicron variant is causing. California health authorities announced over the weekend that hospital staff members who test positive but are symptom-free can continue working. Some hospitals in Rhode Island and Arizona have likewise told employees they can stay on the job if they have no symptoms or just mild ones. The highly contagious omicron variant has sent new cases of COVID-19 exploding to over 700,000 a day in the U.S. on average, obliterating the record set a year ago. The number of Americans in the hospital with the virus is running at about 110,000, just short of the peak of 124,000 last January.
11th Jan 2022 - The Associated Press
Indonesia to kick off booster campaign, but most will have to pay
Indonesia officially kicks off its vaccine booster programme on Wednesday, with free jabs for the elderly and those without the means to pay, according to the Ministry of Health. But the decision to make the majority of Indonesia’s 270 million inhabitants pay for the boosters out of their own pockets has fuelled controversy. “Why has the government suddenly come up with the idea of boosters? If it is because the government is worried about waning antibodies, then it is OK as that is relative to the pandemic,” Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Indonesia, told Al Jazeera. “But if it is related to the pandemic, then the vaccines should be free.”
11th Jan 2022 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullDraghi Says Keeping Schools Open Is Italy's Pandemic Priority
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the Italian government’s priority is to avoid closing schools and blamed those yet to get vaccinated against Covid-19 for the nation’s pandemic woes. “Most of the problems we have today stem from the fact that there are people who are not vaccinated,” Draghi said at a press conference in Rome on Monday. “It doesn’t make sense to close schools before everything else.” The government successfully challenged in court a decision by the southern Campania region to keep schools closed after the Christmas vacation amid rising infections. Italy recorded more than 100,000 new cases and over 700 new hospitalizations on Monday.
10th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
UK government urges all pregnant women to get immediate Covid jab
The UK government is warning that almost all pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid symptoms were unvaccinated in one analysis over several months last year, as it kicks off an advertising campaign encouraging expectant mothers to get boosted. The campaign is calling on pregnant women not to wait to get either their first, second or booster jab. It will highlight the risks of Covid-19 to mothers and babies, with testimonies of pregnant women who have had the vaccine to be broadcast on radio and social media.
10th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Chile starts fourth vaccine dose as coronavirus cases rise
Chile is implementing a fourth vaccination dose for some citizens as the number of daily coronavirus infections rises. President Sebastián Piñera was present on Monday when two adults with immunosuppression problems received a fourth vaccination for COVID-19 at a Santiago hospital. Chile is applying a fourth dose early because the current daily infection rate of 4,000 coronavirus cases could rise to 10,000 or more, Piñera said. Vaccination with a fourth dose for the immunosuppressed will end on Feb. 7. Then the program will turn to people over 55 years old who had a third dose at least six months ago.
10th Jan 2022 - The Independent
Britain puts private health firms on high alert as Omicron threatens NHS
Britain on Monday put the biggest private health companies on high alert to deliver crucial treatments such as cancer surgery should Omicron overwhelm National Health Service hospitals in England. The United Kingdom's death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic stands at 150,154, the world's seventh worst official COVID toll after the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has bet on refraining from lockdowns to deal with the Omicron variant which in recent weeks has swept across the United Kingdom, albeit with death rates significantly lower than previous waves.
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Pope backs COVID immunisation campaigns, warns of ideological misinformation
Pope Francis on Monday condemned "baseless" ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, backing national immunisation campaigns and calling health care a moral obligation. Francis spoke in his yearly address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, sometimes called his "State of the World" address because it is a broad survey of the global situation. His words to diplomats from nearly 200 countries marked the closest he has ever come to a de facto backing of vaccine mandates, which have become controversial in Italy and other European countries.
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Spain set to limit retail price of COVID-19 antigen tests
Spain's government is working on rules to limit the retail price of antigen tests for COVID-19, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, after shortages were reported in many pharmacies across the country last month. Price rises during the surge in Omicron cases and the scarcity of tests in pharmacies have raised protests from opposition politicians and consumer groups, many of whom are calling for tests to be sold in supermarkets.
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Million Indians get COVID vaccine boosters, hospitalisation low
More than 1 million Indians received their third COVID-19 vaccine dose on Monday as the country rolled out boosters for frontline workers and vulnerable elderly, with the Omicron variant fuelling an eight-fold rise in infections in 10 days. The health ministry said only 5% to 10% of the infected have sought hospitalisation, compared with 20% to 23% during the Delta-driven last wave that peaked in May. Authorities say most people have shown no or only minor symptoms and have recovered quickly at home. "The situation is dynamic and evolving, therefore, the need for hospitalisation may also change rapidly," Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in a letter to state authorities asking them to regularly review staffing levels
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters India
UK PM Johnson 'looking at' cutting COVID-19 isolation period
Britain is making progress against Omicron and is looking at reducing the isolation period to five days, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, though he cautioned the number of hospitalised COVID-19 cases was rising. Asked about cutting the isolation period from seven days to five days, he said: "We're looking at that." But he added that the government would follow the science.
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Labs Limit Covid-19 Test Access as Demand Soars
Escalating demand for Covid-19 tests is prompting some laboratories to ration access, giving priority to people with symptoms or other health concerns as the Omicron variant quickly spreads. Triaging who is eligible for Covid-19 tests can help ensure that patients who need a test the most get results fast enough to isolate or get treatment, pathologists and public-health experts say. The strategy, however, risks perpetuating the virus’s spread if some people get turned away from testing altogether. “What we don’t want is for people to not be able to get tested in the community and then show up at the ER to get testing,” said Melissa Miller, director of the University of North Carolina’s microbiology lab. “But there is a maximum amount that you can collect in a day.”
10th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong's Covid Zero Strategy Has Failed. It's Time For a Policy Rethink
Hong Kong’s veneer of normalcy has been shattered — and it’s exposed just how misguided and unrealistic the territory’s Covid-19 containment strategy has become two years into the pandemic. After months of no local Covid infections, Hong Kong reported a string of positive cases over the past week. The territory’s so-called fifth wave was set off by an aircrew employee who didn’t fully comply with his medical surveillance rules — a special concession for airlines. He went to a restaurant for lunch and it quickly spread from there. Several senior government officials, including the territory’s police chief, immigration head and financial services secretary, were ordered into quarantine after attending a birthday party that flouted warnings to avoid large gatherings.
10th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Canada resists pressure to drop vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States. Canada will require all truckers entering from the United States to show proof of vaccination starting on Saturday as part of its fight against COVID-19. That could force some 16,000, or 10%, of cross-border drivers off the roads, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) estimates. The government estimates 5% of drivers will be impacted, according to a government source.
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
UK minister backs reduced COVID isolation period to ease workforce pressures
Reducing the self-isolation period for people who test positive for COVID-19 from seven days to five would help British employers that have been hard hit by absences, education minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday. The Omicron variant is still spreading in Britain and many businesses, schools and hospitals are struggling with staff shortages, fuelling calls for the rules on isolation after a positive test to be reduced further. Last month, health authorities in the United States shortened the recommended isolation time for asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Relying on more home COVID tests, Israel looks to lower costs
Israel sought on Sunday to ease access to home COVID-19 tests after a decision to allow most vaccinated people to use the kits to decide whether or not to quarantine led to shortages in shops and complaints about high prices. "We are mindful of the public's distress," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the weekly cabinet meeting, announcing that every child in kindergarten or elementary school in Israel would be issued will three free kits in the coming days. The government was also negotiating price reductions with major pharmacy chains, Bennett said, adding: "In any event, costs will come down in the near future because the market will be flooded with millions of kits that will arrive in Israel."
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Covid in Scotland: Wrongheaded to stop free lateral flow tests, says Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has insisted it would be “utterly wrongheaded” to halt the free availability of lateral flow tests as her health secretary dismissed the idea of following England and reducing quarantine to five days. Under plans reportedly being considered by UK officials, the tests could soon be made available only in “high-risk” settings such as care homes, hospitals and schools. A Whitehall source told The Sunday Times: “I don’t think we are in a world where we can continue to hand out free lateral flow tests to everybody forevermore. It’s likely we will move to a scenario where there is less testing but where we have a capacity to ramp it up if necessary, such as in the winter.”
10th Jan 2022 - The Times
Europe loosens COVID policies as Omicron takes out key workers
The Czech Republic said on Monday it would allow critical workers such as doctors and teachers to go to work after a positive COVID-19 test, the latest European country to ease restrictions to keep services running as cases surge. As the much more contagious Omicron variant becomes dominant and forces hundreds of thousands to isolate, the pressure is growing on health workers, police and firefighters, with teachers set to follow as schools resume after Christmas holidays
10th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullSpain's 14-day COVID-19 rate rises to 2722 per 100000
Spain's 14-day COVID-19 infection rate rose by 148 points to 2,722.72 cases per 100,000 people, the health ministry said on Friday, compared to 2,574.46 on Wednesday when the last figures were released before a public holiday on Thursday. The number of cases of coronavirus rose by 242,440 on Friday compared with Wednesday. The percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with coronavirus was 11.79% on Friday, compared to an earlier wave of the pandemic last year when 24% of hospital beds were occupied by people with COVID-19 on Jan.28.
8th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Austrian Chancellor Nehammer Tests Positive for Covid
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and is in quarantine, the latest victim of of a new wave of infections brought about by the omikron variant. The chancellor announced via Twitter that a member of his security team was responsible for the transmission. He’ll continue carrying out government duties remotely via through video links, he said.
7th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
U.S. health agency may be unprepared to take over COVID vaccine program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appears unprepared to assume full responsibility for the nation's COVID-19 vaccine program, including activities currently managed by the Pentagon, according to a draft government watchdog report reviewed by Reuters. The report cites a failure to ensure HHS has enough staff or a clear timeline for taking over those additional responsibilities. The COVID-19 vaccine program, dubbed “Operation Warp Speed,” by the Trump administration in May 2020, involved hundreds of officials from multiple agencies.
7th Jan 2022 - Reuters
CDC doesn't yet see signal Omicron variant more severe in young kids
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has not yet seen a signal that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is more severe in young children despite an increase of the hospitalizations, the agency's director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a press conference on Friday. "We have not yet seen a signal that there is any increased severity" in kids under 5, who are not yet eligible for vaccination, Walensky said. She said that an increase in cases in general could be one explanation for the surge in hospitalizations.
7th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Germany tightens dining rules due to Omicron, loosens quarantine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional leaders tightened the rules for restaurant and bar visits but shortened COVID-19 quarantine periods on Friday in response to the Omicron variant. Scholz added that all 16 state leaders supported the implementation of a general vaccination mandate and that the Bundestag lower house of parliament would discuss drafts of it soon. Under new measures decided on Friday, people in Germany who have received a booster shot will not have to isolate after being in contact with someone who was infected with the coronavirus.
7th Jan 2022 - Reuters
'Crisis actor' conspiracy theory: How anti-vax activists targeted a Covid patient
A man was targeted with hundreds of abusive messages after being featured in a year-end BBC News report. The source? Anti-vaccine activists who falsely believed he was a so-called "crisis actor" pretending to be sick with Covid-19.
7th Jan 2022 - BBC News
Covid absences put pressure on England's hospitals
Covid-related staff absences at hospitals in England have risen sharply since Omicron took hold last month, latest figures show. The number of workers off sick for Covid reasons trebled from the beginning of December. The Royal College of Nursing said growing absences meant the situation was "simply not safe." NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said staff were under pressure but were "stepping up". Downing Street said Boris Johnson saw no need for further restrictions despite the staff absences, as England's current measures were "balanced and proportionate". Earlier this week, the prime minister said he hoped England could "ride out" the Omicron wave without more restrictions.
7th Jan 2022 - BBC News
Some Families Shell Out for Covid-19 Tests as Officials Race to Offer More
Some families say they are spending hundreds of dollars on Covid-19 testing during the surge in cases across the country, as efforts by the Biden administration and local officials to distribute free tests lag behind the Omicron variant’s rapid spread. Facing hourslong lines at free testing sites, some people have turned to companies that sell more-convenient laboratory testing options, in some cases at prices of more than $200. And until the Biden administration begins making free Covid-19 testing more widely available, some people say they will continue to pay $20 or more for over-the-counter, at-home tests. The tab for using over-the-counter rapid tests effectively, with tests over many days, can stretch past $100, creating a disincentive for people to test, public-health and policy experts say.
7th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong Suspends Officials, Isolates Some 170 Party Guests
Hong Kong authorities on Friday suspended several government officials from duty and will order about 170 people to be quarantined at a government facility after they attended a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for the coronavirus. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a statement late Friday that the officials who were at the party and who are subject to quarantine would be suspended from their duties and must use their vacation days while they are isolated for 21 days. Fears of a new virus cluster were sparked when a second guest at the Jan. 3 party preliminarily tested positive. On Friday, health authorities said all party guests would be classified as close contacts and be sent to mandatory quarantine if the second guest was confirmed as a positive case.
7th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
French schools "overwhelmed" by COVID-19 and contact tracing
Less than a week has gone by since French schools reopened after Christmas, but at the Jean Renoir high school in Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside of Paris, one in four teachers and nearly 50 pupils are already sick with COVID-19. With new testing and contact tracing rules introduced at the start of this term, the headteacher, Aristide Adeilkalam, now faces a huge challenge. "It's very, very, very complicated," Aidelkalam said, his glasses fogging up because of his facemask.
7th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullWe're all in danger of new Covid variants until the world is vaccinated, experts warn
New Covid-19 variants are likely to keep on emerging until the globe has been vaccinated against the virus, experts warn, saying that the sharing of vaccines is not just an altruistic act but a pragmatic one. “Until the whole world is vaccinated, not just rich Western countries, I think we are going to remain in danger of new variants coming along and some of those could be more virulent than omicron,” Dr. Andrew Freedman, an academic in infectious diseases at Cardiff University Medical School, told CNBC on Thursday. Viruses “tend to become milder” as they evolve, Freedman noted, but he cautioned that this “isn’t always the case.” “It may well be with future variants that they are even more contagious."
6th Jan 2022 - CNBC
Italy makes Covid vaccinations compulsory for over-50s
Italy has made it obligatory for people aged 50 or more to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as the country scrambles to ease pressure on hospitals and reduce deaths amid a dramatic surge in infections. The measure is among the toughest vaccine mandates in Europe and takes effect immediately. The move was unanimously supported by ministers despite divisions between the parties that make up prime minister Mario Draghi’s broad coalition before the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
6th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Philippines' Duterte threatens unvaccinated people with arrest
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday people who have not taken COVID-19 shots will be arrested if they disobeyed stay-at-home orders as infections hit a three-month high. Duterte in an televised address to the nation said he was asking community leaders to look for unvaccinated people and make sure they were confined to their homes. "If he refuses, if he goes out his house and goes around the community, he can be restrained. If he refuses, the captain is empowered now to arrest recalcitrant persons," Duterte said.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Malaysia approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11
Malaysia has granted conditional approval for the use of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged between 5 and 11 years old, the health ministry said on Thursday. The country's drugs regulator has also cleared a vaccine made by Chinese firm CanSino Biologics to be used as a booster shot for adults over the age of 18, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a statement. Malaysia, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in Southeast Asia, last week cut waiting times to encourage more people to take a booster jab, in a bid to stem the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Brazil to vaccinate children aged 5-11 against COVID-19 - minister
Brazil's Health Ministry said on Wednesday that it will go ahead with the voluntary vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19 and dropped plans to require a doctor's prescription. While vaccination will not be mandatory, state governments have the final word on public health decisions and could require that children be vaccinated to be able to attend school. "Children have unfortunately died of COVID-19, not many, but every child's life is important," Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said in a news conference.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Ukraine offers booster COVID-19 shots to all adults
Ukraine is now offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults as the Omicron variant is spreading and is likely to lead to a spike in coronavirus infections next month, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on Thursday. Following several periods of strict restrictions, the average daily number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine fell in early January to about 4,000 from above 10,000 in early December. "The medical system is preparing for another increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine," Lyashko said in a post on Facebook.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Frustrated German towns urge leaders to plan for fourth COVID dose
German towns have appealed to authorities for less "flying by the seat of your pants" and more "forward-thinking," as the country looks likely to miss its vaccination target for January. Local leaders have described the vaccine rollout as chaotic, complaining of a lack of communication about when and how much vaccine they would receive, which made it difficult to plan. The complaints came as the government considered a proposal to further tighten restrictions on going out and gathering socially for those who have not yet received a booster shot.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Portugal eases COVID-19 rules as infections soar, hospitalisations still low
Portugal will allow students to return to school from next week and nightclubs to reopen on Jan. 14 despite a record surge in COVID-19 cases, with hospital admissions still well below levels seen earlier in the pandemic, the government said on Thursday. "It is evident that the Omicron variant is less severe ... vaccination has been effective against it," Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference, referring to the fast-spreading variant that emerged in late 2021. "That's why we have a much lower number of hospitalisations, fewer people in ICU and deaths."
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Austria decides new COVID-19 measures including shorter quarantine
Austria will impose new COVID-19 measures from Saturday and the government is still working on a draft law to make vaccinations compulsory from Feb. 1 as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Thursday. Austria managed to slash daily COVID-19 cases with its fourth full coronavirus lockdown between November and December last year, but Omicron is pushing the numbers up again. "We need to do everything we can possibly do together to prevent another lockdown," Nehammer told a news conference after the federal government met provincial leaders and pandemic task force experts.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Japan Calls on U.S. to Limit Troop Movements Over Covid Spread
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi called on the U.S. to impose restrictions on troops stationed in Japan amid virus outbreaks thought to have stemmed from bases, which have strained ties between the allies. In a phone conversation Thursday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hayashi called for stronger virus measures, including limits on excursions off base, to relieve anxiety among local people, according to a statement issued by Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Blinken responded that the health and safety of local people was extremely important and said he would convey the message to the Defense Department, the ministry said.
6th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullU.S. CDC backs previous advice for 5-day isolation; no test needed
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday backed its week-old guidance for people seeking to end their COVID-19 isolation at five days, adding they could take a rapid antigen test if they want to and can access one, but is not requiring that. The agency had been pressured by health experts to institute a test requirement after it cut in half its guidance last week for people to isolate after a COVID-19 infection to 5 days from 10. It said the move was based on science around transmission of the virus. On Tuesday, the CDC added an explanation on its website, saying that a review of 113 studies from 17 countries showed that most transmission occurs early in the course of infection. It said the average period of infectiousness and risk of transmission was "between 2-3 days before and 8 days after symptom onset."
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
China's Henan hit by COVID curbs after sporadic cases
Central Chinese cities including Yuzhou and Zhengzhou imposed varying degrees of travel curbs after sporadic COVID-19 cases, in line with a national strategy that has taken on extra urgency as the Winter Olympics and Lunar New Year holiday approach. The city of Yuzhou in the central province of Henan has ordered its 1 million residents not to leave town since Jan. 2, although the caseload for the city and the entire province remained tiny. Henan reported four domestically transmitted cases and 18 local asymptomatic infections for Tuesday. China's strategy demands that officials act to contain clusters of infections as quickly as possible.
6th Jan 2022 - Reuters on MSN.com
Covid-19: Demand for lateral flow tests 'outstrips supply'
People in Northern Ireland who get a positive lateral flow test no longer need a PCR test to confirm that result. The Department of Health has said those who receive a positive lateral flow test should assume that they have Covid-19 and self-isolate immediately. It comes amid business closures and health service pressures due to staff absences caused by self-isolation. Pharmacists have warned the demand for lateral flow tests in Northern Ireland is outstripping supply. Northern Ireland has reported 12% of its total number of positive Covid-19 cases since in the start of the pandemic in just the last seven days.
5th Jan 2022 - BBC News
Facing criticism, CDC updates Covid-19 isolation recommendations with guidance on testing
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on the recommended Covid-19 isolation period Tuesday, telling people that if they have access to a Covid-19 test and want to take it, the best approach is to use a rapid test toward the end of their five-day isolation period. The agency has faced pressure over the past week from outside medical experts to include a testing component in its new shortened isolation period. The updated recommendations do not advise a test for isolated people, but they offer guidance on how those people should respond to a test result if they choose to take one. If the test is positive, isolated people are advised to continue their isolation until 10 days after their symptoms started. If the test is negative, isolated people can end their isolation but are advised to wear a mask around other people until day 10.
5th Jan 2022 - CNN
Say it with sheep? Flock forms syringe shape in COVID jab push
A German campaigner is hoping the emotional appeal of 700 sheep forming the shape of a giant syringe will reach the hearts and minds of people hesitating to take a COVID-19 injection. Germany has lower vaccination rates most other Western European nations, although some are simply unsure if they should get a jab rather than vehemently opposed to vaccination. "Sheep are popular with people and carry positive emotional connotations. So perhaps they can reach many people emotionally when logic and scientific reasoning don't do the job," the organiser of the campaign, Hanspeter Etzold, told Reuters.
5th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Pfizer to supply U.S. with 10 mln more courses of COVID-19 pills
The Biden administration doubled its order for Pfizer Inc's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment, the company and the White House said on Tuesday, providing the government a total of 20 million courses as it fights a record surge in COVID-19 cases. The White House now expects some 4 million treatment courses of the pills to be available by the end of January and 10 million by June, three months sooner than previously planned, according to an administration official. "We're getting them as soon as they come off the line," the official said.
5th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Israel earmarks COVID PCRs for high-risk groups, expands home-testing
Israel changed its COVID-19 quarantine and testing policy on Wednesday as part of efforts to husband resources and ensure continued protection for vulnerable people amid a surge in infections fueled by the Omicron variant. PCR tests will be earmarked for people aged 60 and over or with weak immune systems, while those at lower risk will be checked with rapid antigen tests, the health ministry said.
5th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Ireland to drop COVID-19 test requirement for vaccinated arrivals
Ireland will drop its requirement for vaccinated arrivals to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test and return to seeking a proof of vaccination or recent infection upon entry, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said on Wednesday. Ireland introduced the measure a month ago to slow the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Omicron now accounts for almost all Irish infections, which have rocketed to record levels in the last two weeks. Martin also said he believed Ireland's current restrictions to slow the spread of infection are effective and that it remained to be seen whether health chiefs will suggest any changes later this week.
5th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Hong Kong bans flights from 8 countries, tightens COVID curbs
Hong Kong has announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries and tightened coronavirus restrictions after detecting cases of the Omicron variant.
Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, told reporters on Wednesday that incoming flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States, including interchanges, would be banned from January 8 to January 21.
5th Jan 2022 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullCovid Plan B is working, says Vaccines minister after several hospitals declare critical incidents
The Government continues to insist that no further Covid restrictions are needed in England with Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup saying “Plan B is working”. She cited the number of Covid hospitalisations as evidence the current measures are sufficient. “Plan B is working, as you can see from a number of hospitalisations – it’s far, far fewer than this time last year,” she said.
4th Jan 2022 - iNews
Israel embarks on fourth Covid vaccination campaign
Israel has become the first country in the world to embark on a fourth Covid-19 vaccination campaign as part of efforts to stem rapidly rising infection rates caused by the Omicron variant. People over the age of 60 and healthcare workers who received their third shot more than four months ago became eligible for a second booster of Pfizer-BioNTech on Monday, after a limited rollout began last week for elderly people and those with compromised immune systems. Officials had previously said they would wait for more data on the efficacy of a fourth shot before making it more widely available. The Israeli health ministry said on Tuesday, however, that even though it believes the threat posed by Omicron is minimal, it had been forced to act more quickly in the face of skyrocketing infection rates.
4th Jan 2022 - The Guardian
Parents can now register children aged five to 11 for Covid-19 vaccine
Parents can now register children aged five to 11 for Covid-19 vaccines, with the rollout set to begin imminently. Registration can be done online, and parents will receive a text message confirming their appointment. The HSE has urged the public to consider bringing their children forward for vaccination. “Clinical trials showed that this vaccine was highly effective at preventing Covid-19 in children,” a statement said.
4th Jan 2022 - The Independent
Covid-19 testing system to remain under pressure for weeks, health official says
The Covid-19 testing system in Ireland is expected to remain under major pressure in the coming days, a senior health official has said. The comment comes as one teaching union has called for a re-think on the full reopening of schools, ahead of a meeting with Education Minister Norma Foley. The Government’s party leaders will on Tuesday discuss the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
4th Jan 2022 - The Independent
UK PM Johnson to hold COVID-19 briefing amid Omicron surge
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said that England could withstand a surge in COVID-19 infections without shutting down the economy as Britain reported another record daily high in cases, fuelled by the Omicron variant. Johnson has resisted imposing stringent lockdown measures in England, betting that a vaccine booster drive and caution among the population would be enough to constrain the latest wave. The United Kingdom reported 218,724 new COVID cases on Tuesday, a new record for the number of cases reported on a single day - although a figure that also was skewed by reporting lags over the holidays.
4th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Dutch to reopen schools despite high infection rates
The Netherlands, under a strict COVID-19 lockdown for the past two weeks, will reopen primary and secondary schools on Jan. 10 despite coronavirus infections remaining high, the government announced on Monday. The government stressed that hospital admissions were down considerably since the country went into a lockdown in December, which included schools closing a week earlier than planned for winter holidays. "This is good news for students and it's important for their development and their mental well-being that they can go to school," Education Minister Arie Slob said at a press conference.
4th Jan 2022 - Reuters
Australia to push ahead with reopening amid record COVID-19 cases
Australia's government said the milder impact of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 meant the country could push ahead with plans to reopen the economy even as new infections hit a record of more than 37,000 and the number of people hospitalised rose. Record daily case numbers were reported on Monday in the states of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as the Australian Capital Territory. In New South Wales, there were 20,794 cases, higher than Sunday's figure but below the daily record of 22,577 set on Saturday, with testing numbers lower over the New Year's holiday weekend.
4th Jan 2022 - Reuters
UK government seeks to mitigate workforce disruption from Omicron
The British government has asked public sector managers to test their contingency plans against a worst-case scenario of 25% staff absence as part of efforts to minimise disruption from the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. With daily infection numbers at a record high and people who test positive required to self-isolate for at least seven days, the government expects businesses and public services to face disruption in the coming weeks, it said in a statement.
4th Jan 2022 - Reuters
France Hits Another Covid Infection Record as Cases Top 270,000
France hit another record in Covid-19 infections on Tuesday as President Emmanuel Macron tries to contain the fast-spreading omicron variant without imposing a lockdown. Daily Covid-19 cases totaled 271,686, according to data from the public health office, topping the 232,200 infections logged on Friday. The country reported an additional 351 deaths. The coronavirus surge has become a headache for Macron four months before the presidential election.
4th Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Fourth Pfizer Dose Spurs Sharp Jump in Antibodies, Early Results From Israel Show
Early data from Israel suggests a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE will provide safe and effective protection against infection and severe illness for those with waning immunity. There was a fivefold increase in antibodies of individuals one week after they got their fourth shot, according to data from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, which provided the dose to 154 medical workers of various ages. The personnel who took part in the trial had taken a third shot by Aug. 20 and their tests showed they lacked sufficient antibodies for good protection. The findings were announced on Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a visit to the medical center located in central Israel.
4th Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Jan 2022
View this newsletter in fullIsrael extends second COVID-19 booster to elderly in care facilities
Israel is extending its offer of a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to elderly people in care facilities, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Friday, citing their high exposure and vulnerability to infections. On Thursday, the Health Ministry's director-general, Nachman Ash, approved fourth doses for people with weakened immune systems and the administering of those shots began on Friday. An Israeli hospital administered fourth shots to a test group of health workers on Monday, in what it called the first major study into whether a second round of boosters will help contend with the Omicron coronavirus variant.
31st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Ireland relaxes COVID-19 testing rules, cuts isolation period
Ireland on Thursday became the latest country to cut the isolation period for some people who contract COVID-19 and relax requirements for tests as a record number of cases for the fourth time in a week overwhelmed testing facilities. With the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus accounting for 92% of all infections, the health department reported 20,554 new cases, more than double the record in any previous wave to bring the 14-day infection rate to 2,300 per 100,000 people.
31st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Morocco's tough COVID restrictions hammer tourism sector
Businesses working in Morocco's key tourism sector say the country's tough COVID-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival destinations. Morocco shut its borders in late November and will only reopen them at the end of January. It has also banned new year celebrations and is enforcing its vaccine pass requirements more strictly in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
31st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Air New Zealand Changes In-Flight Snack and Mask Policy in Covid Fear
After upending global travel, Covid-19 is doing the same to in-flight dining. Passengers at Air New Zealand Ltd. will now only get fed after they’ve disembarked.
The airline wants to make sure passengers keep their masks on for the entire flight, it said in a statement Friday. It will now hand out snacks like cookies and popcorn when people get off their plane to enjoy at their destination, the airline said. “It’s anticipated that we will soon see the omicron variant within the New Zealand community,” Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said in the statement. “Masks are one of the key ways to limit transmission.”
31st Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
South Africa Says Its Omicron Wave Has Passed With No Big Spike in Deaths
The South African government said Thursday that data from its health department suggested that the country had passed its Omicron peak without a major spike in deaths, offering cautious hope to other countries grappling with the variant.
“The speed with which the Omicron-driven fourth wave rose, peaked and then declined has been staggering,” said Fareed Abdullah of the South African Medical Research Council. “Peak in four weeks and precipitous decline in another two. This Omicron wave is over in the city of Tshwane. It was a flash flood more than a wave.” The rise in deaths over the period was small, and in the last week, officials said, “marginal.”
30th Dec 2021 - The New York Times
Royal Caribbean bookings take a hit as Omicron fears worsen
Royal Caribbean Group said on Thursday it was grappling with a drop in bookings and a rise in cancellations as COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. U.S. cruise ships have been gradually returning to the seas since late June, but an increase in Omicron cases has sparked calls for a temporary ban on cruising, including from Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. Since the Celebrity Cruises parent resumed operations from U.S. ports in June, the company's cruise ships have ferried 1.1 million passengers, with 1,745 people testing positive for COVID-19 and 41 being hospitalized.
30th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Key workers and vulnerable people to be prioritised for Covid-19 tests if necessary, health chiefs say
Key workers and vulnerable people will be able to jump the queue for Covid-19 tests if necessary, health authorities have said. Amid shortages of instant Lateral Flow Devices (LFD) and delays processing PCR lab tests, health chiefs said they were prepared to prioritise supplies for “critical workforces”. Ministers previously faced calls to ring-fence tests for NHS workers to ensure patient safety and prevent staff shortages due to unnecessary isolation.
31st Dec 2021 - iNews
Covid-19 positive cases can be released from isolation without a test
On Thursday states agreed to seven-day isolation with negative test on day 6
But now leaders have agreed that no test is necessary for asymptomatic people
Close contacts and Covid patients can simply leave isolation after seven days
This is because people are rarely infectious after having Covid for a whole week
31st Dec 2021 - Daily Mail
WHO chief says the pandemic could be defeated this year if countries work together to contain its spread and vaccines are equally distributed across the globe
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus says 2022 could spell end for Covid
The health chief encouraged wealthy nations to share vaccines with other countries
He says he is 'confident' the pandemic will end this year if global leaders do so
1st Jan 2022 - Daily Mail
How This Pandemic Has Left Us Less Prepared for the Next One
Tiny vials of bat saliva in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, collected with help from U.S. government funding, potentially hold clues to the origin of Covid-19 or the next pandemic. They are now mostly out of reach of U.S. scientists, part of a bitter international controversy that has effectively stalled a high-stakes hunt for the source of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 and also made the world less prepared for future health crises. One fallout from the conflict over the origin of the pandemic is less scientific collaboration and more mistrust between two global powers that must work together with other nations to head off or mitigate the next disaster. “We are very vulnerable,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome, a London-based charitable foundation that funds health-related research. “I don’t think there is nearly as much cooperation and partnership going on as there was in December 2019.”
1st Jan 2022 - The Wall Street Journal
Wastewater samples reveal record levels of coronavirus across U.S.
With at-home Covid-19 tests in high demand and their efficacy in question, health departments from California to Massachusetts are turning to sewage samples to get a better idea of how much the coronavirus is spreading through communities and what might be in store for health care systems. Experts say wastewater holds the key to better understanding the public health of cities and neighborhoods, especially in underserved areas that do not have equal access to care. “Every time an infected person uses the toilet, they’re flushing this information down the toilet, where it’s collecting and aggregating and mixing with poop from thousands of other people,” said Newsha Ghaeli, a co-founder and the president of Biobot Analytics, a wastewater epidemiology company based in Massachusetts.
2nd Jan 2022 - NBC News
Omicron-related disruptions cause over 4000 flight cancellations to kick off 2022
Over 4,000 flights were cancelled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them U.S. flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions due to adverse weather and the surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant. The flights cancelled by 8 pm GMT on Sunday included over 2,400 entering, departing from or within the United States, according to tracking website FlightAware.com. Globally, more than 11,200 flights were delayed. Among the airlines with most cancellations were SkyWest and SouthWest, with 510 and 419 cancellations respectively, FlightAware showed.
3rd Jan 2022 - Reuters
"We will not yield," French lawmaker says after death threats over vaccine pass
Lawmakers from France's ruling party said on Monday they would not be cowed by death threats that dozens of politicians have received over a bill that will require people to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or cinema or take the train. The new law, which would remove the option of showing a negative test result instead of having the jabs, has the backing of several parties and is almost certain to be passed by the lower house in a vote late on Monday or early Tuesday. But a tense debate in parliament on Monday highlighted what the government and the opposition described as widespread fatigue with the pandemic and measures to tackle it.
3rd Jan 2022 - Reuters
France Bolsters Aid for Tourism Firms to Mitigate Omicron Hit
The French government said it will ease access to crisis funds and could delay loan repayments for businesses struggling with a drop in activity as the surge in omicron cases hits tourism and leisure activities. “We are standing by firms and workers in difficulty,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after meeting with representatives of business groups. “This method has allowed to relaunch economic activity very quickly and very strongly.”
3rd Jan 2022 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: Fresh vaccine booster drive launched amid continued rise in coronavirus cases
A fresh booster jab drive has been launched by the NHS in an effort to protect more people from the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Another 650,000 text messages and 50,000 letters will be sent in the coming days to those people who are yet to get their third vaccine dose, asking them to have a "jabby new year". Millions were contacted earlier in the week with a similar message, encouraging people to book their boosters as soon as possible.
29th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Australia seeks to ease COVID-19 test rules as cases hit records
Australia will seek to make urgent changes to COVID-19 testing rules to ease pressure on test sites as infections surged and the country's most populous state reported a near doubling in daily cases. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday Australia needed "a gear change" to manage overburdened laboratories and get people out of isolation. He called a snap meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday. "We just can't have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time," Morrison said during a media briefing.
29th Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.S. CDC chief hopes to make call on COVID boosters for 12-15 year-olds in days, weeks -CNN
Approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for U.S. children aged 12-15 could be days or weeks away, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told CNN in an interview. Asked when children in that age group could receive a booster shot, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said: "So the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is looking at that right now. Of course, the CDC will swiftly follow as soon as we hear from them, and I'm hoping to have that in the days to weeks ahead." It was not immediately clear, however, that Pfizer Inc and its partner, BioNTech SE -- the only manufacturer whose COVID-19 vaccine is approved for kids -- has formally sought FDA approval for a booster in children ages 12-15.
29th Dec 2021 - Reuters
As Omicron Variant Spreads, States Aim for Balance Between Curbs and Safety
As states grapple with how to rein in the spreading Omicron variant, many governors and health officials are applying a lighter touch than during previous Covid-19 surges, as they are armed with more tools to combat the virus and increasingly mindful of the economic harm caused by sweeping restrictions. Many decision makers say they are trying to avoid strict measures enacted during previous Covid-19 surges by encouraging vaccinations, increasing capacity for rapid testing and closely watching factors such as hospital admissions and booster-shot uptake. “I’m trying to build long-term solutions,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said in an interview Tuesday, adding that he expects the pandemic may be a part of life for a while. “So the answer there is not to turn things on and off as things surge or don’t surge. We have the tools to manage this.”
29th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19: PCR and lateral flow tests could 'run out' temporarily amid surge in demand, say health officials
Coronavirus tests could be temporarily unavailable to order due to "exceptionally high demand", the UK Health Security Agency has warned. Demand is surging as the more transmissible Omicron variant pushes cases numbers to record levels.
Lateral flow and PCR tests were both unavailable for home delivery across the UK via the government website on Wednesday morning.
29th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Germany Buys Pfizer's Covid Pill Amid Surging Omicron Cases
Germany is buying 1 million packs of Pfizer Inc.’s newly approved pill to treat Covid-19, securing supplies as infections from the fast-spreading omicron variant rise rapidly. The Paxlovid drug is “extremely promising” because it can help people who risk falling seriously ill, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told German news agency DPA. The country’s health authorities reported a total of 10,443 omicron cases as of Tuesday, a 43% jump from the previous day.
28th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Covid vaccine ‘the most expensive in history’ for poorer countries
The Covid jab is one of the “most expensive vaccines in history” for poorer countries, analysis shows, raising further the concern that those most in need will continue to struggle to access the life-saving vaccines in the coming year. Despite international promises that the vaccines would be made available at the cheapest prices to lower-income countries, these nations are paying well above the expected cost. World Health Organisation (WHO) data analysed by The Independent shows that governments of lower-income countries are paying a median price of $6.88 (£5.12) per dose for Covid vaccines. Before the pandemic, developing countries paid a median price of $0.80 a dose for non-Covid jabs, WHO figures show. “The price is high relative to the other vaccines used worldwide and in large quantities,” said Tania Cernuschi, team lead for the WHO’s global access, immunisation, vaccines and biologicals department.
28th Dec 2021 - The Independent
Biden confirms end of Omicron travel
US President Joe Biden has formally ordered an end to travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, saying that the curbs are “no longer necessary to protect the public health”. Biden issued a proclamation on Tuesday repealing the restrictions on travel into the United States from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
28th Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
CDC cuts isolation time for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases to 5 days
U.S. health authorities on Monday shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said the asymptomatic people after isolation should follow five days of wearing a mask when around others. It also recommended a five-day quarantine for those exposed to the virus who are unvaccinated or are over six months out from their second mRNA dose or more than two months after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and not yet boosted. The quarantine period should be followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.
28th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullUndertakers, rabbis join global fight promoting COVID shots
In Germany, Lutheran pastors are offering COVID-19 shots inside churches. In Israel’s science-skeptical ultra-Orthodox community, trusted rabbis are trying to change minds. And in South Africa, undertakers are taking to the streets to spread the word. The funeral directors' message: “We’re burying too many people.’’ A year after the COVID-19 vaccine became available, traditional public health campaigns promoting vaccination are often going unheeded. So an unconventional cadre of people has joined the effort. They are opening sanctuaries and going door to door and village to village, touting the benefits of the vaccines and sometimes offering shots on the spot.
28th Dec 2021 - Associated Press on MSN.com
U.S. CDC investigating nearly 70 cruise ships hit by COVID-19 cases
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday it was investigating nearly 70 cruise ships after reports of COVID-19 cases on board, as the Omicron variant upended holiday travel over the Christmas weekend. The CDC said COVID-19 cases on 68 ships had met its threshold for an investigation.
27th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Plans to sell off UK vaccine development centre criticised by scientists
Ministers have been urged to retain a facility that can swiftly create and test new vaccines, amid concerns over the sale of a leading centre originally designed to prepare Britain for future pandemics. Some senior medical figures have privately raised concerns that government officials are examining bids for the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), near Oxford, which has benefited from millions in public funding during its development. John Bell, who has held a series of influential roles in the government’s Covid-19 response, said that the centre’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities might be best placed in the hands of a large pharmaceutical company. However, he added that a facility looking at vaccine innovation and trialling – the original vision for VMIC – should be maintained.
26th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Dutch Travel to Germany, Belgium to Avoid Lockdown
A new lockdown in the Netherlands has had an unexpected consequence: packed roads and shopping streets in neighboring Belgium and Germany. Faced with the spread of the omicron variant across Europe, the Dutch government introduced new restrictions on social contact on Dec. 19, closing non-essential stores and shuttering hospitality businesses at 5 p.m. But some Dutch people haven’t stopped shopping and celebrating. Instead, they simply moved these activities to countries where stores, restaurants and bars remain open.
26th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Pope's Message on Christmas: Prays for Vaccines for All
Pope Francis prayed Saturday for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, using his Christmas Day address to urge health care for all, vaccines for the poor and for dialogue to prevail in resolving the world’s conflicts. Amid a record-setting rise in COVID-19 cases in Italy this week, only a few thousand people flocked to a rain-soaked St. Peter’s Square for Francis’ annual “Urbi et Orbi” ("To the city and the world") Christmas address. Normally, the square would be packed with tens of thousands of holiday well-wishers.
25th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Ecuador mandates vaccines, Italy masks outdoors as Omicron rages
Italy has reintroduced mandatory masks outdoors and Ecuador made vaccines compulsory for nearly all to combat coronavirus infections surging globally, led by the Omicron variant, days before the Christmas holidays. More stringent than most, China shut down a city of 13 million people to extinguish a tiny Delta variant outbreak, pursuing its zero COVID-19 goal, while Spain will require masks in some outdoor settings. Meanwhile, France and the United Kingdom announced record highs of COVID-19 daily infections. Vaccination has also been made mandatory in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Micronesia and New Caledonia for adults, while Greece said people must wear face masks both indoors and outdoors during Christmas and New Year’s gatherings.
24th Dec 2021 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Making Green, Disposable Face Masks That Won't Become Ocean Plastic
“Biodegradable masks will be a big market with a lot of demand from governments who are seeing what a big problem mask pollution is becoming,” says Francois Dalibard, chief executive officer of Groupe Lemoine, a French company that manufactured 500 million face masks this year. “The first ones to offer it will have a big advantage.”
24th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Merck (MRK) Covid Drug Molnupiravir Gains US Clearance for High-Risk Adults
Merck & Co.’s Covid-19 pill was cleared by U.S. regulators Thursday, giving high-risk patients a second at-home treatment just as the omicron variant is causing cases to surge around the country. The drug, molnupiravir, received emergency authorization on the heels of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid pill being cleared Wednesday. The FDA said Merck’s drug is not recommended for use in pregnant people. The two treatments hold the potential to keep a sharp rise in infections from overwhelming U.S. hospitals. Molnupiravir, developed by Merck with partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, is intended to be used at home to treat Covid in people 18 and older at risk of developing severe illness. A study showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death among adults with mild to moderate disease by 30%.
24th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Omicron up to 70% less likely to need hospital care
People catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants, a major analysis says. The UK Health Security Agency says its early findings are "encouraging" but the variant could still lead to large numbers of people in hospital. It also shows the vaccine's ability to stop you catching Omicron starts to wane 10 weeks after a booster dose. Protection against severe disease is likely to be far more robust. The report comes hot on the heels of data from South Africa, Denmark, England and Scotland which all pointed to reduced severity.
24th Dec 2021 - BBC on MSN.com
United, Delta cancel more than 200 U.S. Christmas Eve flights amid COVID surge
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have canceled hundreds of Christmas Eve flights, as the spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant takes a toll on its flight crews and other workers. Chicago-based United on Thursday canceled 120 flights for Friday, while Atlanta-based Delta said it had canceled about 90. Both said they were working to contact passengers so they would not be stranded at airports.
FlightAware on Friday said United has now canceled 169 flights on Christmas Eve and Delta has canceled 127, along with another 50 canceled flights for United on Christmas and 89 for Delta.
24th Dec 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
AstraZeneca’s Vaccine, Dumped by the West, Helps Fill Gaping Need in Rest of World
AstraZeneca PLC’s Covid-19 vaccine isn’t authorized in the U.S., and governments in Canada, Australia and across Western Europe have shunned it after production problems and rare but sometimes-deadly side effects. In much of the rest of the world, though, it is a crucial workhorse vaccine, reaching more people in lower- and lower-middle-income countries than any other Western-made shot. It also has run neck and neck with a shot by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and one developed by Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech for overall doses distributed globally. AstraZeneca delivered nearly 2.3 billion doses globally as of mid-December, according to the company. Sinovac said it delivered more than 2.4 billion doses, compared with nearly 2.5 billion by Pfizer, according to the company.
24th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Overwhelmed U.S. Midwest hospitals prepare for worst with Omicron
The rapid spread of Omicron infections has hospitals in the U.S. Midwest "preparing for the worst," with their intensive care units and medical personnel already severely strained from a wave of the potent Delta variant of COVID-19.
Indiana, Ohio and Michigan have been hit harder in recent weeks by the virus than any other states. About one in four of their hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. The impact is even greater in their intensive care units, where COVID-19 patients now account for one-third or more of the beds, according to HHS.
23rd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Singapore Is No Place to Spend Quarantine
Imagine this: You test positive for Covid-19 and begin self-isolating at home. It’s Day Two of quarantine and you’re happier than Kevin McCallister in “Home Alone.” You’ve already completed a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle and binged the entire second season of “Emily in Paris” on Netflix. Everything is just peachy — until some authorities in hazmat suits barge in on you, half-naked with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in your hands. You barely have time to grab your belongings before they whisk you into a van that’s hotter than the Totino’s pizza rolls you burned your mouth on earlier that day.
23rd Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
France Has Record New Covid-19 Cases as Omicron Spreads
French Covid-19 infections hit a record as the spread of the more easily transmissible omicron variant gathered pace across much of Europe. New daily cases totaled 91,608 in France on Thursday, public health office data show. That surpassed the previous high of almost 87,000 from November of last year. Health Minister Olivier Veran said earlier this week that the omicron strain will become dominant in France during the period between Christmas and New Year’s, and that infections will likely reach 100,000 a day by the end of December. On Thursday, he said the threshold will probably be crossed closer to Dec. 25 than Dec. 31, BFM TV reported
23rd Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Calls Mount to Cut Covid-19 Quarantine Period for Fully Vaccinated Who Test Negative
More health experts, business people and government officials are questioning how long people infected with Covid-19 should quarantine if they are vaccinated and no longer testing positive. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people with Covid-19 should isolate for 10 days from the first day symptoms develop or from a positive test, to prevent spreading the virus. On Thursday, the agency issued new guidelines for healthcare workers, reducing their recommended isolation time. The move comes as some researchers and business leaders have started calling for a shorter timetable for all fully vaccinated people who have cleared their infections, saying it is supported by a growing body of research and rising numbers of vaccinations and rapid tests.
23rd Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Zambia to introduce COVID-19 booster jabs next week
Zambia will introduce COVID-19 booster vaccines as it battles the respiratory disease which has infected over 200,000 people and killed more than 3,000, Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said on Thursday. The southern African nation also plans to start vaccinating children agred 12-17, who until now have not been elegible for the COVID-19 jab, Masebo said at a media briefing. "Zambia will begin to administer the booster vaccines for COVID-19 commencing on 27th December, 2021," Masebo said.
23rd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: In Sweden, a vaccine passport on a microchip implant
At the beginning of December, Sweden enacted new rules requiring individuals to have a passport at all events with more than 100 people. Following that announcement, the number of people who got microchips inserted under their skin rose: around 6,000 people in Sweden have so far had a chip inserted in their hands.
22nd Dec 2021 - FRANCE 24
Philippines halves COVID-19 booster wait time to three months
The Philippines has halved to three months the waiting time for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine in its battle to rein in the more infectious Omicron variant of coronavirus, which has forced a global tightening of curbs. The Southeast Asian nation joins Britain, Germany, South Korea and Thailand among a growing list of countries cutting the interval for boosters as they try to stave off a new surge in infections. From Wednesday, adults can receive a booster dose at least three months after taking the second complement of a two-dose vaccine, versus six months earlier, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said. Single-dose vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster after two months, he told a regular news conference
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Finland starts vaccinating children aged 5-11 against COVID
Finland will from Thursday start offering COVID-19 vaccines to children between 5-11 years of age, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health said on Wednesday.
The Finnish Health Institute earlier this month recommended that children aged five and over should be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they or someone in their household were at high risk of severe infection
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Slovakia to ship 200000 COVID-19 shots to Omicron-hit Denmark
Slovakia will supply 200,000 Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccines to fellow EU member Denmark in January to help its booster campaign as infections from the fast-spreading Omicron variant soar, the Slovak Health Ministry said on Wednesday. A ministry document discussed by the government said Denmark had asked for vaccines to be supplied without delay. "With regard to data and the speed of vaccinations in Slovakia as well as the amount in storage, the Slovak Republic is able to provide Denmark 200,000 doses in January," it said.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
French rush for COVID tests before Christmas reunions
Student Jules de Biase is fully vaccinated and has no COVID-19 symptoms, but on Wednesday, ahead of seeing his elderly grandmother over the Christmas holidays, he took a test to be certain he was well. "It's better to be sure you're negative," he said. Many others agree, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly across France and the rest of western Europe in the run-up to the festive period. Laura Korniak, a 29-year-old communications specialist, said she was also getting tested as a precaution. "I wanted to test before joining my family to celebrate Christmas," she said. COVID PCR and antigen tests are free for people in the French social security system and vaccinated. For others, the tests are some of the cheapest in Europe, with an antigen test typically costing about 25 euros ($28.27) and a PCR costing less than 50 euros.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Israel to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose in bid to outpace Omicron
Israel is to offer a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to people older than 60 or with compromised immune systems, and to health workers, as part of a drive to ramp up the shots and outpace the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. A Health Ministry expert panel - whose findings have yet to be implemented - recommended on Tuesday that those eligible should receive the fourth shot at least four months after receiving their third. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has sought to drum up higher Israeli turnout for vaccines, welcomed the panel's statement as "great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world".
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Denmark cuts COVID-19 booster shot interval for people aged 18 to 39
Denmark will reduce the gap between second and third COVID-19 vaccinations for people aged 18 to 39 to 4-1/2 months, down from the six months initially planned, health minister Magnus Heunicke said on Wednesday. The Nordic country, which has seen record high new coronavirus cases this week, will also require a negative test for people arriving from abroad, the minister said.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Britain to vaccinate vulnerable younger children against COVID-19
Britain on Wednesday said it would start vaccinating vulnerable children aged five to 11 against COVID-19 after the country's medicines regulator approved the use of a lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot in that age group. The children will receive two 10-microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine - a third of the adult dose - with an interval of eight weeks between the first and second doses, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said. A decision on whether to offer vaccination in general to younger children would be taken after additional data on the rapidly spreading Omicron variant and the effect of immunising young children could be considered, the JCVI said.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
‘A massive loss’: two of the 18,000 UK Covid victims since ‘freedom day’
Her death is among thousands that have taken place since so-called freedom day on 19 July. In the summer, the public awaited what had been billed as a return to normality after more than a year of coronavirus restrictions. Nightclubs reopened as restrictions on large events and social distancing ended. Since then, more than 18,000 people have died from coronavirus and behind those numbers are losses that have left gaping holes in families. Murray was never worried about getting seriously unwell with Covid, Leighanne says. Her aunt was very healthy and although she had asthma she was a vegan who was a keen crossfit fan, she adds. The 53-year-old believed if she did succumb her symptoms would be mild. Leighanne also wants to make it clear that her aunt was not a “crazy anti-vaxxer” and had a history working in clinical trials. She says her aunt wanted more information about the long-term effects.
22nd Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Biden calls on Americans to vaccinate to fight Omicron as Europe braces for 'storm'
Countries across Europe considered new curbs on movement on Tuesday while U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to all Americans to get vaccinated to fight the Omicron variant sweeping the world days before the second Christmas of the pandemic. Omicron infections are multiplying across Europe, the United States and Asia, including in Japan, where a single cluster of COVID-19 cases at a military base has grown to at least 180. "If you're not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned," Biden said at the White House, where he unveiled plans to buy 500 million rapid COVID-19 tests to be distributed for free to Americans who request them starting in January.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Omicron Spread Prompts More Interest in Booster Shots Than New Vaccinations
A recent rise in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant is prompting more vaccinated Americans to consider getting booster shots, but it doesn’t appear to be persuading large numbers of the unvaccinated, survey data shows. Among vaccinated adults who haven’t had a booster shot, 54% are more likely to do so because of Omicron, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation Tuesday. Of unvaccinated respondents, 12% said the fast-spreading variant’s emergence would make them more inclined to get their first shot. The U.S. has recently been adding about 1.6 million new vaccine shots a day, up from about 1.4 million before Thanksgiving, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The recent doses include boosters and recently eligible children under 12, making it difficult to discern the reasons people are getting shots.
22nd Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Cloth Masks May Not Be Enough in Omicron Fight, Expert Says
Omicron is once again making people think twice before reaching out for their colorful, reusable cloth face masks. “They can be really good or really terrible,” depending on what fabric is used, said Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary health care services at the University of Oxford. Double or triple-layer masks made of a mix of materials can be more effective, but most cloth coverings are just “fashion accessories,” according to Greenhalgh. As the highly infectious omicron causes Covid infections to surge worldwide, governments around the world are tightening restrictions to try and stop its spread. Earlier this month Britain reintroduced compulsory mask wearing on public transport, shops and in some indoor venues, having previously relaxed the rules in the summer.
22nd Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Singapore to freeze new ticket sales for quarantine-free arrivals
Singapore will freeze the sale of tickets for arriving flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel programme for four weeks from Thursday, the government said, citing the risk from the fast-spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant. Under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) programme, Singapore allows quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from certain countries on designated flights or buses. The travellers have to undergo regular testing. About two dozen countries are listed in the programme including Australia, India, Malaysia, Britain and the United States.
22nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullGerman committee recommends booster after three months as Omicron spreads
Germany's STIKO vaccine authority on Tuesday shortened the recommended period between a second coronavirus shot and a booster to three months from six, reflecting the increasing presence of the highly infectious Omicron variant. The authority said anyone over age 18 should have a booster using an mRNA vaccine three months after completing a two-shot course of COVID-19 vaccines. STIKO previously recommended anyone fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine should wait six months after their last shot. For the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, that period remains four weeks.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Philippines cuts COVID-19 booster shot interval to three months
The Philippines' health ministry on Tuesday halved the wait time for a COVID-19 vaccine booster to three months to help prevent the spread of the more infectious Omicron variant. A growing list of countries, including South Korea, the United Kingdom, Thailand and Germany, are shortening the interval for boosters to try to stave off a new surge in infections. Adults can receive a booster dose at least three months after the second shot of a two-dose vaccine, cutting the six-month gap. Recipients of a single-dose vaccine can get a booster shot after two months, the health ministry said.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Scotland cancels public New Year events as new COVID curbs announced
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday said public New Year's Eve celebrations in Scotland would be cancelled as she set out plans for post-Christmas restrictions on large scale events to try to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. Britain has reported record levels of COVID-19 cases over the past week, with officials and ministers warning that hospitalisations are also rising.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, under pressure from many in his own party not to introduce further curbs, held off announcing new restrictions for England following a cabinet meeting on Monday but said they may yet be needed
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Israel Bets Travel Restrictions Will Buy It Time to Fight Omicron
As the Omicron variant spreads quickly across the world, Israel has leaned more heavily than other countries on shutting down its borders to international travel, wagering it would slow down a coming wave of infections and buy time to prepare.
So far, Israel has closed its borders to foreigners and has also banned its residents from traveling to dozens of countries, including the U.S. and Canada, the U.K., much of Europe and most of Africa. “Our sole aim is to delay this massive local transmission,” Prof. Ran Balicer, a senior adviser to the government on the pandemic, said Monday while explaining the travel restrictions to journalists in a briefing organized by the Europe Israel Press Association.
21st Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Australia rules out lockdowns despite Omicron surge
Australia must move past "the heavy hand of government" and authorities must stop shutting down people's lives with COVID-19 lockdowns, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, as daily infections in the country shot up to a new pandemic high. COVID-19 cases have been breaking records over the last several days, the surge fuelled by the more transmissible Omicron variant, but Morrison insisted that limiting the spread of the virus comes down to personal responsibility.
"We have got to get past the heavy hand of government and we have got to treat Australians like adults," Morrison told reporters, urging authorities to shift from "a culture of mandates" when it comes to masks and social distancing rules.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
NFL could become trend-setter for COVID-19 testing policies
The NFL’s decision to reduce COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic, vaccinated players could signal a trend for pro sports leagues and provide an example for society to follow heading into 2022. Despite a rising number of positive cases that forced three games to be rescheduled over the weekend, the NFL, in cooperation with the players’ union, agreed on Saturday to scale back testing for vaccinated players. The move aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends “diagnostic testing” only for symptomatic or close-contact vaccinated people, and “screening tests” only for unvaccinated people. The NFL previously required vaccinated players to get tested weekly before amending the protocols. The NFLPA had advocated for daily testing for vaccinated players but eventually agreed to “target” testing.
21st Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Biden to pledge 500M free COVID-19 tests to counter omicron
Fighting the omicron variant surging through the country, President Joe Biden announced the government will provide 500 million free rapid home-testing kits, increase support for hospitals under strain and redouble vaccination and boosting efforts. At the White House on Tuesday, Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are not yet fully understood by scientists. Yet his message was clear that the winter holidays could be close to normal for the vaccinated while potentially dangerous for the unvaccinated. His pleas are not political, he emphasized. He noted that former President Donald Trump has gotten his booster shot, and he said it’s Americans’ “patriotic duty” to get vaccinated.
21st Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
France Covid Vaccine Pass to Come Into Force in Early January
France will require that people are fully vaccinated to enter bars, restaurants and cultural venues starting in early January to help slow the spread of the omicron strain of Covid-19. The vaccine pass will come into force from the first two weeks of the new year, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said in a statement to reporters on Tuesday. Under the new system, a negative test will no longer be an alternative to vaccination. “We’ve got no time to lose in the face of the omicron variant,” Attal said. “The forecasts are worrying, it’s true. We’re entering an area of turbulence, it’s certain. But we have the weapons to fight.”
21st Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Edinburgh’s New Year Celebrations Scrapped After Omicron Surge
Edinburgh’s famous Hogmanay street celebrations at New Year were canceled again after a surge in cases of the omicron variant in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. The government will also limit the number of fans at soccer matches to 500 from Dec. 26 for three weeks. More money will also be made available to support businesses after an increase in funding from the U.K. Treasury, albeit falling short of what Scotland would like to spend, she said. The omicron variant of Covid-19 is currently ripping through the country and is more transmissible than previous strains. The priority is to deliver all booster vaccinations for adults and ensure that schools can reopen as normal after the winter break, Sturgeon said.
21st Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Businesses fret as South Korea reimposes COVID-19 curfews
As clocks struck 9 p.m. this week, customers packed up and left restaurants and other eateries across South Korea as a reimposed curfew designed to help stem a surge in coronavirus infections sparks fears of economic disaster for some businesses. Last week authorities announced a series of social distancing measures lasting until at least Jan. 2. They include limiting gatherings to no more than four people and forcing restaurants, cafes and bars to close by 9 p.m. (1200 GMT). The measures came just six weeks after highly-vaccinated South Korea eased many restrictions to try to "live with COVID-19." Since then daily cases and serious infections have hit record highs, adding to strains on the country's medical system.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand delays border re-opening over Omicron concerns
New Zealand on Tuesday postponed its phased border re-opening plans until the end of February over concerns of the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The South Pacific nation had just started easing some of the world's toughest pandemic measures and its international border restrictions were to progressively loosen from January, with all foreign tourists allowed into the country from April. Non-quarantine travel, which was to have opened for New Zealanders in Australia from Jan. 16, would be pushed back until the end of February, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said at a press conference in Wellington.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Biden to deliver free tests to battle surging Omicron
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the opening of more federal vaccination and testing sites to tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases sparked by the Omicron variant, and said some 500 million at-home rapid tests will be available to Americans for free starting in January. Biden offered both a warning to the unvaccinated, who he said have "good reason to be concerned," and reassurance that those who are inoculated can gather for the holidays despite the new variant sweeping the country. "No this is not March of 2020," Biden told reporters at the White House. "Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated, we're prepared, we know more."
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.S. mulls reducing COVID quarantine time amid Omicron surge
U.S. health authorities are considering reducing the 10-day recommended quarantine period for Americans who test positive for COVID-19 as the Omicron variant tears across the country, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday. A spike in COVID-19 cases is alarming public health officials who fear an explosion of infections following social mingling over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Omicron now accounts for 73% of U.S. coronavirus infections, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Breakthrough infections are rising among the fully vaccinated population, including those who have had a third, booster shot. However, Omicron appears to be causing milder symptoms in those people, some of whom have no symptoms at all.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Europe weighs Omicron curbs as Biden turns to military medics
Countries across Europe considered new curbs on movement on Tuesday while U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to all Americans to get vaccinated to fight the Omicron variant sweeping the world days before the second Christmas of the pandemic. Omicron infections are multiplying across Europe, the United States and Asia, including in Japan, where a single cluster of COVID-19 cases at a military base has grown to at least 180. "If you're not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned," Biden said at the White House, where he unveiled plans to buy 500 million rapid COVID-19 tests to be distributed for free to Americans who request them starting in January.
21st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullKuwait to make COVID-19 vaccine booster compulsory
Kuwait will require anyone who has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for nine months to get a booster shot, the government communication centre tweeted on Monday. Kuwait will also require incoming travellers to quarantine at home for 10 days unless they receive a negative PCR test for the coronavirus within 72 hours of their arrival.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Global Covid vaccination failure will harm Britain, Gordon Brown warns
The failure to vaccinate the world against coronavirus will come back to haunt even fully vaccinated Britons in 2022, Gordon Brown has warned. The former prime minister said the emergence of Omicron was “not Africa’s fault”, and added that new variants would continue to wreak havoc because richer countries such as the UK had “stockpiled” hundreds of millions of vaccines. He rubbished suggestions wealthier nations faced a choice between offering boosters to their own citizens or sharing doses with people living in poorer countries. “Ours is not a fraught choice between boosters and vaccinating the world. We are manufacturing enough vaccines … to immunise the whole world.” Instead, Brown said it was an “inescapable and unacceptable fact” that of the billions of vaccines administered, only 0.6% ended up in low-income countries.
20th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Death of child with Covid-19 prompts calls for Māori to be prioritised in NZ vaccine rollout
The first death of a child with Covid-19 in New Zealand has prompted calls for Māori children to be prioritised in the next stage of the vaccine rollout, as the country grapples with racial inequalities compounded by the pandemic. A Māori boy, under the age of 10 and who had tested positive for the virus, died last week, becoming the youngest New Zealander to die with Covid, the Ministry of Health confirmed. It is unclear whether Covid-19 was the cause of the boy’s death, as New Zealand records all deaths of people considered active Covid cases in its official count. It is the country’s 49th death of a Covid-positive person since the start of the pandemic. Māori make up an estimated 17.1% of the population but they have accounted for 32% of all Covid-19 related deaths.
20th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Germany considers contact restrictions to soften blow from Omicron wave
German leaders are considering tougher contact restrictions and an accelerated booster campaign among other measures after experts warned that the Omicron coronavirus variant could bring critical infrastructure to breaking point. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he supported the likely decision of a meeting of federal and state leaders planned for Tuesday to restrict private contacts for those who have been vaccinated, or have been infected and recovered. Scholz, speaking in Rome, said the meeting would also focus on the continued operation of critical institutions such as hospitals, police stations and electricity providers in case of high infection numbers, as well as handing out more boosters.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Thais resell private COVID-19 vaccination slots as free supplies build
Some Thais who had scrambled to book private hospital appointments to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have taken to social media to resell their slots after an influx of free government-supplied shots in recent weeks. A Facebook group with about 4,800 members, called Moderna First Lot Reservations, had users selling doses for around 1,000 baht ($29.82) with some offering to buy shots for as low as 800 baht, down from an original price of 1,650 baht.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Biontech, Pfizer to provide EU with extra 200 mln COVID doses
BioNTech SE and Pfizer said that they would be providing the European Union with more than 200 million additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine they produce. The two vaccine manufacturers said they agreed in May to supply 900 million doses to the European Commission in 2022 and 2023, with an option to request up to an additional 900 million. The doses announced on Monday are in addition to the 450 million already expected to be delivered in 2022, they said.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Analysis: Rising cases, Omicron highlight holes in Biden's COVID strategy, experts say
Amid a new surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, President Joe Biden is drawing criticism from health experts, who are calling for more urgency, testing, masking and global vaccine sharing. Biden, a Democrat, took office in January pledging to get the coronavirus under control. He presided over a massive vaccine rollout and passed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, a sharp contrast with his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, who downplayed the pandemic's severity, dismissed many preventive measures and undermined health experts.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
No lockdown before Christmas, Germany says
Germany's health minister Karl Lauterbach ruled out a Christmas lockdown on Sunday but warned a fifth COVID-19 wave could no longer be stopped and backed mandatory vaccination as the only way to stop the pandemic. "There will not be a lockdown before Christmas here. But we will get a fifth wave - we have crossed a critical number of Omicron infections," Lauterbach said, speaking on broadcaster ARD. "This wave can no longer be completely stopped." In another interview with BILD, Lauterbach added that he did not expect there to be a "hard lockdown" after the holidays either.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
UK says COVID surge 'extremely difficult' as Omicron grips Europe
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he would tighten coronavirus curbs to slow the spread of the Omicron variant if needed, after the Netherlands began a fourth lockdown and as other European nations consider Christmas restrictions. Speaking after UK media reported Britain might impose new curbs after Christmas, Johnson said the situation was "extremely difficult" and hospitalisations were rising steeply in London.
20th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Sri Lanka to make COVID vaccine card must to enter public places
Sri Lanka will require the showing of a COVID-19 vaccination certificate compulsory for entry to public places starting from January 1, in a renewed attempt to prevent another spike in infections. Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga made the announcement on Sunday in an abrupt switch from the gradual ending of restrictions put into place after the country was confronted with a third wave of COVID-19 infections in April caused by the Delta variant.
20th Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullFrance hopes new vaccine pass will speed up vaccination amid Omicron spread
France hopes that a planned new vaccine pass that will be required to enter public places will persuade more people to get inoculated against COVID-19 as the country faces a rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the health minister said on Saturday. The government does not want to impose new curfews or lockdowns on people who have been vaccinated, but the threat of Omicron means authorities have to increase pressure on those refusing vaccination, Olivier Veran said on France Inter radio.
19th Dec 2021 - Reuters
UK health minister doesn't rule out new COVID restrictions before Christmas
Britain's health minister on Sunday declined to rule out the chance of further COVID-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast moving situation. Britain has reported a surge in Omicron cases, which government advisers said could be just the tip of the iceberg. On Saturday, London's mayor declared a "major incident" to help the city's hospitals cope. read more. Asked whether he could rule out new restrictions before Christmas, health minister Sajid Javid told BBC Television: "We are assessing the situation, it is very fast moving."
19th Dec 2021 - Reuters
CNN closes U.S. offices to most workers as COVID-19 cases spike - memo
CNN is closing its offices in the United States to all nonessential employees as COVID-19 cases increase, the network said on Saturday in an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters. CNN, part of AT&T Inc's WarnerMedia division, will close its offices to all employees who do not have work in the office, the memo said. "We are doing this out of an abundance of caution," CNN President Jeff Zucker said in the memo. "And it will also protect those who will be in the office by minimizing the number of people who are there."
19th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Italy eyes new COVID-19 measures amid Omicron worries
Italy's government is considering new measures to avoid a surge in COVID-19 infections during the holiday period, local newspapers reported on Sunday, amid worries over the spread of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant. After holding a meeting with ministers on Dec. 23, Prime Minister Mario Draghi could impose an obligation on the vaccinated to show a negative test to access crowded places, including discos and stadiums, daily Corriere della Sera reported. Negative tests could also be required to enter cinemas and theatres, along with wearing masks outdoors.
19th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Swiss order more COVID-19 jabs, tighten pandemic measures
Switzerland is ordering more COVID-19 vaccination doses, the government said on Friday, as it tightened pandemic curbs while opting not to embrace -- for now -- an even stricter limited lockdown. It is ordering 7 million doses each from Moderna and from Pfizer and BioNTech for the second half of next year, it said, bringing to 34 million doses its stockpile for 2022 and ensuring anyone who wants a jab will get it.
After consulting regional authorities, the federal government said it will expand from Monday the requirement for people to show proof of vaccination or recovery from the coronavirus to access many indoor venues like restaurants.
19th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Pfizer Delays Plans to Seek Authorization of Covid-19 Vaccine for Young Children
Pfizer Inc.and partner BioNTech have pushed back plans to request authorization of their Covid-19 vaccine in children ages 2 to 5, after the shot generated a weaker than expected immune response in a key study. The companies said Friday they would begin testing the addition of a third dose in the children, and if successful, would ask U.S. health regulators to authorize use sometime during the first half of 2022. Many parents of young children, who don’t have any Covid-19 vaccines available for use, have been looking forward to clearance of the shots.
19th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Appeals Court Reinstates Biden Covid-19 Vaccine Rules for Large Employers
A federal appeals court Friday reinstated Biden administration rules that require many employers to ensure that their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly for Covid-19. A divided panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved a stay issued by another court that had blocked the rules. The majority, in a 2-to-1 ruling, said legal challenges to the administration’s vaccination-and-testing requirements were likely to fail. The ruling is a near-term boost to the White House but was immediately appealed on an emergency basis to the Supreme Court by some employers who oppose the mandate. The requirements, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and scheduled to take effect in January, apply to businesses with 100 or more employees and cover roughly 84 million workers.
19th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Germany Declares U.K. Virus-Variant Area, Tightens Travel Rules
Germany tightened rules for travelers from the U.K. as the spread of omicron there threatens progress in reversing a virus wave that recently swamped German hospitals. The U.K. will be designated as a virus variant area from Monday, the highest risk category, which means restrictions on who can travel to Germany, the Robert Koch Institute, a national infectious-disease agency, said on its website.
Germany’s the latest country to adopt measures against the U.K., where cases of the new Covid variant are rising sharply. France temporarily banned entry for many Britons last week, and Cyprus will require visitors from the UK ages 12 or above, regardless of vaccination status, to self isolate.
19th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Biden to Issue 'Stark Warning' on Vaccination Amid Covid Surge
President Joe Biden is set to warn the nation of the perils of remaining unvaccinated against the coronavirus in a planned speech Tuesday as the omicron variant takes hold in the U.S. and the nation experiences a surge in cases. “We are prepared for the rising case levels, and @POTUS will detail how we will respond to this challenge,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter. “He will remind Americans that they can protect themselves from severe illness from Covid-19 by getting vaccinated and getting their booster shot when they are eligible.”
19th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
London Mayor Declares ‘Major Incident’ as Omicron Cases Surge
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” due to a rapid spread of the omicron variant across the U.K. capital, according to a statement. A major incident refers to an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agencies. It is “beyond the scope of business-as-usual operations, and is likely to involve serious harm, damage, disruption or risk to human life or welfare, essential services, the environment or national security,” the government said.
18th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Germany to impose quarantine on travellers from Britain from Monday
Germany will impose quarantine on travellers from Britain from midnight on Monday and require a negative COVID-19 test for entry into the country, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Saturday. Germany's regional health ministers had urged the national government on Saturday to introduce tougher rules on people arriving from Britain, where the Omicron coronavirus variant has sparked a surge in infections. At a meeting, the ministers called on Berlin to classify Britain as a virus-variant area, enforcing a two-week quarantine on all travellers including those who are vaccinated.
18th Dec 2021 - Reuters
COVID forces players into isolation as calls for vaccination grow
World sport continued to reel from the surge in COVID-19 cases on Friday with politicians urging sportspeople to set an example by not shunning the vaccine, while international competitions were affected as countries introduced travel curbs.
As Europe's top soccer leagues prepare to wind down for a short winter break, England's Premier League is looking to go full steam ahead over the busy festive period. Nine scheduled matches have been postponed so far due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
17th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Canada's vaccine mandate for foreign crews a headache for European airlines
European airlines are walking an increasingly fine line to meet both foreign inoculation and local privacy requirements, as more countries require flight crews to be vaccinated against COVID-19, carriers say. Canada is slated on Jan. 15 to end an exemption that allowed entry of unvaccinated foreign flight crews, joining others that have vaccine mandates for pilots and passengers alike. That's creating a logistical headache for European carriers, who are unable to ask for their employees' vaccination status since they are bound to strict data protection laws in Europe, a spokesperson for the trade group Airlines For Europe (A4E) said.
17th Dec 2021 - Reuters
JPMorgan tells unvaccinated Manhattan staff to work from home
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) instructed unvaccinated staff in Manhattan to work from home starting Tuesday, a further sign that banks and other financial firms are tightening protocols as COVID-19 infections rise and the Omicron variant spreads.
The U.S. bank, one of the most aggressive in bringing employees back to the office, previously allowed unvaccinated staff to work in its Manhattan offices provided they were tested twice a week. In a memo to staff on Monday announcing the policy change, the bank urged unvaccinated staff to get vaccinated and for eligible employees to get booster shots. It also relaxed mask requirements for vaccinated staff working in its Manhattan offices.
17th Dec 2021 - Reuters
CDC releases new guidance to allow children exposed to coronavirus to attend school
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new strategy called "test-to-stay" that allows unvaccinated children to stay in school even if they have been exposed to the coronavirus, agency Director Rochelle Walensky said on Friday. "If exposed children meet a certain criteria and continue to test negative, they can stay at school instead of quarantining at home," Walensky said during a press briefing. Some states are already advising their schools to use "test-to-stay" strategies in order to keep more children in class.
17th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Boeing suspends vaccine mandate for U.S. employees
Boeing Co suspended its coronavirus vaccination requirement for U.S.-based employees, the U.S. planemaker said on Friday, capping weeks of uncertainty as thousands of workers sought exemptions and challenges to a federal mandate played out in court. In an internal announcement, Boeing said its decision came after a review of a U.S. District Court ruling earlier this month that halted the enforcement of President Joe Biden's vaccine requirement for federal contractors.
Some big healthcare chains and companies such as General Electric, Spirit AeroSystems, and Amtrak have also suspended vaccine mandates for workers.
17th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Cancels Christmas Around Europe…Again
As Omicron variant spreads, mounting restrictions dash hopes of return to normal this festive season; France to place restrictions on tourists from U.K. From Spanish holidays to Greek celebrations to German circus performances, the Covid-19 pandemic has derailed plans and upended Christmas traditions across Europe for a second year in a row. After a surge in cases this fall dashed hopes of a normal festive season this year, authorities on the continent have tightened restrictions to avoid overwhelming hospitals. Expectations that the highly transmissible Omicron variant will soon take hold are further adding to the fears.
16th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
EU strikes deal with Moderna for quicker COVID-19 vaccine supplies
The European Commission said on Thursday it has reached an agreement with Moderna to rush deliveries of the U.S. company's COVID-19 vaccine to Germany and other European Union member states, as cases surge due to the Omicron variant. Governments across Europe are struggling with soaring infections, with some regions imposing restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
JCVI makes pregnant women priority group for Covid vaccination
Pregnant women have been made a priority group for vaccination following research showing they are vulnerable to more serious illness and pregnancy complications if they are infected with Covid-19. The vaccines watchdog, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), announced on Thursday that pregnant women would be moved into priority group 6 alongside adults under the age of 65 who have long-term health conditions, and urged pregnant women to get first and second doses and booster jabs as soon as possible.
16th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Army says nearly 98% got the COVID-19 vaccine by deadline
Nearly 98% of the active duty Army had gotten at least one dose of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine as of this week's deadline for the shots, but more than 3,800 soldiers flatly refused and could start being removed from the military next month, officials said Thursday. The U.S. military's largest service, however, reported the lowest number of service members seeking a religious exemption — a bit more than 1,700 soldiers — compared with the other three smaller services. In comparison, there are more than 4,700 in the Air Force 3,000 in the Marine Corps and 2,700 in the Navy who are requesting religious exemptions, according to data released by the services in the past week. None has yet been approved.
16th Dec 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: France to block British tourists amid rise in UK Omicron cases
British tourists are to be banned from France amid concern over the "extremely rapid" rise in Omicron COVID cases in the UK. From Saturday morning, France is barring travel to and from Britain without "compelling reasons". Those reasons do not include tourism and business, Paris said. It added that for those able to travel from the UK under a "compelling reason", there will be the obligation to register the address of their stay in France.
16th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Russian parliament backs draft law for COVID-19 immunity passes
The Russian parliament's lower house, the State Duma, on Thursday gave the first nod of approval to a draft law that would require people to show QR codes demonstrating proof of immunity to COVID-19 in order to visit certain public places.
The bill still needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin to come into force. Earlier this week, the Russian parliament said it would shelve a draft bill that would have required people travelling by plane or train to present QR codes, after strong public opposition to the proposal
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Court revives health worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 26 U.S. states
A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived in 26 U.S. states a COVID-19 mandate issued by President Joe Biden's administration requiring millions of healthcare workers to get vaccinated if they work in facilities that receive federal dollars. In a rare win for Biden's pandemic strategy, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a lower court had the authority to block the mandate in only the 14 states that had sued and was wrong to impose a nationwide injunction. The Biden administration mandate requires that healthcare facilities get staff vaccinated against the coronavirus or lose funding from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers the two large government healthcare programs.
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Refugees lack COVID shots because drugmakers fear lawsuits - documents
Tens of millions of migrants may be denied COVID-19 vaccines from a global programme because some major manufacturers are worried about legal risks from harmful side effects, according to officials and internal documents from Gavi, the charity operating the programme, reviewed by Reuters. Nearly two years into a pandemic that has already killed more than 5 million people, only about 7% of people in low-income countries have received a dose. Vaccine deliveries worldwide have been delayed by production problems, hoarding by rich countries, export restrictions and red tape. Many programmes have also been hampered by hesitancy among the public
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
EU leaders struggle to find common ground on COVID travel rules
Divisions within the European Union have deepened over travel rules to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, after Italy and Greece followed Portugal and Ireland in announcing additional curbs on travellers from other EU states. The EU's 27 member states have been debating for weeks how to coordinate travel policy, with the aim of containing the virus without disproportionately disrupting travel within the border-free European Schengen area.
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
South Africa to retain 'Level 1' curbs in Omicron fight
South Africa's National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) has retained its lockdown at 'adjusted level 1', or the lowest of a five-tier system of restrictions, in the battle on the Omicron variant, health authorities said on Thursday. In the past few days, South Africa has reported more than 20,000 new daily COVID-19 infections, but its scientists see no sign yet that the variant causes more severe illness. "The Council has directed the department to closely monitor the rising COVID-19 infections," the health department said in a statement, adding that it would also track hospital admissions, mortality and recovery rates.
16th Dec 2021 - Reuters
SKorea bans gatherings of 5 or more people amid virus surge
South Korea will prohibit private social gatherings of five or more people nationwide and force restaurants to close at 9 p.m., rolling out the country’s toughest coronavirus restrictions yet as hospitals grapple with the deadliest month of the pandemic. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday that the new measures will be enforced for at least 16 days after taking effect on Saturday, saying there’s an urgent need to bring the country to a “standstill” with the delta-driven surge overwhelming stretched hospitals and exhausted medical workers. Schools in the densely populated capital Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, where the virus has hit hardest, will also go back to remote learning after fully reopening in November.
16th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Millions of unjabbed a key concern as England scrambles to vaccinate
In the Newtown ward of central Birmingham, the government’s “Get boosted now” slogan means nothing to half of over-16s, because they have not had any vaccination against Covid at all. It is a similar story in Westminster and Camden in London where among the over-12s, 30% have not had a single jab. In Nottingham, a quarter of the whole population face the coming Omicron “tidal wave” unvaccinated. The vaccination scramble is not just about boosters but about persuading millions to get any jab at all. “Omicron will unevenly hit the least protected,” said Jim McManus, the president of the Association of Directors of Public Health. “We have two jobs: to get the vaccines into as many arms as possible and really get into the communities with the worst uptake.”
15th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullScale back Christmas plans, England's chief medical officer warns public
England's chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. With a new highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus surging across Britain, a further 78,610 COVID-19 infections were reported on Wednesday, about 10,000 more than the previous high reported in January. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said that Britain is being hit by "two epidemics on top of each other" as he urged the public to scale back their Christmas plans. "People should be prioritising those things, and only those things, that really matter to them," he told a news conference. "Don't mix with people you don't have to."
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Facing new COVID wave, staff at a French hospital say: 'We're exhausted'
Doctor Ruxandra Divan, an intensive care anaesthetist in eastern France, slumped down onto her haunches against a wall of her department, exhausted by the prospect of tackling a new COVID-19 wave with a depleted staff. "It's the tiredness," said Divan on Wednesday, mid-way through her shift at the Colmar Hospital, near France's border with Germany and Switzerland. "People are fed up of dealing with patients who aren't vaccinated. We are really tired." Healthcare systems across Europe are facing up to more COVID-19 admissions, with infection rates accelerating, and the added uncertainty of how the new Omicron variant will affect public health.
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
India’s Poonawalla family donate £50m for Oxford vaccine centre
The family of the Indian billionaire and self-proclaimed “prince of vaccines” Adar Poonawalla are donating £50m to Oxford University for the construction of a new research centre that will house the team who developed the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine. The Poonawalla family, who own and run the world’s largest vaccine producer, Serum Institute of India (SII), announced on Wednesday that they had agreed to give the university the sum to build a new home for the Jenner Institute. The new centre on the university’s Old Road campus will be named the Poonawalla Vaccines Research building.
15th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Covid vaccinations: 'We desperately need volunteers'
With the government announcing all over-18s are to be offered their booster jabs by the end of the year, vaccination centres are in dire need of more volunteers. The BBC spoke to some of those helping out at one centre in Essex. At the vaccination centre at Maldon District Council's offices, volunteers are helping marshal queues and vaccinate the thousands of people who turn up every week. Across Mid and South Essex, 7,500 jabs are administered every day - but that that needs to reach 22,000 by the end of December if every person eligible for a booster vaccine comes forward.
15th Dec 2021 - BBC News
Covid jabs for younger children in UK could get green light before Christmas
The UK government’s vaccines watchdog is hopeful of approving Covid jabs for younger children before Christmas, with officials saying the wait to do this has been caused in part by a delay in the manufacturer seeking regulatory approval. Before Covid vaccines can be used for five- to 11-year-olds, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) must give a specific vaccine the green light. So far only Pfizer has applied for its vaccine to be used for this age group. After that, the vaccines watchdog, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), would meet to discuss whether the vaccination programme should be expanded to include younger children.
15th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
NHS and social care workers must have Covid vaccine after MPs pass new law
Care staff and NHS workers will now be required to have their coronavirus vaccine in order to work after MPs voted through a new law this evening (Tuesday, December 14). MPs voted 385 to 100 in favour of the new regulations, which will require NHS and social care staff to be vaccinated by April 2022. It means those who have not received their vaccine have just a few months to get it or face being unable to work. While the new regulation was approved in Parliament, it did meet resistance from some MPs, including dozens from the Conservative party.
15th Dec 2021 - Wales Online
COVID-19: Boris Johnson over-reacting to Omicron and creating 'hysteria', South African doctor Dr Angelique Coetzee says
Dr Angelique Coetzee is asked how many patients infected with Omicron she has seen with the most severe symptoms. "No one," she replies. Apart, that is, from a man with HIV who had pneumonia and comorbidities. "I haven't seen any COVID-19 pneumonia and neither have my colleagues," she adds. A couple of patients she saw before her interview with Sky News were showing mild symptoms. "They're happy, they're going on holiday," she says with something resembling a shrug. Boris Johnson is creating "hysteria", the GP who also heads South Africa's Medical Association says, adding that the UK is much better vaccinated than her country.
15th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Japan government panel clears Moderna COVID vaccine for booster shots
Japan's health ministry said on Wednesday its panel of experts had agreed Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccines could be used for booster shots, setting the stage for official government approval. Japan started administering booster shots this month with Pfizer Inc vaccines. The panel agreed Moderna vaccines could be used on those aged 18 or older for booster shots, the ministry said. The same age restriction is being applied to Pfizer vaccines for booster shots.
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Italy extends COVID-19 state of emergency, imposes swab for EU visitors
Italy on Tuesday extended a COVID-19 state of emergency to March 31 and ruled that all visitors from EU countries must take a test before departure, amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The state of emergency, which was introduced in January last year, gives greater powers to the central government, making it easier for officials to bypass the bureaucracy that smothers much decision-making in Italy.
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Germany to ease testing for those with COVID-19 booster
Germany will exempt people who have had a booster vaccination from having to take a coronavirus test before entering some leisure facilities, federal and regional health ministers agreed on Tuesday. The proposal, agreed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and ministers from Germany's 16 federal states, is aimed at encouraging people to get a booster shot and relieving testing capacity. However, a negative test result would still be required to enter hospitals and care homes to help protect more vulnerable people, according to the draft, reviewed by Reuters.
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
London nightclub owners pan UK's new COVID-19 rules for venues
Nightclub owners in London criticised new restrictions to halt the spread of coronavirus variants that will go into effect on Wednesday, saying that a lack of rapid COVID-19 tests will make enforcement a "big challenge". Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new "Plan B" measures to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant, including the use of COVID-19 vaccine passes to enter some venues such as nightclubs and settings with larger crowds. Negative rapid tests, known as lateral flow tests, will also be accepted. Britain has registered almost 4,500 cases of Omicron, with 10 people hospitalised and one person dying after contracting the variant.
15th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Vaccine alliance chief: Omicron could trigger ‘Inequity 2.0’
The head of vaccine alliance Gavi, which is leading a U.N.-backed push to get COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, said that he’s seen early signs that rich countries are beginning to withhold donations out of fears about the omicron coronavirus variant — warning any new hoarding could lead to “Inequity 2.0.”
Gavi chief executive Dr. Seth Berkley took stock of the nearly two-year fight against the pandemic as the alliance released the latest update to its supply forecast for COVID-19 vaccines that it has repeatedly downscaled, largely because of export bans and vaccine hoarding by some producer countries that critics say it should have foreseen. “With the omicron variant, what we’ve seen is panic in many countries that has led acceleration of boosters both to the numbers of people getting them, but also the timeline for getting them,” Berkley told The Associated Press in an interview late Tuesday at his home outside Geneva.
15th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Google to employees: get the jab or get fired
Alphabet Inc’s Google told its employees they would lose pay and eventually be fired if they do not follow its COVID-19 vaccination rules, CNBC has reported, citing internal documents. A memo circulated by Google’s leadership said employees had until December 3 to declare their vaccination status and upload documentation showing proof, or to apply for a medical or religious exemption, according to the report.
15th Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullPfizer Says Its Covid-19 Pill Likely Works Against Omicron
Preliminary laboratory tests gave encouraging signs that Pfizer Inc.’s PFE 0.62% experimental Covid-19 pill for the newly infected could work against Omicron, the company said. Pfizer also said Tuesday that a final analysis of late-stage study results confirmed the drug, named Paxlovid, was 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in adults at high risk of severe Covid-19. The positive results come as the Food and Drug Administration reviews whether to clear use of Paxlovid in high-risk adults, a decision that could come before the end of the year.
“This was a real home run, gives tremendous hope for another highly effective intervention,” Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said in an interview.
15th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
COVID-19: Children as young as 5-years-old could be offered vaccine with decision 'expected' before Christmas
A decision on whether to vaccinate children as young as five against COVID could be made before Christmas, one of the government's top advisers on vaccines has said. Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's COVID-19 panel, said he would "expect" his team to offer their advice on jabs for those between the ages of five to 11-years-old before Christmas.
COVID case rates have been consistently high in school-aged children since September, but vaccines have only been offered to 12 to 15-year-olds since November - later than in many other countries.
14th Dec 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19: All countries on red list to be removed as 'less effective' in slowing Omicron - Javid
All 11 countries on the UK's travel red list will be removed as the system has become "less effective in slowing the incursion" of the Omicron variant, the health secretary has announced. Sajid Javid told the House of Commons that the nations will be removed from 4am on Wednesday, so arrivals will no longer have to isolate in a government-approved quarantine hotel for two weeks at the cost of £2,285.
The 11 countries currently on the red list are: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
14th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Walk-in booster jab: Huge queues form on second day of Covid vaccine drive – but some people turned away
Lengthy queues have already begun to form outside walk-in vaccination clinics for a the second day following the Government’s pledge to offer one to all over-18s by the end of December. The queue for walk-in jabs at the Centre Court Shopping Centre in Wimbledon, south-west London, was snaking around the entire top floor and back to the entrance, while some people have already been turned away from a clinic in Swindon, Wiltshire. At St Thomas’ Hospital near Parliament in central London, people began queuing before the clinic opened at 8am and the line was snaked across Westminster Bridge for a second day.
14th Dec 2021 - iNews
Kroger to remove some COVID-19 benefits for unvaccinated employees
Kroger Co will stop some COVID-19 benefits for unvaccinated employees starting next year, as the supermarket chain pushes more workers to get inoculated amid growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The company will no longer provide paid COVID-19 leave for unvaccinated employees and will apply a $50 monthly health insurance surcharge to salaried non-union workers who are unvaccinated and enrolled in a company healthcare plan, a Kroger spokesperson said on Tuesday.
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
California to reinstitute statewide mask mandate amid rise in COVID cases
California will impose a statewide mask mandate in all indoor public spaces as COVID-19 case rates soar, the state's senior government health official said on Monday as precautions ramp up against the Omicron variant. The mandate, which will take effect on Wednesday and last a month, is one of several measures the most-populous U.S. state is taking to slow a wave of infections that is already straining hospitals in areas where vaccination rates are low. "We know people are tired, and hungry for normalcy," state Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said in a conference call with reporters. "Frankly I am, too."
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Dutch schools to close early for Christmas to limit COVID-19 spread - report
The Netherlands will extend COVID-19 restrictions through the Christmas holidays, including the early closure of schools, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is making up roughly 1% of new infections in the country, "is a reason to be concerned and to be cautious," Rutte said in a televised comments. Elementary schools will close a week early to try to prevent children from infecting older family members during Christmas as hospitals struggle with a wave of COVID-19 patients.
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Nigeria to destroy one million expired COVID-19 vaccines -official
Nigeria will destroy around one million expired COVID-19 vaccines, Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said on Monday, adding his agency was working with drug regulator NAFDAC to set a date for their destruction. Nigeria's health minister Osagie Ehanire said last week some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western countries had a remaining shelf life of only weeks, adding to the country's challenges in vaccinating its people. read more Fewer than 4% of adults in Africa's most populous nation of over 200 million have been fully vaccinated.
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Singapore mulls COVID-19 boosters requirement to qualify as 'fully' vaccinated
Singapore is considering requiring its residents to get a booster shot to qualify as fully vaccinated against COVID-19, its health minister said on Tuesday, as it seeks to protect its population from the Omicron variant. The city-state of 5.5 million people currently allows only those counted as fully vaccinated - or recipients of two shots - to enter malls or dine in at restaurants or at hawker stalls. From Jan. 1 it will bar unvaccinated employees from entering workplaces, unless they undergo tests each time.
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Germany plans to ease testing for those with COVID-19 booster - draft
Germany will exempt people who have had a booster vaccination from having to take a coronavirus test before entering some leisure facilities, federal and regional health ministers agreed on Tuesday. The proposal, agreed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and ministers from Germany's 16 federal states, is aimed at ncouraging people to get a booster shot and relieving testing capacity. However, a negative test result would still be required to enter hospitals and care homes to help protect more vulnerable people, according to the draft, reviewed by Reuters.
14th Dec 2021 - Reuters
We have enough Covid vaccines for most of the world. But rich countries are stockpiling more than they need for boosters
Even when booster shots for rich nations are taken into account, there’s ample supply to meet global vaccination goals for the end of 2021, STAT’s analysis of available data shows. The challenge is getting the vaccines to the right places.
Around 11 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses will have been manufactured by the end of 2021, according to estimates from Duke’s Global Health Innovation Center and the COVID Collaborative. The precise number is uncertain, said Krishna Udayakumar, the Duke center’s founding director, because both manufacturers and governments have failed to release details. His calculation is in line with the World Trade Organization-International Monetary Fund vaccine tracker, which showed a supply of 8.8 billion vaccines by the end of October.
13th Dec 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullNicaragua receives China vaccines after cutting ties with Taiwan
Nicaragua has received one million Covid vaccines from China, days after it cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing. Government representatives returned to the Central American state on Sunday with news of the donation. Local media broadcast clips showing an Air China plane landing with the first 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. Officials said they were "extremely grateful" for restored relations with Beijing. "We have come back with this great news that we have brought this donation of one million vaccinates to the Nicaraguan people," said Laureano Ortega Murillo, the son of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and one of his advisers.
13th Dec 2021 - BBC News
São Paulo says it has fully vaccinated more than 100 percent of its adults. Will it be enough to stop omicron?
In a world struggling to convince people to take the coronavirus vaccine, the news was striking. São Paulo, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, announced late last month that it had succeeded where others had failed. One hundred percent of its adult population had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus — a remarkable rate in an era characterized by an intransigent and growing global anti-vaccine movement that has hobbled vaccination efforts from Europe to the United States.
13th Dec 2021 - The Washington Post
Coronavirus: Army to help with booster vaccines for all UK adults.
The army will help in an effort to give booster vaccinations to all UK adults by New Year's Day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced. Speaking on TV in a recorded message on Sunday night after Strictly Come Dancing, the PM explained that the top-up vaccinations would help "in our battle with the new variant". The plan will be delivered across all four UK nations, he said. Scotland is also setting the same target to offer all adults a booster by the end of the year, and Northern Ireland said it is stepping up its rollout and hopes to get as many people as possible boosted by then too.
13th Dec 2021 - BBC News
Large queues as Covid-19 booster roll-out extended to over-30s
Large queues formed outside some walk-in vaccination centres as Northern Ireland's booster vaccine roll-out was extended to over-30s. Some people have been waiting more than two hours at the Ulster Hospital's vaccination hub, with other clinics reporting similar waits. People queuing for jabs at hubs faced similar lengthy waits over the weekend. Some people waited up to three hours to be vaccinated at a walk-in clinic at the Downshire Hospital in Downpatrick on Sunday.
13th Dec 2021 - ITV News
COVID-19: N Ireland's coronavirus passport set to become legally enforceable, as Wales and Scotland prepare for tougher restrictions
Northern Ireland's COVID-19 passport scheme, which requires people to provide proof of vaccination, a negative lateral flow test result or evidence of a previous coronavirus infection to gain entry to licenced premises and entertainment venues, is set to become legally enforceable today. The scheme was introduced late last month with a two-week grace period to allow businesses to adjust to the new requirements. The rules will apply to the hospitality sector including pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as entry to large indoor and outdoor events, such as cinemas, concerts, theatres, and sporting events.
13th Dec 2021 - Sky News
Indonesia to start vaccinating children aged 6-11 against COVID-19
Indonesia will start administering COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between 6-11 on Tuesday, a health ministry official said, as the Southeast Asian country becomes one of the first in the region to immunise the very young. Indonesia approved China's Sinovac Biotech vaccine for the age group last month and about 26.5 million children have been targeted for vaccination, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.
13th Dec 2021 - Reuters
S.Korea to test AI-powered facial recognition to track COVID-19 cases
South Korea will soon roll out a pilot project to use artificial intelligence, facial recognition and thousands of CCTV cameras to track the movement of people infected with the coronavirus, despite concerns about the invasion of privacy. The nationally funded project in Bucheon, one of the country's most densely populated cities on the outskirts of Seoul, is due to become operational in January, a city official told Reuters. The system uses an AI algorithms and facial recognition technology to analyse footage gathered by more than 10,820 CCTV cameras and track an infected person’s movements, anyone they had close contact with, and whether they were wearing a mask, according to a 110-page business plan from the city submitted to the Ministry of Science and ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and provided to Reuters by a parliamentary lawmaker critical of the project.
13th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Philippines secures $250 mln loan from ADB for COVID-19 vaccines
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $250 million loan for the Philippines to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, it said in a statement on Monday. The ADB said the loan would allow the government to purchase 40 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses for eligible children and booster shots for adults. The Philippines is aiming to fully vaccinate at least 54 million people, or nearly half of its 110 million population, before the year ends.
13th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Thailand to expedite COVID-19 boosters in anticipation of Omicron
Thailand will halve to three months the time between administering a second COVID-19 vaccine shot and a booster, a health official said on Monday, to try to strengthen immunity in anticipation of a local spread of the Omicron variant. Thailand has so far detected eight imported cases of the Omicron variant but has yet to see community transmission, according to its health ministry. Omicron has been reported in dozens of countries. "Because Omicron is now widespread, the booster third shot would help lessen the severity of symptoms and reduce the death rate," said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesperson for the government's COVID-19 taskforce.
13th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Moderna Plans Australia Vaccine-Manufacturing Facility
Moderna Inc. reached an agreement in principle with the Australian government to build a messenger RNA vaccine-manufacturing facility in Victoria, Australia.
Moderna expects to invest in the facility with the collaboration of the Commonwealth and Victorian governments, aiming to provide Australians with domestically manufactured vaccines, including the Covid-19 and flu vaccines.
Moderna expects that up to 100 million vaccine doses could be produced in Australia each year. The company said it is in discussions with other governments about potential collaborations using a similar model.
13th Dec 2021 - Dow Jones Newswire
Britons rush to get shots in booster blitz against omicron
Long lines formed Monday at vaccination centers across England as people heeded the government’s call for all adults to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant, and as the U.K. recorded its first death of a patient infected with omicron. In a televised announcement late Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone 18 and up would be offered a third vaccine dose by Dec. 31 — less than three weeks away, and a month earlier than the previous target. Johnson said boosters would “reinforce our wall of vaccine protection” against an anticipated “tidal wave of omicron.” U.K. health authorities say omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain, and that the variant will replace delta as the dominant coronavirus strain within days. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers Monday that omicron will be dominant in London “within 48 hours.”
13th Dec 2021 - The Asssociated Press
Government ‘not ruling out’ Covid vaccines for children aged 5 and up
The Government has not ruled out a move to vaccinate children as young as 5 years old with parental consent although said a decision was not imminent. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said vaccination experts were still reviewing the evidence on what level of protection a coronavirus vaccine would give those aged under 12, and that a decision would await their verdict. Asked whether there were plans to vaccinate primary school children, Mr Zahawi told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There is no plan at the moment to vaccinate primary school children for the reason that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is still looking at the evidence as to what level of protection it would offer.”
12th Dec 2021 - iNews
Spain receives first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines for children
Spain on Monday received its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines for children. The 1.3 million doses made by Pfizer-BioNTech will be shipped to the regions, which are in charge of their own vaccination campaigns, said the Health Ministry. The shots will be administered from December 15, when health authorities are expected to first call in kids from at-risk groups and those ages 10 and 11. But the logistics will vary depending on the region, with some like Catalonia choosing to immunize all children between the ages of five and 11 at the same time.
13th Dec 2021 - EL PAÍS in English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullBioNTech vaccine creators: Covid isn’t so scary any more... We have tools to cut deaths dramatically
BioNTech vaccine creators, Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, the couple behind the BioNTech vaccine, are now back in the lab in the race to beat Omicron, they tell Tom Whipple that the virus is not as scary as it was any more and they have the tools to slash death rates even further.
13th Dec 2021 - The Times
New U.K. Omicron Cases Double as Country Plans Daily Tests
The U.K. confirmed 1,239 new omicron cases on Sunday, almost double the 633 cases reported the day before. Total cases of the latest variant now stand at 3,137, the U.K. Health Security Agency said on Twitter. The spike comes as the country plans to introduce new daily home testing for people who come into contact with someone who has contracted Covid-19.
12th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Polarized Austria Ends Lockdown as Vaccine Mandate Looms Large
Austria ended a nationwide coronavirus lockdown for most people on Sunday, while keeping restrictions for the unvaccinated as it presses ahead with the boldest incentive in Europe to boost inoculations. Starting Sunday, vaccine-rejectors can only leave their homes to go to work, where they’ll need to provide a negative coronavirus test every two days, and for essential shopping and daily exercise. Entry to other venues will be barred. Life will slowly return to normal for people who’ve had a vaccine or have recently recovered from the virus, with regions implementing a patchwork of easing schedules.
12th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
‘I think it’s coming’ Why employers could start requiring boosters as omicron spreads
With employer vaccination requirements already widespread, workplace experts say it’s possible some companies will convert their full vaccination requirement, now two shots, into a three-shot requirement as the omicron variant emerges. Pfizer PFE, +1.34% and BioNTech BNTX, -9.33% said three of its vaccine doses can “neutralize” the omicron variant, while two doses may not be enough to prevent infection, according to very early-stage results released Wednesday. The vaccine makers emphasized the results come from preliminary laboratory studies. That echoes public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s medical adviser, who say early news may be encouraging, but it’s still very early in the process of understanding omicron’s threat
11th Dec 2021 - MarketWatch
The Big Pivot: Merck Falters on Covid-19 Vaccine, Then Makes One for Rival J&J
Weeks after Merck scrapped development of its Covid-19 vaccines in January, one of its senior manufacturing officials began phoning his deputies, telling them their work on a pandemic shot wasn’t actually over. The twist: Merck would manufacture the vaccine from an arch rival. “We’re doing it,” John McGrath told his workers at Merck. “And we’re doing it with J&J.” The Johnson & Johnson -Merck partnership, which the companies announced in March, is now bearing fruit to expand the world’s vaccine supply. After a frantic ramp-up that involved scouting for raw materials, buying equipment and upgrading plants all at the same time, the first Merck-made shots shipped Friday..
11th Dec 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
London's Heathrow says business travellers cancelling over Omicron
London's Heathrow Airport said it was seeing high levels of business travellers cancelling over concerns they could be trapped overseas by travel restrictions triggered by the new Omicron variant of coronavirus. The airport said demand in November was down 60% on pre-pandemic levels, despite the United States reopening to transatlantic travel earlier in the month. The figures released on Friday show that the start of a gradual recovery seen in October, when demand was down 56%, had petered out. Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye called on the British government to reduce restrictions as soon as it was safe to do so, including allowing UK nationals arriving from red list countries to isolate at home.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Covid: Omicron cases rise 50% in 24 hours as experts warn variant could cause 2,400 hospitalisations
LSHTM modelling suggests Omicron could cause anywhere from between 25,000 to 75,000 deaths. Professor Eleanor Riley says 'a lot of people' could end up in hospital even if Omicron causes milder disease. Health chiefs are urging people to use testing and social distancing to avoid a spike in cases over Christmas. Raigmore Hospital in Inverness had to shut one of its wards after there was a spike of infections in the unit
11th Dec 2021 - Daily Mail
Labour demands ‘Christmas vaccine guarantee’ for pupils in England
Labour has called on the government to give a “Christmas vaccine guarantee” to the hundreds of thousands of eligible children in England who have been unable to receive a Covid vaccination. With recent figures showing that just 44% of children in the 12-15 age group had been vaccinated on 8 December, Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said the government needed to make a bigger push to vaccinate the remainder before they returned to school in the new year. “As Omicron cases in the UK are rising, it’s essential that ministers use the Christmas holidays to get the vaccine out to children, preventing continued chaos next term,” Phillipson said.
11th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Australia treasurer calls for easing Covid curbs despite rising cases
Australia must loosen COVID-19 restrictions to bolster its economic recovery, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Saturday, even as daily infections rose to a six-week high. "States need to keep calm and carry on. And not overreact to the Omicron variant," Frydenberg told reporters in Melbourne. Australia is one of the world's most vaccinated countries, with nearly 90% of people over 16 fully inoculated. Still, Australia said it found 1,753 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up about 3% in the last week and the highest daily total since Oct 29.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Singapore approves COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11
Singapore will start COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years before the end of this year, its health ministry said late on Friday. The Southeast Asian city-state has already vaccinated 87% of its 5.5 million population, and authorities were rushing to get children vaccinated amid concerns over rising number of paediatric COVID-19 cases. The dosage used for children will be one-third of that used in adults, similar to the United States.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Ghana to vaccinate returning travellers against COVID-19 on arrival
Ghana will vaccinate returning citizens and residents against COVID-19 upon arrival at the airport from next Monday if they have not already received shots, its health service said, amid concerns over low take-up of vaccinations. All Ghanaians leaving the country will also be required to show proof of vaccination, health service director general Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said in a statement, citing as reasons a rise in COVID-19 cases and detection of the Omicron variant. Ghana has so far administered vaccines to cover roughly 5.7% of its population of 30 million, data compiled by Reuters showed.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Ukraine receives more World Bank funds to fight COVID-19
The World Bank has approved an additional $150 million loan to help Ukraine speed up vaccinations against COVID-19, the international lender's Ukrainian office said on Saturday. Ukraine's government will spend $120 million on 16.5 million vaccine doses and the rest will be used for IT, communications and public outreach, capacity building and cold chain and waste management equipment, the World Bank said. "This new additional financing will help Ukraine continue strengthening its COVID-19 response and vaccination activities," Arup Banerji, the World Bank's regional country director for Eastern Europe, said in the statement.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
China orders COVID-19 tests for travel with some border cities
China has ordered some border cities to beef up vigilance against COVID-19 with measures such as mandatory testing for travellers, in its effort to prevent clusters caused by viruses arriving from abroad. Since mid-October, locally-transmitted symptomatic cases have risen to more than 2,000, with several small northern towns on the borders with Russia or Mongolia, among the hardest-hit, as health resources there are sparser than in major cities. "There have been multiple local outbreaks in China recently, all caused by viruses imported from overseas via cities with ports of entry," the government said in a notice, citing local areas' weaknesses in monitoring and failure to enforce measures.
11th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Will rich nations foot the bill for a global ‘pandemic treaty’?
World Health Organization member states have agreed to negotiate agreement on pandemic preparedness. Save the Children estimates that for every $1 invested in the global COVID-19 vaccination drive, rich nations could avoid losing $35 from their budgets. Yet, wealthy nations have failed to provide poorer countries with vaccines. And there has been a lack of coordination to tackle the pandemic. That need to cooperate is now gaining momentum after the Omicron variant was detected by scientists in South Africa. WHO member states have agreed to negotiate a global agreement on pandemic preparedness. And we look at why hypersonic missiles are driving a new arms race.
11th Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
COVID-19: UK govt to keep 'restrictions under review' after 'very challenging new information' on Omicron, says Gove
Michael Gove headed the talks with first ministers and deputy first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss COVID-19 data and coordination on the response.
10th Dec 2021 - Sky News
New York State Will Require Masks in All Indoor Public Places
New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all businesses to require masks indoors if they don’t have a Covid-19 vaccine requirement. “My two top priorities are to protect the health of New Yorkers and to protect the health of our economy,” she said in a Friday statement. “The temporary measures I am taking today will help accomplish this through the holiday season.”
10th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
German Lawmakers Back Vaccine Mandate for Health Workers
German lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a bill Friday that requires staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get immunized against the coronavirus — the first of two vaccine mandates being considered in the country. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had earlier told parliament it was unconscionable that some who work with particularly vulnerable people were still not vaccinated. “This vaccine mandate is necessary because it's completely unacceptable that, after two years of pandemic, people who have entrusted their care to us are dying unnecessarily in institutions because unvaccinated people work there,” he said. “We cannot accept this."
10th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullIndiana hospitals see record patient count amid virus surge
Indiana hospitals are seeing their highest-ever overall patient counts amid a monthlong COVID-19 surge and the state’s largest hospital system announced Thursday it had enlisted National Guard assistance. Indiana University Health said it sought the support of the six-person National Guard teams for most of its 16 hospitals across the state because the strain on its “team members, nurses and providers has never been greater.” The IU Health system isn’t alone as the number of COVID-19 patients in Indiana hospitals has more than doubled in the past month, with about 2,750 such patients as of Wednesday as about 30 people a day are dying from the illness, according to state health department tracking.
9th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
More than 200 million people in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated, though deaths and cases are still rising
The United States reached a significant milestone late Wednesday, with more than 200 million people now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus — about 60 percent of the population. In the past week, an average of 1.92 million doses per day were administered — a 35 percent increase over the week before — according to data from The Washington Post’s tracker.
9th Dec 2021 - The Washington Post
Fauci predicts ‘matter of when, not if’ fully vaccinated definition includes three jabs
Dr Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he believes that the definition of "fully vaccinated" will soon include having a third Covid booster shot. The doctor made the comments during an interview on CNN. "It's going to be a matter of when, not if" getting a booster shot will be considered being "fully vaccinated," Dr Fauci said. He stressed that the comment was his personal view, and was not indicative of any current policy discussions in the Biden administration to make coronavirus vaccine boosters mandatory for full vaccination status. Dr Fauci's comments come as US health workers continue to grapple with a spike in cases and hospitalisation caused by the delta variant and researchers continue to investigate the newly emerged omicron variant.
9th Dec 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19 news: England activates Plan B to slow omicron spread
UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced new measures in England to reduce the spread of covid-19 with cases of the omicron variant growing rapidly. Mandatory mask-wearing will be extended to indoor public venues including cinemas, theatres and places of worship from Friday but will not be required in pubs and restaurants, while the guidance to work from home where possible will return on Monday. The NHS covid pass, which can be obtained by having two vaccines or a negative lateral flow test, will be required for entry into nightclubs and other large venues from 15 December. Johnson warned it is clear that the new variant is “growing much faster” than the delta variant, and cases of omicron could be doubling every two or three days. He said Christmas parties and nativities could go ahead, but urged people to “exercise due caution” and get their booster jabs. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned omicron is spreading “rapidly” and it is possible hospital admissions from the new variant in England could exceed 1000 per day – and still be increasing – by the end of the year. “The overall scale of any wave of hospitalisations without interventions is highly uncertain, but the peak could reach several times this level,” the minutes from a meeting held on Tuesday said.
9th Dec 2021 - New Scientist
WHO exec: donated COVID-19 vaccines with short shelf life 'major problem'
Wealthy countries donating COVID-19 vaccines with a relatively short shelf life has been a "major problem" for the COVAX dose sharing programme, a senior official at the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Kate O'Brien, the WHO's vaccine director, said in a briefing the proportion of wasted doses is smaller in countries receiving doses through COVAX than in many high-income countries. Her comments come as concerns grow that many African countries are finding they do not have the capacity to get shots in arms before they expire.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Austria to announce details of planned COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Austria's conservative-led government on Thursday gave details of its plan to make coronavirus vaccines compulsory, saying it will apply to people 14 and over and holdouts face fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,071) every three months. Roughly 68% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.S. campaign to vaccinate young children off to sluggish start despite abundant supply
The United States rushed millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 across the nation, but demand for inoculations for younger kids has been low, more than a dozen state public health officials and physicians said. Of the 28 million eligible U.S. children in that age group, around 5 million have received at least one dose, according to federal data, likely satisfying initial pent up demand from parents who were waiting to vaccinate their kids.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Finland to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from healthcare workers
Finland plans to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for health and social care workers, the government said on Wednesday. The new legislation would also allow social and health care employers to access information about employees' COVID-19 vaccinations and possible infections in the past. "This regulation would make it possible to ensure the health and safety of social and healthcare workers and thus the availability of services, Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru told a news conference.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Capital injection: Slovakia offers cash to over-60s to get COVID shots
Slovakia is to give cash handouts to people over 60 who get vaccinated against the coronavirus or have their booster shot, aiming to spur inoculation rates lagging others in the European Union. Parliament approved the payments on Thursday, giving the go-ahead to a proposal by the government which had at first considered handing out vouchers for hotels or restaurants but opted instead on payouts. Those receiving booster shots by mid-January will get 300 euros ($340), while over-60s who sign up for the vaccine by that time are entitled to 200 euros.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
WHO: wealthy countries may hoard COVID-19 shots again to fight new variant
Wealthy countries may start to hoard COVID-19 vaccines again, threatening global supplies as they seek to shore up stocks to fight the new Omicron variant of the virus, a senior World Health Organization official said on Thursday. The warning by the WHO's vaccine director, Kate O'Brien, comes as supplies to the COVAX dose-sharing programme run by the WHO and vaccine charity GAVI have increased in the past few months due to donations from wealthy countries and after India eased limits on exports of vaccines.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
People with health issues or inactivated vaccine should get COVID-19 booster - WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday that people who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster dose to protect against waning immunity. Many countries have been rolling out booster shots, targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues, but worries about the new, more transmissible Omicron variant have prompted some to expand their use to larger portions of their populations.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Eritrea has not started vaccinating against COVID, says Africa CDC
Eritrea has yet to start vaccinating its population against COVID-19, the head of the African Centres for Disease Control said on Thursday. "Eritrea is the only country now that has not joined the family of 55 member states (of the African Union) that are moving forward with vaccination, but we are not giving up," John Nkengasong told an online media briefing.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
WHO warns against vaccine hoarding as poor countries go without
Slovakia will on Friday re-open non-essential shops and some services for those vaccinated against COVID-19 while at the same time extending a lockdown for others and closing some schools, Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky said. The central European country of 5.5 million people has struggled with one of the world's worst coronavirus waves in the past few weeks, and shut shops and services for all people for two weeks ending Dec. 9.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Slovakia to re-open shops for vaccinated, others face longer lockdown
Slovakia will on Friday re-open non-essential shops and some services for those vaccinated against COVID-19 while at the same time extending a lockdown for others and closing some schools, Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky said. The central European country of 5.5 million people has struggled with one of the world's worst coronavirus waves in the past few weeks, and shut shops and services for all people for two weeks ending Dec. 9. Lengvarsky had sought to extend the general lockdown until Dec.16, and to ease it for the vaccinated from Dec. 17.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
After party outcry, Britain implores people:obey COVID-19 rules
Britain on Thursday implored people to obey tougher restrictions to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, after revelations about alleged lockdown parties at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence provoked an outcry over hypocrisy. Johnson imposed restrictions on England on Wednesday, just hours after apologising for a video apparently showing staff laughing about a party in Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas COVID-19 lockdown when such festivities were banned.
9th Dec 2021 - Reuters
The U.S. is at a Kasserine Pass moment for Covid leaders
Two years into the pandemic, the country’s efforts have stagnated. We have endured the catastrophic winter surge of 2020-2021, the Delta surge this summer, and are now being buffeted by the entirely predictable global rise of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. It is too early to predict Omicron’s impact, but the failure to detect it, and the surprise U.S. health care leaders have expressed about its appearance, are intolerable. All of these result from an unrealistic and simplistic response to Covid-19 and a failure to address the basic tendency of viruses to mutate and become immune to a single vaccine or therapeutic.
9th Dec 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullMaine activates National Guard amid hospital bed shortage
Maine's governor activated as many as 75 members of the Maine National Guard on Wednesday to help expand capacity at health care facilities. The state is dealing with a surge in COVID-19 that has challenged its hospitals. A record of 379 people were hospitalized Wednesday with the virus. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said the guard members will be used in non-clinical support roles. That will include supporting nursing facilities and helping to administer monoclonal antibodies to prevent serious illness from the virus and keep patients out of critical care, Mills said. Mills and other state officials said those steps will free up hospital beds. The announcement came as the state's largest hospital, Maine Medical Center, said it has postponed about 50% of surgeries because of the burden of COVID-19 on the facility.
8th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press on MSN.com
Covid-19: Children aged five to 11 to be offered vaccine in Ireland
Covid-19 vaccinations will be offered to children aged five to 11 in the Republic of Ireland. Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has accepted advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). About 480,000 primary school children in the Irish Republic will be offered a vaccine. According to RTÉ, it is likely to be January before the main vaccination programme begins, but some children may get their vaccine this month. The vaccine for this age group will be a lower dose than that given to older children. The NIAC strongly recommended that a vaccine should be given to children aged five to 11 who have an underlying condition, are living with a younger child with complex medical needs or living with an immunocompromised adult.
8th Dec 2021 - BBC News
Spain approves COVID vaccine for children in 5-11 age group
Spain’s health ministry gave the go-ahead Tuesday for children between ages 5 and 11 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a rise in coronavirus infections in recent weeks. Italy and Austria have also been inoculating children since the European Union’s drug regulator on Nov. 25 authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on that age group. The European Medicines Agency’s decision opened the way for jabs to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils across the continent. The Spanish health ministry tweeted news of the approval, following the decision of an expert committee. The rollout is due to begin Dec. 15, two days after the first of 3.2 million child vaccines arrive in Spain
8th Dec 2021 - The Independent
Getting ready for Christmas: Omicron spurs French to get COVID shots
French archivist Adele Bellot went on Tuesday to get a booster shot against COVID-19 with one aim in mind - to save Christmas. “Christmas is coming soon and there are elderly people in my family. I really want to protect them from getting infected, that’s it,” she said, after getting her third shot in a vaccination center in Vitry-sur-Seine, just outside Paris. With the holidays nearing and a fifth wave of the pandemic surging through France amid worries over the new Omicron variant, vaccination centers are at full stretch. More than 9 million French people have received a booster. The Doctolib health app said 464,000 appointments for a booster had been made across France through its system on Monday alone.
8th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Romanian government to ease some COVID-19 restrictions
The Romanian government will ease some COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday, eliminating a night curfew and an obligation to wear face masks outdoors ahead of winter holidays, officials said on Tuesday. The European Union state reported 1,421 new daily COVID-19 cases and 107 deaths on Tuesday, far off record highs reported in October and early November during its deadliest wave of the pandemic.
8th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exclusive: Up to 1 million COVID vaccines expired in Nigeria last month
Up to one million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month without being used, two sources told Reuters, one of the biggest single losses of doses that shows the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms.
Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates lag richer regions, increasing the risk of new variants such as the Omicron coronavirus now spreading across South Africa. In Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and home to more than 200 million people, fewer than 4% of adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
8th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Austria allows broad lifting of lockdown, but many provinces hold off
Austria will let a wide range of businesses, from non-essential shops to theatres, restaurants and hairdressers reopen when its COVID-19 lockdown ends on Sunday, the government said on Wednesday, but many regions will open up more cautiously. The move means switching from a single set of rules for the whole country to a patchwork varying between nine provinces. Adding to the confusion, those opening up the fastest included the western provinces of Vorarlberg and Tyrol, which have the highest and fourth-highest infection rates in the country.
8th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Britain could implement COVID-19 'plan B' as early as Thursday - reports
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looked set to introduce tougher COVID-19 measures for England on Wednesday, including asking people to work from home, in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Johnson, facing fierce criticism after a video appeared to show that his staff had held a party in Downing Street last year when such festivities were banned, said Omicron was spreading much faster than any other variant. "The prime minister will hold a COVID press conference at 6pm (1800 GMT)," a spokesperson for Johnson's office said. Sterling fell and investors pared back their bets on a Bank of England interest rate hike next week ahead of an expected announcement that large venues could also require people to show COVID passports as part of a Plan B.
8th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid Patients in Japan Are Recovering in Robot-Staffed Hotels
Step into the lobby of its east tower, though, and it’s a different world. The only formal greeting guests receive is from Softbank Corp.’s robot, Pepper. They’re given written instructions on their rooms and stay. That’s because the new arrivals all have one thing in common: they’re infected with coronavirus. In Japan, some Covid patients get a hotel booking -- and can enroll in clinical trials during their stay -- with their positive test results. The approach offers a respite for a dysfunctional health care system where individual hospitals are able to opt-out of caring for Covid patients, resulting in a situation where patients are being turned away despite available resources. It’s also aimed at reducing the risk of transmission among inter-generational households when space is at a premium in one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
7th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
BOJ Likely to Scale Down Longer Covid Aid, Former Executive Says
The Bank of Japan is likely to narrow the scope of its Covid aid, but keep it in place for longer in an attempt to focus the measures on businesses that still need help, says a former top official. A partial extension is possible,” said Eiji Maeda, who led the central bank’s pandemic crisis response before stepping down from his post as executive director in May last year. “Funding is becoming an issue that’s focused on some businesses and some sectors. It’s no longer an issue for monetary policy, which addresses the overall economy.”
7th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Omicron sets back airline industry's recovery hopes
New travel restrictions prompted by the Omicron coronavirus variant have set back the nascent recovery in international flights, creating delays and headaches in some regions, according to airline and airport officials. The flurry of new testing rules and border closings has raised concerns ahead of the important Christmas travel season, but some airline bosses said they hope any backward moves will be short-lived. Global airlines have blamed a patchwork of shifting rules for depressed demand for international travel, which is critical for their return to profit following steep COVID-19 pandemic-related losses in 2020.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Booster shots may be needed to keep fully vaccinated status in Australia in future
A booster dose could be necessary to keep your green Covid-19 vaccination tick in the future, the health department secretary Brendan Murphy says. Booster shots are being rolled out across Australia amid warnings that immunisation from the initial vaccinations wanes with time. The federal government distinguishes these “booster” doses from the third vaccine dose some immunocompromised people need to get a standard level of protection.
7th Dec 2021 - The Guardian
COVID-19: Mandatory jabs are 'absolute last resort', says WHO Europe chief as several EU countries consider introducing them
The World Health Organisation's top official in Europe has said mandatory coronavirus vaccinations are an "absolute last resort", as several EU countries consider introducing them. "Mandates around vaccination are an absolute last resort and only applicable when all feasible options to improve vaccination uptake have been exhausted," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said. Several European countries are debating whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory.
7th Dec 2021 - Sky News
World Bank says its funding helped deliver 100 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses
The World Bank on Monday said its funding had helped deliver 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines around the world and it would reach the 150-million mark by the end of the month, if doses arrive as expected. World Bank President David Malpass said the multilateral development bank had contracted for nearly 300 million doses, with some $7.5 billion in vaccine financing operations for 69 countries to be committed by the end of December.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
New York City expands COVID vaccine mandates for children, private sector
New York City expanded its array of COVID-19 mandates on Monday, setting vaccine requirements for children as young as 5 years old and for workers at all private-sector companies as the highly transmissible Omicron variant pushes into more U.S. states. The most-populous U.S. city set a Dec. 27 deadline for all 184,000 businesses within its limits to make their employees show proof they have been vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. In addition, children 5 to 11 years old must get at least one dose by Dec. 14 and those 12 and older need to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 27 to enter restaurants and participate in extracurricular school activities, such as sports, band and dances
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Mexico's capital rolls out first COVID-19 booster shots
Mexico City officials will begin offering a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to residents over the age of 60 on Tuesday, officials said, part of a government plan to roll out booster shots. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said last week the third doses would be made available as soon as possible, beginning with elderly people who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus. The first booster shots in the massive capital of nearly 10 million people will be AstraZeneca doses given to residents of the southern Tlalpan neighborhood, officials told a news conference on Monday.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Poland to introduce mandatory COVID jabs for some workers, says health minister
Poland will introduce compulsory vaccinations for doctors, teachers and security service personnel, and will require staff in places like restaurants to check customers' COVID-19 vaccination certificates, the health minister said on Tuesday.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
We don't think COVID Plan B is required - UK's Raab
Britain will not require stricter domestic COVID restrictions in the run-up to Christmas because vaccines had put the country into a more resilient position than a year ago, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday. "We don't think Plan B is required," he told BBC radio. "Why? Because of the success of the vaccine programme."
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Austria plans to lift lockdown, but not for the unvaccinated
The unvaccinated will stay in lockdown when Austria lifts its wider general lockdown on Sunday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed on Tuesday, a day after he took office. Austria went intolockdowntwo weeks ago to counter a surge in daily COVID-19 infections to record levels, with restaurants, bars, theatres and non-essential shops shut to all but take-away business. Hotels are closed to tourists. Infections have plunged since but intensive-care bed occupancy is still rising.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Armed gangs raise risks in vaccinating rural Nigerians
As the emergence of the omicron variant underscores the importance of inoculating more people to prevent new mutations of the coronavirus, Nigeria also is facing a difficult path: Only 3.78 million are fully vaccinated. Going directly to the villagers is one way to overcome any hesitancy they might have in getting the shots, said Bawa. “When you meet them in their home, there is no problem,” he added. “Everybody will take (the vaccine).” On Dec. 1, Nigeria began requiring government employees to be vaccinated or show a negative test for the virus in the past 72 hours. Although authorities emphasize the country is capable of getting the Western-manufactured vaccines to everyone, health care workers in rural areas are struggling, mostly because of delayed government funding.
7th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullSuspected Omicron case aboard Norwegian cruise ship is South African crew member
A South African crew member suspected of having the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is among the 17 cases of the virus detected on a cruise ship that disembarked in New Orleans over the weekend, the cruise line said on Monday. U.S. officials are closely monitoring the latest variant, which has been detected in at least a third of states, to try to ascertain its severity amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
7th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Some Covid-19 policies fuel violence against women and girls
The emergence of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 with its many mutations has rightly sparked global concern. Another Covid-related issue that should also spark concern, but continues to fly under the radar, is the endemic violence directed toward women and girls around the world that has been heightened by responses to the pandemic. On a recent visit to a tribal village in South India, I met with children, elders, and teachers, who told me how their lives have been affected by Covid-19. The implementation of crucial, but often blunt, public health measures such as stay-at-home policies and the disruption of key services like schools and health facilities have significantly eroded social well-being, isolation, income, and educational attainment. They have also increased violence against many women and girls.
6th Dec 2021 - STAT
Covid-19 news: Australia plans to vaccinate five to 11-year-olds
Five to 11-year-olds in Australia could get a coronavirus vaccine as early as 10 January, following provisional approval by the nation’s drugs regulator. A one-third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved as safe and effective for this age group by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The rollout is subject to approval by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Like adults, the 2.3 million eligible children will receive two doses of the vaccine at least three weeks apart. In the UK, covid-19 vaccinations are only available for those aged 12 and over. But the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently adjudicating on whether under-12s should also get jabbed. The US and Israel began offering the vaccine to 5 to 11-year-olds last month
6th Dec 2021 - New Scientist
Canadian employers, facing labor shortage, accommodate the unvaccinated
Canada's tight labor market is forcing many companies to offer regular COVID-19 testing over vaccine mandates, while others are reversing previously announced inoculation requirements even as Omicron variant cases rise. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government adopted one of the strictest inoculation policies in the world for civil servants and has already put more than 1,000 workers on unpaid leave, with thousands more at risk.
6th Dec 2021 - Reuters
New York mayor plans vaccination mandate for private-sector employers
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday he planned to issue a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private-sector employers that will go into effect on Dec. 27, calling it a "pre-emptive strike." Several indicators on Monday showed the spread of COVID-19 were increasing in the most populous city in the United States, including the percentage of people who are testing positive for the virus, according to data from New York City.
6th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Germany plans to make vaccination compulsory for some jobs
The incoming German government wants to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory from March 16 for people working in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical practices, according to a copy of draft legislation seen by Reuters on Sunday. Germany has been reticent about making vaccines compulsory for fear of exacerbating a shortage of medical and nursing home staff, but support has grown for the idea as the country has faced surging infections in a fourth wave of the pandemic. The Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats, which are set to form the new German government on Wednesday, are set to present the legislation to parliament in the coming week.
6th Dec 2021 - Reuters
COVID shots are finally arriving, but Africa can't get them all into arms
When a group arrived at the Sekenani health clinic in rural Kenya for their COVID-19 vaccines recently, staff told them there were no doses left and that they should come back soon. For some, it meant a long wasted journey on foot and a day away from their cattle herds. Yet Narok county, where the clinic is located, was not short of vaccines; nearly 14,000 doses were sitting in a fridge in the nearest town, 115 km away. A mix-up with county officials meant Sekenani did not get enough, two health workers said.
6th Dec 2021 - Reuters
S.Korea's COVID-19 rules put some vaccinated foreigners in limbo
South Korea imposed stricter measures on Monday to contain growing coronavirus infections and the Omicron variant, leaving some foreign residents vaccinated overseas effectively barred from places such as restaurants, cafes and cinemas. South Korea recognises the vaccination status of Korean citizens who were vaccinated overseas but not foreigners, unless they entered the country under a quarantine exemption. Some foreign residents, particularly from Europe and the United States, were vaccinated earlier in the year when South Korea had not yet made vaccines available and were not eligible for the quarantine exemptions that were extended to certain people in business, education or for humanitarian reasons.
6th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullOmicron Sounds Death Knell for Globalization 2.0
On top of an intensifying cold war between the U.S. and China and other seismic changes, the rapid spread of Covid-19’s newest variant could finish off our most recent phase of global integration.
5th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Omicron Is Unavoidable But It's Not Time to Give In to Covid Panic
The fear is threefold: that omicron is more contagious, able to evade our pre-existing Covid antibodies and causes more serious disease. We won’t know anything for certain for a few weeks. Luckily, Faye Flam makes some reassuring points. For example, though it’s possible that the virus has made all three of those evolutionary advances, it’s unlikely. Evolutionary pressure favors variants that spread faster, which is why delta took over in the U.S. earlier this year. There’s no evolutionary pressure to make the virus more deadly.
5th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Covid Vaccines in Italy: New Rules Target Anti-Vax Supporters, Protests
Italy, which has one of Europe’s highest vaccination rates, is further cracking down on the small minority that has so far refused the shot. As of Monday, a green pass -- which is proof of vaccination, recovery or a recent negative test -- will be required for buses, metro, local trains and hotels. It’s already compulsory for working, long-distance travel and most indoor venues. A new “reinforced” green pass, which can be obtained only with the vaccine or after recovering from Covid, will be required for many leisure activities, including eating inside restaurants, and going to theaters, cinemas, sporting and other public events.
5th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
German COVID-19 rules put off shoppers, says retailer group
The tighter restrictions Germany has introduced to try to limit the spread of COVID-19 are putting people off from shopping in the usually busy run-up to Christmas, the country's association of retailers (HDE) said on Sunday. The HDE said sales in bricks-and-mortar non-food retail were down an average of 26% in the last week compared to the pre-crisis year of 2019, according to a survey of some 1,600 firms. Clothing retailers were particularly hard hit, with sales down 35% on the pre-crisis level.
5th Dec 2021 - Reuters
Nigeria plans COVID booster shots after Omicron cases: Live
Zambia has detected its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, as the “highly transmissible” new variant spread to more than 40 countries since it was first detected in South Africa last week. The country’s health ministry said on Saturday that three people tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week. It added that two of the three infected had travelled abroad recently. A woman who had not travelled abroad had mild symptoms, it said.
5th Dec 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Germany: incoming minister advises against Christmas travel
Germany’s incoming transport minister is advising people against traveling over Christmas as the country tries to stem a wave of coronavirus infections. Federal and state leaders on Thursday announced tough new restrictions that largely target unvaccinated people, preventing them from entering nonessential stores, restaurants, sports and cultural venues. In a longer-term move, parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate. Volker Wissing, whose pro-business party has designated him as transport minister in the incoming government, told Sunday’s edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that “in the current situation, it seems more sensible to spend Christmas in a small group at home and not to plan big trips across the country.” “Winter 2021 will be more dramatic than winter 2020,” he added.
5th Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Australia to Start Vaccinations for Young Children Early 2022
Australia will begin vaccinating young children starting early next year once authorities receive final approvals in the coming weeks. Australia’s pharmaceutical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has provisionally approved a one-third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine for children aged 5-11 years, Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a statement Sunday. Subject to final approvals, the authorities will begin vaccinations starting Jan. 10, he said. Final recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation are expected in the coming weeks, and the program will be timed to provide at least one dose to the kids ahead of the new school year in 2022, Hunt said.
4th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Brazil's Rio cancels New Year celebration as pandemic continues
The mayor of Rio de Janeiro canceled New Year's Eve celebrations after Brazil confirmed the first known cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America’s biggest country. Eduardo Paes tweeted on Saturday that he would follow the recommendations of Rio de Janeiro state to cancel the celebrations, despite the city's own view to the contrary. "We respect science," Paes tweeted, saying there are dissenting opinions between scientific committees in the city and the state, but he would rather stick with the most restrictive one. "The city's committee says it can go ahead and the state's says no. So it can't take place. Let's cancel the official New Year's Eve celebration in Rio," the tweet said.
4th Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.K. to Require Pre-Arrival Covid Tests for All Travellers
The U.K. will require all travelers to take a pre-flight Covid-19 test within 48 hours prior to their flight regardless of their vaccine status, a surprise government move that prompted a swift and angry reaction from the airline industry. The measure, which takes effect on Dec. 7, will be temporary and be reviewed as the omicron outbreak develops, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. More than 150 people across the U.K. have been identified with the new variant.
4th Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Singapore Extends Travel Curbs to More Places With Omicron Spike
Singapore will require additional testing for travelers and extend travel curbs to more African countries, as it rolls out more measures to allow it time to figure out how to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant. All travelers on its so-called vaccinated travel lanes will have to be put on a daily testing regime over seven days using self-administered rapid testing, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday. This measure, coming into effect from Dec. 7, is on top of on-arrival polymerase chain reaction for air travelers, as well as supervised rapid testing at test centers on days three and seven after arrival.
3rd Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
Belgium Extends School Holiday in Attempt to Break Virus Wave
Belgium ordered primary schools to extend the Christmas holiday in its third attempt to break a Covid-19 wave that’s among the worst in Europe after experts singled out unvaccinated children as a catalyst of infections in broader society. Virtual schooling will be required at least half of the time for children 12 years and older starting Monday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a briefing in Brussels. Other new measures include a ban on indoor events with more than 200 participants, and a mandate to wear masks from the age of six.
3rd Dec 2021 - Bloomberg
U.S. ships 9 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa, 2 mln worldwide
The United States on Friday sent 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries in Africa and another 2 million doses to other nations, the White House said. "Today, we are shipping 9 million vaccine doses to Africa and another 2 million worldwide. We need every country to step up with the same urgency and ambition as the US," White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a post on Twitter.
3rd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Omicron may throw wrench in companies' plans to return to office
Company executives are beginning to consider different permanent work models for their employees as the coronavirus pandemic, and the spread of the Omicron variant, destabilize their latest return-to-office plans. With Omicron so new, companies are struggling to understand how the variant might affect their operations and profits. Most have taken a wait-and-see stance as they weigh how fast the variant may spread and its potential harmfulness, although Alphabet Inc's Google was indefinitely delaying its return-to-office plan around the world
3rd Dec 2021 - Reuters
BioNTech CEO says likelihood of annual COVID-19 vaccines increasing
The likelihood that people will need to have an annual COVID-19 vaccine, similar to the influenza shot, is increasing, German company BioNTech, chief executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin told the Reuters Next conference on Friday.
3rd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Variants, boosters turn rich-poor vaccine gap into chasm
The global initiative to share coronavirus vaccines fairly already scaled back its pledge to the world's poor once. Now, to meet even that limited promise, COVAX would have to deliver more than a million doses every hour until the end of the year in some of the world's most challenging places.
3rd Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Auckland reopens as New Zealand tries new virus approach
Bars, restaurants and gyms reopened in Auckland on Friday as the last major parts of a lockdown that lasted more than 100 days ended. New Zealand has begun a new phase in its coronavirus response in which there won’t be lockdowns but people will be required to be fully vaccinated — and prove it with vaccine passes — in order to access many services. The government decided that vaccination rates were high enough to switch to the new system, with about 87% of people aged 12 and over fully vaccinated. In Auckland, which has been at the center of the nation’s outbreak, the rate is over 90%.
3rd Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
Biden unveils new plan to combat Omicron
US President Joe Biden has unveiled new measures to combat COVID-19, saying the emergence of the Omicron variant increases the urgency for booster vaccines. Biden’s plan includes tighter restrictions for international travellers, and expanding access to at-home testing. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that people who are not vaccinated will be excluded from non-essential shops, cultural and recreational venues, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate that would come into force from February.
3rd Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullFinland to limit children's COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk households
Children in Finland aged five and over should be vaccinated against COVID-19 if theyor someone in their household are at high risk of severe infection, the Finnish Health Institute recommended on Thursday, opting against shots for all children. The government is expected to accept the recommendation. The institute said the vaccinations could start as soon as Finland obtains approved shots.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Germany could make Covid vaccination mandatory, says Merkel
Vaccination could become mandatory in Germany from February, Angela Merkel has said, as she announced what her successor as chancellor, Olaf Scholz, described as “a lockdown of the unvaccinated”. As more EU countries confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, which the bloc’s health agency said could make up more than half of all infections on the continent within months, Merkel described the situation as “very serious”. Meeting with Scholz and Germany’s 16 state leaders for emergency talks on Thursday on tougher measures to stem rocketing Covid cases, the outgoing chancellor said an “act of national solidarity” was required.
2nd Dec 2021 - The Guardian
Biden launching winter COVID-19 booster, testing campaign
President Joe Biden is set to kick off a more urgent campaign for Americans to get COVID-19 booster shots Thursday as he unveils his winter plans for combating the coronavirus and its omicron variant with enhanced availability of shots and vaccines but without major new restrictions. The plan includes a requirement for private insurers to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests and a tightening of testing requirements for people entering the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status.
2nd Dec 2021 - The Independent
Canadian airports warn of 'chaos' amid new COVID-19 testing rules
Canada's plan to require novel coronavirus tests for all but U.S. arrivals on international flights risks causing "chaos" and long lines if all passengers are expected to get tested at airports, industry groups said. The move, announced Tuesday, comes as the travel season kicks into gear and could stretch airport resources as well as testing holiday-makers' patience, they said.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to require private health insurance companies cover at-home COVID-19 tests
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his strategy to fight the Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants over the winter, including free and insurer-funded at-home COVID-19 testing and new requirements for international travelers. The U.S. government will require private health insurers to reimburse their 150 million customers for 100% of the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests, administration officials said, and make 50 million more tests available free through rural clinics and health centers for the uninsured.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Germany to impose restrictions on unvaccinated to break COVID surge
Germany on Thursday imposed restrictions on the unvaccinated as it sought to break a dramatic surge in daily coronavirus infections exacerbated by the discovery of the Omicron strain. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz agreed with leaders of Germany's 16 states to bar the unvaccinated from access to all but the most essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and bakeries. They also agreed to pass legislation in the national parliament to make vaccination mandatory.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
U.N. chief slams COVID-19 'travel apartheid' as unacceptable
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that travel restrictions imposed over COVID-19 that isolate any one country or region as "not only deeply unfair and punitive - they are ineffective." Speaking to reporters in New York, Guterres said the only way to reduce the risk of transmission while allowing for travel and economic engagement was to repeatedly test travelers, "together with other appropriate and truly effective measures."
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Dutch say pre-flight tests needed as most COVID passengers from S.Africa were vaccinated
Dutch health authorities on Thursday said most of the 62 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving on two flights from South Africa last week had been vaccinated, lending weight to a call for pre-flight testing regardless of vaccination status. In addition, all 14 passengers who were later found to have been infected with the Omicron variant were vaccinated, health officials said on Thursday.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
UK agrees deals for 114 million more Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 doses
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed deals to buy 114 million more Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shots, saying it had sped up signing the new contracts in light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The deal involves an additional 60 million Moderna shots and 54 million Pfizer doses for next year and 2023, and will also include access to any modified vaccinations if they are needed to combat the Omicron strain or any other variant, the British health ministry said.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Italy approves COVID-19 vaccination for 5-11 year olds
Italy's medicines agency AIFA on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the use of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11. AIFA's decision, which was widely expected, came after the European Union's drug regulator (EMA) took the same step on Nov. 25.
2nd Dec 2021 - Reuters
Pakistan expands COVID vaccination drive amid Omicron fears
Pakistan’s government will step up COVID-19 vaccination efforts and is expanding the criteria for vaccine booster shots, amid fears of the Omicron variant, authorities say. On Wednesday, the leadership of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which is heading the country’s COVID-19 response efforts, held a meeting in the capital Islamabad to review steps to curb the spread of the virus.
2nd Dec 2021 - Aljazeera
Biden’s new Covid plan: more boosters, free home testing, and ‘monoclonal antibody strike teams’
President Biden will announce a new plan Thursday afternoon for combating the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The plan includes a new campaign to increase uptake of booster shots, new policies meant to provide Americans with free at-home coronavirus tests, and more stringent policies on international travel. Public health officials still don’t know much about the Omicron variant, including whether it causes milder symptoms than other forms of the coronavirus, or whether it is more transmissible than other variants. The first case of the Omicron variant detected in the United States was announced by U.S. health officials on Wednesday.
2nd Dec 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullIsrael’s coronavirus czar: We need to consider making vaccines mandatory
Coronavirus czar Salman Zarka said Wednesday that Israel should weigh introducing a national vaccine mandate compelling all citizens to get themselves inoculated against the coronavirus, a notion that mirrors legislation under consideration in several European countries. “I think we need to examine all the options, including the option of mandating vaccination in the State of Israel,” Zarka told Radio 103FM in an interview. Zarka stressed that the opinion was his alone and not that of the Health Ministry. “This option of mandating a vaccine in the State of Israel, similar to several countries in the world, whether in the context of legislation or in the context of other means, must be examined, it must be considered,” he said.
1st Dec 2021 - The Times of Israel
Japan starts Covid booster vaccinations amid omicron scare
Japan on Wednesday started offering coronavirus vaccine booster shots to health care workers amid growing concerns over a new variant of the virus that has already been detected in the country. Japan's initial vaccination drive kicked off in mid-February and some medical workers who received jabs more than nine months ago are now eager to get additional protection ahead of a possible next wave of infections — especially after the new variant known as omicron, which was first reported in South Africa last week, was found in Japan on Tuesday. At Tokyo Medical Center, a group of nurses and doctors received booster shots. “It's an important first step for our patients and their families to be treated with a sense of safety," said hospital chief Kazuhiro Araki.
1st Dec 2021 - The Independent
Children 5 and older now have a coronavirus vaccine. But many parents of younger kids are still anxiously waiting.
Even with the recent authorization of a coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, many parents and grandparents are still in limbo, anxiously awaiting shots for younger children. Although children are less likely to suffer severe disease, they can still contract and transmit the virus to others. Those who test positive must quarantine — and children may even have to stay home from day care or preschool when their classmates become ill after exposure to the virus. This forces parents to find alternative child care or take time off from work to care for them, which some families say has become common.
1st Dec 2021 - The Washington Post
All adults to be offered COVID-19 booster jabs by end of January 2022
The UK government has aimed to expand their COVID-19 vaccination programme, in accordance with guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). All eligible adults in England aged 18 and over will be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine by 31 January 2022. Everyone who is currently eligible – including those aged 40 and over, health and social care workers and those at increased risk from the virus due to preexisting health conditions – will be able to book their jab from three months after their second dose. This means that an additional seven million people over 40 are now eligible.
1st Dec 2021 - PharmaTimes
Some Teenagers Under 18 Could Soon Get A Pfizer COVID-19 Booster Shot : Shots - Health News
For the first time, people under the age of 18 may soon be eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot in the U.S. On Tuesday, Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla said the vaccine maker had submitted its request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand the emergency use authorization of a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include 16- and 17-year-olds. Bourla made the announcement on Twitter, saying that "it is our hope to provide strong protection for as many people as possible, particularly in light of the new variant" — a reference to omicron, which has not yet been detected in the U.S.
1st Dec 2021 - NPR
Despite variants, Singapore's COVID-19 strategy on track
When Singapore embarked upon its strategy of living with COVID-19, backed by one of the world's leading vaccine programs, the wealthy city-state saw a spike in its rate of infections, leading many to question whether the time was right. But with the numbers now dropping as rapidly as they rose, there's cautious optimism that the widely watched plan has helped Singapore turn the corner in the pandemic, even with the discovery of the new worrisome omicron variant, and provide a better understanding of what is effective, and what isn't. “I guess now COVID seems like it's just a normal flu to everybody,” said Glacier Chong, taking a break from shopping on Singapore's popular Orchard Road to people-watch by a fountain and listen to the Christmas music being piped out of large speakers lining the street.
1st Dec 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: Help vaccinate poor countries or face more new variant shocks, rich economies told
The world's rich nations must help vaccinate the poorest nations or else they will face a continual cycle of economic shocks and restrictions in the face of new variants, the OECD's chief economist has said. Laurence Boone told Sky News that the Omicron variant could cause the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to downgrade its outlook for economic growth and inflation, but it is too early to say what damage it could cause. She said that the variant was a reminder that for the richest countries - a group represented by the OECD - funding vaccinations in the developing world would cost only a fraction of their outlay in the past 18 months yet would bring immeasurable benefits.
1st Dec 2021 - Sky News
WHO warns against blanket travel bans over Omicron coronavirus variant
Countries should apply "an evidence-informed and risk-based approach" with any travel measures related to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including possible screening or quarantine of international passengers, but blanket bans do not prevent its spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The WHO, in its latest guidance to authorities and travellers, said that people over 60 years of age who are not fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-COV-2 infection and those with underlying health conditions should be advised to postpone travel as they are at higher risk of disease and death.
1st Dec 2021 - Reuters
EU brings forward Pfizer/BioNTech COVID shot for younger children to Dec 13
The European Union-wide rollout of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech's (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine version for five- to 11-year-old children will begin Dec 13, one week earlier than previously planned, Germany's health ministry said on Wednesday. "Given the current pandemic situation, this is good news for parents and children. Many are awaiting this eagerly," acting health minister Jens Spahn said in the statement. Germany is due to receive 2.4 million doses for use as a two-dose regimen, the ministry said, adding it has commitment on the new date from the manufacturer.
1st Dec 2021 - Reuters
Vaccine champions Spain, Portugal focus on the reluctant few
Juan Esteban Mariño, a healthy 29-year-old, has been part of the rare cohort in Spain who have resisted health authorities’ strong recommendations to get their vaccine shots. His position only changed when he planned an end-of-the-year holiday in Portugal, where authorities are cracking down on unvaccinated visitors as they confront a surge of infections and try to limit the spread of the omicron variant. “I needed to get the jab to leave the country and return without any inconveniences,” Mariño said Wednesday at a large vaccination center in Madrid as he pressed sterile gauze against his left arm and rolled down his sleeve. “With the new variant and restrictions complicating life, getting the vaccine has become unavoidable,” he added.
1st Dec 2021 - The Associated Press
India asks states to step up COVID testing over Omicron
India’s health ministry says the states should ramp up COVID-19 testing as the world battles the new coronavirus variant Omicron, while some cities have delayed the reopening of schools as a precautionary measure. The ministry on Tuesday also said the Omicron variant “doesn’t escape RT-PCR and RAT (testing)”, appeasing some concerns among domestic health workers that changes in the spike protein of the virus could lead to conventional tests failing to detect the mutation.
1st Dec 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Dec 2021
View this newsletter in fullMandatory Covid Vaccine in Greece: $114 Monthly Fine for Refusal Among Over 60s
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for all Greeks above 60 years of age before a cabinet meeting in Athens on Tuesday, in an effort to tackle the new omicron variation threat ahead of the festive season. Those who refuse to get vaccinated will have to pay a monthly fine of 100 euros ($114) for each month they don’t get jabbed, starting on Jan. 16, according to Mitsotakis. The penalty will be imposed by the tax authorities directly to those who haven’t been inoculated and the funds collected will be given to Greek hospitals fighting the pandemic.
30th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Rwanda Offers Covid Vaccine Boosters, Joining Few African Nations
Rwanda became one of the few African nations offering coronavirus-vaccine booster doses on Tuesday, according to the nation’s Ministry of Health. The shots will be administered to people 50 years old and above, as well as those as young as 30 years, but with non-communicable diseases, the ministry said in a statement. The exercise begins from the capital, Kigali. Rwanda joins African nations, including Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa, that are administering booster shots to various categories of people such as the elderly and health-care workers. Nations across the world are quickly moving to give additional doses amid new Covid-19 variants, including the recent Omicron that was first detected in southern Africa.
30th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Austria pushes on with plan for mandatory Covid vaccines
Germany’s chancellor-to-be, Olaf Scholz, supports making vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory, German media have reported, as neighbouring Austria is debating how to enforce obligatory jabs from February. Scholz, a Social Democrat, who is expected to be sworn in as Angela Merkel’s successor in the coming week, reportedly told a meeting of regional leaders he was in favour of a cross-party initiative to make vaccines mandatory, as well as requiring customers at non-essential stores to show proof of vaccination or recovery from the virus. “As a delegate I would certainly vote in favour, to make that very clear,” Der Spiegel reported Scholz as saying. The outgoing finance minister proposed a general vaccine mandate coming into effect from the end of February, by which everyone should have had a theoretical chance to receive two doses of vaccine of their own accord.
30th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory was once unthinkable. But European countries are showing it can work
Earlier this month, Austria took a step once unthinkable for a Western democracy: It announced that Covid-19 vaccinations would become compulsory for its entire population. Up until then, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other "nudges" to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states, like China, it is not mandatory policy. Austria's extraordinary move came just days after it introduced a lockdown for the unvaccinated — a restriction that went farther than other European nations in singling out the people who have been driving a worrying surge in hospitalizations.
30th Nov 2021 - CNN
Germany's Scholz supports mandatory vaccines - sources
Germany's federal and regional governments agreed on Tuesday to take action to counter a fourth wave of COVID-19, including stepping up the vaccination campaign and restricting contact, especially for unvaccinated people. Facing a surge in cases over the last few weeks and warnings from virologists that exponential growth rates would overload hospitals, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel held video talks with her successor, Olaf Scholz, and regional leaders.
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Omicron: Vaccine nationalism will only perpetuate the pandemic
The United Kingdom and wealthy European nations are in a panic. Unsurprisingly, hoarding huge swaths of the global vaccine supply has enabled the emergence of dangerous new variants of COVID-19. And once again, rich countries are punishing the victims of global vaccine inequality by slamming shut the borders to anyone from southern African nations.
30th Nov 2021 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Rich countries must stop blocking the COVID vaccine patent waiver
The COVID-19 crisis and measures taken by states to mitigate, prevent and contain the spread of the virus have had an immeasurable impact on lives and livelihoods of the nearly eight billion people on the planet. The pandemic and many state responses have brought on what the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has described as a parallel “pandemic of human rights abuses” and the exacerbation of poverty and inequality worldwide. The World Health Organization has called on governments to place human rights at the heart of their pandemic responses, including by ensuring universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and health technologies. They are globally understood as public health goods and access to them is part of the human right to health.
30th Nov 2021 - Aljazeera.com
Omicron brings COVID-19 vaccine inequity ‘home to roost’
The emergence of the new omicron variant and the world's desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines.
30th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Mask mandates to tackle Omicron come into force in England
New mask mandates and other measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant came into force in England on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson eyes an expanded booster programme to help increase protection against COVID-19. From Tuesday morning, face masks are compulsory on transport and in shops, banks and hair salons.
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters
COVAX allocates 4.7 mln AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to N.Korea
The global vaccine-sharing network COVAX has set aside 4.73 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 shot for shipment to North Korea, one of the very few countries that haven't started vaccination, according to its allocation plan.
The plan follows an earlier offer for nearly two million doses of the shot that the reclusive state had rejected due to concerns over side effects, according to a South Korean think-tank
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters
India promises more COVID-19 shots to Omicron-hit Africa after Chinese move
India stands ready to "expeditiously" send more COVID-19 vaccine to Africa to help fight the Omicron variant, New Delhi said late on Monday after China pledged 1 billion doses to the continent. India and China have close ties with many African countries but Beijing has pumped much more money into the region, and on Monday promised to invest another $10 billion
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters
U.S. CDC says all adults should get COVID-19 booster shots
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot, as it looks to tackle a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that is quickly spreading across the globe. The update comes after President Joe Biden on Monday called for wider vaccination to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which was first detected in southern Africa.
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Britain expands COVID booster programme as eight more Omicron cases found
Britain will offer a COVID-19 booster shot to all adults in a bid to accelerate its vaccination programme amid concern over the new Omicron coronavirus variant, as eight more cases were found in the country. Britain as a whole has reported 11 cases of the new variant, which the World Health Organization said on Monday was likely to spread internationally and posed a very high risk of infection surges
30th Nov 2021 - Reuters UK
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullChina’s Xi promises 1bn COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa
President Xi Jinping has said China would offer another one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to African countries and would encourage Chinese companies to invest no less than $10bn in Africa across the next three years. The pledge of additional vaccine doses – on top of the nearly 200 million that China has already supplied to the continent – comes as concerns intensify about the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, known as Omicron, which was first identified in southern Africa. The Chinese leader said that his country would donate 600 million doses directly. A further 400 million doses would come from other sources, such as investments in production sites
29th Nov 2021 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Nursing unions around world call for UN action on Covid vaccine patents
Nursing unions in 28 countries have filed a formal appeal with the United Nations over the refusal of the UK, EU and others to temporarily waive patents for Covid vaccines, saying this has cost huge numbers of lives in developing nations. The letter, sent on Monday on behalf of unions representing more than 2.5 million healthcare workers, said staff have witnessed at first hand the “staggering numbers of deaths and the immense suffering caused by political inaction”. The refusal of some countries to budge on rules about intellectual property rights for vaccines had contributed to a “vaccine apartheid” in which richer nations had secured at least 7bn doses, while lower-income nations had about 300m, it argued.
29th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Covid: Booster vaccine rolled out to all over-18s and gap after second jab cut to three months
Booster jabs should now be offered to all over-18s, the government’s Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI), has said. The JCVI has also said gaps between the second Covid-19 vaccine and booster shots should be reduced from six months to three months. Although JCVI has advised all adults should now have their boosters, it has said those who are clinically vulnerable should be prioritised and in order of descending age groups, as was done during the second and first phases of the vaccination programme. Over 40s are already eligible to have their boosters. Those who are immunocompromised should be offered another booster, meaning they will have their fourth vaccination.
29th Nov 2021 - The Independent
All adults to be offered Covid booster vaccine, says Prof Anthony Harnden
All adults in Britain are to be offered booster jabs to step up the battle against the Omicron Covid-19 variant, a vaccines chief said on Monday. Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), confirmed the booster programme would be extended to 18 to 39-year-olds.
Six more cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed in Scotland as health chiefs were racing to trace the contacts of other individuals who got the mutated virus including one person from southern Africa who visited the Westminster borough.
29th Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
Australia delays border reopening as Omicron cases rise
Australia said on Monday it would delay the reopening of its international border by two weeks after reporting its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Prime Minister Scott Morrison convened a meeting of his national security committee and said it received advice from Australia's chief health officer to delay the reopening after the first cases of the new variant were detected on Sunday.
29th Nov 2021 - Reuters
High COVID case count, Omicron prompt S.Korea not to relax curbs
South Korea said on Monday it has shelved plans to further relax COVID-19 restrictions due to the strain on its healthcare system from rising hospitalisation and death rates, as well as the threat posed by the new Omicron variant. President Moon Jae-in said the crisis had deepened and called for a united response to prevent the variant from entering the country, including the mobilisation of more personnel and tightening contact tracing.
29th Nov 2021 - Reuters
China's Xi pledges another 1 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses for Africa
President Xi Jinping on Monday said China would offer another 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to African countries and would encourage Chinese companies to invest no less than $10 billion in Africa over the next three years. The pledge of additional vaccine doses - on top of the nearly 200 million that China has already supplied to the continent - comes as concerns intensify over the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, known as Omicron, which was first identified in southern Africa
29th Nov 2021 - Reuters
India steps ups COVID-19 testing for international flyers
India will make on-arrival COVID-19 testing mandatory for flyers from more than a dozen countries, including South Africa and Britain where the Omicron variant has been detected, the health ministry said on Monday. The decision will be effective from Dec. 1 and comes after a man who recently returned from South Africa tested positive for COVID-19, though it is not yet clear which strain of the coronavirus he contracted.
29th Nov 2021 - Reuters
South Africa mulling compulsory COVID-19 jabs for some places, activities
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that authorities were considering making COVID-19 shots compulsory for certain places and activities, as a rise in infections linked to a new variant threatens to become a fourth wave.
Only a quarter of South Africans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 despite a sufficient supply of doses, owing partly to logistical problems getting them out to rural areas, but also to vaccine hesitancy and apathy among the population.
29th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Philippines starts three-day, nine million person COVID jab drive
The Philippines has begun an ambitious campaign to vaccinate nine million people against COVID-19 over three days, as it temporarily suspended a decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists into the country after the emergence of the Omicron variant. The immunisation campaign was scaled back from an earlier target of 15 million shots, but would still be a record in a country where vaccine hesitancy remains an obstacle and there are logistical hurdles to reach people in the sprawling archipelago.
29th Nov 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullSaudi Arabia to loosen travel restrictions following discovery of omicron variant | TheHill
Saudi Arabia announced Saturday that it will loosen its pandemic travel restrictions a day after putting a pause on incoming flights from seven African nations in response to the detection of a new coronavirus variant. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said international travelers from all countries will be allowed into the country as long as they have one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reported. Travelers will still have to quarantine for three days, however. The easing of the restrictions will go into effect next Saturday. A number of other countries, including the U.S., also added travel restrictions on Friday for countries in southern Africa due to the new variant. The United Kingdom announced further restrictions on Saturday after detecting two cases of the variant within its borders. The omicron variant was first detected in South Africa and has spread to several other countries, including Italy, Germany and Israel.
27th Nov 2021 - The Hill
BioNTech says it could tweak Covid vaccine in 100 days if needed
BioNTech says it could produce and ship an updated version of its vaccine within 100 days if the new Covid variant detected in southern Africa is found to evade existing immunity. The German biotechnology company is already investigating whether the vaccine it developed with US drugmaker Pfizer works well against the variant, named Omicron, which has caused concern due to its high number of mutations and initial suggestions that it could be transmitting more quickly. The company says it will know in two weeks whether its current vaccine is likely to be sufficiently effective against the B.1.1.529 variant, now named Omicron by the World Health Organization, based on lab-based experiments.
27th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Australia starts 14-day quarantine for citizens travelling from southern Africa
Australia will introduce 14-day quarantine for citizens and their dependents travelling from nine countries in southern Africa due to the new coronavirus variant, its health minister said on Saturday. "Anyone who is not a citizen of Australia or their dependents, and who has been in African countries where the Omicron variant has been detected and spread within the past 14 days will not be able to enter Australia," Health Minister Greg Hunt told a press briefing.
27th Nov 2021 - Reuters
UK Covid Booster Policy Works to Avoid New Wave Despite High Death Rate
The U.K.’s success at avoiding the latest virus emergency ripping across the European continent has come at a price. Thanks to an aggressive booster campaign for older and vulnerable people, the country has managed to keep hospitalization and death rates relatively steady without imposing fresh restrictions. Meanwhile, lockdowns are being reimposed elsewhere in a bid to damp down another Covid wildfire. However, more U.K. residents have died of Covid per capita than in most other western European countries, despite earlier access to vaccines than in the European Union. “The U.K. has been ‘running hot’,” said Devi Sridhar, a professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. “We act like Europe is so much worse, but we’ve just accepted a higher death toll and higher infection rates for longer.”
27th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
India’s COVID vaccine exports resume – but others must step up to vaccinate the world
The Indian embassy in Iran recently celebrated the arrival of 1 million doses of Covaxin, a COVID vaccine developed in India by the pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech. Bangladesh, Myanmar and Iran also recently received a million doses each of Covishield, the version of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s single largest vaccine producer. These 4 million doses, delivered in early October 2021, were the first to be exported from India in more than six months. Dubbed the “pharmacy of the world”, India has the largest vaccine-production capacity of any country. It therefore has a massive role to play in vaccinating the world. However, up until recently the “pharmacy” has been closed to other countries. Unlike most COVID vaccine producers, India began exporting doses through its “vaccine friendship” initiative – a diplomatic programme based around gifting vaccines to lower-income countries – the same week it began its domestic vaccination programme, back in January 2021. It was soon internationally hailed as a “vaccine superpower”. However, in late March exports ground to a halt, as India’s devastating second wave took hold and all resources were diverted towards its domestic vaccine programme.
27th Nov 2021 - Yahoo Finance
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine Recipients Often Shift to Other Boosters
Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine hasn’t been the booster shot of choice. Most people originally vaccinated with J&J’s shot are choosing other vaccines if they get a booster, new government data show, partly reflecting concerns about the lower effectiveness of the drugmaker’s vaccine. So far, about 1.7 million people of the 15.7 million who originally got J&J’s single-dose vaccine have received a booster. Of these, 26% stayed with J&J for their second dose through Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rest of those originally immunized with J&J’s shot and later got boosters received other drugmakers’ vaccines. Some 43% got the Moderna Inc. MRNA vaccine, the CDC said, while 31% received a booster from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech
27th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Canada Restricts Travel From Southern Africa on New Variant
Canada is following countries, from the U.S. to Hong Kong, in banning foreign nationals from seven southern African nations, amid concerns about a new Covid-19 variant. Worries about the variant sent markets around the world tumbling Friday, feeding fears the latest threat could derail the fragile global recovery. There are no direct flights from the region into Canada. We are “acting quickly to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters in Ottawa. “We are banning the entry of foreign nationals into Canada that have traveled through southern Africa in the last 14 days.”
27th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
World races to contain new COVID threat, the omicron variant
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still a scourge driving higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the United States. “It seems to spread rapidly,” U.S. President Joe Biden said of the new variant, only a day after celebrating the resumption of Thanksgiving gatherings for millions of American families and the sense that normal life was coming back at least for the vaccinated. In announcing new travel restrictions, he told reporters, “I’ve decided that we’re going to be cautious.”
27th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
New Covid variant: South Africa's pride and punishment
South Africans have responded sharply to the news that the UK, and a growing list of other countries, have reacted to the emergence of a new Covid variant with red-listings and travel bans. While there is genuine pride here in the country's scientific expertise, and the speed with which South Africa has been able to identify and share information about new variants, there is also a strong sense that the nation is being unfairly punished for its successes. "The world should provide support to South Africa and Africa and not discriminate or isolate it," said Prof Tulio de Oliveira, the Durban-based scientist leading efforts to understand the new variant.
27th Nov 2021 - BBC News
WTO Postpones Geneva Ministerial Meeting Over Virus Concerns
The World Trade Organization postponed its in-person ministerial conference in Geneva as Switzerland tightened travel restrictions following the discovery of a new strain of the coronavirus, people familiar with the situation said.
27th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg on MSN.com
B.1.1.529 Omicron: How Covid19 Virus Variant Is Already Disrupting Global Travel
Fallout from the new, potentially riskier Covid-19 variant detected in southern Africa is adding fresh frustrations for travelers, just as they were glimpsing a return to normalcy. The U.S., European Union members, Canada and Hong Kong are all restricting travel from several nations in southern Africa. The U.K. halted flights, placed six African countries on its travel “red list” and will require arriving travelers to quarantine in hotels in an attempt to quash the spread of the B.1.1.529 variant — to which the World Health Organization has assigned the Greek letter omicron.
27th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Ski holidays thrown into doubt as France mandates vaccine passport for lifts
France has mandated the use of vaccine passports in ski lifts, throwing the winter travel plans of thousands of British families into doubt. Anyone over the age of 12 will need a pass to show they are fully vaccinated, or have had one dose and recovered from Covid-19 in the last 180 days from December 4. But Thursday’s announcement will cause misery for Brits with teenagers - as the NHS app with a Covid pass is only available to the over-16s, the Times reports.
26th Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
Bennett: ‘Super COVID variant’ of top concern, travel abroad discouraged
The government voted to ban all foreigners from entering Israel as part of an effort to stem the spread of the new South African "Omicron" variant, one case of which has been confirmed in the country and seven others which are under investigation.
The coronavirus cabinet met for nearly three hours on Saturday night agreeing on a series of new restrictions. For the time being, all individuals returning from any country – vaccinated Israelis included – will need to be isolated for three days upon entry into Israel. Travelers would be tested at the airport and then be required to take a PCR test on day three, and only leave isolation once a negative result is obtained.
26th Nov 2021 - The Jerusalem Post
Brazil health regulator calls for Africa travel restrictions, Bolsonaro noncommittal
Brazil will shut its borders to travelers arriving from six southern African countries, the chief of staff to President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday, the latest in a slew of major nations to announce restrictions meant to combat the newly identified Omicron variant of the coronavirus. "Brazil will close its aerial border to six countries in Africa due to the new coronavirus variant," Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira wrote in a Twitter post. "We're going to protect Brazilians in this new phase of the pandemic in this country. The official notice will be published tomorrow and will be going into effect on Monday."
26th Nov 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to restrict travel from 8 African nations after Covid variant detected
The U.S. will restrict travel from eight African nations starting on November 29. The ban comes amid the discovery of a Covid-19 variant “Omicron” detected in South Africa. The World Health Organization confirmed the variant is highly transmissible.
26th Nov 2021 - MSNBC
European nations lead off in shutting borders to African nations with cases of new Omicron COVID variant
All 27 European Union member states and the United Kingdom have temporarily suspended travel to southern Africa following the discovery of a new COVID variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday classified the B.1.1.529 variant, now designated as Omicron, as a SARS-CoV-2 "variant of concern", saying it may spread more quickly than other forms. Infections in South Africa had risen steeply in recent weeks, coinciding with the detection of the variant. After a closed meeting of independent experts who reviewed the data, WHO realised a statement saying there had been a "detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology".
26th Nov 2021 - ABC News
Military sent to Michigan to deal with surge in COVID as Minnesota calls up the National Guard
Michigan is currently the hardest-hit state in the nation, with COVID-19 cases rising 88 per cent in the last 14 days. The governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has requested federal assistance to help in hospitals, and 44 people are being deployed. In Minnesota, another state struggling with a surge in cases, the National Guard is being brought in to take some of the strain off nursing home staff. Nursing homes in the state are now suffering a chronic staffing shortage with 23,000 open long-term caregiver positions as employees seek better paid, less intense jobs or else quit due to vaccine mandates. Governor Tim Walz has deployed 400 members of the National Guard to work as nurses and proposed using $50 million in unspent federal coronavirus relief funding to help these facilities hire and retain staff
26th Nov 2021 - Daily Mail
Former Covid-Zero Haven Ditches Masks, QR Codes in Stark Pivot
The biggest state in Australia is eliminating a raft of pandemic restrictions as it nears a 95% vaccination rate, in one of the starkest reversals from the Covid-Zero strategy yet. From Dec. 15, or once the 95% inoculation target is hit, masks will only be required on public transport, on planes and at airports in New South Wales, ending the need to wear a protective face covering in most indoor settings. Check-ins via QR code, which are currently mandatory in the state at any venue, will only be needed at hospitals, aged-care facilities, pubs, small bars and nightclubs, according to the latest guidelines from the New South Wales government.
26th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullFauci says changing definition of fully vaccinated to include boosters is 'on the table' | TheHill
Top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci said changing the definition of what qualifies a person as fully vaccinated to include a booster shot is “on the table.” "Right now, officially, fully vaccinated equals two shots of the mRNA and one shot of the J&J, but without a doubt that could change," Fauci said in an interview for the upcoming Reuters Next conference, Reuters reported. "That's on the table for discussion,” he added. The consideration comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that booster shots can be given to anyone above the age of 18. "We'd like to get as many people who were originally vaccinated with the first regimen boosted," Fauci said, adding he hopes to see an “overwhelming majority” get the booster shot. Proof of full vaccination has been required by many venues across the country and in some major cities has been required for dining in at restaurants.
25th Nov 2021 - The Hill
Czechs shut bars and restaurants early, hoping to avoid COVID lockdown
The Czech government on Thursday ordered bars and clubs to close at 10 p.m. and banned Christmas markets in an attempt to stem one of the world's highest coronavirus infection rates. The new restrictions also include a maximum attendance of 1,000 people at culture and sports events, stopping short of the sweeping lockdowns in neighbouring Austria and Slovakia, where infection rates are even higher. Just hours after the new restrictions were announced, the presidential office said President Milos Zeman was taken to hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus, although local media reported he showed no symptoms.
25th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Health minister suggests fourth vaccine dose amid rising fears of fifth COVID wave
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Wednesday that Israelis may need to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose at some point if cases climb again, as the country’s top coronavirus official warned that the country may already be seeing the start of a fifth infection wave. “It’s not unreasonable [to think] we’ll need a fourth vaccine,” said Horowitz in an interview with Channel 12, after Health Ministry data indicated that 9 percent of the new cases diagnosed Tuesday had received the third booster dose. Most concerns, however, have revolved not around triply-vaccinated adults, but children who have yet to be vaccinated. Israel began giving shots to kids as young as 5 this week, amid signs pointing to increasing infection rates among kids.
25th Nov 2021 - The Times of Israel
UK public urged to get Covid booster by 11 December if eligible to avoid waning immunity
Ministers are urging millions of Britons to get their Covid booster jab by 11 December to ensure they have “very high protection against Covid by Christmas Day” as new evidence shows the risk of infection increases with the time since the second dose. The fresh warning comes after cases broke records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the centre of a pandemic that has prompted new restrictions. About 16 million people have had a booster vaccine or a third dose across the UK. Everyone aged 40 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable are eligible to get a booster six months after their second jab. “If you’re yet to get your first, second or booster dose, please do come forward for the jab as soon as possible,” said Maggie Throup, the vaccines minister.
25th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
France extends COVID-19 booster shots to all adults
France said on Thursday it would make COVID-19 booster shots available to all adults, toughen rules on wearing face masks and ramp up health pass checks as it seeks to curb a fifth wave of infections that risks undermining its economic recovery. The number of infections is doubling every 11 days in France but officials said there was no need to follow Austria's example of reimposing a lockdown. Health Minister Olivier Veran said anyone aged 18 or over would be eligible for booster shots and that the period between full vaccination and the booster jabs would be shortened to five months from six.
25th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Logistical challenges hampering Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination drives
As deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa finally pick up, many nations are struggling with the logistics of accelerating their inoculation campaigns, the head of Africa’s disease control body said on Thursday.
25th Nov 2021 - CNBC Africa
Portugal expands booster shots as COVID-19 cases rise
Portugal, one of the world's most vaccinated nations, will give COVID-19 booster shots to a quarter of its population by the end of January, the health secretary said on Wednesday, as authorities try to stop a recent surge in infections. The number of cases in Portugal reached a four-month daily high of 3,773 on Wednesday. Deaths, however, remain far below January levels, when the country faced its toughest battle against COVID-19, and the infection rate is far lower than in most of Western Europe.
25th Nov 2021 - Reuters
EU proposes booster jabs for 2022 travel as COVID cases soar
European Union residents will need to have COVID-19 vaccine booster jabs if they want to travel to another country in the bloc next summer free of tests or quarantines, the European Commission proposed on Thursday. The EU executive also proposed accepting all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization for travel purposes, which would allow non-essential travel to the EU from outside the bloc for people vaccinated with Chinese shots and vaccines made in India. The Commission wants to harmonise rules across the 27 EU nations to allow free movement, a cornerstone of the European Union, but is facing new restrictions as cases break records in Europe and many EU countries roll out booster doses.
25th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Italy tightens screws on COVID unvaccinated, extends shot mandate
Italy on Wednesday tightened the screws on people unwilling to take an anti-COVID vaccine, sharply restricting access to an array of services and making vaccines mandatory for a wider group of public sector workers. Italy acted as much of Europe is increasing restrictions to try to grapple with a new wave of the pandemic. Under the Italian measures, which will come into force from Dec. 6, unvaccinated people will not be able to enter venues such as cinemas, restaurants and sports events, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government said in a statement
25th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 Vaccination Rate for Federal Workers Is 92%, White House Says
A total of 92% of federal workers have received at least one Covid-19 vaccination shot, according to data released by the White House on Wednesday. President Biden set a Monday deadline for federal employees to get vaccinated. Of the roughly 3.5 million workers, 92% have received at least one shot and a further 4.5% have a pending or approved exception request, said the report from the Office of Management and Budget. The report provided details on compliance broken down by department and agency, showing that some have a vaccination rate below the 92%, while others come in above. The report didn’t specify what percentage of federal workers were fully vaccinated.
25th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Europe Health Agency, in Shift, Urges Faster Covid-19 Booster Rollout as Cases Surge
The head of the European Union’s public-health agency recommended governments accelerate their campaigns to roll out Covid-19 booster shots as case numbers rise rapidly across parts of the bloc. Andrea Ammon, head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said on Wednesday that Covid-19 boosters should be offered to everyone over 18 years old, six months after they were first fully vaccinated, with priority given to those ages 40 and older.
The ECDC’s recommendations aren’t binding on the governments of EU states, but they help shape health policy. Previously, the agency said boosters weren’t urgent except for the frail and people with compromised immune systems.
25th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
As vaccination efforts falter, the U.S. must get serious about Covid-19 testing and reporting
As the U.S. heads into Thanksgiving and the holiday season beyond, new cases of Covid-19 are as high as they were in the first week of November 2020 and are quickly rising after two months of steady decline, even though the pandemic toolbox is fuller today than it was then. One year ago this week, the Food and Drug Administration had just authorized the first at-home test and the first monoclonal antibody treatment, and there were no authorized vaccines. Hotspots flared across the nation as different states took different approaches to curbing the virus by requiring masks and limiting public gatherings. It doesn’t fully make sense for the U.S. to be in this position today when we have an ample supply of safe and effective vaccines, we know how the virus spreads, and we understand the effectiveness of masks and distancing in limiting infection.
24th Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: More than 75000 people are overdue for their second vaccination
Nine in every 500 New Zealanders eligible for the Covid-19 jab are overdue for their second dose, according to data from the Ministry of Health. A total of 75,585 people – or 1.8 per cent of the eligible population, are still yet to get their second dose more than six weeks after their first, based on data to November 21. Thirty-seven per cent of them had their first vaccine more than 10 weeks ago. The lion’s share – 43 per cent – were first vaccinated seven or eight weeks ago, and the remaining 20 per cent nine or 10 weeks ago. The numbers come as the Director-General of Health announced on Wednesday 10 out of 15 deaths in the Delta outbreak were unvaccinated, and two were partially vaccinated.
24th Nov 2021 - Stuff.co.nz
What the world could learn from Israel's Covid-19 vaccine booster rollout
When it comes to Covid-19, it seems where Israel leads, the rest of the world follows. For almost a year, the country has offered other nations a glimpse into the pandemic's future. Israel has been at the forefront of vaccination rollouts for adults and teenagers, pioneered a vaccine passport and, in recent months, has spearheaded the use of booster shots. At the end of July, the country began offering boosters to those over the age of 60; since late August, boosters have been available to anyone over the age of 16, five months after their second dose of the vaccine. Now, a person is not considered fully vaccinated in Israel until they have received a third dose of the vaccine, once they are eligible for it.
24th Nov 2021 - CNN
COVID-19: WHO says it's time for countries to have 'healthy debate' about mandatory vaccination
The World Health Organisation has suggested it is time for countries to have a conversation about mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, saying: "It's a healthy debate to have." Robb Butler, executive director for WHO Europe, told Kay Burley on Sky News: "Mandatory vaccination can, but doesn't always increase uptake." However, he suggested countries - and individuals - should now be thinking about the issue.
24th Nov 2021 - Sky News
Cyprus to screen children for COVID-19 to 'save Christmas'
Cyprus will include children as young as six in its COVID-19 screening programme and introduce mandatory masks in schools to ward off a surge in the virus, authorities said on Wednesday. Cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus have been ticking up on the eastern Mediterranean island, like elsewhere in Europe, over the past month. By late Tuesday, authorities had recorded 131,028 cases since the pandemic broke out in March 2020, along with 590 deaths.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Children at lower risk from COVID, vaccines should go to poor - WHO
As children and adolescents are at lower risk of severe COVID-19 disease, countries should prioritise adults and sharing vaccine doses with the COVAX programme to bring supplies to poorer countries, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday. Some rare cases of heart inflammation called myocarditis have been reported in younger men who received vaccines based on mRNA technoloy - Pfizer BioNtech and Moderna - but these were generally mild and responded to treatment, it said. Although that risk had not been fully determined, it was less than the risk of myocarditis linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection, it said.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
France plans tighter social distancing rules, booster ramp-up to fight COVID wave
France will announce new COVID-19 containment measures on Thursday as infection rates surge nationwide, but does not plan a new lockdown like some other European Union countries. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday that the government wants to avoid major curbs on public life, preferring stricter social distancing, speeding up its vaccination booster campaign and tightening rules on using health passes. "We must protect the French people by building on what we have, to save the end-of-year festivities and get through the winter as well as possible," Attal told a news conference.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
In major shift, EU says vaccine boosters should be considered for all adults
The head of the European Union's public health agency Andrea Ammon said on Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccine boosters should be considered for all adults, with priority for those above 40 years, in a major change to the agency's guidance.
Recommendations issued by the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) are not binding on EU governments but are used to make health policy decisions.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand to stay closed to visitors until April 2022
New Zealand will keep its borders closed to most international travellers for a further five months, the government said on Wednesday, outlining a cautious easing of border curbs that have been in place since COVID-19 hit in March 2020.
Along with its geographic isolation, the South Pacific country enforced some of the tightest pandemic restrictions among OECD nations, limiting the spread of COVID-19 and helping its economy bounce back faster than many of its peers. But an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant earlier this year has forced a shift in strategy, with the main city of Auckland now only gradually opening up as vaccination rates climb. Fully vaccinated international travellers will be allowed to enter the country from April 30, 2022, onwards with the re-opening staged over time, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told a news conference. Fully vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders in neighbouring Australia can travel to New Zealand from January 16, while vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders from most other countries will be allowed in from February 13.
24th Nov 2021 - Aljazeera.com
US to require vaccines for all border crossers in January
President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce.
A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals. Essential travelers entering by ferry will also be required to be fully vaccinated by the same date, the official said. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.
24th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Sweden says it will extend COVID-19 boosters to all adults
Sweden will begin gradually rolling out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to all adult Swedes following the surge in cases elsewhere in Europe, government and health officials said on Wednesday. Booster shots of mRNA vaccine have been offered to people aged 65 or above in Sweden, with an eye to eventually extending the shots to other groups and trying to persuade a still sizable group of uninoculated people to get the vaccine.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Fall in COVID-19 testing worries Indian authorities
An alarming fall in testing for COVID-19 threatens to undermine India's efforts to contain the pandemic, the federal health ministry said in a letter to state governments, as worries grew over fresh waves of infection abroad. India reported on Wednesday 9,283 new COVID-19 cases, a day after recording 7,579 infections - the lowest in 543 days. But testing has hovered around 1 million per day for the past few weeks, less than half the capacity. "In the absence of sustained levels of sufficient testing, it is very difficult to determine the true level of infection spread in a geography," Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter sent to the northeastern state of Nagaland, which has reduced testing by more than a third in two months.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters India
South Africa delays COVID vaccine deliveries as inoculations slow
South Africa has asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to delay delivery of COVID-19 vaccines because it now has too much stock, health ministry officials said, as vaccine hesitancy slows an inoculation campaign. About 35% of South Africans are fully vaccinated, higher than in most other African nations, but half the government's year-end target. It has averaged 106,000 doses a day in the past 15 days in a nation of 60 million people. Earlier this year the programme was slowed by insufficient doses. Now deliveries have been delayed due to oversupply, making the country an outlier in the continent where most are still starved of vaccines. Nicholas Crisp, deputy director-general of the Health Department, told Reuters that South Africa had 16.8 million doses in stock and said deliveries had been deferred.
24th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Biden Administration Asks Appeals Court to Reinstate Vaccine-or-Test Mandate for Big Companies
The Biden administration on Tuesday filed an emergency court motion that seeks the immediate reinstatement of its rules requiring many employers to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly for Covid-19. The Justice Department filed the request with the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which last week was designated as the court that would decide legal challenges filed around the country to the vaccine-or-testing rules. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration earlier this month formally issued the requirements, which apply to businesses with 100 or more employees. The rules cover roughly 84 million workers and are scheduled to take effect Jan. 4.
24th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullIsrael begins giving COVID shots to children age 5 to 11
Israel on Tuesday began administering the coronavirus vaccine to children age 5 to 11. The country recently emerged from a fourth COVID wave, and daily infections have been relatively low for the last few weeks. But Health Ministry statistics show that a large share of the new infections have been in children and teenagers.
23rd Nov 2021 - The Independent
German soldiers face vaccine mandate as COVID cases rise
The German military is poised to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for troops as COVID-19 infections continue to rise across the country. The Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed a report in the German military blog Augen Geradeaus that officials and soldiers' representatives agreed late Monday to add the coronavirus shot to the list of vaccines soldiers must get. The measure still needs to be formally added to military regulations, the ministry said in a statement. There were 1,215 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday reported within the military and the ministry's civilian staff. The nationwide tally of newly confirmed cases rose by 45,326 in the past 24 hours, the country's disease control agency said Tuesday. A further 309 deaths from COVID-19 were reported, taking the total toll since the start of the outbreak to 99,433. On Monday, the U.S. State Department urged Americans not to travel to Germany because of rising case numbers, and to ensure they are fully vaccinated if they do.
23rd Nov 2021 - The Independent
UK employers step up demand for workers vaccinated against Covid
Employers in the UK are following the lead of their counterparts in the US by stepping up demands for staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19, analysis of recruitment adverts reveals. According to figures from the jobs website Adzuna, the number of ads explicitly requiring candidates to be vaccinated rose by 189% between August and October as more firms ask for workers to be jabbed before they start on the job. Out of a total 1.2m job vacancies in the UK on its platform, the number of adverts requiring vaccination increased from 805 in August to 2,161 in September and 2,324 in October.
23rd Nov 2021 - The Guardian
White House says U.S. will not lock down to fight Covid as European nations implement restrictions
“We can curb the spread of the virus without having to in any way shut down our economy,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said.
“We have 82% of people now with one shot and more and more people getting vaccinated each week,” Zients said. Austria’s lockdown began Monday and will last for at most 20 days, with a nationwide vaccine mandate taking effect Feb. 1. The Netherlands’ launched a partial lockdown on Saturday as well.
23rd Nov 2021 - CNBC
Getting jabs to the unvaccinated has never been more critical
More than ever before, we must look behind the reported Covid-19 numbers in hospitals and communities to understand what is happening in the pandemic. We also need to better understand how the pandemic is playing out among unvaccinated people, and those who have been vaccinated. To the public, the pandemic was and still is a silent pestilence, made visible by the images of patients fighting for their next breath and reporters at intensive care units talking about the fear of patients and the exhaustion of doctors and nurses from behind their fogged visors. This ongoing horror, which is taking place in ICUs across Britain, is now largely restricted to unvaccinated people. Generally, Covid-19 is no longer a disease of the vaccinated; vaccines tend to limit this suffocating affliction, with a few exceptions.
23rd Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Italy allows COVID-19 vaccine booster 5 months after completing the first cycle -minister
Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Monday said it will be possible for the Italians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster five months after completing the first vaccination cycle. "The booster dose is crucial to better protect ourselves and those around us. After Aifa's (Italy's medicines authority) latest advice, it will be possible to take it five months after completing the first cycle," Speranza wrote on Facebook.
23rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Global licence deal to provide COVID antibody test tech free to poorer countries - WHO
A global licence for serological technology that detects COVID-19 antibodies will be provided royalty-free to poor and middle-income countries under a first of its kind agreement to boost production, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.
The existing four tests, which check for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies developed after either an infection or a vaccine dose, could also inform decisions on the need for boosters to protect against the disease, it said in a statement.
The non-exclusive licensing agreement reached with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), a public research institute offering the technology as a global public good, is the first test licence signed by the WHO's Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).
23rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Resumption of India's COVAX vaccine supply delayed by Nepal - sources
The resumption of India supplying COVID-19 vaccines to the global COVAX vaccine-sharing platform after eight months was delayed on Monday when Nepal requested a postponement, two sources told Reuters. The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker, was scheduled to ship Covishield doses through COVAX to Nepal on Monday, but the country now wants them only around Nov. 29, said one of the sources, a Nepal health ministry official. He declined to explain the reasons for the delay. Neither source wanted to be named ahead of vaccine delivery, expected to be in hundreds of thousands of doses.
23rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
EU Weighs Changes to Covid Certificates, Travel Rules During Surge
The European Union is discussing this week how to update its digital Covid-19 certificates and its approach to travel within and outside the bloc as member nations take varying steps to counter the latest wave of the pandemic.
23rd Nov 2021 - Bloomberg on MSN.com
With Vaccine Mandate Looming, Business Owners Face Wary Workers
Small-business owners are confronting challenges preparing for the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate, with some saying efforts to comply are exacerbating hiring problems and stoking tensions with and among workers. Under new federal rules, employers with 100 or more workers must ensure employees get fully vaccinated or else test negative for Covid-19 at least weekly and wear a mask at work. A federal appeals court temporarily blocked implementation of the rules in response to legal challenges, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration agreed not to begin enforcement pending a court decision. Many business owners are nonetheless preparing for the mandate, slated to take full effect Jan. 4. Pete Yohe, president of Bloomsburg, Pa., manufacturer Dyco Inc., said he applauds the spirit of the new rules because they encourage vaccinations. “But I hate the 100-plus mandate, which forces some of our employees to quit and go to smaller companies,” he said.
23rd Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Feds tout COVID-19 vaccine mandate, booster doses
Though vaccine mandates remain a hot-button issue, they are helping boost coverage federal officials say, with the Biden administration announcing today that 95% of the federal workforce complied by today's deadline. The announcement at a briefing today comes amid a steady rise in US COVID-19 activity and a strong push for booster doses, just days before Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, in Europe—well into a fifth surge—unrest flared in a handful of countries as some groups pushed back against stronger government measures to slow the surges that are poised to overrun health systems.
22nd Nov 2021 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullVictoria closes in on 90 per cent vaccination target as state records 1029 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths
Victoria has recorded 1029 new coronavirus cases and three deaths, as the state closes in on its 90 per cent double-dosed vaccination target and the Andrews government looks set to scrape together enough support to pass its controversial proposed pandemic legislation. The figures bring Victoria’s total number of active COVID-19 cases to 9533. The 10 local government areas with the most new cases were: Wyndham, Melton, Casey, Hume, Greater Dandenong, Whittlesea, Brimbank, Glen Eira, Moreland, and the Mornington Peninsula. There are 316 people in the state’s hospitals with the virus, 98 in intensive care and 23 on a ventilator. Fifty-four people in ICU have been cleared of the virus. The people who died were aged in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Their deaths bring the total number of lives lost in Victoria since the pandemic began to 1280.
22nd Nov 2021 - The Age
‘Supercharge booster vaccines,’ NHS boss Vin Diwakar pleads, as London cases rise
A health chief has called for the jabs race to be “supercharged” to get more people protected against Covid-19 as bookings for boosters were opened to those in their forties. Dr Vin Diwakar, medical director for the NHS in London, issued the appeal as official figures showed there have been 18,049 confirmed coronavirus cases in the capital in just four days. There were 4,536 announced yesterday and it is the first time since late July when daily totals have risen above 4,000 for four consecutive days. More than 1,489,000 Londoners have already had a booster, or third jab for some vulnerable groups, with uptake understood to be particularly high among people in their seventies and even higher among care home staff.
22nd Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
Covid in Kenya: Unvaccinated to be barred from basic services
Kenyans will be barred from bars, restaurants and public transport from 21 December if they are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe says. The measures are aimed at increasing the rate of vaccinations ahead of the festive season. Less than 10% of the population is currently vaccinated - about 6.4 million people. This gives more 20 million adults in Kenya just a month to get vaccinated. The AstraZenaca vaccines is the most commonly used vaccine in Kenya and the two doses required to be fully vaccinated are supposed to be given at least six weeks apart.
22nd Nov 2021 - BBC News
Activists urge Biden to push for intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines
Fifteen medical and human rights groups are urging U.S. President Joe Biden to get personally engaged in a long-running fight to enact an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization, calling his leadership "a moral necessity." Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders, Human Rights Watch, Public Citizen and 11 other groups told Biden in a letter that an emergency waiver was urgently needed to combat the pandemic, noting that fewer than 7% of people in low-income countries had received a first COVID-19 shot and vaccines remained scarce.
22nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Putin has been revaccinated against COVID-19, Russian agencies say
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been revaccinated against COVID-19, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying on Sunday. Putin said in June 2021 that he had been vaccinated with Sputnik V vaccine. "Today, on your recommendation and that of your colleagues, I got another vaccination, Sputnik Light. This is called revaccination," Putin said at a meeting with the deputy director of the Gamaleya Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed both vaccines.
22nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Kenya COVID-19 vaccine mandate draws praise and criticism
A Kenyan government directive that residents must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination by Dec. 21 to access services was welcomed by some businesses on Monday but criticized by others, who said low vaccination rates made it unrealistic.
Only 8.8% of people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Kenya so far.
Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe made the announcement on Sunday. Public services affected include schools, transport services, immigration and other state offices, and hotels, bars, restaurants, national parks and wildlife reserves. The government will start a 10-day mass vaccination campaign on Friday, Kagwe said.
22nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Hungarians line up for shots as COVID surges across Europe
People were lining up for COVID-19 shots outside Budapest's main hospitals on Monday as Hungary for the first time offered vaccinations without prior registration amid a surge in new infections. Europe has again become the epicentre of the pandemic, accounting for half of global cases and deaths, and protests turned violent in the Netherlands and Belgium over the weekend over new curbs on movement. Austria entered its fourth national lockdown on Monday after tens of thousands marched against new restrictions. Germany is debating making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory.
22nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong authorises Sinovac vaccine for children aged 3-17
Hong Kong has approved lowering the age limit for the COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O) to three years old, down from 18 years of age, as it pursues a broader campaign to incentivise its 7.5 million residents to get vaccinated. "Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will be accorded priority to receive the CoronaVac vaccine, with a view to extending to children of a younger age group at a later stage," Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health (SFH) Sophia Chan said in a statement published on Saturday.
20th Nov 2021 - Reuters
China has given 76.3% of population complete COVID-19 vaccine doses
China had given 76.3% of its population complete COVID-19 vaccine doses by Nov. 19, Wu Liangyou, an official at the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. A total of 1.076 billion people in the country have received the required number of doses for their COVID vaccination, the NHC spokesperson Mi Feng said in a news briefing. A total of 65.73 million people have received a booster vaccine dose, Wu said.
20th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Europe is learning a crucial lesson -- vaccines work, but they alone won't stop Covid now
As Western Europe's vaccination rollout gained strength in the early part of 2021, many of the region's leaders touted the shots as their immediate route out of the pandemic. Press conferences took on an almost celebratory tone as Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors announced road maps away from Covid-19 restrictions, hailing their country's uptake rates and speaking colorfully about a return to normalcy. But as another Covid-struck winter grips Europe, many of those countries are now reversing course. Ireland introduced a midnight curfew on the hospitality industry earlier this week amid a surge in cases, despite having one of Europe's best vaccination rates. In Portugal -- the envy of the continent, where 87% of the total population is inoculated -- the government is mulling new measures as infections inch upwards.
20th Nov 2021 - CNN
All players must be vaccinated for Australian Open - tournament chief
All players at the Australian Open must be vaccinated, tournament chief Craig Tiley confirmed Saturday, piling more pressure on world number one Novak Djokovic, who has refused to reveal if he has been inoculated. Melbourne, where January's Grand Slam is held, has spent more than 260 days under lockdown during the pandemic and the government of the state of Victoria made clear last month there would be no concessions for unvaccinated players. Tiley said the playing group know they must get the jab to compete at Melbourne Park. "There's a lot of speculation about vaccination and just to be really clear, when the (Victoria) premier announced that everyone on site... will need to be vaccinated, we made that clear to the playing group," he told Channel Nine television.
20th Nov 2021 - Yahoo News
Why can't some COVID-19 vaccinated people travel to the US?
Why can’t some COVID-19 vaccinated people travel to the U.S.? Because they might not be vaccinated with shots recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization. When lifting overseas travel restrictions in November, the U.S. required adults coming to the country to be fully vaccinated with shots approved or authorized by the FDA or allowed by WHO.
Among the most widely used vaccines that don’t meet that criteria are Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and China’s CanSino vaccine. Sputnik V is authorized for use in more than 70 countries while CanSino is allowed in at least nine countries. WHO still is awaiting more data about both vaccines before making a decision.
20th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Virus surge worsens in Midwest as states expand boosters
A surge in cases in the Upper Midwest has some Michigan schools keeping students at home ahead of Thanksgiving and the military sending medical teams to Minnesota to relieve hospital staffs overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. The worsening outlook in the Midwest comes as booster shots are being made available to everyone in a growing number of locations. Massachusetts and Utah became the latest to say anyone 18 or older can roll up a sleeve for a booster shots, and an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting Friday to discuss expanding boosters. Cold weather states are dominating the fresh wave of cases over the last seven days, including New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wisconsin, according to federal data. But the Southwest had trouble spots, too, with more than 90% of inpatient hospital beds occupied in Arizona.
20th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Singapore's Covid Cases Stabilize Ahead of Curbs Deadline
Singapore will relax some virus-related curbs from Monday, allowing five people from different households to sit together at restaurants, although ministers cautioned against expecting any more major easing this year. “We are now transiting towards living with Covid-19 and I know many or some prefer to open up more quickly, but we must do so in a very careful and step-by-step manner,” Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said at a multi-ministry task force briefing on Saturday. Singapore will also increase the limit on social gatherings to five people from two, and visits to hospitals and residential care homes will be extended to those who are medically ineligible for vaccination from Dec. 1.
20th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Lord Lloyd Webber: Vaccine passports are a small price to pay to avoid more lockdowns
Speaking exclusively to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Lord Lloyd Webber said people are "determined" to go out and enjoy themselves following months trapped inside due to Covid lockdowns. It comes as the Scottish Government is considering expanding the scheme to cinemas and other hospitality venues, such as theatres, with a final decision due on Tuesday. Lord Lloyd Webber, who was asked by Nick what he thought of the news, said it is a "small price to pay".
19th Nov 2021 - LBC
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullU.S. to buy 10 mln courses of Pfizer's COVID-19 pill for $5.3 bln
Pfizer Inc said the U.S. government would pay $5.29 billion for 10 million courses of its experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug, as the country rushes to secure promising oral treatments for the disease. The deal is for around twice as many treatment courses as Merck & Co Inc has agreed to supply the United States under its contract. The price for the Pfizer pill is nearly 25%lower at roughly $530 per course, compared with about $700 for Merck's.
18th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Rollout of third Covid jabs in England condemned as ‘shambolic’
A “shambolic” rollout of third Covid vaccinations has left an unknown number of immunocompromised people still without proper protection going into winter, and in other cases even given the wrong type of injection, a leading charity has said. Blood Cancer UK said poor planning and confusing messaging meant “many thousands” of people with weakened immune systems might have missed out, leaving them at greater risk of serious consequences if they catch Covid. In a lengthy statement, the charity said NHS England had repeatedly failed to acknowledge the problem, while Sajid Javid, the health secretary, incorrectly said more than six weeks ago that the “vast, vast majority” of eligible people had already been invited for a third jab.
18th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Dutch start coronavirus vaccine booster campaign with the over 80s
The Netherlands started its coronavirus booster vaccination campaign on Thursday, with the over 80s and hospital staff first in line for the top-up jab. The government had planned to roll out the campaign in December but brought it forward two weeks under pressure from both MPs and healthcare experts. Under current government strategy, everyone over the age of 60 will be invited for a booster jab, as will everyone living in residential care and front-line staff. The government decided to back booster jabs following reports which show the efficacy of vaccines does go down among older people over time. Some 44% of current coronavirus hospital patients have been vaccinated but by far the majority are over the age of 70.
18th Nov 2021 - DutchNews.nl
Spain expands booster shot programme as COVID-19 cases rise
Spain is now offering third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to people aged 60 and over, expanding the booster shot programme from the previous age threshold of 70 as infections rise, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday. Spain has fully vaccinated 79% of its population, and started the campaign to administer booster shots last month, including for cancer patients, nursing home residents and other vulnerable groups.
18th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Vaccine mandates should cover the incarcerated, too, not just prison guards and workers
Federal, state, and local vaccine mandates are being opposed by several high-profile groups, including firefighters, nurses, and corrections officers. Opposition of the latter to vaccine mandates highlights an illogical situation that has developed with little discussion: To date, neither the federal government nor any state or municipality has officially mandated the jab for their incarcerated populations. That doesn’t make sense: Prisoners, who are at higher risk for infection and death than corrections officers, aren’t required to get vaccinated while corrections officers, who are at lower risk, are being told they must get vaccinated. In New York, corrections officers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in late October to protest New York City’s vaccine mandate. About 40% of Massachusetts prison guards aren’t vaccinated, and they lost their latest bid to not comply with the state’s vaccine mandate. In Connecticut, where I was once incarcerated, almost one-third of employees resisting vaccination are corrections officers.
18th Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullStormont ministers approve use of mandatory Covid vaccine passports
Mandatory vaccine passports are set to be introduced in Northern Ireland after Stormont ministers voted by a majority to support the move. The PA news agency understands DUP ministers opposed Health Minister Robin Swann’s proposal at the Executive meeting on Wednesday. However, the other four Executive parties – Sinn Fein SDLP, Alliance and Mr Swann’s UUP – backed the move. Mr Swann wants to see enforceable Covid certification in operation across a range of hospitality settings from December 13.
17th Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
‘An absolute scandal’: UK threw away 600,000 vaccine doses after they passed expiry date
The UK threw away more than 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the life-saving jabs were allowed to pass their expiry date, The Independent can reveal.
In what has been described as an “absolute scandal”, the government failed to donate the doses to poorer countries struggling to access Covid vaccines – despite previous promises to redistribute supplies that were deemed surplus to requirements in the UK. The doses were no longer needed in Britain after the decision was made in May to stop offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger age groups because of concerns over rare blood clotting.
This left an excess of vaccines, 604,400 of which eventually expired in August before being destroyed at the end of the month, according to data obtained by a Freedom of Information request.
Labour said it was “staggering that such a colossal quantity of life-saving jabs were allowed to go to waste”, while Oxfam said it was “disgraceful” that doses were destroyed while health workers on the front line in poorer countries remained unprotected against Covid-19.
17th Nov 2021 - The Independent
Biden administration seeks to boost Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing to increase global supply
The Biden administration is seeking to boost Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing to increase the global vaccine supply, particularly in developing nations, as the US continues its efforts to share more vaccines abroad. "We are prepared to offer vaccine manufacturers who have demonstrated the capability to make mRNA vaccines substantial government resources to help them expand their domestic infrastructure and capacity (such as facilities, equipment, staff, or training) in order to make an additional 1 billion doses of vaccine available per year," an administration official said. The official added, "In the short term, this would make a significant amount of Covid-19 vaccine doses available at cost for global use, and in the long term, it would help establish sustained domestic manufacturing capacity to rapidly produce vaccines for future threats. We hope companies will take us up on this plan to help get more people here at home and around the world vaccinated."
17th Nov 2021 - CNN
Fauci says boosters for all key to U.S. reaching COVID-19 endemic level
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday it is possible for COVID-19 to be reduced to an endemic illness from the current health emergency next year if the country ramps up vaccination rates. Booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are vital for reaching that point, Fauci said in an interview during the Reuters Total Health conference, which runs virtually from Nov. 15-18. Experts believe COVID-19 cannot be eliminated and will likely become endemic, meaning it will always be present in the population to some degree, such as the flu or chickenpox
17th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Swedish health agency backtracks on reduced COVID testing
Sweden's Public Health Agency said on Wednesday it would reverse a widely-criticized decision to stop recommending testing for people who are fully vaccinated but show symptoms of COVID-19. COVID-19 testing in Sweden has fallen by some 35% after the health agency announced in October that people displaying symptoms no longer needed to get tested if they were fully vaccinated against the virus. "The Public Health Agency has decided to recommend that the regions offer testing to everyone who is 6 years and older who gets symptoms that may be COVID-19," it said in a statement.
17th Nov 2021 - Reuters
French govt science adviser: may need more to work-from-home to fight rise in COVID
The French government's top scientific adviser Jean-Francois Delfraissy said on Wednesday he could not rule out authorities asking companies once again to make a greater use of home-working, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in France.
Asked if the French government could again recommend employers to ask their staff to work more from home, Delfraissy told France Inter radio: "Probably yes...home-working is one element of our toolbox."
17th Nov 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand to ease Auckland domestic border curbs in mid-Dec
Domestic borders around New Zealand's largest city Auckland will reopen from Dec. 15 for fully vaccinated people and those with negative COVID-19 test results, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday. Auckland is the epicentre of an outbreak of the infectious Delta variant of the COVID-19 and been locked off from the rest of the country for over 90 days now. But with more than 80% of Auckland and the rest of country fully vaccinated it was time to open up the ability to travel again, Ardern said at a news conference.
17th Nov 2021 - Reuters
White House: 10% of kids have been vaccinated in 1st 2 weeks
The White House says about 10% of eligible kids aged 5 to 11 have received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since its approval for their age group two weeks ago. At least 2.6 million kids have received a shot, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday, with 1.7 million doses administered in the last week alone, roughly double the pace of the first week after approval. It’s more than three times faster than the rate adults were vaccinated at the start of the nation’s vaccination campaign 11 months ago. Zients said there are now 30,000 locations across for kids to get a shot, up from 20,000 last week, and that the administration expects the pace of pediatric shots to pick up in the coming days.
17th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
US readies billions to boost COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity: NYT
The COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing push is far from over. Just ask the Biden administration, which is reportedly looking to spend billions to churn out as many shot doses as possible next year. The White House is ready to shell out billions to expand domestic manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines, The New York Times reports, citing two of President Joe Biden's top advisers. The outlay marks the first step in a new plan to be unveiled Wednesday, the Times reports. Under the strategy, the government plans to team up with the industry to tackle variant concerns at home and abroad, as well as to prepare for future pandemics, coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and David Kessler, M.D., who spearheads vaccine distribution for the administration, told the newspaper.
17th Nov 2021 - FiercePharma
Fauci on the next phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ‘insanity’ of the threats he faces for pushing masks, vaccines
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert who himself has become a something of a Rorschach test for people’s views on the pandemic, warned that the politicization of the Covid-19 response threatens the country’s ability to withstand future health emergencies, even at a time of great scientific progress.
“How do you change a mindset in a country that is completely antithetical to a response to an outbreak?” Fauci said Tuesday at the STAT Summit. “If ever there was any phenomenon that required people pulling together in a society, it’s an outbreak that’s killing hundreds of thousands of people. I don’t know how we’re going to get that divisiveness behind us.”
16th Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullModerna Hires Pfizer Executive as UK Vaccine Contract Set to Expire in 2021
Moderna Inc. lured an executive from rival Pfizer Inc. to become its first-ever U.K. regional head as a contract with the country for Covid-19 vaccines appears in danger of lapsing. The company hired Darius Hughes, the former head of Pfizer’s U.K. and Ireland vaccines business unit, in July as U.K. country director, he confirmed in a Bloomberg interview Tuesday. Hughes is tasked with growing Moderna’s business in the U.K., including potentially renegotiating its Covid-19 vaccine contract, which is yet to be renewed. Moderna is expanding after it was propelled onto the world stage by the success of its Covid-19 vaccine -- one of the first shots to be authorized globally. The vaccine was the first product the company brought to market, causing the shares to skyrocket.
16th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Coronavirus live: Germany set to tighten rules for unvaccinated; Ireland brings in midnight curfew
Pfizer has announced it is asking US regulators to authorise its experimental antiviral Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, which has been shown in clinical trials to cut the risk of hospitalisation and death for adults by almost 90 per cent. The company has said it will allow generic manufacturers to supply its experimental antiviral Covid pill to 95 low- and middle-income countries. People in Ireland are being asked to work from home where possible from Friday and bars, restaurants and nightclubs will introduce a midnight closing time on Friday as a raft of new restrictions is agreed by the government in the face of rising hospitalisations. Thousands of restaurant owners in Greece shut their businesses in a nationwide protest against recent measures that fine establishments for serving customers without proper documentation of their vaccination or test status. The UK has recorded another 37,243 Covid cases in the last 24 hours, and a further 214 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. That is compared to 39,705 infections and 47 deaths reported the day before.
16th Nov 2021 - The Guardian on MSN.com
Ireland reimposes early bar, nightclub closures as COVID resurges
Ireland will from Thursday require bars and nightclubs to close early while ramping up the use of booster vaccines in a bid to combat a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in its largely vaccinated population, the governing party said on Tuesday. Three months ago it announced plans to drop almost all restrictions within weeks, but infection numbers have since increased again to levels close to last January's all-time peak, even though more than 90% of adults are now vaccinated.
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Vaccine passports should already be in place, says Naomi Long
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Sammy Wilson has said he hopes his party will try to stop the introduction of mandatory Covid-19 vaccine certificates in Northern Ireland. He described it as a "bad policy" and said it would be an infringement on people's freedoms. The Stormont executive will discuss the proposal by Health Minister Robin Swann's at a meeting on Wednesday. Three other ministers have already declared their support for the plan. Any ministers opposing to the idea "need to set out very clearly what their alternative is", said Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, the SDLP deputy leader.
16th Nov 2021 - BBC News
Spain designs new Covid-19 traffic light system that raises threshold for low-risk scenario
In Spain, the risk of contracting the coronavirus is not the same now as it was six months ago, when most of the population was unvaccinated. Despite this, the government’s traffic light system has remained unchanged for over a year: the low-risk scenario is set at under 50 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, while the high-risk scenario is established at above 250 cases. A new draft alert system seen by EL PAÍS now puts the low-risk scenario at 50 to 100 cases per 100,000 people. The new document has already been backed by a group of technical experts from the Health Ministry and regional governments, and it is expected to be approved on Tuesday by the Public Health Committee, which is made up of central and regional health officials.
16th Nov 2021 - EL PAÍS in English
Nigeria plans mass vaccination drive, considers booster shot
Nigeria will start a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign later this week, aiming to inoculate half of its targeted population by the end of January, government officials said. Africa's most-populous country has a goal to vaccinate 111 million people to reach herd immunity. Under the initiative to start on Friday, 55 million doses or more than a million a day will be administered. The country has to date vaccinated only 2.9% of those eligible to get vaccines.
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Japan to ease quarantine for people inoculated with J&J COVID-19 vaccine
Japan intends to ease quarantine rules by the end of November for people inoculated with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, the Nikkei daily reported on Tuesday. Japan last week took a first step in its planned phased re-opening of borders, which centres on business travellers. But that plan's easing of quarantine rules for inbound business travellers did not cover people inoculated with J&J's COVID-19 vaccine.
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Brazil to offer COVID-19 booster shot to everyone older than 18
Brazilian health minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Tuesday the government will offer COVID-19 booster shots to everyone older than 18. Queiroga said the booster shots will be available five months after the second vaccine dose, and there were enough doses for the entire population.
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
UK PM Johnson: get COVID shots to avoid new restrictions
People in Britain must come forward for COVID-19 vaccines when they are eligible if new COVID restrictions this winter are to be avoided, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. "If we want to avoid new restrictions on our daily lives, we must all get vaccinated as soon as we are eligible," Johnson said at a news conference after the booster vaccination programme was expanded. "Please go and get vaccinated to protect yourself and others, and, in doing so, we can help to ensure that we can continue in the way that we are: sticking to our plan of using vaccination to control this virus."
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Court lottery gives Biden administration a chance to revive COVID vaccine mandate
A judicial panel on Tuesday consolidated 34 lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's workplace COVID-19 vaccine rule in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a venue favored by opponents of the rule. The 6th Circuit was chosen randomly. The rule requires employers with at least 100 workers to mandate COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing combined with wearing a face covering at work
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Germany could make COVID test or vaccine mandatory for public transport
You may soon have to provide a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination or recent recovery, as the country becomes the latest in Europe to consider drastic steps to tackle a new surge in cases in the region. Germany registered yet another record rate of cases over the past week on Monday as more indoor gatherings due to cold weather and flatlining vaccination campaigns turn Europe once more into the pandemic epicentre. This fourth infection wave is challenging a government in transition, with three parties negotiating to form the next cabinet after September's inconclusive election.
16th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Ireland to decide measures over rising case numbers
The Irish government is said to be moving towards a recommendation that digital Covid certificates will be required in gyms and hairdressers. A decision on the issue is likely at the cabinet's ongoing Covid-19 sub-committee meeting. If agreed, it would then go to Cabinet for approval on Tuesday. There is also set to be an antigen testing system introduced in schools and a subsidy provided to encourage people to use the tests generally. Mask wearing in both indoor and outdoor crowded areas is also likely to be recommended, according to RTÉ.
16th Nov 2021 - BBC News
Many Logistics Firms Are Avoiding Covid-19 Vaccine Requirements Amid U.S. Mandate Debate
Freight transportation companies are cautiously stepping around a Covid-19 vaccination requirement while trade groups fight the federal mandate in court. Companies including United Parcel Service Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and others that manage warehouse staffers, truck drivers and other employees across logistics networks in general aren’t requiring employees outside of some office workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Many firms say they are encouraging staffers to get vaccinated while mandating protection measures in workplaces. The federal mandate, which is slated to go into effect Jan. 4, exempts workers who are exclusively outdoors and don’t report to a workplace where they interact with others. So it may leave out many truck drivers but not the office and warehouse workers who help move goods from factories to stores and residences.
15th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Hong Kong panel recommends Sinovac Covid-19 jab for children aged 3 and above
Advisory panel on Covid-19 vaccines says three- to 17-year-olds can receive Sinovac shot. Local health authorities also suspect three Cathay Pacific pilots in ‘Delta Plus’ cluster were infected during their stay in a German hotel
15th Nov 2021 - South China Morning Post
Israel delays entry of tourists vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V
The Tourism Ministry announced Monday that it was holding off on allowing in tourists inoculated with Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Originally, Israel said that it would start allowing visitors who received the Russia-developed shot starting November 15, but that move will now be postponed until December 1. Those inoculated with Sputnik V will be required to take a serological test to show the presence of antibodies, as per the original decision. Israel began readmitting vaccinated tourists on November 1, but only those who had received vaccines approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. They are not required to undergo a serological test.
15th Nov 2021 - The Times of Israel
COVID-19: 'In our hands' whether or not coronavirus restrictions will return over winter, says Tory party co-chair
The possible introduction of further coronavirus restrictions this winter is in "our hands", Oliver Dowden has said. The Conservative Party co-chairman told Sky's Kay Burley that there are "no plans or anything else to stop Christmas happening" this year as the situation is different compared to 2020 because of the success of the vaccination rollout. But Mr Dowden warned that people must take up the offer of a booster jab when invited for one in order to keep the chances of further rules being introduced as low as possible.
15th Nov 2021 - Sky News
Israel says children aged 5-11 can receive COVID-19 vaccine
Israel said on Sunday that children aged five to 11 would be eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, and that a starting date for the campaign would be made public within days. The decision, announced by the Health Ministry, followed approval by its expert panel on vaccinations last week, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use of Pfizer's (PFE.N) and BioNTech's vaccine for the age group at a 10-microgram dose. The original shot given to those aged 12 and older is 30 micrograms. Pfizer and BioNTech have said their vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged five to 11.
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Russians flock to Croatia in search of EU COVID shot
Already a favourite with summer holidaymakers, Croatia is now seeing a surge in visitors from Russia seeking COVID-19 shots. The number of flights from Russia has increased in recent weeks and it's not unusual to hear Russian spoken at vaccination centres in the capital Zagreb. Foreigners, like locals, can get vaccines for free in Croatia. "Just this month we've had about 1,000 Russians who received vaccines. So far we have had altogether 4,908 foreign citizens here, most of whom are Russians," said Neda Ferencic Vrban, who heads Zagreb's biggest vaccination centre.
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters
UK PM Johnson says no need to move to COVID "Plan B"
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he saw no need at the moment to move to a "Plan B" of mask mandates, vaccine passes and work from home orders, even though he was cautious of rising coronavirus cases in parts of Europe. read more. "We don't see anything in the data at the moment to suggest that we need to go to Plan B," Johnson said in a broadcast clip on Monday. "We're sticking with Plan A. But what we certainly have got to recognise is there is a storm of infection out there in parts of Europe."
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Australia aims to vaccinate children under 12 against COVID-19 from January
Australia, quickly becoming one of most-vaccinated nations against COVID-19, will likely start administering the shots for children under the age of 12 in January, officials said on Sunday. Health Minister Greg Hunt said medical regulators are still reviewing the health and safety data for the vaccinations to be administered for children between the ages of five and 11 and are unlikely to decide this year. "The expectation that they have set is the first part of January, hopefully early January," Hunt told the Australian Broadcast Corp's Insiders programme. "But they're going as quickly as possible."
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters Australia
Britain to extend COVID booster rollout to over-40s
Britain's COVID-19 booster vaccine rollout is to be extended to people aged between 40 and 49, officials said on Monday, in a bid to boost waning immunity in the population ahead of the colder winter months. Currently all people aged 50 and above, those who are clinically vulnerable and frontline health workers are eligible for boosters, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that the rollout would be extended. The advice comes as the UK Health Security Agency released data from a real-world study which found the booster gave over 90% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 for people aged 50 and above.
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Norway plans third vaccine dose for all adults, "corona passes"
Norway will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 and older and will give municipalities the option of using digital "corona passes" as a way to beat back a surge in COVID-19 infections, the government said on Friday. Norway has so far only given a third dose to those aged 65 and older. "Everyone aged 18 and older will be offered a third dose next year," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference.
15th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullMorocco plans additional airport COVID testing amid Europe surge
Morocco will conduct rapid COVID-19 tests to passengers arriving in its airports and ports, and will deny access to any visitor with a positive result, the government said on Saturday. The measure, which strengthens an existing requirement of a negative PCR test 48 hours before departure, aims to protect the country amid a surge of cases in Europe, the government said in a statement. Travelers with positive test must be returned at the cost of the airline that brought them into the country, unless they have a permanent residency document, it said.
13th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Boy, 4, with rare inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19 out of ICU
A four-year-old boy who is suffering from a rare and severe inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19 in children has been discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) on Tuesday afternoon (Nov 9), after spending more than a week in there. His mother, Ms Marilyn Cacanindin, 39, told The Straits Times that Muhammad Ali Zafir Mohamed Azmi has been transferred to a high dependency ward in KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH). ST previously reported that Ali Zafir was placed in the ICU on Nov 1, the same day he was admitted to KKH for symptoms including a persistent high fever, chills and vomiting. Other symptoms he had included involuntary jerking in his sleep, bruising on his limbs and intense stomach pain. He was diagnosed with multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which can affect various organs including the brain and kidneys
13th Nov 2021 - The Straits Times
CCSA extends nightlife curbs
Nightlife venues such as pubs will remain closed until at least Jan 16 to avoid a possible surge of infections during New Year. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), on Friday said a CCSA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha decided to defer the reopening of clubs, pubs and karaoke venues. The CCSA originally planned to reopen these venues on Dec 1, according to Dr Taweesilp. However, it has set the new tentative reopening date to Jan 16 and only in some areas, depending on the Covid-19 situation, he said.
13th Nov 2021 - Bangkok Post
Japan adding more hospital beds in plan for next virus surge
The Japanese government’s preparations for the next virus surge include adding thousands more hospital beds to avoid a situation like last summer when many COVID-19 patients were forced to stay home, even while dependent on oxygen deliveries. Even though Japan has a reasonable health insurance system and the world’s largest number of beds per capita, COVID-19 patients were admitted to only a fraction of the beds, mostly at public, university and major private hospitals. The government has provided subsidies to lure more hospitals to treat such patients, but progress is slow, triggering calls for tougher measures in an emergency.
12th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
AstraZeneca Plans to Start Selling Covid-19 Vaccines at Profit
AstraZeneca PLC said it would start pricing its Covid-19 vaccine to make it profitable, ending a period in which it had pledged to roll out the shots at cost during the pandemic. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals giant said it would shift away from a nonprofit approach to the vaccine starting in 2022, signing new contracts that will allow it to make money off the shot. The company expects some earnings contribution from new orders in the fourth quarter of this year. The company said the shot generated $1.05 billion in revenue in the third quarter.
12th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
APEC leaders vow to tackle economic recovery, COVID-19, climate
Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum vowed to address economic recovery in the region by shoring up supply chains, tackling labor issues and continuing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also pledged to work together to address climate and environmental challenges, they said in a statement following their meeting in Wellington, New Zealand.
12th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Aegon's U.S. COVID-related mortality claims hit its profit
Dutch insurer Aegon NV reported a 16% fall in third- quarter operating profit on Thursday due to higher COVID-19 related mortality claims in the Americas, the latest European insurer to suffer from new waves of the pandemic. Aegon, which does two-thirds of its business in the United States, said "unfavourable mortality claims" in the Americas in the third quarter were $111 million, up from $31 million a year earlier. "Performance improvements across most of our businesses ... were offset by elevated mortality in the United States," Aegon Chief Executive Lard Friese in a statement.
12th Nov 2021 - Reuters
AstraZeneca starts to make modest profit from COVID-19 vaccine
AstraZeneca said it would begin to earn a modest profit from its coronavirus vaccine as the world learns to live with the virus and the drugmaker is in talks with several countries about new orders for delivery next year. AstraZeneca made a commitment to sell the shot developed with Oxford University at cost during the pandemic and in a press conference on Friday said low-income nations would continue to receive the vaccine on a no-profit basis, while a post-pandemic commercial approach would apply to other new orders even as infections in Europe rise again
12th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Biden vaccine rules are boosting first-time COVID-19 shots - White House
U.S. President Joe Biden's vaccine requirements are prompting more Americans to get COVID-19 shots, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. "In the past week, we’re averaging nearly 300,000 first shots" per day for people aged 12 and over, Psaki said, up from less than 250,000 first shots per day in mid-July, before Biden first discussed vaccine requirements. Biden announced on Sept. 9 vaccination mandates for workers at federal contractors and said workers at big private employers need to be vaccinated or tested.
12th Nov 2021 - Reuters
No takers for second dose? Adopt the Singapore model
With many yet to take the second dose of vaccine even after completing the mandatory gap of 84 days after the first dose, health experts are clamouring for adopting the Singapore model where particllay vaccinated citizens are not allowed to visit public places.
12th Nov 2021 - Bangalore Mirror
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullUnified approach needed to deal with COVID-19, says AirAsia Group CEO
Governments around the world need to look at unified approaches to managing COVID-19, the Group Chief Executive of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd Tony Fernandes said at the APEC CEO Summit. Fernandes said leaders in the Asia-Pacific region were being "over-sensitive" with COVID-19 and needed to be braver and more standardised in dealing with the pandemic.
11th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 vaccine brings hope for refugees in Uganda’s remote north
On the streets of Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda, the wheels of a boda boda motorcycle taxi stir up red dust as the driver manoeuvres slowly through the settlement, music blaring from a loudspeaker strapped to the back of his bike.
The driver is a mobile messenger with the speaker broadcasting information about the Covid-19 vaccine, intended to persuade the camp’s residents to get the jab. Home to around a quarter of a million refugees from South Sudan, Bidi Bidi settlement in northern Uganda is one of the world’s largest refugee camps.
11th Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
How long will Covid-19 masking rules last?
Atlanta's mayor declared the city a "green zone" and said dropping Covid-19 cases allowed her to follow the science and lift the city's mask rule. Florida school districts Miami-Dade and Broward -- which both stood up to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and risked losing state funding to implement mask rules to protect students this fall -- are going mask-optional. Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that he would lift a statewide mask rule for students in January. On Wednesday, a state court hurried things along, striking down the rule and lifting it immediately, although Wolf's administration can appeal.
11th Nov 2021 - CNN
Fewer than 1 mln U.S. kids get COVID-19 shot in first eligible week, White House projects
More than 900,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 11 are expected to have received their first COVID-19 shot by the end of Wednesday, the White House said, as the government ramped up vaccinations of younger children. The United States began administering Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 on Nov. 3, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them.
11th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Denmark to impose COVID-19 isolation for travellers from Singapore
Denmark will impose self-isolation requirements on travellers from Singapore, its embassy in the city-state said on Thursday, following a surge in COVID-19 infections. Singapore was removed this week from a European Union list of non-EU countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. "Singapore is now considered a high risk country for travel to Europe," the embassy of Denmark in Singapore posted on Facebook.
11th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Ukraine to impose mandatory COVID-19 shots for doctors, municipal workers
Ukraine's health ministry has proposed expanding the list of occupations for which COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory to cover medical personnel and municipal employees, it said on Thursday. The government already obliges teachers and employees of state institutions and local governments to receive vaccinations, without which they face being suspended from work. The new list of roles that will require vaccination will include medical staff, municipal workers and employees of municipal companies, health minister Viktor Lyashko said.
11th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Nepal to vaccinate all adults by mid-April: Health minister
Nepal will obtain enough vaccines to immunise all adults against COVID-19 by mid-April and is focusing on getting doses into remote mountainous areas of the Himalayan nation, says the health minister. The government will hire workers and set up vaccination centres to meet the target, Health Minister Birod Khatiwada told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday. “We are going to meet our target or even exceed our goal because we are already getting enough vaccines,” said Khatiwada, who was appointed last month. “We are going to hire more health workers so they are able to reach all remote corners of the country and set up new vaccine centres to reach all the population.” Nepal’s immunisation campaign began in January with vaccines donated by neighbouring India but stalled when India faced a devastating surge of COVID-19 and halted vaccine exports.
11th Nov 2021 - AlJazeera
PNG caught between COVID and vaccine
International concerns are mounting as COVID-19 continues to sweep through unvaccinated Papua New Guinea (PNG) where, according to Our World in Data website, only 1.7 percent of its population has been fully vaccinated. The vaccination rate remains abysmally low, despite adequate vaccine supplies and aid from the Australian government and international organisations such as the Red Cross. The slow take up has been in part due to poor government messaging and the proliferation of misinformation on social media via mobile phones. “There is a lot of misinformation around circulating largely from social media,” Jane Holden, Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority acting CEO, told Al Jazeera.
11th Nov 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullAnother Covid Winter Threatens Europe’s More Vulnerable Nations
Europe is divided as it enters another Covid-19 winter. In some countries, people are dying from the virus at record rates. Elsewhere, infections are rising—but from low levels that policy makers say are the result of a suite of restrictive policies. Winter is the time of greatest peril in the fight against Covid-19 as people move indoors, often into poorly ventilated spaces, helping the virus to spread. Health systems are also often strained by other seasonal ailments, such as flu. In Italy, Spain and much of the rest of Southern Europe and France, deaths, hospitalizations and confirmed infections from the virus are rising, but still relatively subdued.
10th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Germany Favors Pfizer Shot Over Moderna for Young, Pregnant
Germany’s vaccine commission recommended that people under 30 and pregnant women should get the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE Covid shot rather than one from Moderna Inc. Rare heart-inflammation side effects appear more common with Moderna’s shot in younger patients, the commission said. While there’s no comparable safety data for pregnant women, the group advised the Pfizer-BioNTech shot out of caution. The recommendation applies for early vaccine rounds as well as boosters. There appears to be no heightened risk for people over 30, the commission said. The German call follows a similar recent move in France, where health officials recommended using the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, whenever possible, in the under-30 population.
10th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Europe Is Experiencing Two Very Different Pandemics
Waning immunity is the bigger threat, and highly-inoculated countries like Spain or Denmark — where nearly 100% of over-60s have been fully vaccinated — are focused on zapping complacency with booster shots. Even controversial measures like health passes and mandatory shots for medical staff have paid off and lifted take-up despite protests. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France’s Covid pass would require third doses for the elderly. These countries have some of the world’s highest vaccination rates, and, as Lone Simonsen, a professor at Roskilde University, puts it, they have the “luxury” of making minor adjustments, such as bringing back mask-wearing, to avoid a return to the full-scale lockdowns of 2020. Look further East, though, and there are signs of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” to borrow a U.S. term. Vaccination rates in eastern European countries are far, far lower — often fatally so.
10th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Booster jab will be needed for Covid pass in future, Sajid Javid hints
Older people will face restrictions on their freedoms in future if they choose not to have a Covid booster jab, the health secretary has suggested. Sajid Javid hinted the government is considering adopting a crackdown similar to that in France – which will require a third dose in order to be classed as “fully vaccinated” on the country’s health pass.
10th Nov 2021 - The Independent
Belgium to extend coronavirus vaccine boosters to all
Belgium intends to roll out COVID-19 vaccine third jabs for all citizens, a government minister said Wednesday. During an inter-ministerial conference on public health, minsters agreed to develop a “global vision” on third shots, tweeted Wouter Beke, minister of health and family. Details of the booster program will be ironed out at a meeting on November 27, he said, to “give vaccination centers the clarity they demand.”
10th Nov 2021 - POLITICO Europe
Covid-19 news: Booster shots now mandatory for French vaccine passes
French people aged over 65 will have to have a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine to prove they have been fully vaccinated on their health passes from mid-December. The passes show if a person has been immunised, has recently recovered from infection or has recently had a negative test. In France they are needed for many common activities including going to restaurants and bars, libraries, the gym and for long-distance train and plane journeys. President Emmanuel Macron also said yesterday that boosters would be available for people between the ages of 50 and 65 from next month, and that use of health passes would increase. Although infection rates in France are lower than in some other European countries such as Germany, they are rising. Macron said a “fifth wave” of covid-19 had arrived in Europe. “We are not yet finished with the pandemic.”
10th Nov 2021 - New Scientist
France's Macron demands acceleration of COVID-19 booster shots
French President Emmanuel Macron called for an acceleration of COVID-19 booster shots for elderly and vulnerable citizens and said a third injection would be made available to those aged 50-64 from early December. Macron, warning of the emergence of a fifth wave of infections in Europe, also urged the small minority of French citizens who are not vaccinated to do so. "Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated to protect yourselves. Get vaccinated to live normally," Macron said during a televised address.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Thailand offers COVID-19 vaccines to migrant workers
Thailand will set aside up to 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for foreign workers as it prepares to welcome them back to the country to help ease a labour shortage, a government minister said on Wednesday. The government plans to allow workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to re-enter the country beginning next month and fill up shortages in big exporting industries such as food and rubber production. Workers will be placed in a two-week quarantine and during that time the vaccines will be administered, Labor Minister Suchart Chomklin said. They will also be tested for COVID-19.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Vietnam to have enough COVID-19 vaccines for population by end-Nov - minister
Vietnam will by the end of this month have sufficient vaccines to cover its population against COVID-19, a deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. "The fight against the pandemic, however, will continue," Vu Duc Dam told the national assembly, adding people must maintain health protocols.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
S.Korea urges COVID-19 booster shots, as severe cases hit record
South Korea encouraged its citizens to take COVID-19 booster shots on Wednesday, as more of the elderly fell ill and reported vaccine breakthrough infections, driving serious and critical cases to a record. Severe coronavirus cases jumped from the mid-300s in October to 460 on Wednesday, official data showed. Of the severely ill patients, more than 82% were aged 60 and older. Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, told a news conference that the increase is not posing a threat to the country's healthcare system yet, as there are nearly 500 ICU beds available.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Health workers in England must get COVID vaccine by April 1 -minister
Health workers in England will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 1, health minister Sajid Javid said on Tuesday, making it a mandatory condition of employment for those on the frontline of the National Health Service (NHS). Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to navigate a difficult winter for the health system without further economically damaging lockdowns to help protect against COVID-19 contagion.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Guinea starts vaccinating children against COVID-19 with Pfizer, Moderna
Guinea will begin vaccinating children aged 12-17 against COVID-19 with a consignment of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines on Wednesday, the health ministry said. Most African countries have been reliant on the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative for doses, and have inoculated only a small fraction of their populations.
Guinea received a quantity of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in late October and early November, the National Agency for Health Security said in a statement. It did not say how many doses were received or from where.
10th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Understanding health care consumer preferences is key to effective Covid-19 vaccination messaging
Health care, like politics, is local. The performance of certain procedures or the prevalence of particular conditions vary from community to community. So do individuals’ preferences on how they choose to obtain care. One thing that doesn’t vary as much is the trust people have in their providers. That’s why throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from mandates, frontline clinicians broadly have had the greatest impact on influencing the adoption of Covid-19 vaccines. Understanding the impact physicians have is particularly important as the country continues to drive vaccine uptake among adults, approach expanding eligibility to those under age 12, and begin the booster phase of Covid-19 vaccines.
10th Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullVaccine Mandate News: Covid Vaccine to Be Mandatory for NHS England Workers
Frontline National Health Service workers in England must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 2022, the U.K. government announced. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament on Tuesday the move was necessary to protect patients and other NHS staff. It follows a separate decision by the government to make vaccines compulsory for care home workers from Nov. 11. Only those frontline NHS workers who can prove they have had two coronavirus vaccinations can be employed, Javid said. Staff who don’t work face to face with patients or are medically exempt will not face mandatory shots.
9th Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
New vaccine campaigns target rural Americans to address disparities
In the United States, there is a renewed campaign to vaccinate rural Americans due to the stark difference in Covid-19 cases and deaths among those living in less-populated areas compared with towns and cities. Rural residents are now twice as likely to die from Covid-19 as Americans in metropolitan areas. Yet rural areas tend to lag at least 10% behind metropolitan areas when it comes to vaccination – and this hesitancy is exacerbating already existing health issues. “Rural populations are older, they’re sicker and they’re poorer,” said Fred Ullrich, research analyst at the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis and co-author of a report on Covid’s disproportionate burden on rural communities.
9th Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Costa Rica announces nationwide mandate requiring coronavirus vaccinations for children
Costa Rica has made coronavirus vaccinations a requirement for all people under the age of 18, in what experts say is one of the world’s broadest mandates to immunize children against the virus. The Health Ministry in the Central American nation said Friday that the vaccinations would be included with other mandatory shots against chickenpox, polio and the human papillomavirus, or HPV. It said that the measure was taken to “safeguard” the best interests of the children and that parents and legal guardians were responsible for ensuring minors are vaccinated in a “timely manner.”
9th Nov 2021 - The Washington Post
NSW hits 90 per cent COVID-19 fully vaccinated target
Premier Dominic Perrottet says NSW is leading the country out of the pandemic
NSW recorded 222 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Government data shows that 94 per cent of NSW residents have had one dose of a vaccine
9th Nov 2021 - ABC News
Covid-19 vaccines now compulsory for all NHS staff in England
Covid-19 vaccines will be compulsory for all NHS staff in England who have until spring to get their jabs or risk losing their job, the Government has announced. Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said all those working in the health service will have until spring to give them time to receive both vaccine doses. The only people exempt from the mandatory policy will be those who do not have to face contact with patients and those who have a medical exemption. Making a Covid-19 update statement in the House of Commons, Mr Javid said: “Having considered the consultation responses, the advice of my officials and NHS leaders including the chief executive of the NHS, I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated. We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and of course protect the NHS itself.”
9th Nov 2021 - iNews
India could ship vaccines to COVAX in a few weeks, say sources
India could resume deliveries of COVID-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt poor countries. The World Health Organization (WHO), which co-leads COVAX, has been urging India to restart supplies for the programme, especially after it sent about 4 million doses to its neighbours and partners in October.
9th Nov 2021 - Reuters India
U.S. judge upholds United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees
A U.S. federal judge on Monday ruled United Airlines Holdings Inc can impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on its employees that only provides unpaid leave for workers who are exempted for medical or religious reasons. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, rejected arguments by employees that the airline was improperly putting them in an "impossible position" by forcing them to choose a vaccine or unpaid leave.
9th Nov 2021 - Reuters
WHO warns of shortage of 1-2 bln COVID vaccine syringes
There could be a shortage of one to two billion syringes needed to administer COVID-19 vaccinations in 2022 which could also impact routine immunisations and undermine needle safety, the World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday. National health authorities should plan their needs well in advance to avoid the "hoarding, panic buying and type of situation" seen early in the pandemic with the lack of personal protective equipment, WHO expert Lisa Hedman said.
9th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Hong Kong won’t reopen before mid-2022, government adviser says
Hong Kong could open up to global travel in roughly six months, after officials have successfully navigated the introduction of quarantine-free borders with mainland China and boosted the local vaccination rate, a government adviser said. The Chinese territory needs to finish negotiating open borders with the mainland, while using the next few months to increase the flagging Covid-19 inoculation rate among the city’s elderly, Lam Ching-choi, a member of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council, said in an interview on Monday.
9th Nov 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID: US reopens to vaccinated travelers — what are the new rules?
The United States is now open for international travel, but getting vaccinated is an important prerequisite for entry. DW has answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the new changes.
8th Nov 2021 - DW (English)
Germany’s school mask debate reignites
German children under the age of 12 must wear masks at school. Now some states have lifted mask requirements, despite soaring infection rates.
8th Nov 2021 - Deutsche Welle
Husband makes vaccine plea after wife dies of Covid without seeing their newborn daughter
Te husband of a woman who died of Covid-19 after refusing the vaccine has begged people not to wait to get jabbed. Saiqa Parveen, 37, was eight months pregnant when she caught the virus and died without meeting her new born daughter. Doctors at the Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield put her on a ventilator. Her daughter, Dua Maryam, was born healthy but her mother died shortly after. Saiqa’s husband Majid Ghafur, who is now looking after their five daughters, said his wife never even learned if she was having “a baby girl or boy”.
8th Nov 2021 - Evening Standard
Australia begins vaccine booster rollout as more curbs ease in Sydney
Australia began administering booster shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Monday as millions of people in its largest city, Sydney, woke up to more freedom amid an accelerating immunisation drive. Australia's vaccination rate has picked up pace since July, after widely missing its initial targets, when its southeast was hit by a third wave of infections triggered by the highly infectious Delta variant forcing months-long lockdowns. Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities and worst hit by the Delta wave, have been racing through their inoculations before gradually relaxing restrictions. Life returned close to normal on Monday in New South Wales, home to Sydney, as the state nears its 90% dual-dose vaccinations in people above 16.
8th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Indonesia to start COVID-19 boosters after 50% of public vaccinated
Indonesia plans to give booster shots to the general public after 50% of its population has been fully vaccinated, its health minister said on Monday, which he expects to happen at the end of next month. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and once Asia's COVID-19 epicenter, has inoculated 29% of its population of 270 million people, using a variety of vaccine brands. Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a parliamentary hearing the government decided on boosters at the 50% mark due to vaccine inequity concerns at home or abroad.
8th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Australia pledges three million COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia
Australia has pledged more than three million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday, which would help the Southeast nation give booster shots to its people. The assurance came during a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne aimed at expanding bilateral ties.
Cambodia has vaccinated 87% of its more than 16 million people, one of Asia's highest inoculation rates. "The Australian government has decided to provide Cambodia with 3,250,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 1 million will be delivered to Cambodia before the end of this year," Hun Sen said on his official Facebook page.
8th Nov 2021 - Reuters
NHS chief warns ‘stretched’ staff face most challenging winter ever
The head of the NHS in England has warned NHS staff will be “stretched” during what she predicted would be an “unprecedented” winter. Amanda Pritchard said the next 100 days will be “significantly” challenging for the NHS and said she recognised “how difficult winter is going to be”. Her comments come after The Independent revealed patients are dying while waiting for paramedics, following a collapse in ambulance response times which has seen a spike in serious incidents across all NHS ambulance trusts. Ms Pritchard said: “We are pulling out all the stops to vaccinate as many people as possible, we cannot know the impact that Covid, flu or other respiratory diseases will have on the health and care sector in the coming weeks and months. “We are simply facing an unprecedented situation, but as I said in my first week: I am optimistic, but realistic, about the challenges ahead.”
8th Nov 2021 - The Independent
Japan has zero daily Covid-19 deaths for first time in 15 months: Media
Japan recorded no daily deaths from Covid-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday (Nov 7), according to local media. Prior to Sunday, there hadn't been a day without a Covid-19 death since Aug 2, 2020, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK. The latest figures from the Health Ministry showed three deaths last Saturday. Covid-19 cases and deaths have fallen dramatically throughout Japan as vaccinations have increased to cover more than 70 per cent of the population. New daily infections peaked at more than 25,000 during an August wave driven by the infectious Delta variant.
8th Nov 2021 - The Straits Times
Feds urge schools to provide COVID-19 shots, info for kids
The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids — and information to parents on the benefits of the shots — as the White House looks to speedily provide vaccines to those ages 5 to 11. First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy are set to visit the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, on Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954. The visit comes just days after federal regulators recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for the age group. The White House says Biden will visit pediatric vaccination clinics across the country over the coming weeks to encourage the shots.
8th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
China’s Army Furnishes Foreign Militaries With Covid-19 Vaccines
In Zimbabwe, where just 18% of the population are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the armed forces have a surplus of shots thanks to a gift from a powerful benefactor: China’s People’s Liberation Army. In the Philippines, another PLA donation has helped the majority of service members get vaccinated. In Ethiopia, where the Biden administration is levying fresh sanctions over alleged atrocities committed in an offensive against Tigray rebels, the PLA has delivered 300,000 Covid-19 vaccines to government troops. The People’s Liberation Army has rapidly expanded vaccine donations to military forces this year across four continents. Chinese Defense Ministry figures show that as of September, it had made more than 30 deliveries to about two dozen countries.
8th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Travellers line up for U.S. flights as curbs are lifted for first time
Paul Campbell had waited nearly two years to reunite with his German fiancée at Boston's Logan airport on Monday, the day the United States eased travel restrictions imposed on much of the world since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
"I'm just ecstatic that she's here, I'm happy," said Campbell, 63, a retired firefighter from Vermont who greeted her with a heart-shaped balloon. "Our relationship is still thriving even though we've been apart for two years." At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, a child held a sign reading, "Do I look bigger?" as he waited for the first British Airways flight from London's Heathrow. "730 days missed u! Aunty Jill + Uncle Mark," his sign said.
8th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Health Minister Joe Phaahla urges South Africans to vaccinate before 'imminent' fourth wave
Health Minister Joe Phaahla has urged South Africans to vaccinated against Covid-19 pandemic “ahead of the imminent fourth wave that could hit the country soon.” Speaking at the Gomora Informal Settlement in Pretoria over the weekend, Phaahla described the life-saving vaccines as the only hope of long-term success in eradicating the coronavirus. “We are not oblivious to the fact that we are not yet out of trouble. The virus is still in our midst and every day we record a number of infections,” the minister said. He added: “We have all learned over the last 20 months that it is not over. There is going to be another resurgence of the infection and, therefore, we must be ready and protect all our people.” While South Africa had sufficient stock to inoculate citizens, Phaahla said the government was still struggling to reach people.
8th Nov 2021 - iol.co.za
Singapore-Malaysia border reopening: vaccinated travel lane for quarantine-free entry agreed
Singapore also announces travel schemes with Finland and Sweden, meaning it now has deals with 16 countries. The city state is also to ease some restrictions, including on dining out for vaccinated people from the same household, with health minister Ong Ye Kung describing the situation in the region as ‘fast stabilising’
8th Nov 2021 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullUK to roll out COVID-19 antiviral drug trial this month -Health Security Agency
Britain will start to roll out Merck's molnupiravir COVID-19 antiviral pill through a drug trial later this month, Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday. Last week Britain became the first country in the world to approve the potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill, jointly developed by U.S.-based Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The government said in October it had secured 480,000 courses of the Merck drug, as well as 250,000 courses of an antiviral pill developed by Pfizer Inc
7th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Costa Rica issues COVID-19 vaccine requirement for children
Costa Rican children aged five and up must get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new health ministry mandate, making the Central American country one of the first to adopt such a requirement for kids. The move would add COVID-19 to a list of other infectious diseases in which vaccines for children have for years been required, including for polio and smallpox. "Our basic vaccination scheme has made it possible to subdue many of the viruses that cause suffering and health consequences and even fatalities in the underage population," Health Minister Daniel Salas said in a statement issued on Friday,
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
China has given 75.96% of population complete COVID-19 vaccine doses
China had given 1.072 billion people complete COVID-19 vaccine doses by Nov. 5, Mi Feng, spokesman at the National Health Commission, told a briefing on Saturday. That accounts for 75.96% of the nation's 1.41 billion people, Reuters calculation showed. A total of 37.97 million people in China had received a booster shot as of Friday, commission official Wu Liangyou said at the briefing. The commission said in a bulletin that China had administered 2.312 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of Nov. 5, an increase of about 8.9 million from the previous day.
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Britain allows early booking of booster shots to speed up rollout
Britain's health ministry on Saturday said it would open up bookings for booster shots a month before people were eligible to receive the shots to help speed up the rollout ahead of the challenging winter months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is relying on booster doses as a major plank of his plan to avoid lockdown this winter through COVID-19 vaccines rather than social distancing rules or mask mandates, but has been criticised for a slow start to the programme. Around 3 in 5 eligible over-50s have had booster shots in England, with more than 9 million people getting booster doses in Britain overall so far.
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Australia hits 'magnificent milestone' with 80% rate of vaccinations
Australia reached on Saturday a full inoculation rate of 80% of those aged 16 and older, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison called a “magnificent milestone” on the path to becoming one of the world’s most vaccinated countries against COVID-19. Once a champion of a COVID-zero strategy to manage the pandemic, the country of 25 million has moved towards living with the virus through extensive vaccinations, as the Delta variant has proven too infectious to suppress. “Another, magnificent milestone, Australia,” Morrison said in a video post on Facebook. “That’s four out of five, how good is that? This has been a true Australian national effort.”
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Pfizer COVID-19 pill data slams competitors' shares, shakes up healthcare sector
Pfizer Inc's stunning data here for an experimental pill to fight COVID-19 rippled through the healthcare sector on Friday, boosting shares of the pharmaceutical giant while slamming the stocks of vaccine makers and other competitors. A trial of Pfizer’s experimental antiviral pill was stopped early after it was shown to cut by 89% the chances of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease. “The market was certainly not pricing in Pfizer’s data readout this early and probably not this high” in terms of effectiveness, said Kevin Gade, a portfolio manager specializing in healthcare at Bahl & Gaynor.
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Fewer U.S. workers sidelined as Delta cases began to fall, survey shows
The number of U.S. workers unable to work at some point over the previous four weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic dropped by more than a million in October, while fewer people reported not looking for jobs because of those health concerns as cases began to fall, a Labor Department survey showed on Friday. Approximately 3.83 million people were unable to work in October or reported reduced hours due to their business either closing entirely or cutting back operations, down from roughly 5.03 million in the prior month, according to the survey, resuming a downward trend that was interrupted by a rise in August.
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
S.Korea to purchase 70000 courses of new Pfizer COVID-19 pill
South Korea has agreed to buy 70,000 courses of Pfizer Inc's experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Saturday.
Pfizer on Friday said trial results showed that its Paxlovid pill reduced by 89% the risk of hospitalization or death in patients at high risk of severe illness within three days of the onset of coronavirus symptoms. South Korea has already signed agreements to secure 200,000 courses of Merck & Co Inc's COVID-19 treatment.
6th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Puerto Rico will require COVID-19 vaccinations for schools | TheHill
Puerto Rico will require children five years old and older to get the coronavirus vaccine in order to attend school, the governor announced Wednesday. The governor said there will be few exceptions granted for the requirement as the coronavirus vaccine was just approved for those ages 5 to 11, The Associated Press reported. Health Secretary Carlos Mellado says the goal is to get 95 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds fully vaccinated. The announcement to require vaccines in schools comes as Puerto Rico leads U.S. states and territories with the highest vaccination rates.
5th Nov 2021 - The Hill
More people are getting COVID vaccine boosters than first shots : Shots
The number of people getting COVID-19 vaccine boosters in the U.S. is now far outpacing the number getting their first shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That trend represents a big success for White House's aggressive booster campaign. But it also underscores the administration's flagging effort to achieve its high priority of vaccinating the remaining unvaccinated Americans. More than 21 million people have already received a booster in the short time they've been widely available, according to the CDC website. And more than 786,000 are getting boosters every day now on average. That's nearly triple the number coming in for their first shots, though the rollout to kids under 12 could potentially change that equation.
5th Nov 2021 - NPR
Spain donates 326,400 Covid-19 vaccines to Ivory Coast
The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines that Spain has donated to a sub-Saharan African country arrived on Thursday in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, which is also known as Côte d’Ivoire. The delivery contained 326,400 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19, along with another 98,400 shots of the same medication donated by Finland and 7,200 from Iceland. The donations are part of the public-private initiative Covax, which seeks to ensure that lower-income countries are not left behind in the global vaccination drive to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
5th Nov 2021 - EL PAÍS in English
Croatia tightens measures to fight spreading of COVID-19
Amid new record-high COVID-19 daily infections Croatia decided on Friday to tighten measures against the spreading of the disease, including introducing obligatory digital certificates for public sector employees. Croatia reported 6,932 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest daily number since the beginning of the pandemic. Slightly over 50% of around four million Croats are fully vaccinated and experts largely blame a low vaccination rate for a large increase in the number of infections in recent weeks.
5th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Malta to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all its population
Malta will offer COVID-19 booster shots to all of its population after a recent increase in cases, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Friday. Malta has the highest number of vaccinated people in the European Union, with 94% of the people having been fully vaccinated. However, minister Fearne told a press conference that it was clear that the effectiveness of the vaccines was waning after health authorities said the country recorded 40 new cases of the virus on Friday, the highest in six weeks.
5th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Latvia allows businesses to fire the unvaccinated
The Latvian parliament on Thursday allowed businesses to fire workers who refuse to either get a COVID-19 vaccine or transfer to remote work, as the country battles one of the worst COVID-19 waves in European Union. About 61% of Latvian adults are fully vaccinated, less than the European Union average of 75%. The country was the first in EU to return to a lockdown this autumn as COVID-19 cases spiked, and has asked other EU members for medical help as makeshift COVID-19 facilities are installed in halls and garages of its hospitals
5th Nov 2021 - Reuters
With fourth wave raging, Germany agrees booster shots for all
Germany's COVID-19 situation is entering a very difficult period with rising numbers of intensive care patients, health minister Jens Spahn said, as German state leaders warned the country may need a new lockdown unless it takes urgent action. Spahn said he had agreed with regional health ministers that in future everyone should be offered a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine six months after receiving their previous injection. "This should become the norm, not the exception," Spahn said at a news conference on Friday.
5th Nov 2021 - Reuters
States Sue to Stop Biden’s Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
More than half of U.S. states are suing to stop the Biden administration from implementing new rules that require employers with more than 100 workers to ensure their employees are vaccinated against Covid-19 or get a weekly test. The states’ attorneys general, who filed multiple lawsuits in various courts Friday, said they were suing because the federal government doesn’t have the authority to issue the requirements. They say the issue should be left to states. “States have been leading the fight against COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said Friday. “It is too late to impose a federal standard now that we have already developed systems and strategies that are tailored for our specific needs.”
5th Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullPharmalittle: Moderna sees $18 billion in Covid vaccine sales despite production woes; U.K. clears Merck Covid pill
Moderna cut its full-year sales forecast for its Covid-19 vaccine to between $15 billion and $18 billion from $20 billion estimated previously, as the vaccine maker struggles with the production of its two-dose inoculation, Reuters notes. The company is now expecting deliveries of between 700 million and 800 million doses this year, down from its prior expectations of between 800 million and 1 billion doses. The Covid-19 vaccine is now expected to generate between $15 billion and $18 billion in sales this year. That estimate was lowered because fewer doses are now set to be delivered this year.
4th Nov 2021 - STAT News
How Tyson Foods Got 60,500 Workers to Get the Coronavirus Vaccine Quickly
When Tyson, one of the world’s largest meatpacking companies, announced in early August that all of its 120,000 workers would need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or lose their jobs, Diana Eike was angry. Ms. Eike, an administrative coordinator at the company, had resisted the vaccine, and not for religious or political reasons like many others here in her home state. “It was just something personal,” she said. Now, Ms. Eike is fully vaccinated, and she is relieved that Tyson made the decision for her. The company, she said, “took the burden off of me making the choice.”
4th Nov 2021 - The New York Times
First elementary school-age kids receive coronavirus vaccine
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Kids who got their first coronavirus shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the United States enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic. Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Kid-size doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday — a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4th Nov 2021 - The Washington Post
Some parents eager, others unsure as COVID-19 shot approved for kids
As soon as Anna Weber Kneitel learned San Francisco Bay Area pharmacies had opened appointments for COVID-19 vaccines for young children, she booked the closest one she could find for her 7-year-old son. But across the country in Michigan, Rachael LaPlante said she was planning to hold off on getting the shots for her 7-year-old son, despite being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 herself.
After months of anticipation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday gave the green light for health professionals to start administering the Pfizer Inc, BioNTech SE shot to children ages 5 to 11.
4th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Turkey to start booster shots for Pfizer COVID vaccine recipients -minister
Turkey will begin administering boosters to people who have received two shots of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday. Turkey has already administered a third dose to more than 11.2 million people who received two doses of the vaccine developed by China's Sinovac, whose efficacy rate officials believe falls faster. In a statement after meeting with his science council, Koca said the booster shots for Pfizer/BioNTech recipients would begin on Thursday with the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, health workers and those in other high-risk jobs.
4th Nov 2021 - Reuters
New U.S. COVID testing/vaccine rule excludes outdoor workers
A new U.S. workplace rule that requires tens of millions of Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing will exclude employees who work exclusively outdoors, according to regulatory filing by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An estimated 2.4 million healthcare workers will need to be vaccinated or replaced under a related rule issued by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
4th Nov 2021 - Reuters
Vienna bans the unvaccinated from restaurants as national cases surge
The City of Vienna said on Thursday it is banning people not vaccinated against COVID-19 from cafes, restaurants and events with more than 25 people, pre-empting measures that are likely to be introduced across Austria soon as infections are surging. Roughly 64% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. That matches the European Union average but is also among the lowest rates in western Europe. Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.
4th Nov 2021 - Reuters
US mandates vaccines or tests for big companies by Jan. 4
Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly under government rules issued Thursday. The new requirements are the Biden administration’s boldest move yet to persuade reluctant Americans to finally get a vaccine that has been widely available for months -- or face financial consequences. If successful, administration officials believe it will go a long way toward ending a pandemic that has killed more than 750,000 Americans. First previewed by President Joe Biden in September, the requirements will apply to about 84 million workers at medium and large businesses, although it is not clear how many of those employees are unvaccinated.
4th Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Feds tout COVID-19 pediatric vaccines as way back to normal
Today during a White House press briefing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said now that she has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, American schoolchildren have the chance to experience school "as we once one knew it, and as it should be." Walensky and Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, both called today a monumental day in the nation's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and assured American parents that the use of vaccines in kids ages 5 to 11 would be safe, free, and convenient. "We have been planning for this, and we are fully prepared," said Zients, who said the pediatric campaign will begin officially on Nov 8, but said some clinics and pharmacies have already begun to offer inoculations to kids. "I want to speak directly to parents," Walensky said. "Please know we have conducted a thorough review of the safety data before recommending this vaccine for your child."
4th Nov 2021 - CIDRAP
White House delays Covid-19 vaccine mandates for contractors
The White House is delaying its mandate for contractors to get vaccinated against Covid-19 until Jan. 4, the administration announced Thursday, as it rolled out more details about its sweeping vaccination mandates. Contractors previously had until Dec. 8 to get vaccinated, per a September executive order from the White House. They now have until Jan. 4, as do health workers at hospitals and facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. Under a separate policy, companies with 100 or more employees will also have until Jan. 4 to mandate full vaccinations for their workers or offer a plan for weekly testing. But by Dec. 5, they must require unvaccinated workers to wear masks and undergo weekly testing.
4th Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 has retreated across the Americas, regional health agency says
COVID-19 deaths and infections have declined across the Americas for the 8th consecutive week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, warning that a very high percentage of hospitalized cases now are unvaccinated people. In North America, all three countries reported drops in weekly cases and deaths, and there has been a notable decline in hospitalizations in the United States and Canada, PAHO said, with similar declines in South and Central America.
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Biden says vaccines for children will be available at about 20000 locations
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday there will be enough COVID-19 vaccines by next week for children and these shots will be available at about 20,000 locations around the country. The United States has started administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness.
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand gang leaders unite to urge community to get Covid shots
Seven New Zealand gang leaders, representing four of the country’s most well-known street gangs, have joined forces in a video urging their communities to get vaccinated, in a concept that was conjured up by a government minister. The video was commissioned by the minister for Maori development, Willie Jackson, after a discussion with gang leaders, who then provided footage that was edited by Jackson’s son, Hikurangi, the Herald reported. In the four-minute video, Denis O’Reilly, who joined the Black Power gang aged 19, says he had “taken a few shots” in his time, including the two shots against Covid-19, and he is asking his community “to do the same”
3rd Nov 2021 - The Guardian
Taiwanese Entrepreneur Angelo Koo Spreads the Love to Help Fight COVID-19
In September 2021, a guard warmly greeted and thanked Angelo Koo, Chairman of CDIB Capital Group, as he returned to his home in New Jersey. The guard said that his neighbors had all received surgical masks donated by Koo last year and that the residents of New Jersey were able to have the most basic protection when the pandemic first came to New Jersey in 2020. China Development Foundation Chairman and CDIB Capital Group Chairman Angelo Koo
3rd Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
COVID-19 vaccine campaign expands to elementary-age children
The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nation’s 28 million kids ages 5-11, pediatricians’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals, schools and health clinics were poised to begin the shots after the final OK late Tuesday. “This is not going to be ‘The Hunger Games,’” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, referring to the chaotic early national rollout of adult vaccines nearly a year ago. Chicago expected to have nearly enough vaccine in just the first week for nearly half of its 210,000 school-aged children, and many more doses later on.
3rd Nov 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: Jonathan Van-Tam defends speed of booster rollout despite his concern over rising Covid death toll
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, has defended the Government’s Covid booster programme after i analysis found the scheme is running so late it may not be completed until February. He said the booster scheme is picking up “considerable momentum” and suggested limited NHS capacity is preventing a more rapid roll-out of the third doses. But the leading scientific expert warned the Christmas period could be “potentially problematic”.
3rd Nov 2021 - iNews
Philippines' Duterte threatens to punish officials for slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that local government officials will be punished for falling behind their targets for COVID-19 vaccinations as the country seeks to open up the economy. The Philippines, which has one of Asia's worst coronavirus epidemics, has so far fully immunised a little over a third of 77 million people eligible for shots.
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Unvaccinated Greeks will need a negative COVID test to access services
Unvaccinated Greeks will need to show a negative COVID-19 test to access state services, banks, restaurants and retail shops as cases hit a new daily record on Tuesday, health authorities said. Greece reported 6,700 new coronavirus infections in the preceding 24 hours on Tuesday, breaking a previous single-day record of 5,449 that was recorded on Monday. This took the total infections to 754,451 since the pandemic broke out last year. Some 16,050 people have died of the COVID-19 disease so far in Greece.
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Hong Kong to launch COVID-19 booster campaign from next week
Hong Kong will roll out booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines from next week, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Wednesday, as authorities ramp up efforts to convince Beijing to allow crossborder travel to mainland China. The vaccination campaign in the global financial hub has lagged many other developed economies, with about 65% of the eligible population fully vaccinated with shots from either China's Sinovac, or Germany's BioNTech
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
U.S. begins effort to vaccinate young children against COVID-19
Seven-year-old Gael Coreas stuck out his left arm fearlessly to receive his first COVID-19 shot at a health clinic in the nation's capital on Wednesday, wincing briefly as cameras flashed to capture the moment. Coreas was in the first cohort of young children to be inoculated as the United States on Wednesday began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them.
3rd Nov 2021 - Reuters
In vaccine-sceptic Ukraine, one spa town bucks trend
Ukraine is battling record COVID-19 deaths and low vaccine uptake but the spa town of Morshyn is an exception. In Morshyn, 74% of 3,439 adult residents are double vaccinated, more than triple the national average, and currently only three people have been hospitalised with COVID-19. The town, which gives its name to a popular mineral water brand, has come to national attention at a time when hospitals in Ukrainian cities are filling up with COVID-19 patients and the country had to import medical oxygen from Poland.
3rd Nov 2021 - Thomson Reuters Foundation
Roll up your sleeves: Kids’ turn arrives for COVID-19 shots
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic. Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday — a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatrician’s office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.
3rd Nov 2021 - The Associated Press
Mandates. A well-organized campaign. No politics. How Puerto Rico’s vaccine drive turned into a success
The leader of the Puerto Rico National Guard was still dealing with the aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that displaced thousands of residents in January 2020 when island officials began hearing reports of people falling ill from the new coronavirus. Once again, they turned to Guard Adjutant General José J. Reyes. Much of Reyes’ 37-year career has been in emergency response mode — from 9/11 to the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 to the earthquake — but he sees all of those events as preparation for this one: helping to plan the island’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy and oversee its rollout.
3rd Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullPfizer Raises Covid-19 Vaccine Forecast as Sales More Than Double
Pfizer Inc.increased its forecast for sales of its Covid-19 vaccine this year to about $36 billion, a roughly 7% boost that comes as the U.S. prepares to distribute the shot to 28 million children aged 5-to-11-years old. The New York-based drugmaker said its sales projection for the vaccine it developed with partner BioNTech SE takes into account expected deliveries of about 2.3 billion vaccine doses this year. The companies have grown their capabilities for manufacturing doses, and are working with other firms overseas to produce doses. The vaccine’s revenue of $13 billion was the biggest contributor to Pfizer’s third-quarter sales of about $24 billion, which more than doubled year over year. More than 75% of vaccine sales this year are from international sales, as the vaccine has reached 152 countries, Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on an earnings call.
2nd Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
RBNZ Says Transition to Living With Covid-19 May Drag on Economy
New Zealand’s transition to living with Covid-19 could lead to changes in consumer behavior that damp economic growth, the central bank said. “Businesses will need to adapt, and some businesses that have stayed afloat to date may not be viable as support schemes wind down,” the Reserve Bank said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report published Wednesday in Wellington. “These changes could drag on economic activity.” The transition from pandemic to Covid-19 being an endemic disease also creates financial stability risks, “although the magnitude of these is still hard to gauge at this stage,” the RBNZ said.
2nd Nov 2021 - Bloomberg
Dutch reintroduce face masks as COVID-19 cases surge
The Dutch government on Tuesday decided to re-impose measures, including the wearing of face masks, aimed at slowing the latest spike in COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. The use of a "corona pass", showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or recent negative coronavirus test, would be broadened as of Nov. 6 to public places including museums, gyms and outdoor terraces, Rutte said.
2nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
India's billionaire vaccine prince held the key to ending the pandemic. His plans went awry
As Covid-19 wreaked havoc around the world last year, the 39-year-old son of an Indian billionaire was laying the groundwork for a plan he hoped would eventually end the pandemic. Adar Poonawalla — the CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine maker — pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into his Indian manufacturing facility and committed to make millions of doses of a then-unproven coronavirus vaccine. That vaccine, created by Oxford University and AstraZeneca (AZN), was still in clinical trials at the time. Nobody was sure how long a vaccine would take to develop, let alone whether it would even work.
"It was a calculated risk," Poonawalla told CNN Business. "But I didn't see the choice at that time, to be honest. I just felt I'd regret not committing one way or another."
2nd Nov 2021 - CNN
Two new COVID-19 vaccines approved by TGA for Australians trying to return
Two more types of COVID-19 vaccines, which are not registered in Australia, will be recognised as valid vaccines for travellers proving their vaccination status to enter the country. Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has today ruled that the Australian Government will recognise Covaxin and BBIBP-CorV vaccines among arrivals to Australia. The recognition will be for travellers aged 12 and over who have been vaccinated with Covaxin and for travellers aged 18 to 60 who have been vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV.
2nd Nov 2021 - 9News
New Covid-19 vaccination certification app launches in Northern Ireland
The Department of Health has launched a new app to allow people in Northern Ireland to show proof of their Covid-19 vaccination. Cert Check NI will assist hospitality venues that wish to carry out voluntary checks of vaccination status before allowing admission. Use of the app could become more wide spread if the Executive implement contingency measures of Covid status certification in higher risk settings. SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood feels the new app is a step in the right direction.
2nd Nov 2021 - ITV News
Prisons are facing staff shortages as correctional officers quit over 'unsafe working conditions,' fear of contracting COVID-19 and vaccine mandates
Prisons across the U.S. are reporting staffing shortages as correctional officers retire and quit in droves. Some, such as Lance Lowry, of Texas, have quit due to the increased risk of COVID-19 for prison employees. Other workers report bad working conditions including 'understaffing, poor pay and poor benefits.' Unions warn that correctional officers will leave over vaccine mandates with just 63% vaccinated or planning to be as of early October. States are trying to offers incentives including hiring bonuses, better pay at critical units and extra time off for staff who refer new hires
2nd Nov 2021 - Daily Mail
COVID-19 vaccine developer facing sack after refusing jabs because he's had his own
An Adelaide medical researcher who has developed and been administered with his own COVID-19 vaccine says he is facing the sack because of his refusal to get one of the TGA-approved jabs. Flinders Medical Centre director of endocrinology Nikolai Petrovsky has developed a vaccine candidate, COVAX-19, which completed phase 1 trials in August last year. The vaccine was developed by Professor Petrovsky's company Vaxine, which has laboratories at adjacent Flinders University, and is based on a protein produced in insect cells. Professor Petrovsky said, after clinical phase two and phase three trials, it had been "approved for use in Iran and we're now looking to see if we can get it approved in Australia".
2nd Nov 2021 - ABC News
Shift Covid testing from draconian punishment to empowerment
Public health is at its best when it is pragmatic in the face of complex problems fraught with stigma and uncertainty, like moving in the direction of full vaccination in the face of many Americans’ entrenched or even defiant anti-vaccination sentiment.
It is neither insightful nor actionable to so singularly promote vaccination to decision makers who must confront the here and now of various attitudes toward it. Viewing Covid-19 testing as a complementary harm-reduction approach can address the well-being of unvaccinated people while slowly building trust and confidence in Covid vaccines. But making that work requires a radical shift in the way testing is perceived. Many Americans view testing as a draconian intrusion to be feared if not outright avoided. The goal for public health should be to make testing look more like contraceptives: cheap, convenient, ubiquitous, and empowering.
2nd Nov 2021 - STAT News
COVID-19: Earlier close for test sites in England sparks fears most deprived won't be able to check symptoms
Coronavirus testing centres have reduced their opening hours due to "limited demand" in the evenings, prompting fears the most disadvantaged won't be able to get tests. From 1 November onwards, NHS Test and Trace sites in England are closing two hours earlier - at 6pm instead of 8pm. The government claims "recent analysis has shown there is limited demand for PCR testing between 6pm and 8pm" and the decision "provides the best possible value for taxpayers' money". People "unable to attend PCR test appointments before 6pm" can also get home testing kits delivered, it adds. But Dr Deepti Gurdasani, clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary University, says it will affect those who are worse off.
2nd Nov 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19 restrictions in Sydney to ease weeks ahead of schedule
Australia's biggest city will lift more COVID-19 curbs for vaccinated residents ahead of schedule next week, while delaying freedoms it has promised for unvaccinated Sydneysiders as officials aim to boost inoculations. Vaccinated people in the harbour city of around 5 million will be allowed unlimited numbers of guests in their homes from Nov. 8. Pubs and clubs will also be able to accommodate more guests and reopen dance floors, in changes that were initially planned to come into force on Dec. 1.
2nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
China won't give up on its zero-tolerance COVID policy soon - experts
China will not give up on its zero-tolerance policy towards local COVID-19 cases any time soon, some experts said, as the policy has allowed it to quickly quell local outbreaks, while the virus continues to spread outside its borders. To stop local cases from turning into wider outbreaks, China has developed and continually refined its COVID-fighting arsenal -- including mass testing, targeted lockdowns and travel restrictions - even when those anti-COVID measures occasionally disrupted local economies.
2nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Dutch health council recommends COVID-19 booster for age 60+
The Netherlands' Health Council recommended that adults aged 60 and older who have been previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 also receive booster shots. The advice comes amid a major surge in new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands. The council's recommendations are routinely adopted by the government.
2nd Nov 2021 - Reuters
Make Covid-19 testing an empowering choice rather than a draconian punishment
Public health is at its best when it is pragmatic in the face of complex problems fraught with stigma and uncertainty, like moving in the direction of full vaccination in the face of many Americans’ entrenched or even defiant anti-vaccination sentiment.
It is neither insightful nor actionable to so singularly promote vaccination to decision makers who must confront the here and now of various attitudes toward it. Viewing Covid-19 testing as a complementary harm-reduction approach can address the well-being of unvaccinated people while slowly building trust and confidence in Covid vaccines.
2nd Nov 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullOur school play caused a Covid outbreak – masks need to be brought back to the classroom
My personal alert system, which had been humming softly since the return to school in September, had ramped up in volume a few weeks ago as cases started to rise in my daughter’s school – and it kicked into hypervigilant mode in response to this message. The show must go on, but would it? It had become clear that all Covid-19 had to do was idly flick its finger, and down went the children like dominoes. But little did I appreciate then how it would stamp on the adults. It appears that many families have been dragged into a game of Covid-19 roulette. While it finally seems to be registering with the Government that schools are a hub for the recent spike in infections, it seems to ignore the knock-on effect for parents who are now being clobbered with the disease. I know because I’m one of them.
1st Nov 2021 - Metro
Why does Bulgaria have the EU’s lowest vaccination rates?
With more than 5,000 COVID-19 cases and 100 deaths a day, Bulgaria is fast approaching another peak in infections. But as the death toll mounts and the healthcare system becomes overstrained, most Bulgarians are still refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Bulgaria has the lowest rate of vaccinations in the 27-nation European Union, with just 21.8 percent of its population inoculated amid an abundant supply of vaccines.One of the millions of Bulgarians who do not want to get the jab is Dimo Indzhov, a 30-year-old sales representative living in Sofia. “I’m not worried about side effects; every medicine has side effects. Rather, it’s the fact that the vaccines are very new and their trials on humans have been rushed through,” he told Al Jazeera.
1st Nov 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Mariners Can Now Get Covid-19 Vaccines at Port After Months Stranded at Sea
Health workers and humanitarian groups at more than 200 ports around the world are making a push to vaccinate thousands of mariners, a population of essential workers that has been largely neglected in the fight against Covid-19. Many of the thousands of global mariners that are unvaccinated have been unable to disembark from their ships and have been stuck aboard, not seeing their families or standing on land for several months. In addition, infections at ports or on ships have disrupted global shipping at a time when bottlenecks are already slowing the world’s economic recovery from Covid-19. Port authorities and nonprofits at some of the world’s busiest ports, including Los Angeles, Rotterdam and Singapore, now offer Covid vaccines to international seafarers. For many of the sailors, it is the first time since the pandemic began that they have been able to get access to vaccines.
1st Nov 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19: Nightclubs reopen in Northern Ireland as restrictions ease
Nightclubs in Northern Ireland reopened on Sunday as some remaining coronavirus restrictions imposed last March were lifted. The hospitality sector is expected to be busy on Halloween night, with legal requirements on social distancing also being scrapped. Ministers want people to be sensible and exercise personal responsibility. Customers do not have to wear face coverings when they are eating, drinking or dancing in clubs. First Minister Paul Givan said: "We ask everyone to keep following the public health advice - the responsibility lies with each of us to protect ourselves, our families and the whole community."
1st Nov 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Walk-in sites now offering coronavirus booster jabs across England without appointment
The move comes as the government announces that Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, and Suffolk will become 'Enhanced Response Areas' for tackling the COVID pandemic - sparked by a rise in cases in older populations and growing pressure on local health and education services.
1st Nov 2021 - Sky News
Northern Ireland: Reopening of nightclubs part of ‘return to normality’
The reopening of nightclubs in Northern Ireland represents part of the return to normality that many young people have been craving, a leading promoter has said.
For the first time in a year and a half, nightclubs opened their doors on Halloween night across Northern Ireland after some Covid-19 restrictions were eased. A Stormont minister repeated her concerns about the nightclub sector reopening without a mandatory Covid vaccination certification system. Nightclubs had been the last remaining part of the hospitality sector which had been prevented from opening due to public health regulations.
1st Nov 2021 - Irish Times
New COVID-19 restrictions in force in Ukraine's capital amid spike in cases
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv implemented tough new restrictions on Monday in an attempt to stem a surge in COVID-19 infections that is affecting many countries across eastern Europe amid a low take-up of vaccinations. Ukraine had registered 2.94 million infections and 68,027 deaths as of Nov. 1. Only 7.4 million people, or less than a fifth of the total population of around 41 million, has been fully vaccinated so far. From Monday residents of Kyiv will have to present vaccine certificates or evidence of a negative COVID-19 test to use restaurants, cafes, gyms, entertainment facilities and shopping malls. Staff working in those places must have been vaccinated.
1st Nov 2021 - Reuters
Mayor: 9 in 10 NYC workers vaccinated as deadline nears
Nine in 10 New York City municipal workers received COVID-19 vaccinations as a Monday deadline loomed under a city mandate, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio tweeted Saturday night that 91% of city workers had received the vaccine, which represented a jump from about 83% as of Friday night. Under a city mandate, those who haven’t received at least one dose of the vaccine will be put on unpaid leave starting Monday, raising the possibility of shortages of police, fire and EMS workers. New York has more than 300,000 employees.
31st Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Nov 2021
View this newsletter in fullThailand's Big Reopening Set to Test Pandemic-Era Tourism
Thailand is ending quarantine for vaccinated visitors from more than 60 countries, the biggest reopening gamble in Asia and one that could mark a turning point for the revival of mass tourism during the pandemic. Starting Monday, fully-vaccinated travelers flying in from the U.S., China, Singapore, Japan, India and most of Europe will be able to freely tour Thailand’s sandy beaches, temples and tropical islands after testing negative for Covid on arrival. Inoculated visitors from countries not on the list can travel to Bangkok and 16 other regions, but they will be confined to their initial destination for the first seven days before being allowed to travel elsewhere.
31st Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
More NYC Workers Get Shots; Europe Starts Boosters: Virus Update
Vaccination rates among New York City’s police, fire and sanitation departments rose as workers faced possible suspension on Monday. The city is bracing for service gaps, with tens of thousands of essential public workers still not vaccinated under the mandate imposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
31st Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
S.Korea eases curbs in first step toward 'living with COVID-19'
South Korea said on Friday it will drop all operating-hour curbs on restaurants and cafes and implement its first vaccine passport for high-risk venues such as gyms, saunas and bars, as it tries to "live with COVID-19". The first phase will go into effect on Monday and last for a month, officials said, with plans calling for all restrictions to be scrapped by February. "Beginning November 1, our community will take the first step of resuming our normal life," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said at a televised government meeting. "However, we must be aware that this doesn't mean the fight against coronavirus is over, but a new beginning."
30th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid bioweapon claims ‘scientifically invalid’, US intelligence reports
Allegations that the Covid-19 virus was designed as a bioweapon – a theory aired by some senior Republicans – are based on “scientifically invalid claims” whose proponents “are suspected of spreading disinformation”, the US intelligence agencies have reported. Most of the 17 US agencies also agree that the virus had not been genetically engineered, while observing it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect signs of such tampering. However, the intelligence community is still divided on the question of whether the virus was spread by animal-to-human transmission or as the result of a lab accident, concluding that that may never be known barring a dramatic breakthrough in Chinese cooperation. A summary of the findings were first published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in August, but on Friday the ODNI published a fuller version of the study, giving explanations for their agencies’ conclusions.
30th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
As COVID cases fall, Halloween brings more fun and less fear
Witches and warlocks, ghosts and ghouls can breathe a little easier this year: Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are generally on the decline, and trick-or-treaters can feel safer collecting candy. And while a new poll indicates Halloween participation is rebounding but still short of pre-pandemic levels, an industry trade group says people who are celebrating are driving record-level spooky spending this year. Sales of candy, costumes and décor are up at least 25% over last year and are predicted to set a new high, between $10 to $11 billion, said Aneisha McMillan, spokeswoman for the trade group Halloween and Costume Association.
30th Oct 2021 - Associated Press on MSN.com
Tiny Pacific Island Nation of Tonga Has Had No Covid, Until Now
For almost two years, the Kingdom of Tonga has watched on as Covid-19 spread to almost every corner of the world, except its own. On Friday, that remarkable virus-free streak came to an end when Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’ionetoa said the country of some 100,000 people had found its first confirmed Covid case, local media reported. The infection was in a passenger on a plane from Christchurch, New Zealand, about 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) southwest of Tonga. The person is in mandatory hotel quarantine, but was among 215 people on the aircraft, website Matangi Tonga said.
29th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Singapore Turns F1 Pit Building Into Temporary Hospital for Covid Patients
Singapore’s large F1 pit building, normally used for the high-profile Grand Prix races that have been canceled a second year running due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is being converted into a medical facility for coronavirus patients, the Straits Times reported. The building has been identified as a suitable temporary venue because it has ready facilities and isn’t being used for F1 race activities, Ong Ling Lee, director of sports at the Singapore Tourism Board, told the Straits Times, adding that the place had been used for swab tests last year.
29th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Australia Covid-Zero Approach Changes as Borders, Travel Opens Up
Like many in Australia, Maherau Arona saw the coronavirus as a distant threat, at worst, long after it became a daily reality in most of the world. Following a month and a half of lockdown, the Sydney suburb where the 53-year-old social worker lives returned mostly to normal in May 2020. Protected by a hermetically sealed border, people there and in the rest of the country lived for the next year largely as they had before Covid-19. They could holiday on the beaches of Byron Bay and Noosa, pack into pubs and cafes, and even see Hamilton onstage. Few were in a hurry to get vaccinated, and the national government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, didn’t seem to view distributing shots as urgent. While there were some setbacks, including a surge of cases that threw Melbourne into a lengthy second lockdown, Australians essentially skipped the trauma that was transforming societies elsewhere.
29th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
No crowd surfing, orderly queues: Ireland lays down new COVID-19 rules
Crowd surfing will not be permitted at concerts in Ireland and nightclub goers must form a socially distanced queue to buy drinks, under new guidelines issued by the government for recently reopened venues. Irish nightclubs opened their doors for the first time since March 2020 last weekend, while theatres and concert venues also returned to full capacity as the government lifted most curbs that had made up one of Europe's toughest lockdown regimes.
29th Oct 2021 - Reuters
First COVID-19 shot for young kids could get U.S. FDA authorization on Friday
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, making it the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States. The shot will not be immediately available to the age group. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to advise on how the shot should be administered, which will be decided after a group of outside advisers discuss the plan on Tuesday.
29th Oct 2021 - Reuters
As vaccination mandate looms, New York City prepares for shortage of cops, others
New York City officials on Friday were preparing for shortages of firefighters, police officers and other first responders as a showdown looms between the city and its unvaccinated uniformed workforce, who face a 5 p.m. EDT deadline to be immunized. De Blasio, who announced the mandate nine days ago, said officials would manage any staffing gaps with overtime and schedule changes and by enlisting private ambulance companies to cover for the city's paramedics.
29th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullFlorida Sues Biden Administration Over Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
Florida is suing the Biden administration over vaccine mandates for federal contractors, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the middle district of Florida’s Tampa division, alleges that the requirement for employees at federal contractors be vaccinated by Dec. 8 interferes with Florida’s employment policies and threatens economic harm and the loss of federal contracts. “The federal government is exceeding their power and it is important for us to take a stand because in Florida we believe these are choices based on individual circumstances,” said Mr. DeSantis, a Republican. The requirement is part of a six-point initiative announced by President Biden in September to help curb the spread of Covid-19 by boosting vaccinations, improving access to testing and making treatments more widely available. The plan also set out vaccine requirements for employers with 100 or more workers.
28th Oct 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Gilead Tops Forecasts on Sales of Remdesivir Covid-19 Treatment
Gilead Sciences Inc. posted third quarter earnings that easily beat expectations as revenue from its Covid-19 treatment surged thanks to the highly infectious delta variant. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.65 versus analyst expectations for $1.77 a share. Sales of Veklury, a drug for Covid-19 also known as remdesivir, were more than triple analyst expectations. Gilead raised its earnings guidance for the year to a range of $7.90 to $8.10 a share from a previous range of $6.90 to $7.25 a share.
28th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
EU gives go-ahead to NHS Covid pass as proof of full vaccination
All remaining countries on England’s travel “red list” will be removed and vaccines from at least a dozen more countries are to be recognised, ministers are expected to announce in a significant opening up of borders. The move, which the Guardian understands was signed off at a meeting on Thursday afternoon, means no passengers arriving in England will have to quarantine in a hotel at a cost of more than £2,000. However, the red list system will not be abandoned entirely, and countries may be added again in future if concerning new variants emerge.
28th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Thousands of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses going to waste despite near-record production
Almost 1,000 Covid vaccination providers are destroying expired AstraZeneca supplies, with the wastage of 31,833 doses reported despite Australian production of the vaccine continuing at near-record rates. There are now fears more will be binned as rates of uptake wane due to increased vaccination choice and the federal health department stepping in to manage the overstock. Data given to Guardian Australia shows a relatively low rate of wastage of AstraZeneca due to expiry so far, though there are fears of a looming glut of the vaccine as uptake shifts increasingly to Pfizer. The federal health department data showed 969 sites, less than 10% of the total number of vaccine providers, reported having to waste expired AstraZeneca. About 822 of those sites said they destroyed less than five vials.
28th Oct 2021 - The Guardian Australia
States placing orders for pediatric vaccine; FDA authorization expected as soon as Friday
The Food and Drug Administration is aiming to grant emergency use authorization to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Friday, according to federal officials familiar with the plans. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the final say in the vaccine’s authorization for that age group, states already are gearing up to acquire the necessary doses.
28th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
News Corp Australia to introduce Covid vaccine mandate for staff
News Corp Australia will not allow anyone who is not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter its buildings next year, joining other big employers including Coles, the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas that have mandated vaccines for staff.
Nine Entertainment, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, is expected to unveil a similar vaccination mandate for its workplaces by 1 December.
The News Corp ban on the non-vaccinated will apply to its Holt Street, Surry Hills headquarters, as well as state-based newspapers across the country, Sky News Australia and Foxtel.
28th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
India: over 100 million people fail to turn up for second Covid vaccine
More than 100 million Indians have not turned up for their second coronavirus vaccine dose, official data showed, raising concerns of a resurgence in the disease despite a relatively low infection rate. Apart from leaving these people at risk of catching Covid-19, their “vaccine truancy” endangers India’s target of inoculating all adults by 31 December, a target that is in any case unlikely to be met owing to the earlier shortage of vaccines at the start of the inoculation campaign. “We have seen this complacency with tuberculosis patients. They start taking the drugs and after a few weeks, they feel better so they stop even though they have to take them for six months,” said Bhavna Dewan, a health worker in Nainital. “It’s a similar mentality with the vaccine. I’m sure they feel one dose is enough because no one is falling ill.”
28th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Most parents don't plan to vaccinate young children against Covid-19 right away, KFF survey finds
A Covid-19 vaccine could be available for little kids soon, and public health leaders say vaccinating them could help end the pandemic -- but only if parents actually get them vaccinated. A new survey suggests that's uncertain at best. The majority of parents say they will not get their younger children vaccinated right away, according to the survey published Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
28th Oct 2021 - CNN
White House signals flexibility over Dec. 8 vaccine deadline
The Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination deadline will not require immediate action on the part of employers against unvaccinated employees when it comes into force on Dec. 8, the White House coronavirus response coordinator said on Wednesday. Some lawyers previously interpreted President Joe Biden's Sept. 9 executive order and subsequent White House guidance requiring all covered federal contractor employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 unless they got a religious or medical exemption.
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
UK has no plans to scrap COVID red travel list, PM's spokesman says
Britain has no plans to scrap a travel red list country system that requires arrivals to stay in a hotel to quarantine, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exclusive: Tens of millions of J&J COVID-19 shots sit at Baltimore factory
An estimated 30 million to 50 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine made early this year sits idle in Emergent BioSolutions Inc's plant in Baltimore awaiting a green light from U.S. regulators to ship, two sources familiar with the matter said. Emergent, a contract drug manufacturer, is waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve release of those doses. The agency must still inspect and authorize the plant before Emergent can ship newly manufactured drug substance, one of the sources said.
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Australia eases COVID-19 travel advisory ahead of border reopening
Australia on Thursday eased its COVID-related travel advice for several countries including the United States, Britain and Canada as it prepares to reopen its borders next week for the first time in over 18 months. Australia will lift its outbound travel ban for fully vaccinated residents from Nov. 1 following a strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, as Sydney and Melbourne, its biggest cities, look to welcome overseas travellers without quarantine.
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
As ‘test to stay’ gears up nationwide, Massachusetts’ ‘rocky’ rollout raises questions
Massachusetts is drawing praise and even imitation for its “test-to-stay” approach to keep kids in school during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the realities of the policy’s implementation have been less than rosy, overburdening school nurses and requiring the National Guard be sent in to counter personnel shortages. Test to stay allows students to attend in-person classes and partake in extracurricular activities provided they test negative every day — an option aimed at keeping more kids in class, more often. In other states, many schools are choosing to quarantine all students who come into close contact with someone who tests positive, which has amounted to tens of thousands of missed days of school for people who have not been infected with the virus. The approach has been heralded as a “success” and a “simple solution.” This month, there are even some indications that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will endorse test to stay. On Oct. 13, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a press briefing that the agency was working with states to evaluate test to stay as a “promising potential new strategy for schools,” and that guidance would be forthcoming.
28th Oct 2021 - STAT News
WHO, partners seek $23.4 bln for new COVID-19 war chest
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups on Thursday appealed to leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies to fund a $23.4 billion plan to bring COVID-19 vaccines, tests and drugs to poorer countries in the next 12 months. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Group of 20, whose leaders are meeting in Rome at the weekend, had the political and financial power needed to end the pandemic by funding the plan, which he said could save five million lives. The latest update of the so-called Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), until September 2022, is expected to include use of an experimental oral antiviral pill made by Merck & Co (MRK.N) for treating mild and moderate cases
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Beijing city mandates COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for some workers
Beijing city is demanding a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for some key workers, making it the first key Chinese metropolis to publicly articulate a booster mandate, as the country combats a fresh outbreak caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant. Having vaccinated about 76% of its 1.41 billion population with complete doses as of Oct. 23, China is pushing eligible people to get an additional injection, in a bid to strengthen immunity. Key workers for construction sites, including cooks, security guards and cleaning personnel, can only be hired if they have received a booster dose, Ding Sheng, vice director at Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said on Thursday.
28th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullAustralia to lift outbound travel ban for vaccinated residents from next week
All fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates. Australians have been unable to travel abroad for more than 18 months without a government waiver, while thousands of fully-vaccinated residents living abroad have been unable to return due to a cap on arrivals to slow the spread of COVID-19.
27th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Province of British Columbia to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all residents
British Columbia will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to everyone over the age of 12 from January, officials said on Tuesday, becoming the first major Canadian province to significantly widen eligibility for boosters. People over the age of 70 as well as indigenous people over 12 will be invited to book shots sooner than the new year, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's medical officer of health. Residents of long term and assisted living are already eligible.
27th Oct 2021 - Reuters
German would-be coalition backs ending COVID state of emergency
Germany's pandemic-related state of emergency looks set to expire next month after the three political parties in talks to form the next government said on Wednesday they did not support extending it. The state of emergency that enabled the federal and state government to impose measures like lockdowns and curfews without a parliamentary vote is set to lapse on Nov. 25 unless parliament agrees to extend it.
27th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. administers over 415 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC
The United States has administered 415,012,026 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning and distributed 504,584,715 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 414,302,192 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 25 out of 503,418,475 doses delivered. The agency said 220,648,845 people had received at least one dose while 190,793,100 people were fully vaccinated as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
27th Oct 2021 - Reuters
After FDA nod, Israel gears up to start vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was slated to meet Wednesday with top health officials to weigh moving toward approving the Pfizer COVID vaccine for children ages 5-11. The meeting, which will include Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and the ministry’s top coronavirus advisers, comes after a panel at the US Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday evening to endorse giving low doses of the Pfizer vaccine to children. The FDA’s advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 in that age group outweigh any potential risks — including a heart-related side effect that’s been very rare in teens and young adults who get a much higher dose.
27th Oct 2021 - The Times of Israel
COVID-19: Over 80,000 12 to 15-year-olds have booked vaccinations in England
More than 80,000 children aged between 12 and 15 have booked to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations in England. Some 2.5 million letters will be sent out this week inviting parents to book a jab for their child through the national booking service. And more than 100 existing vaccination centres have opened their doors for this age group. While vaccines have been available to 12 to 15-year-olds in England since 20 September, the rollout has so far mostly taken place in schools.
27th Oct 2021 - Sky News
Vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 could be available as soon as the first week of November
An independent panel of vaccine experts said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration should grant emergency authorization to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to children 5 to 11 years old. The decision comes amid a nationwide effort to make vaccines available to this group of 28 million children by the first week of November, according to the Biden administration.
27th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
Pregnant women are being turned away from UK Covid vaccine clinics, experts warn
Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics despite clinical advice, experts have warned as they urged ministers to ramp up efforts to reach unvaccinated groups. Members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) told the Guardian that efforts to increase booster jab uptake will not be sufficient to prevent more deaths and hospitalisations, and that ministers must prioritise reaching those who have had no jabs. In particular they urged a focus on pregnant women as only about 15% in the UK have been fully vaccinated. Among all over-12s, the figure is 79%.
27th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Singapore convicts Chinese couple of Covid-19 contact tracing offences
Chinese national Hu Jun tested positive for Covid-19 in January last year, nine days after arriving in Singapore from Wuhan to spend Lunar New Year with his family. He and his wife Shi Sha were on Tuesday convicted of withholding contact tracing information.
27th Oct 2021 - South China Morning Post
Enforcement of indoor vaccine mandates proves uneven in US
Go out for a night on the town in some U.S. cities and you might find yourself waiting while someone at the door of the restaurant or theater closely inspects your vaccination card and checks it against your photo ID. Or, conversely, you might be waved right through just by flashing your card. How rigorously vaccination requirements are being enforced varies from place to place, even within the same state or city. Proof of vaccination is required in several American cities to get into restaurants and bars, enjoy a concert or a play, catch a movie or go to a ballgame.
Ticket agents dutifully ascertain the vaccination status of everyone passing through the turnstile at pro sports venues in some cities from Seattle and New York, and restaurant hosts do the same in many places.
26th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullPediatric Covid Hospital Visits Plunge in U.S. as Schools Reopen
Hospital admissions are declining sharply among U.S. children with Covid-19, even more than adults, quieting concerns for now that the return to school could trigger a major uptick in viral transmission. Daily pediatric admissions with confirmed Covid have fallen 56% since the end of August to an average of about 0.2 per 100,000, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. Among adults, new admissions fell 54% to 2.1 per 100,000 in the same period, the data show.
26th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
African Union to buy up to 110 million Moderna COVID-19 vaccines -officials
The African Union (AU) intends to buy up to 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc in an arrangement brokered in part by the White House, which will defer delivery of some doses intended for the United States to facilitate the deal, officials told Reuters. The AU's doses will be delivered over the coming months, with 15 million arriving before the end of 2021, 35 million in the first quarter of next year and up to 60 million in the second quarter. "This is important as it allows us to increase the number of vaccines available immediately," AU coronavirus envoy Strive Masiyiwa said in an email. "We urge other vaccine producing countries to follow the lead of the (U.S. government) and give us similar access to buy this and other vaccines."
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
How to turn Africa from a vaccine desert to a vaccine hub?
The continent’s life-threatening reliance on imports and donated vaccines has been laid bare by the pandemic, with a painfully slow and stuttering rollout of Covid-19 jabs. But that’s set to change, with South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda among several African countries forging ahead with the technology and infrastructure to manufacture vaccines. The need to play catch-up in this pandemic and to boost resilience against future outbreaks of infectious diseases has catalysed efforts to boost Africa’s homegrown vaccine production. “Relying on the West is not sustainable. Africa will always be at the back of the queue when it comes to accessing vaccines,” says University of Cape Town senior researcher for the Vaccines for Africa Initiative, Dr Benjamin Kagina.
26th Oct 2021 - Evening Standard
Covid vaccines: Man forced to get four Covid vaccines to avoid self-isolation as foreign jabs not recognised
UK residents who were double-jabbed abroad have reported feeling pressured to get a second round of Covid vaccines to avoid having to self-isolate if contacted by Test and Trace. The loophole first came to light after i reported yesterday that people who have received two doses of a Covid vaccine outside of Britain are still being made to quarantine for 10 days if they are pinged by Test and Trace. Self-isolation rules were scrapped on 16 August for people in England who have received both doses of a Covid vaccine and are identified as having come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
26th Oct 2021 - iNews
France says it has ordered 50000 doses of Merck's COVID-19 antiviral pill
France has ordered 50,000 doses of Merck & Co's (MRK.N) experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug for adults, the country's health minister Olivier Veran told a hearing at the French Senate on Tuesday. "France positioned itself very early in pre-ordering. France ordered 50,000 doses of the drug," Veran told lawmakers about molnupiravir, which is Merck & Co's experimental antiviral pills to treat COVID-19 ailments. Governments around the world are preparing to ensure they can cope any pick-up in the COVID virus as the winter season approaches in the northern hemisphere.
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
CDC moves large European country to its highest level of Covid-19 travel risk
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added just one new location to its list of "very high" risk travel destinations this week. On Monday afternoon, architecturally rich Ukraine, the second-largest nation in Europe in land area, was moved up from Level 3, or "high" risk for Covid-19, to Level 4, the agency's highest risk category. It's the second week in a row that the CDC has moved only one new nation to the Level 4 ranks. Last week, it was the modern city-state of Singapore.
These last two updates in October are a far cry from the situation in early August, when the CDC added 16 destinations in one week to Level 4, and Delta variant cases were rising rapidly across much of the planet.
26th Oct 2021 - CNN
Spurred on by COVID-19 onslaught, Romanians make up for lost vaccine time
As ambulance sirens continuously pierce the air of Romanian cities as they rush COVID-19 patients to already full hospitals, queues are starting to form at vaccination centres. Daily COVID-19 inoculation numbers have reached pandemic highs this month in the European Union's second-lowest vaccinated country, as Romanians respond to dramatic death rates and newly enforced restrictions. In the capital Bucharest, Elena Serban, a 51-year-old garment worker had postponed getting the vaccine because she did not have health problems that would have threatened her if she got infected. Now, she has done it for safety.
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Ukraine urges citizens to get vaccinated as COVID-19 toll hits new record
Ukraine's health minister urged more people to get their COVID-19 shots as coronavirus deaths hit a daily record of 734 on Tuesday, with hospitalisations up more than a fifth on the previous week. One of Europe's poorest countries, Ukraine fell behind in the race for vaccine supplies this year and so far only around 7 million in a population of 41 million are fully vaccinated. It is one of several countries in former communist eastern Europe, where vaccination rates are the continent's lowest, now experiencing a record-setting wave of infections with some of the highest death rates in the world.
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Australian Open tiptoes around vaccination minefield
Torn between a love of sport, public health fears and Novak Djokovic's Grand Slam record bid, Australia is suffering a bout of hesitancy as it considers whether unvaccinated players should be allowed to compete at the Australian Open. For officials tasked with making such decisions, the ball seems to be in everyone's court but their own. After months of speculation, the position finally seemed clear last week when Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke said athletes would need to be double vaccinated to enter the country
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Vietnam to vaccinate children against COVID-19 from next month
Vietnam will begin inoculating children against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from next month, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian country begins reopening its schools following months of lockdown. Children aged 16 and 17 will be offered the shot with parental consent, initially "in the areas that had been under movement restrictions and densely populated areas where the infection risks are high," the ministry said in a statement. So far, just 22% of Vietnam's population of 98 million have been fully vaccinated, Average daily COVID-19 infections have fallen below 3,600 over the past week from almost 12,000 last month but schools in some areas, including in the capital Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City - an epicentre of the epidemic - remain closed.
26th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Number of Washington workers getting shots continues to grow
The latest state and city of Seattle data shows the number of government workers getting vaccinated against COVID-19 continues to increase amid mandates. According to updated figures released by the Office of Financial Management, about 275 more Washington state employees have been verified as having gotten their shots since last week’s Oct. 18 deadline, The Seattle Times reported. Gov. Jay Inslee had ordered state and school employees, as well as hundreds of thousands of health care workers, to be fully vaccinated by that date or lose their jobs. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine imposed similar policies. The figures released Monday also show slightly fewer state workers left or were fired over the mandate than agencies had originally reported.
26th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullHong Kong: Stuck between rock and virus hard place
Hong Kong is stuck in indefinite isolation. Despite recording low single-digit daily infections, counting just 213 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began, and securing Chinese and Western vaccines early in large quantities, entry into Asia’s top financial hub remains tightly controlled. Arrivals are generally required to spend 14 to 21 days of quarantine in a government-approved hotel, where rooms as small as 140 square feet leave occupants barely enough room to sweat through a yoga workout.
25th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to invest $70 mln to boost access to COVID-19 tests
The Biden administration said it will invest $70 million to boost the availability and lower costs of rapid, over-the-counter COVID-19 tests in the United States, as it looks to ease a nationwide shortage that drove up testing costs. High demand for the tests from U.S. employers amidst the Delta variant surge, especially with the U.S. government mandating large employers to have their workers inoculated and tested weekly, pushed up costs for state and local testing programs.
25th Oct 2021 - Reuters
UK falling behind most G7 countries in sharing Covid vaccines, figures show
The UK is lagging behind other G7 countries in sharing surplus Covid vaccines with poorer countries, according to newly published figures. The advocacy organisation One, which is campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030, described it as shaming for the UK government. The figures show that the UK is behind every member of the G7 – of which Britain is currently the chair – except for Japan. Romilly Greenhill, One’s UK director, said the number of vaccines the UK is committed to sharing this year is half that promised by France, less than a a third of Germany’s, and a tenth of that pledged by the US.
25th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Indonesia in talks to buy Merck's COVID-19 antiviral pill - minister
Indonesia is "finalising" a deal with Merck & co to procure its experimental antiviral pills, named molnupiravir, to treat COVID-19 ailments, its health minister said on Monday. Results from a large clinical trial this month showed that the pill, made with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, cut hospitalisations and deaths by 50%. Merck asked for an emergency use clearance from the United States earlier this month.
25th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Red Cross urges action for Papua New Guinea as COVID-19 overwhelms health system
Concerted international action is needed to support Papua New Guinea as a surge in COVID-19 cases overwhelms the Pacific country's health system, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Monday.
Coronavirus cases in the island nation of 9 million have been surging in recent weeks, with 385 new cases recorded on Thursday, according to latest available government data. There have been 26,731 officially confirmed cases and 329 deaths in the country 150 km (90 miles) north of Australia.
25th Oct 2021 - Reuters
How to talk to your younger kids about the Covid-19 vaccine
Next, I had her look at photos of medical needles. She reported that she didn't like the pictures, but she could handle looking at them. We continued this gradual approach until she gave "vaccines" to an orange (parental supervision required even with toy needles). What she was doing is exposure therapy, learning to tolerate her discomfort and gradually build up to getting her own vaccine.
Using exposure to cope with needle phobia requires time and professional guidance, but many adults are eager to get the Covid-19 vaccine for their vaccine-hesitant little ones as soon as it becomes available. These folks might not have the time or the resources to take a gradual approach to helping their kids overcome this fear, but they need help just the same.
25th Oct 2021 - CNN
Australia looks to roll out COVID-19 booster shots soon as curbs ease
Australian officials plan to roll out COVID-19 booster shots soon to prevent a resurgence of cases, as residents in the two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne begin to enjoy more freedoms after months-long curbs. Australia has ditched its COVID-zero strategy in favour of suppressing the coronavirus, after largely stamping out infections for most of this year, and is now aiming to live with the virus through higher vaccinations. Officials are gradually shifting their focus to booster shots as double-dose vaccinations levels in Australia's adult population nears 75%. Almost 87% of people above 16 have received their first dose since the national rollout began in February.
25th Oct 2021 - Reuters
China to start vaccinating children to age 3 as cases spread
Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks. China becomes one of the very few countries in the world to start vaccinating children that young against the virus. Cuba, for one, has begun a vaccine drive for children as young as 2. The U.S. and many European countries allow COVID-19 shots down to age 12, though the U.S. is moving quickly toward opening vaccinations to 5- to 11-year-olds.
25th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullTheir Jobs Made Them Get Vaccinated. They Refused.
Under the threat of losing their jobs, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers finally got a Covid-19 vaccine. Teachers, nurses and home health aides accepted their occupations’ mandates. The mass resignations some experts had predicted did not occur, as most workers hurriedly got inoculated. Josephine Valdez, 30, a public school paraprofessional from the Bronx, did not. Failing to meet the New York City Education Department’s vaccination deadline, Ms. Valdez lost her job this month. She is among the 4 percent of the city’s roughly 150,000 public school employees who did not comply with the order.
25th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
Gottlieb says kids could start getting COVID-19 vaccine as soon November 4-5
Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicted Sunday on "Face the Nation" that the Biden administration could begin rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for children as soon as November 4, right after panel of Centers for Disease Control panel will decide whether to grant emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. Gottlieb said the Biden administration is making the effort to push the vaccine directly into pediatricians' offices. Pfizer, which Gottlieb is on the board, is developing a small tray that carries 10 vials at a time and a storage container that is small enough for small-to-medium sized pediatrician's office to stock the vaccine and deliver it.
24th Oct 2021 - CBS News
Vaccine passport: Provinces issuing proof for travel
In Canada, instead of issuing a singular federal national COVID-19 vaccine passport, the federal government says that each province and territory will be responsible for issuing a “standardized pan-Canadian” vaccine passport that Canadians can use when travelling. The proposed system means that, as is currently the case, provincial vaccine credentials will continue to be the main way that Canadians will have to show their vaccination status. Each province's system is supposed to have a “common” look and feel, with the expectation that by next month all Canadians will have access to their vaccine credentials from their province or territory, as proof of vaccination will soon be needed in order to board a plane or train in this country.
24th Oct 2021 - CTV News
Calls for home COVID vaccinations drive for highly vulnerable before Australia opens up
In Australia, people unable to leave home for health reasons urgently need a simple way to book COVID vaccinations amid concerns vulnerable people are falling through the cracks, experts say. Disability Advocacy Network Australia chief executive Mary Mallett said, for people who could not leave home to get a shot, vaccines were "all the more essential" because their conditions often put them at higher risk. In September, People With Disability Australia and another 60 organisations penned an open letter demanding people with disabilities be prioritised for home vaccines.
24th Oct 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Singapore Covid Work News: Fully Vaccinated From 2022
Singapore is set to restrict access to the workplace for those who are unvaccinated from January unless they test negative daily as part of plans to resume normal activities in the pandemic. Singapore joins Italy in introducing tough Covid rules for workers by mandating vaccinations for those planning to enter workplaces, while most countries either leave such decisions to companies, or require only selected groups such as healthcare workers and civil servants to be inoculated.
23rd Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Canada scraps COVID-19 travel advisory; Ontario to end mask, vaccine rules by March
Canada has scrapped an official advisory urging its citizens to shun non-essential foreign travel, given its successful campaign to inoculate people against COVID-19, the country's top medical officer said on Friday. Hours later, Canada's most populous province, Ontario, issued a timeline to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, with the aim of removing all proof of vaccination and mask requirements by March 2022. Canada's travel warning was issued in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.
23rd Oct 2021 - Reuters Canada
Tunisia imposes COVID-19 vaccine pass on Tunisians and all foreign visitors
Tunisia is imposing COVID-19 vaccine passes on Tunisians and all foreign visitors, a presidential decree showed on Friday. Officials, employees and users are required to show a card proving inoculation against the coronavirus to access public and private administrations, according to the decree. The pass will also be required to enter cafes, restaurants, hotels and tourist establishments, it said. The decree showed that the jobs of employees who did not receive vaccination in the public and private sectors will be suspended until the vaccine pass is presented.
23rd Oct 2021 - Reuters
Humza Yousaf refuses to rule out further restrictions amid fears of Covid-19 spike following COP26
In Scotland, Humza Yousaf has admitted there is a risk of a spike in Covid-19 infections following the COP26 summit, and declined to rule out further restrictions amid growing fears of a winter surge in cases. The health secretary also said he “completely rejected” accusations the Scottish Government’s booster programme was “sluggish,” despite the fact more than 400,000 people eligible for the jag have yet to receive it.
23rd Oct 2021 - The Scotsman
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullPharmacists call to be involved in Covid-19 booster vaccine rollout
The chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said that there are no plans to extend the vaccine booster programme to the under-40s “any time soon”, but that it will go ahead for vulnerable groups. There was not any evidence about waning immunity for young people and that included healthcare workers, he said. The issue would remain under review by the National Immunisation Advisory committee (Niac). Speaking on he told RTÉ radio’s Today show Dr Holohan denied that he was “anti” antigen tests. “It’s not the test I dislike, it’s how it’s applied.” “Our nearest neighbours, the UK, are probably the most prolific users of antigen tests, and have the greatest challenge in terms of infection that the Western world has seen”, he said. Dr Holohan said he was particularly concerned about cases where parents were using the tests when they had symptomatic children and when there was a negative result they then sent the children to school.
21st Oct 2021 - The Irish Times
India delivers 1 billion Covid vaccines, but millions are yet to receive a single dose
India has administered more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses, a remarkable feat just months after a second wave of infection killed thousands of people across the country. But as India celebrated passing the milestone on Thursday, some experts warned the pandemic threat was not over -- in a nation of 1.3 billion, millions of people are yet to receive any dose at all. So far, India has fully vaccinated just 30% of its adult population and given one dose to 74%, according to India's Ministry of Health on October 16. Those statistics don't include children under 18 who make up 41% of India's population and aren't yet eligible for the jab.
But even as India races to fully vaccinate its adult population, the country is opening up and exporting millions of vaccine doses. On Friday, the first foreign tourists arrived in the country after an almost 18-month pause, and within the country millions are traveling to celebrate various festivals, with movement expected to increase in November during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights."
21st Oct 2021 - CNN
Relying on Covid vaccines won't be enough - face masks will help us cope in a difficult winter
With Covid-19 controls, it can feel like déjà vu, all over again. Covid-19 cases are on the rise, and the UK now has one of the highest rates in the world. Stress on the NHS is of real concern to many, resulting in calls from health chiefs for increased restrictions. The recent news that a sub-type of the delta variant appears to be spreading across England is a reminder that evolution may move the goalposts yet again, even though this particular sub-type does not appear to cause more serious disease and is not at this point considered a variant of concern. Adding to those concerns is considerable uncertainty regarding the possible impact that seasonal influenza and other respiratory infections may have on hospitals. A combination of even moderate levels of Covid-19 hospitalisations plus flu could result in a very difficult winter indeed. On the other hand, the impact of Covid-19 measures themselves means that the demands for a return to normalcy are strong, with re-implementation of any measures needing to be considered in light of the difficult trade-offs.
21st Oct 2021 - iNews
Three in five Australian GPs say vaccine rollout changes among biggest Covid challenges
Almost three out of five GPs reported managing patient expectations about vaccinations to be one of the most challenging issues of the pandemic, with multiple changes to vaccine eligibility requirements leaving many people confused and overwhelmed, the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Karen Price, said. In her foreword to the college’s Health of the Nation report, published on Thursday, Price said: “Unfortunately, some of these patients took their frustrations out on general practice staff”. “Differing eligibility requirements across jurisdictions added to the strain.”
21st Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Covid Scotland: Tenfold increase in vaccine wastage rate
In April, some 0.3 per cent of vaccine stock was wasted. This figure increased to 2.5 per cent in July, and 3.2 per cent in September. In total over 60,000 doses have been thrown away since April. This figure does not include wastage at GP surgeries or in vaccine clinical trials. The top reason for doses being discarded in September (46 per cent) was excess stock, meaning vaccinators coming to the end of a shift or job and having surplus vaccines, which cannot be used or returned to storage. The second most common reason was doses expiring (44 per cent). Some vaccine wastage is accepted as inevitable during a large-scale vaccine rollout, and the programme has so far kept below the Scottish Government target of 5 per cent wastage.
21st Oct 2021 - The Scotsman
Only 14% of promised Covid vaccine doses reach poorest nations
Only one in seven Covid vaccine doses promised to the world’s poorest countries have been delivered, a report reveals. Of 1.8bn doses pledged by wealthy nations, just 261m (14%) have arrived in low-income countries, according to the analysis by the People’s Vaccinealliance, a coalition of groups that includes Oxfam, ActionAid and Amnesty International. Nearly a year after vaccines first became available, only 1.3% of people living in the poorest parts of the world are fully vaccinated.
21st Oct 2021 - The Guardian
More people are getting boosters than new Covid-19 vaccinations. And others could soon become eligible for an additional shot
The number of people in the US looking to boost their Covid-19 vaccinations has surpassed the tally of those looking to begin them as booster doses from more drug makers may soon be available. There are 1.3 times as many boosters administered each day compared with first shots, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. And the number could grow, as the CDC's vaccine advisory committee prepares to meet Thursday to discuss booster doses for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as mixing and matching boosters and original doses among the drug makers.
21st Oct 2021 - CNN
India celebrates one billion COVID vaccine doses with song, film
India has administered one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, an important milestone after a slow start, even as a recent drop in inoculations worries the government and healthcare providers. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will launch a song and an audio-visual film at the Mughal-era Red Fort in New Delhi on Thursday to “celebrate the landmark milestone”, his ministry said. The country has already injected 998.5 million doses, nearly 90 percent of them the AstraZeneca vaccine produced domestically by the Serum Institute of India. “I appeal to all unvaccinated Indians to quickly get their shots and contribute to our historic golden vaccination journey,” Mandaviya said on Twitter.
21st Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Who can get a Covid booster jab in England?
The coronavirus booster vaccine dose is designed to improve the protection people have received from getting the first two doses of the vaccine, and combat any waning efficiency. Data from Public Health England (PHE) suggests that the protection provided by vaccines against severe illness gradually decreases over time. The introduction of the third jab started on 20 September. On 15 October, the NHS said more than 3 million people had received it in the first four weeks.
21st Oct 2021 - The Guardian
U.S. coronavirus vaccine donations reach 200 mln doses
The United States, under pressure to share its coronavirus vaccine supply with the rest of the world, has now donated 200 million doses to more than 100 countries, the White House announced on Thursday. President Joe Biden has faced some criticism from other world leaders for offering vaccine booster shots in the United States at a time when many people around the world have not received their first shot. In recent weeks, the United States has stepped up its donations. Biden told Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta last week that the United States will make a one-time donation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union.
21st Oct 2021 - Reuters
Feature: Pakistani experts call for safety measures adherence, aggressive vaccination drive to beat back COVID-19
Talha Hashmi, a medical practitioner at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi, has spent comparatively quiet and peaceful days at his workplace as fears of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subside in Pakistan with a substantial decrease in the number of new daily infections recently. Hashmi said there were times when he was working extra hours and night shifts in the isolation ward of the hospital reserved for COVID-19 patients after the outbreak. "It was extremely challenging for us (healthcare workers). It was not only the deadly virus we were fighting, but also the fear and anxiety surrounding the disease as health experts were not sure how it behaves exactly due to its novelty... and there was no vaccine, inciting severe panic among people." "Hospitals were overwhelmed with coronavirus patients throughout the country. There was a chaotic situation. At one point, my hospital even stopped taking more patients due to the unavailability of beds and shortage of oxygen. Turning down patients who needed urgent medical assistance was the most painful and unforgettable moment of my life," Hashmi said.
21st Oct 2021 - Xinhua
Unvaccinated players face being barred after AFL issues Covid-19 jab mandate
All AFL and AFLW players will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by mid-February or they will be barred from playing and training. The AFL has released its long-awaited vaccination policy, with clubs to ultimately determine action on staff who do not receive the jab. If players do not have a medical exemption, there will be options to transfer them to the inactive list, pay them no less than 25% of their contracted salary, or agree to part ways. The AFL’s vaccination schedule will be rolled out across three stages, but all players will be required to have the jab eventually.
21st Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Opinion | Will Covid Really Change the Way We Work?
The U.S. economy is in the throes of what’s been called the Great Resignation: Workers are quitting their jobs at or near the highest levels on record since tracking began in 2001. The attrition is particularly acute in the hospitality sectors, but it isn’t limited to low-wage industries. As of August, more than 10 million jobs sat open, causing businesses to reduce their hours and change how they operate. As my colleague David Leonhardt has said, what the economy is now experiencing is not a labor shortage so much as it is a shortage of workers who are willing to accept the terms employers are used to offering them. “It’s like the whole country is in some kind of union renegotiation,” Betsey Stevenson, a University of Michigan economist who was an adviser to President Barack Obama, told The Times. “I don’t know who’s going to win in this bargaining that’s going on right now, but right now it seems like workers have the upper hand.”
21st Oct 2021 - The New York Times
India celebrates 1B vaccine doses, hopes to speed 2nd shots
India celebrated giving its billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose on Thursday, a hopeful milestone for the South Asian country where the delta variant fueled a crushing surge earlier this year and missteps initially held back its inoculation campaign. About half of India’s nearly 1.4 billion people have received at least one dose while around 20% are fully immunized, according to Our World in Data. Many of those shots have come in just the past couple of months, after the rollout languished in the first half of the year amid vaccine shortages and problems with the system for rolling them out.
21st Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Half doses, third doses, kids’ doses: Covid vaccine delivery goes next-level difficult
Sorting all this out will fall to pharmacies, immunization programs, pediatricians, and vaccine administrators, many already stretched thin, who will also have to track inventory and try to minimize waste. It will be a quick turnaround, as well: As soon as the CDC checks the final box for boosters with its recommendations, people will start demanding them. FDA leadership acknowledged all this will pose challenges. “Although it is not simple, it also is not utterly hopelessly complex,” Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said Wednesday on a call with reporters after the agency issued the new (Moderna and J&J) and revised (Pfizer) emergency authorizations.
21st Oct 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullNHS Chair Says Young May Be Infecting Old in U.K. Covid Surge
Amid concern that a new twist on the delta variant could be driving the current U.K. coronavirus surge, National Health Service chair David Prior said it’s more likely that school-aged children are infecting older people whose vaccine-induced immunity is on the wane. “It’s too early to say, but that’s what we think is the most likely explanation,” Prior said Tuesday evening in an interview at a Boston health conference. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted on Sunday that “urgent research” was needed to determine if the new delta variant AY.4 -- which represents 8% of recently sequenced cases in the U.K. -- was more transmissible and better at evading immune defenses.
20th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Roche raises 2021 outlook as COVID-19 tests continue powering sales
Swiss drugmaker Roche raised its 2021 sales forecast after posting an 8% rise in nine-month revenues, powered by demand for COVID-19 tests and strength in the overall business due to newly launched diagnostics platforms and medicines. Group sales in the nine months to September rose to 46.68 billion Swiss francs ($50.54 billion) from 43.98 billion Swiss francs a year earlier, the Basel company said on Wednesday, as diagnostics division sales jumped 39%. "The demand for coronavirus tests remained high in the third quarter due to the Delta variant," Chief Executive Severin Schwan said, adding that there have also been signs of recovery in the pharmaceuticals unit since the summer.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
Novavax tumbles after report on COVID-19 vaccine production delay
Shares of Novavax Inc fell 16% after a report from Politico said the company faces significant hurdles in proving it can manufacture its experimental COVID-19 vaccine that meets regulators' quality standards, resulting in production delays. The methods Novavax used to test the efficacy of its vaccine have fallen short of U.S. regulators' standards, according to the Politico report, citing people familiar with the matter. The production delays are likely to affect deliveries to the COVAX facility, which aims to provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, the report added. Novavax and India's Serum Institute, the world's largest vaccine producer, had together committed to providing more than 1.1 billion doses to COVAX.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
As COVID-19 engulfs Romania, funeral homes struggle to keep up
As an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 fatalities engulfs Romania, funeral home owner Sebastian Cocos is struggling to source coffins and keep up with a faster pace of burials. But for him, nothing brings home the scale of what is currently the world's deadliest epidemic more than the mourners who keep returning. "There were families who buried up to four people in two weeks, and that is not easy," he told Reuters. Based in the central city of Ploiesti, Cocos is also president of a national funeral home association.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Lockdowns, record COVID-19 deaths hit Russia, Eastern Europe as region spurns vaccines
Russia will shut workplaces for a week, Latvia went back into lockdown for a month and Romanian funeral homes are running out of coffins, as vaccine-sceptic countries across ex-communist Eastern Europe face record-setting disease and deaths. Russia, which boasted of developing one of the earliest COVID-19 vaccines, has been unable to persuade large swathes of the population to take it, and is now facing its highest daily death rates of the pandemic.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Booster shots could soon be recommended for people as young as 40, source says
Booster protection could soon expand to a much broader population, as a source says the US government likely will soon recommend additional doses to people as young as 40 who received a Moderna or Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. "I believe it will happen," the source familiar with the plan told CNN's Elizabeth Cohen. There is "growing concern within the FDA" that US data is beginning to show more hospitalizations among people under age 65 who have been fully vaccinated, the source said.
20th Oct 2021 - CNN
U.S. workers face job losses as COVID-19 vaccine mandates kick in
Thousands of unvaccinated workers across the United States are facing potential job losses as a growing number of states, cities and private companies start to enforce mandates for inoculation against COVID-19. In the latest high-profile example, Washington State University (WSU) fired its head football coach and four of his assistants on Monday for failing to comply with the state's vaccine requirement. The coach, Nick Rolovich, had applied for a religious exemption from the mandate earlier this month.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Tokyo aims to lift COVID-19 curbs on restaurants as cases fall - media
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is aiming to ease COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants next week as infections continue to decline, the Jiji news service said on Wednesday. The easing will be announced as early as Thursday and would apply to businesses that are certified as following anti-infection measures, Jiji reported, citing informed sources. Representatives for the Tokyo government did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand's daily COVID-19 cases fall, some classrooms to reopen
Daily COVID-19 cases in New Zealand fell on Wednesday after a record jump the day before, with most infections still in Auckland as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to affect the country's biggest city. Authorities reported 60 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, of which 56 were in Auckland, taking the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 2,158. There have been 28 deaths in total since the pandemic began and 43 people are currently hospitalised because of the virus.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
All Australians to be offered Covid-19 booster jabs - as nation reaches 70% double dose rate
Mr Hunt would not confirm whether or not Australians will need to prove they've had a third jab in order to travel internationally. 'I will follow medical advice on that and I won't speculate on passports. That is very much medical question with the science to flow over the coming months,' he said. It comes as Australia achieves the 'key milestone' of a 70 per cent double vaccination rate in over 16s. Professor Kelly said he would wait for further scientific advice before deciding the timeframe between second and third doses.
20th Oct 2021 - Daily Mail
White House details plan to roll out Covid-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11
The White House on Wednesday unveiled its plans to roll out Covid-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11, pending US Food and Drug Administration authorization. The Biden administration has secured enough vaccine supply to vaccinate the 28 million children ages 5 to 11 who would become eligible for vaccination if the vaccine is authorized for that age group and will help equip more than 25,000 pediatric and primary care offices, hundreds of community health centers and rural health clinics as well as tens of thousands of pharmacies to administer the shots, according to the White House. "We know millions of parents have been waiting for Covid-19 vaccine for kids in this age group. And should the FDA and (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) authorize the vaccine, we will be ready to get shots in arms," White House Covid-19 response director Jeff Zients told reporters at a White House Covid-19 briefing on Wednesday.
20th Oct 2021 - CNN
Serbia introduces COVID-19 passes for indoor cafes and restaurants
Serbia will make a COVID-19 "health pass" mandatory for access to restaurants, cafes and bars in the evenings, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday, as the country struggles with persistently high numbers of coronavirus infections. As of Oct. 23, people who want to visit indoor cafes, hotels and restaurants after 10 p.m., will need to show a pass - a digital or paper certificate showing someone has been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from the virus. Serbia, which has a population of 6.7 million, is struggling with a daily average of around 6,000 cases of COVID-19. So far, it has reported over 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 9,214 deaths.
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: More visits allowed to Northern Ireland care homes
Covid-19 visiting restrictions in care homes in Northern Ireland are being eased from Wednesday. Up to four people from no more than two households can now visit, with a maximum of four such visits per week allowed. However, the easing of restrictions may not fully apply if the care home has an active Covid-19 outbreak.
The arrangements are set out in the Department of Health's Visiting With Care - A Pathway document. More clarity has been provided around visits from clergy, and further advice added around how residents can be facilitated to leave their care home.
20th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Bulgaria makes COVID 'health pass' obligatory for leisure activities
Bulgaria will make a COVID-19 "Green Certificate" mandatory for indoor access to restaurants, cinemas, gyms and shopping malls, the health minister said on Tuesday, as the country struggles with a rising number of coronavirus infections. The health pass - a digital or paper certificate showing someone has been vaccinated, tested negative or recently recovered from the virus - was originally conceived to ease travel among European Union states. As of Oct. 21, people who want to visit indoor public spaces including cafes, hotels, concert halls, museums and swimming pools should show such a health pass, interim Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov told reporters
20th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids Ages 5-11 to Be Given at Pediatric Offices, Schools Once Authorized
In a step to extend the reach of its Covid-19 vaccination drive, the Biden administration is preparing to distribute shots to children at doctors’ offices, pharmacies and schools should federal regulators clear the inoculations for kids ages 5-11. The Biden administration said it has procured enough doses to vaccinate the nation’s children and will begin shipping supplies if and when the shots are cleared for use. Officials aim to have a plan in place as soon as young children are eligible in hopes of getting as many as possible vaccinated quickly.
Rates of hospitalization among children are higher than earlier in the pandemic due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, and public-health authorities plan to offer shots in settings more familiar for children than the mass sites used for many adults. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration this month seeking emergency authorization of their vaccine.
20th Oct 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
NYC requiring vaccine for cops, firefighters, city workers
New York City will require its entire municipal workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, an ultimatum that ensures a fight with some unions representing employees, including police officers and firefighters, who have refused the shots. The Democrat gave approximately 46,000 unvaccinated city employees until Nov. 1 to get their first vaccine dose, and he offered an incentive: City workers who get a shot by Oct. 29 at a city-run vaccination site will get an extra $500 in their paycheck. “My job as your mayor is to keep this city safe, keep this city healthy. And vaccination is the way,” he said.
20th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
As deaths rise, Russian doctors despair at low vaccine rate
Dr. Georgy Arbolishvili doesn’t need to see government statistics or hear about the records being broken every day for infections and deaths to know that Russia is struggling through a particularly alarming phase of the coronavirus pandemic. He simply looks around his filled-to-capacity intensive care unit at Moscow’s Hospital No. 52. With only about a third of Russia’s 146 million people vaccinated against COVID-19, the country has hovered near 1,000 reported deaths per day for weeks and surpassed it on Saturday — a situation that Arbolishvili says “causes despair.”
20th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
US expected to authorize mix-and-match COVID booster shots
Federal regulators are expected to authorize the mixing and matching of COVID-19 booster doses this week in an effort to provide flexibility as the campaign for extra shots expands. The upcoming announcement by the Food and Drug Administration is likely to come along with authorization for boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots and follows the OK for a third dose for the Pfizer vaccine for many Americans last month. The move was previewed Tuesday by a U.S. health official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the announcement.
20th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullIndia delays COVID-19 vaccine supplies to WHO-backed COVAX, sources say
India has delayed committing supplies of vaccine to the COVAX global sharing platform, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday, a day after one of its key backers, the WHO, said the agency could not "cut corners" to approve a domestically developed vaccine.
19th Oct 2021 - Reuters
It is ‘critical’ that booster jabs are accelerated – Neil Ferguson
It is “critical” that the Covid booster programme is accelerated, a leading member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said. Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London said there is a need to speed up boosters and the vaccination of teenagers, who he suggested should be given two doses of a jab to block infection and transmission. It came as NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said that, to “make the most of half-term”, the national booking service will be open for 12 to 15-year-olds to book their jabs at existing vaccination centres.
19th Oct 2021 - Evening Standard
WHO-led program aims to buy antiviral COVID-19 pills for $10
A World Health Organization-led programme to ensure poorer countries get fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments aims to secure antiviral drugs for patients with mild symptoms for as little as $10 per course, a draft document seen by Reuters says. Merck & Co's experimental pill molnupiravir is likely to be one of the drugs, and other drugs to treat mild patients are being developed.
The document, which outlines the goals of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) until September next year, says that the programme wants to deliver about 1 billion COVID-19 tests to poorer nations, and procure drugs to treat up to 120 million patients globally, out of about 200 million new cases it estimates in the next 12 months.
19th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Seniors are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. So far, 1 in 7 have gotten a booster shot of vaccine
As the US tries to stave off another Covid-19 surge this winter, health experts encourage anyone who is eligible to get a booster dose of vaccine do so. About 10.7 million people have received a booster shot, including roughly 15% of seniors ages 65 and up, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, only the Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use as a booster for certain high-risk groups who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago, the US Food and Drug Administration said. Advisers to the FDA recently recommended booster doses for some people who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
19th Oct 2021 - CNN
Germany may miss COVID-19 vaccine donation goal, blames manufacturers
Germany may miss its target to donate 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year due to conditions imposed by manufacturers and delivery shortfalls, a health ministry official said in a letter to Brussels seen by Reuters. The 100 million doses account for half of the total promised by European Union member states to poorer countries this year, according to the European Commission. But on Oct. 19, the foreign office said Germany had only donated just over 17% of that amount
19th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Face coverings compulsory in NI for autumn/ winter
Wearing face coverings in crowded indoor spaces will remain a legal requirement in Northern Ireland throughout autumn and winter. It is part of the executive's winter Covid contingency plans, outlined on Tuesday. First Minister Paul Givan said there would also be a "focus on flexible and hybrid working" in workplaces. He also set out a range of options if Covid cases rise sharply or hospital pressures become "unsustainable". Mr Givan said potential measures included deploying Covid vaccine passports in "higher risk settings", if considered appropriate.
19th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19: Irish press pause on some Covid-19 reopening plans
The Republic of Ireland is to pause some of the measures that had been planned for the reopening of society on Friday 22 October. It follows a rising number of Covid-19 cases in hospitals. The slight pause comes after a recommendation from the country's National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). It is being made even though 89% of those aged over 12 are vaccinated. Cabinet ministers have decided to continue the use of Covid certificates for the hospitality sector and for entrance to night clubs which will now open for the first time since March 2020.
19th Oct 2021 - BBC News
No special deals to allow unvaccinated players at Australian Open: official
Australia's Victoria state will not do special deals with unvaccinated athletes to allow them to compete at major events, an official said on Tuesday, putting Novak Djokovic's Australian Open title defence and bid for the Grand Slam record in doubt. World number one Djokovic, level on 20 Grand Slam titles with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, declined to reveal his vaccination status again this week and said he was unsure if he would defend his Australian Open crown as authorities work out COVID-19 restrictions for the tournament
19th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Ireland to allow nightclubs to reopen, but keeps some COVID curbs
Ireland will allow nightclubs to reopen for the first time since March 2020 but stepped back on Tuesday from plans to drop almost all COVID-19 restrictions in response to a rise in infections in one of the world's most vaccinated countries. After imposing one of Europe's toughest lockdown regimes, the government had hoped to lift most curbs this week including the need for physical distancing and requirement for vaccine certificates in bars and restaurants. Those measures will instead be extended until February, as will a requirement that bars and restaurants operate table service only. Those attending nightclubs must wear facemasks except when eating, drinking and dancing.
19th Oct 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand hits virus high, pushes vaccination as way out
New Zealand counted its most new coronavirus cases of the pandemic Tuesday as an outbreak in its largest city grew and officials urged vaccinations as a way out of Auckland’s two-month lockdown. Health officials found 94 new local infections, eclipsing the 89 that were reported twice during the early days of the pandemic 18 months ago. Most of the new cases were in Auckland, but seven were found in the nearby Waikato district. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said lockdown rule-breakers were contributing to the spread of infections and noted that many of the new cases had been detected among younger people. “I know the highs and lows of cases is incredibly hard on people, particularly those in Tamaki Makaurau,” Ardern said, using the Indigenous Maori name for Auckland. “I just wanted to reinforce again that we’re not powerless. We do have the ability to keep cases as low as we can.”
19th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
UK faces calls for ‘Plan B’ with virus cases high and rising
Life has returned to normal for millions in Britain since coronavirus restrictions were lifted over the summer. But while the rules have vanished, the virus hasn’t. Many scientists are now calling on the government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe’s highest, rise still further. The U.K. recorded 43,738 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, slightly down from the 49,156 reported Monday, which was the largest number since mid-July. New infections have averaged more than 44,000 a day over the past week, a 16% increase on the week before. Last week, the Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 people in England had the virus, one of the highest levels seen in Britain during the pandemic.
19th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
UK under pressure to reimpose restrictions as COVID cases soar
Many scientists are pressing the British government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe’s highest, rise still further. The United Kingdom recorded 49,156 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the largest number since mid-July. New infections averaged 43,000 a day over the past week, a 15 percent increase compared with the week before. Last week, the Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 people in England had the virus, one of the highest levels seen in Britain during the pandemic. In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government lifted all the legal restrictions that had been imposed more than a year earlier to slow the spread of the virus, including face coverings indoors and social distancing rules. Nightclubs and other crowded venues were allowed to open at full capacity, and people were no longer advised to work from home if they could. Some modellers feared a big spike in cases after the reopening. That did not occur, but infections remained high, and recently have begun to increase.
19th Oct 2021 - AlJazeera
'They rushed the process’: Vaccine maker’s woes hamper global inoculation campaign
The world’s vaccine distributor has been counting on U.S. companies to provide more than 2 billion doses to lower and middle-income countries by the end of 2022 — a crucial step in ending the Covid-19 pandemic. But the campaign run by the international consortium known as COVAX, which has already been delayed significantly because of production lags, is now likely to fall short by more than 1 billion doses as a key supplier faces significant hurdles in proving it can manufacture a shot that meets regulators’ quality standards, according to three people with direct knowledge of the company’s problems. The delay, which was confirmed by three other people familiar with the discussions between Maryland-based Novavax and the Biden administration, represents a major setback in the effort to vaccinate the world in the wake of new, more transmissible variants.
19th Oct 2021 - Politico
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullNearly a Third of Chicago Police Have Failed to Report Their Vaccine Status
About one-third of Chicago Police Department employees have not reported their Covid-19 vaccination status to the city, defying Friday’s deadline to provide the information or risk unpaid leave. About 64% of the department’s 12,770 employees have reported their vaccine status with about 36% of police staffers not providing the required information, according to data released by city officials on Monday. That’s the lowest reporting rate among the city’s departments. The figures show that 6,894 say they’re fully vaccinated and 1,333 report they are not, according to the data. About 4,500 from the department have not responded as mandated by the city amid a standoff between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7 President John Catanzara Jr.
18th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Russian regions introduce QR codes for entry to public venues as COVID-19 cases hit record
Many Russian regions on Monday announced plans to keep cafes, museums and other public venues open only to those who have recently recovered from COVID-19, have proof of inoculation with a Russian vaccine or a negative coronavirus test, as new cases in the country hit a record. The round of unpopular measures that limits freedoms in Russia comes as the number of daily COVID-19 infections reached an all-time high of 34,325 despite the state-driven vaccination programme.
18th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Biden: Teachers 'most consequential' people after parents
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted a White House ceremony Monday to recognize the 2021 and 2020 national teachers of the year, the state teacher finalists for those years and teachers nationwide, all of whom had to work longer and harder during the pandemic. The president was a surprise guest, walking out onto the South Lawn after the first lady, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and both national teachers had spoken at the ceremony. Biden said teachers are the “single most consequential people in the world,” beyond one’s parents, because of the influence they have over their students.
18th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Burundi launches COVID-19 vaccination drive
Burundi on Monday rolled out its first COVID-19 vaccines, months after most African countries, the latest step in the East African nation's shift towards a more active approach to containing the pandemic. The vaccination campaign started in the commercial capital of Bujumbura without fanfare. Dozens of city residents queued quietly at a vaccination site, telling Reuters they heard about the drive through word of mouth. No government officials were present to officially inaugurate the launch.
18th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announces COVID-19 roadmap to reopening as state records zero local cases
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has outlined a roadmap to reopen the state's borders to COVID-19 hotspots for fully vaccinated people by Christmas. Fully vaccinated travellers will be allowed to enter Queensland without the need to quarantine from December 17. It comes as the state recorded zero new locally acquired COVID cases in the past 24 hours, while more than 8,000 people remain stranded interstate, having applied for border passes to enter Queensland. Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland would begin a phased border reopening for fully vaccinated people from November 19.
18th Oct 2021 - ABC News
Merck COVID-19 pill sparks calls for access for lower income countries
The plan to roll out Merck & Co's (MRK.N) promising antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 risks repeating the inequities of vaccine distribution, potentially leaving the nations with the greatest need once again at the back of the line, international health groups say. For example, only about 5% of Africa’s population is immunized, creating an urgent need for therapeutics that could keep people out of hospitals. That compares with more than a 70% inoculation rate in most wealthy nations. Merck on Oct 11 applied for U.S. emergency clearance of the first pill for COVID-19 after it cut hospitalizations and deaths by 50% in a large clinical trial.
18th Oct 2021 - Reuters
How the Covid-19 booster shots could make the vaccination gap worse
"We're all triply-vaccinated!" friends gleefully told me last week, as they invited me to their home for dinner. They were thrilled. I had rarely seen such big smiles since the Covid-19 pandemic began. These are important developments, but they arrive at a time when major challenges remain, since about 66 million American adults have still not yet been fully vaccinated. Forty-six percent of Whites, 49% of Hispanics and 54% of Blacks in the country have not yet gotten a single shot. While my friends were delighted to receive extra protections and invite other people to dinner, much of the country remains wary. To overcome the growing pandemic, we as a nation must all now push to address this widening gap.
18th Oct 2021 - CNN
U.S. administers 408.3 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC
The United States has administered 408,265,959 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The figures are up from the 407,446,961 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Oct. 16. The agency said 218,805,579 people had received at least one dose while 189,141,481 people were fully vaccinated as of 6 a.m. ET Sunday.
18th Oct 2021 - Reuters
EU has exported over 1 bln COVID-19 vaccines, von der Leyen says
More than a billion COVID-19 vaccines produced in the European Union have been exported since December 2020, making the bloc the biggest exporter of the shots, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. The vaccines had gone to more than 150 countries, and the EU had exported as many doses as it had distributed to its own citizens, von der Leyen added in a statement. The bloc started exporting vaccines at the start of the global roll out at a time when other major producers such as the United States were building up their own supplies and restricting exports.
18th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Should COVID-19 vaccines be mandatory?
Governments across the world are turning to vaccine mandates as the Delta variant continues to wreak havoc and vaccine uptake in some communities begin to slow down. New Zealand – which has abandoned its COVID-Zero strategy amid persistent infections – introduced last week a “no jab, no job” policy for doctors and teachers, while neighbouring Fiji says all of its public and private sector workers are liable to lose their jobs if they fail to get fully inoculated by November.
18th Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Thailand to cease Sinovac vaccine use when stocks end this month
Thailand will stop using the COVID-19 vaccine of China's Sinovac when its current stock finishes, a senior official said on Monday, having used the shot extensively in combination with Western-developed vaccines. Thailand used over 31.5 million Sinovac doses since February, starting with two doses to frontline workers, high-risk groups and residents of Phuket, a holiday island that reopened to tourists early in a pilot scheme.
18th Oct 2021 - Yahoo News
Vaccines, masks? Japan puzzling over sudden virus success
Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story. Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low. The bars are packed, the trains are crowded, and the mood is celebratory, despite a general bafflement over what, exactly, is behind the sharp drop. Japan, unlike other places in Europe and Asia, has never had anything close to a lockdown, just a series of relatively toothless states of emergency.
18th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Burundi starts COVID jabs; just North Korea, Eritrea remain
One of the world’s last three countries to administer COVID-19 vaccines started giving out doses on Monday as the East African nation of Burundi launched its national campaign. The vaccinations started in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, though health workers told The Associated Press that barely more than a dozen people had received doses by mid-afternoon. Recipients included the ministers of health and security. Only North Korea and the Horn of Africa nation of Eritrea have not administered any COVID-19 vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. Burundi’s previous government under the late President Pierre Nkurunziza had been criticized for taking the pandemic lightly.
18th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Gordon Brown calls for airlift of 240 million COVID-19 vaccines
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for an immediate airlift of unused COVID jabs to countries in the global south. Brown, an adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), is pressing the leaders of Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States to hold an emergency summit to agree on the airlift ahead of the G20 meeting later this month. He said an airlift of 240 million doses this month could save 100,000 lives. It would be the first part of a plan to transfer a billion vaccine doses from rich countries to lower-income countries over several months, a plan he says could prevent “many of the one million COVID-induce deaths projected over the next year.” “While vaccines have been pledged for donation from all donors, we are not getting the vaccines into people’s arms and urgently need a month-to-month timetable to meet our interim targets and prevent further loss of lives,” Brown was quoted as saying by the Observer newspaper.
17th Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullWits extends deadline for comments on proposed compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations
The deadline for comments on the Wits University's proposed compulsory vaccination policy has been extended by a week. Spokesperson Shiron Patel said the deadline was extended to Friday 22 October, and that more than 300 comments had been received so far, mostly in favour of the policy. The university is proposing compulsory vaccination against Covid-19, unless in exceptional circumstances. "There are also meetings taking place with various constituencies, including other student groupings, residences, organised labour, professional and academic staff, administrative staff, suppliers and retailers, etc," Patel said.
16th Oct 2021 - News24
Fully vaccinated travellers entering Malaysia to serve shorter quarantine period from Oct 18
Fully vaccinated travellers entering Malaysia will undergo a shorter quarantine period of seven days from Monday (Oct 18), Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on Friday. They can serve their quarantine at home, if suitable, or at quarantine stations, said Ismail Sabri after a meeting of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Management. “Travellers who are not vaccinated or have not been fully vaccinated will have to undergo 10 days’ quarantine at the quarantine station,” he said. The quarantine period for close contacts will also be reduced to seven days at home for those fully vaccinated. It will be 10 days for those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
16th Oct 2021 - Channel NewsAsia Singapore
Singapore Covid: Airline websites crash as borders set to open
Singapore's borders have effectively been closed for 21 months, so news that the rules will finally be relaxed has sent residents rushing for a ticket out. From 19 October, people will be able to travel freely from Singapore to ten countries around the world, without quarantine and with fewer swab tests, as long as they are vaccinated. By 15 November, one more country - South Korea - will be added to the list. "The cabin fever was just driving us crazy. There's no demarcation between leisure and work here," Low Ka Wei, a corporate communications executive, told the BBC.
16th Oct 2021 - BBC News
'Swab hubs' for arriving tourists
Bangkok is set to reopen to fully vaccinated international visitors next month with "swab hubs" being set up to test tourists upon their arrival in the capital. Bangkok governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang said that the government has laid down a policy to reopen the country on Nov 1 and precautions include testing and quarantine measures. As for the shortening of nighttime curfew hours starting on Saturday, City Hall will wait for an official announcement of the easing of virus curbs to be published in the Royal Gazette, Pol Gen Aswin said, adding that details regarding countdown events will then be discussed.
16th Oct 2021 - Bangkok Post
Russia's daily COVID-19 deaths top 1000 for first time
Russia’s daily death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 1,000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections. The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 1,002 deaths in the previous day, up from 999 on Friday, along with 33,208 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, more than 1,000 higher than the day before. Authorities have tried to speed up the pace of vaccination with lotteries, bonuses and other incentives, but widespread vaccine skepticism and conflicting signals from officials stymied the efforts. The government said this week that about 43 million Russians, or about 29% of the country’s nearly 146 million people, are fully vaccinated.
16th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Opinion | The Unvaccinated May Not Be Who You Think
Reality has refuted dire predictions about how Americans would respond to vaccine mandates. In a poll in September, 72 percent of the unvaccinated said they would quit if forced to be vaccinated for work. There were news articles warning of mass resignations. When large employers, school districts, and hospital systems did finally mandate vaccines, people subject to mandates got vaccinated, overwhelmingly. After United Airlines mandated vaccines, there were only 232 holdouts among 67,000 employees. Among about 10,000 employees in state-operated health care facilities in North Carolina, only 16 were fired for noncompliance.
16th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
Horse race marks Sydney's emergence from long COVID-19 lockdown
Thousands of Sydney residents flocked to a prominent horse race on Saturday, as Australia's biggest city emerges from a strict COVID-19 lockdown and the nation begins to live with the coronavirus through extensive vaccination. Up to 10,000 fully vaccinated spectators can now attend races such as The Everest in Sydney, Australia's richest turf horse race, and the country's most famous, Melbourne Cup Day, on Nov. 2. New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, reached its target of 80% of people fully vaccinated on Saturday, well ahead of the rest of Australia.
16th Oct 2021 - Reuters
New Zealand vaccinates 2.5% of its people in a day in drive to live with COVID-19
New Zealand vaccinated at least 2.5% of its people on Saturday as the government tries to accelerate inoculations and live with COVID-19, preliminary health ministry data showed. Through an array of strategies, gimmicks and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's encouragement through the day, 124,669 shots were administered by late in the day in a country of 4.9 million. "We set a target for ourselves, Aotearoa, you've done it, but let's keep going," Ardern said, using a Maori name for New Zealand at a vaccination site, according to the Newshub news service. "Let's go for 150 [thousand]. Let's go big or go home."
16th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to lift restrictions Nov 8 for vaccinated foreign travelers
The White House on Friday will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting Nov. 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States for as long as 21 months. The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the United States from China, Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil, much of Europe and elsewhere; shrunk U.S. tourism; and hurt border community economies. They prevented many loved ones and foreign workers from reuniting with families.
16th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Zimbabwe bars unvaccinated civil servants from work
Zimbabwe will bar unvaccinated government workers from reporting for duty from Monday as part of efforts to fight COVID-19, an official circular showed. The southern African country has, as of Oct. 14, recorded 4,655 COVID-19-related deaths from 132,251 infections since March 2020. Although the country was one of the first on the continent to vaccinate against COVID-19, less than 2.5 million people out of its 15 million population have been fully vaccinated.
15th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. will accept mixed doses of vaccines from international travellers
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday that it will accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travelers, a boost to travelers from Canada and other places. The CDC said last week that it would accept any vaccine authorized for use by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization. "While CDC has not recommended mixing types of vaccine in a primary series, we recognize that this is increasingly common in other countries so should be accepted for the interpretation of vaccine records," a CDC spokeswoman said.
15th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Vaccine-Mandate Bans Tread on Uncertain Legal Ground
State-imposed bans on Covid-19 vaccine mandates have set up a potential legal clash with the federal government as the Biden administration rolls out a requirement that large companies make sure their employees get inoculated. In Texas and Montana, employers are scrambling to understand the consequences of state orders restricting employers from requiring their workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. At the same time, they are awaiting rules from the federal government that will mandate shots for millions of American workers—an order from President Biden that is also likely to face lawsuits, casting more uncertainty over the final outcome.
14th Oct 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Verizon says 30000 U.S. employees must meet Dec. 8 vaccination deadline
Verizon Communications said on Thursday the majority of its U.S. workforce must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 under President Joe Biden's federal contractor executive order. Verizon said thousands of non-union U.S. employees must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 under the executive order. Verizon, a federal contractor, said it was in discussions with its unions about vaccination requirements for 30,000 U.S. unionized employees.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. donates 17 million J&J doses to African Union
President Joe Biden told visiting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday that the United States will make a one-time donation of more than 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union, the White House said. The meeting with Kenyatta at the White House marked Biden's first as president with an African leader. Kenya holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month. The United States and Kenya have long cooperated on economic and security initiatives including counterterrorism.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
France donates COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria under COVAX scheme
Nigeria has received 501,600 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine from the French government through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, a senior health official said on Thursday. Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the country also received 434,400 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the African Union. Both supplies were received last week, Shuaib said, adding that more were expected through the COVAX facility and the African Union.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to ship 2.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan
The U.S. government will ship 2.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan on Thursday, bringing the total number of doses sent to the South Asian country to about 18.3 million, more than any other country, a White House official said. The latest shipments of the vaccine lots made by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech are due to arrive on Saturday via the COVAX distribution program, said the official, who asked to remain unidentified.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
How do you vaccinate a small African nation? Rwanda’s health minister explains
An outlier in Africa’s slow rollout, Rwanda has raced ahead and vaccinated more than 90 per cent of adults in its capital. Minister of Health Dr Daniel Ngamije tells the Evening Standard’s Vaccine for the World project how Rwanda did it
14th Oct 2021 - Evening Standard
Hospitals weigh COVID vaccine mandates for patients in need of lifesaving organ transplants
The recent uproar over a hospital requiring a Colorado woman to get a coronavirus vaccine before being considered for an organ transplant reveals the kind of decisions transplant centers make every day. Hospitals that transplant hearts, livers, lungs or other organs have strict requirements and prioritize patients based on a range of factors, including medical need, suitability and likelihood of success.
“Organs are a scarce resource,” said Deepali Kumar, president-elect of the American Society of Transplantation. “We have a duty to make sure that gift is protected and also that our patients have the best possible outcomes.”
14th Oct 2021 - USA TODAY
Queensland cops take police to court over Covid vaccine mandates
Queensland Police have been told by their commissioner to get Covid vaccine
But 50 furious staff members are taking the fight to court and refuse to get vax
Dozens of officers have already been suspended after not getting vaccinated
Mandatory vaccination is becoming an increasingly controversial issue
In NSW, people must be double-jabbed just to go to shops or the pub
14th Oct 2021 - Daily Mail
Covid vaccines for US children are coming but challenge will be persuading parents
Covid vaccines for children aged five to 11 are inching closer to authorization in the US, with possible availability as soon as early November, and experts are already looking to the next hurdle: actually getting the shots in those young arms. Only one-third of parents plan to vaccinate their children as soon as the vaccines are ready, the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation has found. Another third of those surveyed want to wait and see how the rollout goes. “What’s going to be actually more challenging, beyond having the infrastructure to be able to administer the Covid-19 vaccines, is ensuring that parents feel comfortable vaccinating their children,” Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist and senior director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at NYC Health + Hospitals, told the Guardian. About half of children 12 and older have been vaccinated in the months since the vaccines were given the green light for those ages.
14th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
Coronavirus: Unions call for improved vaccine rollout
A global coalition of more than 350 trade unions is renewing calls for politicians to waive the patents on Covid vaccines.
They say that failing to do so would compound supply chain crises and inflict "economic self-harm".
It comes as the World Trade Organization (WTO) tries to broker a compromise at a meeting in Geneva.
Critics argue that accelerating the rollout of vaccines is more complex than just the waiving of patents.
The dilemma being discussed at the WTO meeting centres on finding the best way to ensure the most widespread and equitable way of vaccinating the whole world from coronavirus and ending the pandemic. Successfully doing so would allow the removal of restrictions that have impaired economic growth.
14th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19 Australia: Two of Australia's biggest banks to require their 75,000 staff to get Covid jab
Westpac and Commonwealth Bank to require 75,000 workers to get Covid-19 jab
Employees need to be double-jabbed from December to return to the workplace
Westpac boss said the mandate is necessary to protect both staff and customers
It comes after PwC told 8000 staff they need to get vaccinated against Covid-19
14th Oct 2021 - Daily Mail
Nigeria orders civil servants to show COVID-19 vaccination or negative test from Dec 1
Nigeria will require civil servants to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test for the disease to gain access to their offices from the beginning of December, a presidential committee said on Wednesday. The presidential committee said unvaccinated government workers will need to present a negative test result done within 72-hours before they are granted access to their offices across the country and its embassies abroad. "An appropriate service wide advisory/circular will be issued to guide the process," Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, said in a statement.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Ireland may not drop all COVID-19 restrictions next week, ministers say
Ireland raised doubts over its plans to drop almost all COVID-19 restrictions next week due to a rise in cases, with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe saying a full return of office workers was now unlikely. Ireland has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world with 92% of adults fully protected but also one of the highest infection rates in Europe with around 400 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. With hospitalisations ticking up, though still far below peaks this year and last, ministers will discuss at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday whether this will push up critical care needs ahead of the busy winter period.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Melbourne set for COVID lockdown exit despite record cases as vaccinations spike
Melbourne will exit months of COVID-19 lockdown next week helped by a faster-than-expected vaccine uptake, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday, ahead of schedule even though daily infections hit a record the same day. In the worst day of an outbreak of the Delta variant coronavirus that began in early August, Victoria logged 2,297 new cases on Thursday, up from 1,571 the day before and the highest for any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began. Eleven people died, bringing the total toll in the latest outbreak to 125.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Maori leader in New Zealand blasts country's new COVID-19 strategy
The co-leader of New Zealand's Maori Party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, says the country's new COVID-19 strategy amounts to a "death warrant" for Indigenous communities. Earlier in October, the country announced it is easing coronavirus restrictions in the largest city of Auckland. The decision was widely seen as moving away from a zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic, where a single coronavirus infection could trigger severe restrictions on public life. To date, only 28 New Zealanders are confirmed to have died of COVID-19.
13th Oct 2021 - NPR
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullAustralia's CSL reaffirms commitment to making AstraZeneca COVID vaccine
Australian biotech CSL said on Thursday it was committed to its agreement for the production of about 50 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine into 2022.
The announcement came after a media report said the British drugmaker's vaccine, Vaxzevria, will no longer be manufactured in Australia due to demand for vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer and Moderna have established a market dominance by using mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine technology to fight the pandemic.
14th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Booster Shot Bolsters Immune Defense, FDA Staff Say
Federal health regulators cautioned that data was limited and they had to rely on Johnson & Johnson’s own analysis for some of the study findings, rather than conducting their own.
13th Oct 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Belgium's Covid App Reports Data Breach Days Before Pass Rollout
Belgium’s app that verifies coronavirus vaccinations reported a data leak, just days before Brussels is set to require people to prove they’ve been jabbed in order to enter restaurants. A potential leak of the CovidScan app may have exposed the sensitive health data of 39,000 people, the country’s data protection authority said in an emailed press release. The app is used to read the QR codes -- usually on a phone -- that prove people have received a vaccine or have recently tested negative for the virus. From Friday the nation’s capital will mandate people to show a Covid pass to enter bars, restaurants, sports clubs and hospitals. The measure aims to stoke the local economy and spur vaccinations.
13th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Ivermectin Demand Sends Sales Soaring for Foreign Generic Drugmakers
Before the pandemic, Taj Pharmaceuticals Ltd. shipped negligible amounts of ivermectin to Russia for veterinary use. But over the past year it’s become a popular product for the Indian generic drug maker: Since July 2020, Taj Pharma has sold $5 million worth of the pills for human use in India and overseas. That’s a bonanza for a small family-owned company with an annual revenue of about $66 million.
13th Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Biden's vaccine mandate for companies nears as proposed rule sent to White House
The U.S. Labor Department on Tuesday submitted to the White House the initial text of President Joe Biden's plan to require private-sector workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested regularly. The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration submitted the proposed rule for review. Some details could change, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move indicates the proposed standard could be released soon. The mandate will apply to businesses with 100 or more employees and will be implemented under a federal rule-making mechanism known as an emergency temporary standard. It would affect roughly 80 million workers nationwide.
13th Oct 2021 - Reuters
WHO chief urges COVID-19 vaccine sharing to make mass coverage 'reality'
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday urged countries and companies controlling the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to prioritize supply to the vaccine sharing program COVAX in order to meet vaccination targets. "We're working with leaders to support the prioritization and planning that's needed to make 40% coverage a reality with aggressive and ambitious action," he said at a media briefing.
13th Oct 2021 - MSN.com
'It's not Satanism': Zimbabwe church leaders preach vaccines
Apostolic groups that infuse traditional beliefs into a Pentecostal doctrine are among the most skeptical in Zimbabwe when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, with an already strong mistrust of modern medicine. Many followers put faith in prayer, holy water and anointed stones to ward off disease or cure illnesses. While mandates — a blunt no vaccine, no entrance rule — is the way to go for some, there’s a subtler approach for the Apostolic and other anti-vaccine Pentecostal groups, partly, but not only, because they are deeply suspicious of vaccines.
13th Oct 2021 - Associated Press
United Airlines must hold off on its vaccine mandate
A federal judge in Texas ordered United Airlines to temporarily halt its plan to put unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave if they have requested an exemption from the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. United Airlines announced Aug. 6 that the Chicago-based airline was requiring all 67,000 of its U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated. At the time, the airline said about 90% of pilots and 80% of flight attendants had already been vaccinated. But for the small portion of employees that refused to get a coronavirus vaccine and requested either a medical or religious exemption from United, the company said it would place those workers on unpaid leave.
13th Oct 2021 - NPR
Putin says Russia needs to speed up vaccination for Covid-19
Russia must accelerate Covid-19 vaccinations, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on Tuesday as the country recorded its highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic. Addressing newly elected lawmakers of the State Duma -- Russia's lower parliament house -- Putin urged the deputies who had gathered in the Kremlin to convince the Russian public to get vaccinated as the situation continues to worsen across the vast country. "You know that the number of infections is growing in many regions and medical specialists are working in difficult conditions. We all know well that vaccination can save us from the virus and from a severe course of the disease. It is necessary to step up the vaccination pace," Putin said.
13th Oct 2021 - CNN
Boeing tells workers they must get COVID-19 vaccine
The Boeing Co. has told employees they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or possibly be fired. The Seattle Times reports the deadline for workers at the aerospace giant is Dec. 8. “Compliance with these requirements is a condition of employment,” states a Boeing internal presentation from Tuesday viewed by the newspaper. “Employees who are unable to meet these requirements ... may be released from the company.” Employees can request exemptions “due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief.” Any employee granted such an exemption will have to “undergo frequent testing for COVID-19” and be ready to “present a negative test result upon request.”
13th Oct 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19 vaccine boosters are 'immoral' and 'unfair', says WHO chief
Distributing Covid-19 vaccine booster shots in some countries while inoculations across Africa lag is "immoral," according to the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). The increasing use of boosters is "immoral, unfair and unjust and it has to stop," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told CNN's Becky Anderson on Tuesday. "To start boosters is really the worst we can do as a global community. It is unjust and also unfair because we will not stop the pandemic by ignoring a whole continent, and the continent that doesn't have any manufacturing capacity of other means," he said.
13th Oct 2021 - CNN
Russia, EU to discuss terms for recognising COVID-19 vaccine certificates -Ifax
Russia and the EU will discuss terms for the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates for their respective shots at talks, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's health ministry as saying on Wednesday. The EU's ambassador to Moscow last week said Russia has repeatedly delayed inspections by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) necessary for the certification of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union
13th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown may lift early
Melburnians could know by the end of the week if lockdown will lift early, with Victoria on track to reach its 70 per cent double vaccination target ahead of schedule. The city was expected to exit its sixth hard lockdown on October 26, but the rate of people taking up COVID-19 vaccinations means the coverage target will be achieved earlier. "Just give me a few more days, and I'll give you as much clarity as I can about what next week looks like and the week after that and the week after that," Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters
13th Oct 2021 - MSN.com
Doubts over demand on eve of Indonesia's Bali reopening
Hours before Indonesia's top holiday destination Bali reopens to foreign tourists after 18 months of pandemic hiatus, the island is lacking one crucial ingredient: international flights. Tourism-reliant Bali is scheduled to reopen on Thursday and though its Ngurah Rai international airport has carried out simulations preparing for the tourists to return, it is not expecting much to happen soon. "So far there is no schedule," said Taufan Yudhistira, a spokesman for the airport.
13th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 pandemic not in 'rear view mirror' for hospitality sector, pubs boss warns PM
COVID-19 is not in the "rear view mirror" for Britain's hospitality sector and it still has symptoms that are "very real", a leading pubs boss has told Sky News. Clive Chesser, chief executive of Punch Pubs, spoke about the challenges facing the sector at a discussion on the UK's recovery with leaders from across the economy at Sky's Big Ideas Live event. Mr Chesser said the "celebratory" tone of the prime minister's speech to the Conservative Party conference last week did not match the reality facing hospitality businesses.
12th Oct 2021 - Sky News
S.Korea to donate 1.1 mln doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, 470,000 doses to Thailand
South Korea will donate 1.1 mln doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam and 470,000 doses to Thailand, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday. The donations come as South Korea has administered nearly 80% of its 52 million population with at least one dose of a vaccine, KDCA said
12th Oct 2021 - Reuters
WA's health sector vaccine mandate puts pressure on overstretched bush hospitals
Almost two weeks after Western Australia's health sector vaccine mandate took effect, just a small number of staff losses is increasing pressure on struggling hospital wards and fanning tension between burnt-out workers. Health authorities have confirmed frontline staff have been removed from rosters for refusing to have at least one dose since the rules came into force at the start of the month. The nurses union, which supports the mandate, has accused health bureaucrats of not preparing for the inevitable loss of staff at a time when hospitals in WA's remote north are already being pushed to the brink due to a nurse shortage.
12th Oct 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Bangladesh plans to vaccinate 80 mn people against Covid by next January
Bangladesh aims to administer Covid-19 vaccines to nearly half of its population by next January. Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the Bangladeshi government is working to vaccinate 80 million people by December and January, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Bangladesh's state-run news agency BSS. The minister said the government is considering vaccinating children aged between 12 and 17 years. Bangladesh has already announced a target of vaccinating 80 per cent of its population by 2022. The South Asian country has so far got nearly 70 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
12th Oct 2021 - Business Standard
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private businesses
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order to prohibit any entity, including private business, from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on workers and called on state lawmakers to pass a similar ban into law. The move comes as the Biden administration is set to issue rules requiring employers with more than 100 workers to be vaccinated or test weekly for the coronavirus. Several major companies, including Texas-based American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have said they would abide by the federal mandate.
12th Oct 2021 - NPR
Covid-19 Australia: Chief Minister Andrew Barr confirms ACT will lift its lockdown this week
The ACT is set to end its harsh lockdown restrictions by the end of the week, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has confirmed. The territory's leader announced Canberra will officially emerge from lockdown at 11.59pm on Thursday as the state increases its vaccination coverage. 'Case numbers are expected to increase as restrictions are eased, but being fully vaccinated provides you with protection,' he said.
12th Oct 2021 - Daily Mail
Japan working on starting COVID-19 booster shots by year-end
The Japanese government is working on starting COVID-19 booster shots by year-end, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki said at a news conference on Tuesday. Isozaki added that details such as who would get booster shots first and how they would be administered are currently under discussion by experts. "We would like to ensure that the roll-out of the booster shots is done seamlessly, based on the advice of experts," he said.
12th Oct 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Parents of secondary school and college students urged to ensure their children test regularly and get vaccinated
The education secretary and health secretary have written to parents of secondary school and college students, urging them to ensure their children are testing regularly and also encouraging them to get vaccinated against coronavirus. The letter from Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid comes after official estimates showed that around 270,000 secondary pupils had COVID-19 in the week to 2 October.
12th Oct 2021 - Sky News
New Zealand seeks to ramp up COVID-19 vaccinations amid persistent cases
New Zealand expects to administer a record 100,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses in a single day during a mass immunisation drive on Oct. 16, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as she seeks to accelerate inoculations before easing curbs in Auckland. Ardern on Tuesday urged the country's population over 12 years of age "to roll up sleeves for New Zealand and help make us (one of) the most vaccinated and therefore protected countries in the world". Some 2.44 million, or 58% of the population over 12, have been fully vaccinated so far.
12th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 vaccine mandates work, Dr. Anthony Fauci says
The nation's top infectious disease expert says vaccine mandates work and they'll help get more people vaccinated against Covid-19. About a quarter of the eligible US population remains unvaccinated against coronavirus and the rate of people getting booster shots is now outpacing the rate of people getting their first doses.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday that the federal government is trying to persuade people to get vaccinated on their own, but some may need to be required. "We've obviously been trying very hard," Fauci said. "We try to get trusted messengers out there and try and get this away from being an ideological or political statement, get back into the realm of pure public health, and try to convince people."
12th Oct 2021 - CNN
Get vaccinated if you want to play Australian Open, minister tells players
Tennis players planning to compete in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park should get vaccinated for COVID-19 to give themselves the best chance of playing the Grand Slam, an Australian government official has said. Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, has introduced a vaccine mandate for all professional athletes but authorities have yet to clarify whether athletes from overseas or other Australian states must also vaccinate.
12th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Back to school: How are pupils being kept Covid-safe?
Face coverings are no longer compulsory in schools in England or Wales, although they are recommended in crowded spaces like school buses. However head teachers and health officials can ask staff and pupils to wear masks on school premises in response to local circumstances. Schools in Trafford, Cambridgeshire and West Yorkshire have already reintroduced face coverings. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi confirmed that mask-wearing in all English schools could be made compulsory again under the government's winter contingency "Plan B".
12th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullVirus czar ‘optimistic’ about COVID-19 decline, but says restrictions to remain
Falling coronavirus infection rates are an encouraging sign that a recent wave is coming to an end, national virus czar Salman Zarka said Monday, but warned against the country dropping its guard too soon. Zarka held a video press briefing in which he reviewed the declining coronavirus infections and plans to ease the quarantine regime for school children who are exposed to virus carriers. He said health officials are “optimistic that we are exiting the fourth wave” but cautioned, “we are not there yet.”
11th Oct 2021 - The Times of Israel
WA considers more mandatory COVID-19 jabs
Western Australia will look to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory in further sectors as as new pop-up clinics open across Perth. No new cases were reported on Monday after it was confirmed over the weekend that an interstate truck driver had been infectious while in WA. Five service stations which the driver attended between September 30 and October 3 have been identified as exposure sites. Ten close contacts and 24 casual contacts are isolating and being tested. Premier Mark McGowan revealed the figures while joining Rio Tinto officials to open a new vaccination hub at Perth Airport. The clinic is open to all fly-in, fly-out resources workers.
11th Oct 2021 - Perth Now
Religious Exemptions to Vaccine Mandates Tested in New York Case
Thousands of New York healthcare workers are in limbo as a federal judge considers whether the state’s vaccination mandate must accommodate requests for religious exemptions, in a case that could guide similar policies in other states. As written, New York’s vaccine mandate applies to all people who work in hospitals and nursing homes, and doesn’t allow healthcare employees to opt out with weekly testing. Starting last week, people were forced to choose between getting the shot and keeping their jobs. There were provisions for medical exemptions but not exemptions based on religious beliefs. Thousands of healthcare workers who refused vaccinations lost their jobs around the state when the mandate took effect, prompting hospitals to cancel elective surgeries and close operating rooms and outpatient clinics. Many nursing homes have stopped admitting new patients.
11th Oct 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
NHS encourages pregnant women to get COVID-19 vaccine
The NHS is encouraging pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine as new data shows that nearly 20 per cent of the most critically ill COVID patients are pregnant women who have not been vaccinated. Since July, one in five COVID patients receiving treatment through a special lung-bypass machine were expectant mums who have not had their first jab. Pregnant women have been treated with a therapy, called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), used only when a patient’s lungs are so damaged by COVID that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels. England’s top midwife is today reassuring women that the vaccine is safe and effective during pregnancy and is recommended by clinicians and charities.
Out of all women between the ages of 16 and 49 on ECMO in intensive care, pregnant women make up almost a third (32 percent) – up from just 6 per cent at the start of the pandemic, March 2020.
11th Oct 2021 - PharmiWeb
New Zealand makes COVID vaccines mandatory for doctors, teachers
New Zealand says it will soon require most of its healthcare workers and teachers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The new vaccine mandate, announced on Monday, compels doctors, pharmacists, community nurses and other healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by December. Teachers and other workers in the education sector must be fully vaccinated by January. “We can’t leave anything to chance so that’s why we are making it mandatory,” said Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s education minister who is also in charge of the country’s COVID-19 response. ”It’s not an easy decision, but we need the people who work with vulnerable communities who haven’t yet been vaccinated to take this extra step,” he added.
11th Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Malaysia and Singapore ease international travel restrictions in pivot to living with Covid
Singapore and Malaysia have each revealed plans to start reopening their borders as the Southeast Asian neighbors move away from their zero-Covid strategies toward living with the virus. Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Sunday the country would end its domestic and international travel restrictions for fully vaccinated residents from Monday, after reaching its target of full inoculation for 90% of the adult population.
It comes one day after Singapore added eight new countries to its vaccinated and quarantine-free travel lanes -- the most significant easing of travel restrictions since borders shut last March.
11th Oct 2021 - CNN
New Zealand makes COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for health workers
New Zealand will require teachers and workers in the health and disability sectors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as she extended restrictions in Auckland, its largest city, for another week.
11th Oct 2021 - Reuters
‘Naively ambitious’: How COVAX failed on its promise to vaccinate the world
Around the world this spring, country after country awaited their first Covid-19 vaccine shipments. They’d been promised deliveries by COVAX, the ambitious global collaboration set up to give people in rich and poor nations equitable access to the shots, but now, the vaccines were failing to arrive. In many cases, COVAX officials wouldn’t even answer the phone or respond to emails from top diplomats when asked what was happening. Uruguay was one of those nations. Its United Nations ambassador in Geneva, Álvaro Moerzinger Pagani, said his country bought vaccines from COVAX but was unable to speak to officials at the organization. “Maybe we don’t have the contacts,” he said. Libya’s UN ambassador in Geneva said he was also shut off from those with answers. COVAX “certainly was not fair and it was not equitable,” said the diplomat, Tamim Baiou.
11th Oct 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullItaly widens COVID-19 vaccine booster campaign to frail and over 60s
Italy has decided to provide a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to frail people regardless of their age as well as people aged 60 and over, the health ministry said on Friday. The booster dose would be available on condition that at least six months have passed since people completed their primary vaccination cycle, the ministry said in a statement. The European Union's drugs regulator said on Monday people with weakened immune systems should get a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna but left it to member states to decide if the wider population should have a booster
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Wasted COVID vaccine doses in Louisiana swell to 224,000
Louisiana’s problem of wasted COVID-19 vaccine shots continues to balloon, with about 224,000 doses thrown out across the state as health providers can’t find enough residents willing to roll up their sleeves. The number of trashed doses has nearly tripled since the end of July, even as Louisiana grappled with a fourth, deadly surge of the coronavirus pandemic during that time that led to increased interest in the vaccines. The latest data provided to The Associated Press by the Louisiana Department of Health showed 223,918 doses of the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been thrown out.
9th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Brazil has lined up 350 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for 2022, Health Minster says
Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Friday the country has already acquired, or is in advanced talks to secure, around 350 million vaccine doses for 2022. Queiroga said that although Sinovac's Coronavac vaccine was not currently part of plans for the national campaign next year, it could be incorporated if it receives full approval from Brazil's health regulator.
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Singapore expands quarantine-free travel, eyes COVID-19 'new normal'
Singapore is opening its borders to more countries for quarantine-free travel as the city-state seeks to rebuild its status as an international aviation hub, and prepares to reach a "new normal" to live with COVID-19. From Oct. 19 fully vaccinated people from eight countries, including Britain, France, Spain and the United States, will be able to enter the island without quarantining if they pass their COVID-19 tests, the government said on Saturday. The announcement marks a major step in Singapore's strategy to resume international links.
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Russians flock to Serbia for Western-made COVID-19 vaccines
When Russian regulators approved the country's own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely — a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in recent weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots.
9th Oct 2021 - The Independent
Canadian province of Ontario to further ease pandemic restrictions
Ontario is lifting capacity limits on concert venues, theaters and spectator facilities at sports games as of Saturday at midnight, the government of Canada's most populous province said on Friday, while continuing to require proof of vaccination and masks. Limited numbers of outbreaks in those settings have been reported, a statement from the provincial government said. Meeting and event spaces as well as horse racing facilities will be included, although indoor meeting and event spaces must be able to maintain physical distancing between people.
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Australia braces for more COVID-19 infections as country moves towards re-opening
Australia was bracing for more COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations, officials said on Saturday, even as it moves toward gradually easing pandemic restrictions with the vast majority of its people getting vaccinated against the virus. Sydney, in a lockdown for more than 100 days, is to ease some key restrictions for the fully vaccinated from Monday. More than 70% of people across New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, have been fully vaccinated. "We know that as we open up, case numbers will increase," said New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet. "But what has been key to keeping people safe is our high vaccination rate."
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
As Sydney readies to exit lockdown, doctors fret re-opening is moving too fast
Australian doctors warned a too-rapid easing of COVID-19 curbs in Sydney could put pressure on health systems and risk lives, as the city prepares for key restrictions to be relaxed next week after more than 100 days in lockdown. Stay-at-home orders are due to be lifted on Monday after New South Wales state this week hit its 70% target of full vaccination for its adult population, and owners of restaurants and other public venues are now scrambling to arrange supplies and staffing. While an easing of restrictions on travel for Sydneysiders outside of their local government areas had previously been flagged, authorities on Thursday also decided to bump up permitted limits for home gatherings, weddings and funerals - earning the ire of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
9th Oct 2021 - Reuters
India set to reopen for foreign travellers from 15 October
India will reopen to tourism from October 15, the government said, after more than a year of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign nationals will be able to apply for a visa for the first time since March 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed a strict lockdown in response to the pandemic. “After considering various inputs, the MHA (home ministry) has decided to begin granting fresh Tourist Visas for foreigners coming to India through chartered flights with effect from 15 October, 2021,” the home ministry said in a statement on 7 October.
It added that foreigners traveling to India via commercial flights will be able to enter on fresh tourist visas starting November 15, 2021. The home ministry has said all COVID-19 protocols “should be adhered to
9th Oct 2021 - Travel Daily Media
NSW hits ‘impressive’ vaccination target as 580 new Covid cases recorded
Almost 90 per cent of eligible NSW residents have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The state is expected to reach the milestone within the next two days. Premier Dominic Perrottet applauded NSW residents coming forward for their jabs. However, he said some Sydney postcodes were languishing at less than 50 per cent double-dose rates. “Vaccination is incredibly important. We know it keeps people safe, particularly those in vulnerable communities,” Mr Perrottet said.
“To be in a position as we come close to a 90 per cent first-dose vaccination rate is impressive.”
9th Oct 2021 - Perth Now
Pfizer shots offered to Novavax trial volunteers so they can travel
Britain announced that it will offer new vaccinations to thousands of people who volunteered for trials of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine, which hasn’t yet been approved for use in any country. About 15,000 people in Britain got Novavax shots as part of a clinical trial. While Britain recognises them as vaccinated, most countries don’t, meaning they can’t travel. Britain’s health department said on Friday that more than 15,000 participants would be given two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The government says it plans to expand the offer to about 6000 British participants in trials of other vaccines that also haven’t been approved for use. Britain has appealed to other members of the Group of 20 nations to classify clinical trial volunteers as vaccinated, but most haven’t done so.
9th Oct 2021 - Sydney Morning Herald
Bangkok's reopening to be postponed
Bangkok's reopening for inoculated tourists will be delayed by two weeks as most of the city's residents are still waiting for their second jabs, while the tourism ministry has pledged to open the city to bring at least 1 million international tourists this year. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the tourism and sports minister, said the appropriate timeline for Bangkok should be postponed from Oct 1 to Oct 15 as the capital city is expected to have administered Covid-19 vaccines to 70% of its residents by then. At present, 37% of population is fully vaccinated, while another 33% are in the 8-12 week interval following their first AstraZeneca shot.
9th Oct 2021 - Bangkok Post
Govt slams 'Pfizer jab is a killer' claim
The government has condemned a claim that the Pfizer mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, being offered to students aged 12-17 as part of the plan to reopen schools in November, will have fatal consequences for all recipients within two years. In a message spread via the Line app by several teenage groups campaigning against the Pfizer vaccination programme for young people, it was claimed the vaccine was a tool for committing genocide against young people as they would eventually die within two years if injected with the vaccine, said Dr Chawetsan Namwat, director of the Emergency Health Hazard and Disease Control Division. This claim is believed to have fuelled fears among the parents of many students who appear reluctant to give their consent to have their children vaccinated, he said.
9th Oct 2021 - Bangkok Post
San Francisco to welcome cruise ships after 19-month hiatus
Cruise ships are returning to San Francisco after a 19-month hiatus brought on by the pandemic in what’s sure to be a boost to the city’s economy, the mayor announced Friday. The Majestic Princess will sail into the port of San Francisco Monday, the first cruise ship to dock in the San Francisco Bay Area since March 2020 when the Grand Princess captured the world’s attention and made the coronavirus real to millions in the United States. The ship was carrying people infected with the coronavirus, and thousands of passengers aboard were quarantined as the ship idled off the California coast. The port of San Francisco, home to the Bay Area’s only passenger cruise terminal, expects to welcome 21 cruise ships through the remainder of the year.
9th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Nearly 2million over-50s have yet to first Covid vaccine, despite booster drive kicking off already
As many as 2million people over the age of 50 in England still haven't had a single Covid vaccine, official figures suggest. MailOnline's analysis of NHS vaccination data means about one in 10 of those who were prioritised in the jab rollout still haven't come forward. Up to 127,288 over-80s remain unvaccinated, despite the programme opening to them as the very first age group last December.
Age is the one of the biggest single risk factors for Covid. Yet, the analysis shows there are as many as 249,727 un-jabbed people in their 70s in England.
9th Oct 2021 - Daily Mail
Boosters, employer mandates drive increase in US vaccines
The number of Americans getting COVID-19 vaccines has steadily increased to a three-month high as seniors and people with medical conditions seek boosters, and government and employer mandates push more workers to take their first doses.
8th Oct 2021 - Associated Press on MSN.com
Japan’s new PM promises to do his utmost to end COVID-19 crisis
In his first policy speech, Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to do his utmost to lead the country out of the COVID-19 crisis, while protecting its territory and people in an increasingly tough security environment.
Kishida took the top job in the world’s third-largest economy on Monday, replacing Yoshihide Suga, who had seen his support undermined by surging COVID-19 infections. Daily cases have recently fallen and a long state of emergency was lifted this month. “I’m determined to devote body-and-soul to overcome this national crisis with the people, carve out a new era and pass on to the next generation a country whose citizens are rich at heart,” Kishida said in the speech to the lower house of parliament on Friday.
8th Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Give Asian youth a voice to decide their post-pandemic future
Like many of her generation, Pauline Mandrilla, a 23-year-old civil engineer from Manila, suddenly found herself jobless when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Mandrilla felt like a statistic, as she joined the ranks of some 22 per cent of unemployed Philippine youth affected by the pandemic’s economic fallout. “During the onset of the pandemic, we were placed in a no-work, no-pay situation,” Mandrilla recalled. “My previous job heavily relied on my being physically present on a construction site, but because of the quarantine restrictions, which halted public transportation in my region, I couldn’t go to work.”
8th Oct 2021 - South China Morning Post
Coronavirus: as Australia plans border reopening, stranded citizens wait with anxiety, trepidation
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to ease strict controls on overseas citizens returning home within weeks and to cut quarantine for those who have been vaccinated to seven days at home – rather than 14 at a hotel
But with promises of being able to return home for Christmas 2020 still ringing in their ears, many stranded Australians dare not hope the ordeal is over,
8th Oct 2021 - South China Morning Post
US will accept WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccines for international visitors
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said six vaccines approved by the FDA or listed by the world health body for emergency use will meet the criteria
The US is preparing to lift restrictions on fully vaccinated air travellers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe in November
8th Oct 2021 - South China Morning Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullItaly loosens COVID-19 restrictions on leisure activities
Italy increased the maximum attendance capacity allowed at cultural and sporting venues on Thursday, continuing its progressive easing of COVID-19 curbs for those who can show documents of immunity from the disease.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Spain's COVID-19 rate at 'low risk' level for first time in 15 months
Spain's coronavirus incidence dropped below 50 cases per 100,000 people on Thursday, reaching the threshold considered "low risk" by the Health Ministry for the first time in over a year.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid: AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines travel 9,000 miles to British team in Antarctica
The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been delivered to one of the most remote places on Earth, arriving in Antarctica nine months after it was first rolled out. The jab, developed at Oxford University, was flown more than 9,000 miles in order to vaccinate 23 UK scientists working at the British Antarctic Survey Research Station.
It's the furthest south any vaccine has ever travelled from the UK - a feat executed by the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, the RAF and contractor Crown Agents.
7th Oct 2021 - ITV News
Scandinavians curb Moderna shots for some younger patients
Scandinavian authorities on Wednesday suspended or discouraged the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in young people because of an increased risk of heart inflammation, a very rare side effect associated with the shot. Sweden suspended the use of Moderna for those recipients under 30, Denmark said those under 18 won’t be offered the Swiss-made vaccine, and Norway urged those under 30 to get the Pfizer vaccine instead. The countries have adequate supplies of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and will be able to continue their vaccination campaigns. In neighboring Finland, authorities are expected to announce their decision Thursday, according to Dr. Hanna Nohynek, chief physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, told local broadcaster YLE.
7th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Malaysia buys 150000 courses of Merck's COVID-19 pill
Malaysia has struck a deal with U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co to buy 150,000 courses of its experimental antiviral pill, the health ministry said on Thursday, joining other Asian countries in a rush to secure supplies. Molnupiravir, which would be the first oral antiviral medication for COVID-19 if it gets regulatory approval, could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of contracting severe COVID-19, clinical data has shown. The data sparked large demand for the drug in Asia, with South Korea, Singapore and Australia announcing similar deals to buy the Merck pill this week. Taiwan and Thailand are also in talks to buy it.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Canada imposes COVID-19 vaccine mandate on federal workers, transportation
Canada will place unvaccinated federal employees on unpaid leave and require COVID-19 shots for air, train and ship passengers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as he unveiled one of the world's strictest vaccine mandate policies. Federal employees will be required to declare their full vaccination status through an online portal by Oct. 29. Workers and passengers age 12 and older on trains, planes and marine transport operating domestically - which are federally regulated - must show they have been inoculated by Oct. 30.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters Canada
Los Angeles will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine for indoor establishments
By next month Los Angeles will require residents and visitors to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to eat, drink, or shop in indoor establishments across the city. Under this mandate, eligible patrons will need to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, coffee shops, stores, gyms, spas or salons. People attending large, outdoor events will also need to show evidence of either vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test to attend the event. Proof of vaccination includes a vaccination card issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a photo of both sides of the card, documentation from a health care provider, or a digital record of vaccination issued by California, another state or country.
7th Oct 2021 - NPR
Covid-19 booster shots have outpaced the US rate of new vaccinations. And the millions still unvaccinated could trigger 'future waves,' expert warns
The country has averaged more than 101,200 new cases a day over the last week -- down 41% from a peak in a Delta-driven wave reached in mid-September, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The number of Covid-19 patients in US hospitals -- 68,760 as of Thursday -- is down 34% from a Delta-wave peak reached in September, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Just over 56% of the total US population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This wave is receding, but unless we get the nearly 70 million unvaccinated Americans vaccinated, we are at risk for future waves," Dr. Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC, told CNN on Wednesday.
7th Oct 2021 - CNN
Finland joins Sweden and Denmark in limiting Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
Finland on Thursday paused the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for younger males due to reports of a rare cardiovascular side effect, joining Sweden and Denmark in limiting its use. Mika Salminen, director of the Finnish health institute, said Finland would instead give Pfizer's vaccine to men born in 1991 and later. Finland offers shots to people aged 12 and over. "A Nordic study involving Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark found that men under the age of 30 who received Moderna Spikevax had a slightly higher risk than others of developing myocarditis," he said.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters
The WHO has started shipping COVID-19 medical supplies to North Korea
The World Health Organization has started shipping COVID-19 medical supplies into North Korea, a possible sign that the North is easing one of the world's strictest pandemic border closures to receive outside help. WHO said in a weekly monitoring report that it has started the shipment of essential COVID-19 medical supplies through the Chinese port of Dalian for "strategic stockpiling and further dispatch" to North Korea. Edwin Salvador, WHO's representative to North Korea, said in an email to the Associated Press Thursday that some items, including emergency health kits and medicine, have reached the North Korean port of Nampo after North Korean authorities allowed the WHO and other U.N. agencies to send supplies that had been stuck in Dalian.
7th Oct 2021 - NPR
Can I get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time?
Can I get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time? Yes, you can get the shots in the same visit. When COVID-19 vaccines were first rolling out in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended waiting 14 days between the shots and other immunizations as a precaution. But the agency has since revised its guidelines and says the wait is unnecessary. The CDC and other health experts point to past experience showing that vaccines work as they should and any side effects are similar whether the shots are given separately or in the same visit. “We have a history of vaccinating our kids with multiple vaccines,” says flu specialist Richard Webby of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
7th Oct 2021 - The Independent
Sydney to exit COVID-19 lockdown next week after vaccination rate hits 70%
COVID-19 restrictions will be eased further in Sydney from Monday, authorities said, as Australia's largest city looks set to exit a nearly four-month lockdown after hitting its 70% full vaccination target. Fully vaccinated people in New South Wales (NSW) state will be able to leave their homes for any reason including visiting pubs, retail stores, cinemas and gyms, which will reopen under strict social distancing rules. The number of vaccinated visitors allowed to gather in a home will double to 10, while the limit on vaccinated people at weddings and funerals will be raised to 100. Nightclubs can partially reopen to vaccinated people once inoculations reach 80%, earlier than previously planned, and masks will not be mandatory in offices.
7th Oct 2021 - Reuters
While US summer surge is waning, more mandates in the works
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are coming down again, hospitalizations are dropping, and new cases per day are about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months — all signs that the summer surge is waning. Not wanting to lose momentum, government leaders and employers are looking to strengthen and vaccine requirements. Los Angeles enacted one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates Wednesday, a sweeping measure that would require the shots for everyone entering a bar, restaurant, nail salon, gym or Lakers game. New York City and San Francisco have similar rules. innesota’s governor this week called for vaccine and testing requirements for teachers and long-term care workers. In New York, a statewide vaccination mandate for all hospital and nursing home workers will be expanded Thursday to home care and hospice employees.
7th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCanada to require federal workers be vaccinated against COVID
Canada will require federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid administrative leave, the government announced, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strengthened his government’s efforts to combat the pandemic. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, Trudeau also announced that domestic travellers will need to show proof of vaccination to board aeroplanes, trains or cruise ships operating within the country.
7th Oct 2021 - Al Jazeera English on MSN.com
Biden to Spend $1 Billion to Boost Supply of Rapid Covid Tests
The White House on Wednesday announced a billion-dollar investment in at-home rapid coronavirus tests that it said would help quadruple their availability by later this year. By December, 200 million rapid tests will be available to Americans each month, with tens of millions more arriving on the market in the coming weeks, Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House’s Covid-19 coordinator, said at a news conference. Mr. Zients also said the administration would double the number of sites in the federal government’s free pharmacy testing program, to 20,000. The changes reflect the administration’s growing emphasis on at-home testing as a tool for slowing the spread of Covid-19.
6th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
COVID-19 infections dropping throughout the Americas, more vaccine needed, says health agency
The number of new COVID-19 infections has been dropping over the past month throughout the Americas, even though only 37% of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean are fully vaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said. PAHO also said it has closed vaccine supply agreements with Sinovac and AstraZeneca for the delivery of 8.5 million doses this year, and with China's Sinopharm for next year. Jamaica, Nicaragua and Haiti have yet to reach even 10% vaccination coverage, PAHO said.
6th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Los Angeles poised to enact strict vaccination mandate
Los Angeles leaders approved one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates — a sweeping measure that requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms or even a Lakers game. The City Council voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance that will require proof of full vaccination starting Nov. 4. The move came after the council postponed a vote last week to deal with concerns ranging from who could be fined for violations to whether employees could end up in fist-fights when they have to serve as vaccine door monitors. Some critics charge that a mandate would amount to segregation of those who cannot or refuse to be vaccinated. Others call it unenforceable.
6th Oct 2021 - Associated Press
Hospital system says it will deny transplants to the unvaccinated in 'almost all situations'
A Colorado-based health system says it is denying organ transplants to patients not vaccinated against the coronavirus in “almost all situations,” citing studies that show these patients are much more likely to die if they get covid-19. The policy illustrates the growing costs of being unvaccinated and wades into deeply controversial territory — the use of immunization status to decide who gets limited medical care. The mere idea of prioritizing the vaccinated for rationed health resources has drawn intense backlash, as overwhelmingly unvaccinated covid-19 patients push some hospitals to adopt “crisis standards of care,” in which health systems can prioritize patients for scarce resources based largely on their likelihood of survival.
6th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
‘Complex EU’ leads Europe to diverge from US on coronavirus vaccine booster
The world's two leading medicines regulators have reached different decisions on a third dose of the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine — and it’s partly because of the complexity of the EU, according to the European Medicines Agency. On September 22, the U.S. FDA authorized the use of the vaccine as a third, or booster, dose for all over 65s, and only those over 18 who are at greater risk from infection, such as those with underlying illnesses or frequently exposed to the virus, like health workers. By contrast, the European Medicines Agency said on Monday that the third dose can be given to all healthy people over 18 at least six months after their second dose.
6th Oct 2021 - POLITICO Europe
England urged to step up vaccinations to avoid winter Covid surge
The distribution of Covid boosters for the most vulnerable people and second shots of vaccine for teenagers should be accelerated to help prevent a winter surge of coronavirus overburdening the NHS, a senior scientist has said. Prof Neil Ferguson said England’s vaccine strategy had been “cautious” in recent months, with many teenagers having only one jab, and boosters for the most vulnerable people given no sooner than six months after their second dose. Ferguson said it was unclear whether the winter would bring another substantial wave of infections, but with new cases already high, at about 30,000 a day, even a moderate rise could put the NHS under pressure.
6th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
The Psychological Benefits of COVID-19 Boosters
Scientists don’t agree on whether approving COVID-19 boosters for certain non-elderly Americans, as the CDC did recently, was the right move. The president, the CDC, and the FDA have issued a series of conflicting statements on the issue. Some experts have indignantly resigned. Others have published frustrated op-eds. President Joe Biden, who got a booster shot this week and called on other eligible Americans to do the same, remains enthusiastic. The split between Biden-administration scientists, such as Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, and other scientists over boosters might seem confusing. One possible explanation for it has largely escaped notice: Vaccinated Americans seem to really want boosters, which means that the shots could have benefits that go well beyond extra protection against COVID. Those benefits could be psychological and economic—and, for the president, political.
6th Oct 2021 - The Atlantic
Kazakhstan to buy 4 mln doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Kazakhstan has signed a deal to buy about 4 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, healthcare minister Alexei Tsoi said. The Central Asian nation's government has said it will offer the Pfizer shots, at least initially, only to children aged 12 and older, and to pregnant women.
6th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Paul Givan hopes winter contingency plan not needed
First Minister Paul Givan has said he hopes Northern Ireland's government will not have to deploy contingency coronavirus plans to help manage health pressures this winter. The executive will meet on Thursday to look at the remaining Covid-19 rules. Those include social distancing in hospitality venues and mandatory wearing of face coverings. Mr Givan said he hoped there would be the "headspace" to approve more relaxations.
6th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Vaccines are here. School’s open. Some parents still agonize
Online school disrupted kids’ educations and parents’ work. Then the return of in-person school this year brought rising exposures and community tension as parents fought over proper protocols. The politicization of masks, vaccines and shutdowns have worn many parents out. Deciding what’s OK for children to do and what isn’t can feel fraught. Schools are, for many, a constant worry. There’s evidence that masks in schools help reduce virus spread, and a majority of Americans support requiring masks for students and teachers. But that breaks down sharply along partisan lines.
5th Oct 2021 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullVaccines are here. School's open. Some parents still agonize
Eight days into the school year, all five of Amber Cessac’s daughters, ages 4 to 10, had tested positive for COVID-19. Having them all sick at once and worrying about long-term repercussions as other parents at their school, and even her own mother, downplayed the virus, “broke something inside of me,” Cessac said. “The anxiety and the stress has sort of been bottled up,” she said. “It just felt so, I don’t know, defeating and made me feel so helpless.” Like parents everywhere, Cessac has been dealing with pandemic stress for over 18 months now.
5th Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Rapid COVID-19 tests increasingly scarce, pricey as demand from employers jumps
Surging demand for COVID-19 tests from U.S. employers has exacerbated a nationwide shortage of rapid tests in recent weeks and is driving up costs for state and local testing programs, according to industry executives and state officials. Testmakers including Abbott Laboratories, Quidel Corp and LumiraDX Ltd are scaling up production to meet rising demand. But significantly boosting test output will take weeks to months, half a dozen industry executives told Reuters, making the tests harder to procure in the near term.
5th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Zimbabwe: Low Vaccine Uptake Threatens Covid-19 December Herd Immunity Target
Public policy think tank, the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) says a drop in vaccine uptake is threatening the country's Covid-19 December 2021 herd immunity target. According to an Access to Public Health Monitoring Report for September, ZDI blamed the drop in vaccine uptake to lack of strategy in terms of information dissemination. "The achievement of Covid-19 herd immunity in Zimbabwe by December 2021 appears to be facing a challenge of a significant drop in vaccine uptake. Between 26 July 2021 and 26 August there was an increase of 962 036 vaccinations done in Zimbabwe. "However, during the same period from 26 August 2021 to 26 September 2021 an increase in vaccinations stood at 583 484. This drop in vaccination rate can be attributed to lack of a strategy to break the existing rural-urban divide in terms of information and awareness on Covid-19 vaccination and the need to reach a target of herd immunity.
5th Oct 2021 - AllAfrica.com
Biden's new vaccine requirement has Republicans ready with lawsuits, while business groups seek more details
President Biden’s planned vaccine requirement faces a number of tests in coming weeks, as at least two dozen Republican-controlled states prepare legal challenges, setting up a clash between the federal government and local officials that could ultimately determine the fate of the rule. The Labor Department has moved slowly in designing the rule, which White House officials said will require companies with more than 100 employees to institute mandatory vaccination or testing protocols for their staffs. Top administration officials have been working carefully to ensure the proposal is ironclad, and some have been heartened to see anecdotal evidence that companies and local governments implementing vaccine requirements have seen large-scale cooperation.
5th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
New Zealand to phase out zero-covid strategy, Jacinda Ardern says
After months of back-and-forth between virus-free life and lockdowns, New Zealand will phase out its pursuit of zero covid-19 cases and instead rely on vaccines to allow the country to live with the coronavirus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that New Zealand will transition from relying on harsh restrictions, instead using vaccines and “everyday public health measures” to keep residents safe. She added that the change was one “we were always going to make over time.” But the delta variant, Ardern said, had “accelerated” this transition. New Zealand’s admission that it cannot fully eliminate the virus and must instead learn to live with it marks a dramatic shift from the strategy it had employed throughout the pandemic
5th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
Western Australia mandates COVID-19 vaccine for miners, natural gas workers
Western Australia said that it would require all employees that work with natural resources to have a first COVID-19 shot from December to help protect vulnerable Indigenous communities as the country begins opening up. People working in mining, oil and gas exploration are required to have their first dose by Dec. 1 and must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1, the government said. The mandate also applies to any workers flying in and out of remote sites and any visitors to these operations, it said. "The new directions will address the risks posed by movement of resources sector workers... to and from regional and remote locations in WA, with many sites and operations located at or near remote Aboriginal communities," State Premier Mark McGowan said
5th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Ireland coming 'close to suppressing' Covid - Nolan
In Ireland, the population seems to have come close to suppressing Covid-19 and "we're in a good place" in relation to lifting the remaining restrictions by 22 October, NPHET's Prof Philip Nolan has said. The Chair of NPHET's Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group said suppressing the virus is down to very high levels of vaccination and the adherence to public health measures. Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, he said: "We're fortunate with our very high level of vaccinations and frankly the very sensible manner in which each and every one of us is taking the precautions, we seem to have come close to suppressing what is a very transmissible virus."
5th Oct 2021 - RTE.ie
Thai Red Cross delivers COVID-19 vaccines to Thailand's vulnerable migrant workers
The Thai Red Cross Society kicked off a vaccination campaign on Tuesday for migrant workers, one of the country's most vulnerable groups that has been largely left behind in the broader COVID-19 inoculation rollout. About 300 workers received their first doses along with a small number of undocumented refugees as part of a campaign due to run until the end of the month that is initially targeting 5,000 workers. "The more migrant workers we're able to vaccinate, the better for the Thai people, too," said Tej Bunnag, secretary-general of the Thai Red Cross Society.
5th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 numbers are improving. Don't let history repeat itself with yet another resurgence, doctors say
As Covid-19 numbers gradually improve in the U.S., health experts have an urgent message: Don't get cocky and relax. "We can't get overconfident. Every time we do and we put our guard down ... we get another surge with another variant," said Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a viral researcher and internal medicine physician. "So yes, things are better. But they're far from over." On average, 107,312 new cases were reported each day over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the lowest since August 5.
5th Oct 2021 - CNN
Australia to buy experimental Covid-19 drug - Morrison
Australia is to purchase 300,000 courses of Merck & Co's experimental antiviral pill, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The announcement came as Victoria logged the highest number of daily Covid-19 infections of any state in the country since the pandemic began. Molnupiravir, which would be the first oral antiviral medication for Covid-19 if it gets regulatory approval, could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for people most at risk of contracting severe Covid-19, according to experts.
5th Oct 2021 - RTE.ie
Covid-19 cases are declining but remain high among children. Here's what the US needs to do to end the surge
After weeks of a troubling Covid-19 surge across the US, infection rates are finally on the decline -- but experts say there's still work to be done before the tide can be turned, especially when cases remain exceptionally high among children. "I am worried that we still have some tough days ahead," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the Dean at Brown University School of Public Health. "Even though we're doing reasonably well on vaccines, we've got to do much better because the Delta variant is very good at finding people who are unvaccinated and infecting them."
5th Oct 2021 - CNN
Covid-19: November vaccines 'likely' for 12 to 15-year-olds
It is likely to be November before most schools in Northern Ireland begin to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-old pupils. Letters and consent forms for the Covid-19 vaccine are expected to be sent to parents of eligible children in mid-to-late October, according to the Public Health Agency (PHA). The UK's four chief medical officers have recommended healthy 12 to 15-year-olds be offered one vaccine dose. Vaccinations for pupils in Scotland and England are already taking place. However, the approach being taken by each nation differs.
5th Oct 2021 - BBC News
India begins delivering Covid-19 vaccines by drone
In India, the vast landscape, difficult terrain and remote location of some of its population has presented challenges for the coronavirus vaccine drive. Officials in the vast nation have come up with a unique solution to deliver the vaccine to such areas; by drafting in drones. The drones can travel up to 22 miles and could bring the country closer to its target of vaccinating each of its 950 million adults by the end of this year. The system has already been used to transport Covid vaccines from a hospital in north east state of Manipur to a health centre on Karang Island, which lies 10 miles away in the middle of a lake.
5th Oct 2021 - ITV News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullSenegal records fewest daily COVID-19 cases since outbreak began
Senegal on Monday logged only two new daily COVID-19 infections, the lowest number since the pandemic reached the country and two months after the rate of new cases hovered at record highs, the health ministry said on Monday.
4th Oct 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
Ulster Hospital: Two wards remain closed due to Covid-19 outbreak
Two wards remain closed at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, on the outskirts of east Belfast, due to outbreaks of Covid-19. Additional cleaning and infection control measures have been put in place by the hospital to tackle the outbreak. One of the affected wards provides care specifically for elderly patients. The move is being reviewed on a daily basis, a spokesperson for the South Eastern Health trust told BBC News NI in a statement. A total of 18 patients have tested positive for the virus at the Ulster Hospital in the past two weeks, along with 23 members of staff.
4th Oct 2021 - BBC News
Doctors grow frustrated over COVID-19 denial, misinformation
The COVID-19 patient's health was deteriorating quickly at a Michigan hospital, but he was having none of the doctor's diagnosis. Despite dangerously low oxygen levels, the unvaccinated man didn't think he was that sick and got so irate over a hospital policy forbidding his wife from being at his bedside that he threatened to walk out of the building. Dr. Matthew Trunsky didn’t hold back in his response: “You are welcome to leave, but you will be dead before you get to your car,’” he said.
Such exchanges have become all-too-common for medical workers who are growing weary of COVID-19 denial and misinformation that have made it exasperating to treat unvaccinated patients during the delta-driven surge.
The Associated Press asked six doctors from across the country to describe the types of misinformation and denial they see on a daily basis and how they respond to it.
4th Oct 2021 - The Independent
Global trade is accelerating, but poorer countries need vaccines to keep up, the W.T.O. says.
Global trade recovered from its pandemic lows faster than anticipated in the first half of 2021 and is set to grow more quickly than expected next year, lifting global growth forecasts, the World Trade Organization said Monday. The W.T.O. now forecasts global merchandise trade to grow 10.8 percent in 2021, up from the 8 percent it forecast in March, as the flow of goods recovers from last year’s slump. Global trade is expected to rise 4.7 percent in 2022 as the growth rate approaches its prepandemic trend, the W.T.O. said. That trade growth has not been equal as a result of the pandemic, the group said, with developing regions in particular lagging behind because of lower vaccination rates, and supply chain disruptions continuing to weigh on trade in some areas.
4th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
New York’s largest health care provider fires 1,400 unvaccinated employees.
Northwell Health, New York State’s largest health care provider, announced on Monday that it had fired 1,400 of its employees who refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a spokesman, Joe Kemp. New York’s effort to require the state’s more than 650,000 hospital and nursing home workers to get vaccinated went into effect last week, prompting tens of thousands of employees who had held out to get their shots. But others filed a flurry of lawsuits, and courtrooms across the state are determining when and how to allow exemptions to the mandate. So far the number of workers in New York who have walked away from their jobs is relatively small, and not likely to result in the staff shortages that have imperiled harder-hit parts of the country during the Delta variant’s rise.
4th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
N.Y.C.'s Teacher Vaccine Mandate Prompts Thousands of Last-Minute Shots
New York’s requirement that virtually everyone who works in the city’s public schools be vaccinated against the coronavirus compelled thousands of Department of Education employees to get at least one dose of a vaccine in the past week, leading to extremely high vaccination rates among educators, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. About 95 percent of all full-time school employees have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the mayor said, including 99 percent of principals, 96 percent of teachers and 94 percent of non-education staff. Roughly 43,000 doses total have been administered since the mandate was announced in late August, including more than 18,000 shots that were given to staff members since Sept. 24.
4th Oct 2021 - The New York Times
More community colleges are mandating coronavirus vaccination
One by one, Maryland’s community colleges are starting to require students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus — months after the state university system adopted a sweeping vaccine mandate. But Virginia’s community colleges are not requiring student vaccination. Instead, they are encouraging it. That includes Northern Virginia Community College, where the first lady, Jill Biden, teaches English on the Alexandria campus. The difference between policies in the neighboring states illustrates a quiet debate that has been unfolding nationally among the public two-year colleges. These schools, hit hard by enrollment drops during the pandemic, have been slower on the whole to embrace vaccine mandates than four-year colleges and universities.
4th Oct 2021 - The Washington Post
Senior doctors urge secondary school pupils to get vaccinated
Senior doctors have urged secondary school children to consider getting vaccinated against Covid after the death of a healthy 15-year-old girl highlighted that young people with no underlying conditions are potentially still at risk. The rollout of Covid vaccines for healthy 12 to 15-year-olds in England started on 20 September, but the process is more complicated than for some age groups because the shots are given through schools and parental consent is needed beforehand. Dr Helen Salisbury, a GP in Oxford and a member of the Independent Sage committee, said while it made sense to deliver Covid vaccinations through schools, the programme was starting late compared with other countries and that many schools could struggle given recent cuts to school nursing and medical services.
4th Oct 2021 - The Guardian
The US is turning a corner in its fight against Covid-19, Fauci says. But it's still too early to let our guard down
As Covid-19 numbers gradually improve, health experts have an urgent message: Don't get cocky and relax. "We can't get overconfident. Every time we do and we put our guard down ... we get another surge with another variant," said Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a viral researcher and internal medicine physician. "So yes, things are better. But they're far from over." On average, 107,312 new cases were reported each day over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the lowest since August 5.
4th Oct 2021 - CNN
Amid COVID-19 booster data dilemma, EU nations' plans diverge
A patchwork of campaigns for an extra COVID-19 shot are being rolled out across the European Union even before the region's drug watchdog rules on whether they are safe and effective. Italy, France, Germany and Ireland have already started to administer booster shots and the Netherlands plans to do so soon but only to people who are immuno-suppressed. But several EU countries are waiting for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to give its opinion this week.
4th Oct 2021 - Reuters
'We are tired': Workers flee Vietnam's largest city as long lockdown eases
Tens of thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, left Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend as the largest metropolis in Vietnam eased a months-long COVID-19 lockdown, triggering fears of labour shortages and more disruption to manufacturing. The mass exodus comes as the city and its nearby industrial provinces struggle to ensure sufficient workers to help revive the country's economy, which posted a record GDP slump in the third quarter due to COVID-19 curbs. "We left our home behind for the city in search for better jobs but now we are tired," said Tran Thi Them, 32, as she queued for a compulsory COVID-19 test before leaving.
4th Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullAir New Zealand to require COVID-19 vaccination for international travelers
Air New Zealand, the flag carrier airline of New Zealand, said on Sunday it will require passengers on its international flights to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in what is one of the world's strictest policies for travellers. "Being vaccinated against COVID-19 is the new reality of international travel – many of the destinations Kiwis want to visit are already closed to unvaccinated visitors," Air New Zealand's Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said. New Zealand plans to reopen its international borders, which have been closed since March 2020 to anyone who is not a New Zealand citizen, early next year.
3rd Oct 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Irish vaccine passports 'accelerated' jab uptake
Covid-19 vaccine uptake in the Republic of Ireland "would have been much lower" without the vaccine passport scheme, an immunology expert has said. Prof Kingston Mills from Trinity College Dublin said it was "a big incentive" for people to get jabbed. When indoor hospitality reopened in July, the Irish government said people had to be vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19 to get in. That requirement will be removed from 22 October. The EU Digital Covid Certificate, enables people to show proof of their vaccination status, or if they recently had a negative PCR test or recently recovered from the disease.
3rd Oct 2021 - BBC News
COVID shots required for all Nevada college workers Dec. 1
Employees at all public universities and colleges in Nevada are required to get COVID-19 vaccinations by Dec. 1 or face potential termination under a new policy adopted by the state board of regents. Meanwhile, coronavirus case trends are improving in urban areas but have worsened in most rural parts of the state, where vaccination rates are the lowest. The regents voted 10-3 on Thursday to mandate vaccines for all employees in the Nevada System of Higher Education by December with some medical and religious exemptions. All new hires also will have to prove their vaccination status.
About 23% of system employees had not been vaccinated as of Sept. 20, according to state figures.
The Desert Research Institute has the highest vaccination rate at 87% followed by the University of Nevada Reno at 82%. UNLV reported 75%. Rural Elko-based Great Basin College had the worst rate at 66%.
2nd Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Alaska Air to require COVID-19 vaccine for employees
Alaska Air Group has told its 22,000 employees they will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination. There are some exceptions to the policy, which has shifted since last month, The Seattle Times reported. In an email Thursday evening to all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees, the Seattle-based company said employees will now be required to be fully vaccinated or approved for a reasonable accommodation. Officials said the new police would be in accordance with the White House executive order that requires all federal contractors to have their workers vaccinated. It replaces an Alaska policy which paid vaccinated employees $200 and required regular testing for others. At that time, Alaska said that 75% of its employees had been vaccinated.
2nd Oct 2021 - The Associated Press
Merck Surges as Covid Pill Looks to Ease Hospital Strains
Merck & Co. shares posted their biggest gain in five years after the company’s experimental pill slashed the risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19 in a study, findings that could eventually yield a simple way to treat many virus patients before they ever reach the hospital. The drug, known as molnupiravir, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in an interim analysis of a late-stage clinical trial, Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said in a statement on Friday. The study results were so encouraging that Merck and closely held Ridgeback, in consultation with independent trial monitors and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, elected to stop enrolling patients and begin the process of gaining regulatory clearance.
1st Oct 2021 - Bloomberg
Japan's restaurants, bars welcome back drinkers as COVID-19 controls ease
Typhoon winds and rain dampened what might have been a more celebratory mood in Tokyo on Friday, as restaurants were allowed to sell alcohol and stay open later following the lifting of the latest COVID-19 state of emergency. Japan is cautiously easing restrictions that have prevailed across much of the nation for almost six months. New COVID cases in Tokyo totalled 200 on Friday, a sharp drop from more than 5,000 a day in August amid a fifth wave driven by the infectious Delta variant that brought the medical system to the brink. The restrictions, intended to blunt infections by reducing mobility and interaction, have been particularly tough on the service sector.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
S.Korea extends social distancing curbs as COVID-19 cases rise in Seoul
South Korea extended social distancing curbs to combat the coronavirus pandemic on Friday for two weeks, offering more incentives to people to get vaccinated as it battles thousands of new cases each day, particularly in the capital. The rapid resurgence in the greater Seoul area prompted authorities to extend distancing restrictions until Oct. 17, including a ban in the region on dining out after 10 p.m. and gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. The country recorded 2,486 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), with the daily tally having topped 3,000 for the first time last week.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
In a first, COVAX to send COVID shots only to least covered nations
A global scheme designed to ensure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines will this month for the first time distribute shots only to countries with the lowest levels of coverage, the World Health Organization said. Co-led by the WHO, COVAX has since January largely allocated doses proportionally among its 140-plus beneficiary states according to population size. This made some richer nations that had already secured vaccines through separate deals with pharmaceutical firms eligible for COVAX doses alongside countries with no supplies at all
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
NBA vaccination rate reaches 95 percent
As a few notable NBA players continue to make headlines for their anti-vaccination stances, the vast majority of the league has been vaccinated against COVID-19. NBA executive director Michele Roberts revealed this week that over 90 percent of the league's players are fully vaccinated, while ESPN reported Thursday that 95 percent of players have now received at least one shot. Still, the topic of vaccinations has become hot-button. The NBA mandated that all team employees except for players must be vaccinated, and there is tension within the league about that difference.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
Cuba aims to fully inoculate 90% of residents against COVID-19 by December
Cuba is speeding up its COVID-19 vaccination program as it aims to fully inoculate 90% of its population against the coronavirus by December, an ambitious goal that has yet to be reached by even wealthier nations. The health ministry reported on Thursday that more than 80% of Cuba's 11.3 million people had received at least a first shot of a three-dose immunization regimen with Cuban-made vaccines Abdala, Soberana-2 or Soberana-plus. Close to 50% were fully vaccinated, it said - well ahead of the global average of 34%, according to the Our World In Data website.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
EXCLUSIVE White House presses U.S. airlines to quickly mandate vaccines for staff
The White House is pressing major U.S. airlines to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees by Dec. 8 - the deadline for federal contractors to do so - and is showing no signs of pushing back the date, four sources told Reuters on Friday.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeffrey Zients spoke to the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines on Thursday to ensure they were working expeditiously to develop and enforce vaccine requirements ahead of that deadline, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
California to require COVID-19 vaccines for schoolchildren
California will become the first U.S. state to mandate statewide COVID-19 vaccinations for schoolchildren, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday as a Reuters tally showed the United States topping 700,000 coronavirus deaths. “The state already requires that students are vaccinated against viruses that cause measles, mumps, and rubella – there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do the same for COVID-19," the Democratic governor said at a news conference.
1st Oct 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Oct 2021
View this newsletter in fullCalifornia Mandates Boost Vaccination Rates Among Health Care Workers
California’s requirement for all health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, which took effect Thursday, appears to have compelled tens of thousands of unvaccinated employees to get shots in recent weeks, bolstering the case for employer mandates. In a survey of more than a dozen of the state’s major hospital systems, most health care employers reported vaccination rates this week of 90 percent or higher, with hundreds — and in some cases, thousands — more workers in some systems opting to be vaccinated, rather than to apply for limited medical or religious exemptions, since Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration issued the health order Aug. 5.
30th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
Atlanta Falcons Fire Scout Over Refusal to Get Covid-19 Vaccine
The Atlanta Falcons fired a scout over his refusal to get a Covid-19 vaccine, in a high-profile confrontation between a team and an employee in the closely watched setting of professional sports. A combination of educational blitzes, incentives and mandates have produced vaccination rates in professional sports that far exceed the rates in the general U.S. population. Around 90% of NBA players are vaccinated, as are 94% of NFL players and 99% of WNBA players. (Major League Baseball has declined to release a number specific to players.)
30th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Woman who survived 1918 flu, world war succumbs to COVID
Dorene Giacopini holds up a photo of her mother Primetta Giacopini while posing for a photo at her home in Richmond, Calif. on Monday, Sept 27, 2021. Primetta Giacopini's life ended the way it began — in a pandemic. She was two years old when she lost her mother to the Spanish flu in Connecticut in 1918. Giacopini contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. The 105-year-old struggled with the disease for a week before she died Sept. 16. Dorene Giacopini holds up a photo of her mother Primetta Giacopini while posing for a photo at her home in Richmond, Calif. on Monday, Sept 27, 2021. Primetta Giacopini's life ended the way it began — in a pandemic. She was two years old when she lost her mother to the Spanish flu in Connecticut in 1918. Giacopini contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. The 105-year-old struggled with the disease for a week before she died Sept. 16. “I think my mother would have been around quite a bit longer” if she hadn’t contracted COVID,” her 61-year-old daughter, Dorene Giacopini, said. “She was a fighter. She had a hard life and her attitude always was ... basically, all Americans who were not around for World War II were basically spoiled brats.”
30th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Data show coronavirus vaccine mandates work well
A union representing Massachusetts state troopers sought to make a splash this week in its fight against the state’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. Dozens of troopers had submitted resignation paperwork over the mandate, the State Police Association of Massachusetts announced Monday after an adverse court ruling. It suggested that the mandate-linked resignations would deplete an agency that is “already critically short staffed.” What if such mandates mean our crime-fighters can’t fight crime? That’s a scary prospect. The reality, though, is far from as dire as it might have seemed. And the totality of the anecdotal data we have so far on coronavirus vaccine mandates points to one conclusion: They work — quite well, in fact.
30th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Western Coronavirus Vaccines May Be Coming to Russia
Russian residents may soon be able to receive vaccines not recognized by the government, the Kommersant business daily reported, citing a Health Ministry proposal put up for public discussion. The move to relax import rules could potentially allow Russians to have Western coronavirus jabs like Pfizer and Moderna, as well as Chinese vaccines like Sinopharm and Sinovac. The Health Ministry proposed Tuesday to grant the Moscow International Medical Cluster (MIMC) project the right to import vaccines and drugs not registered in Russia. MIMC operates in Moscow City Hall’s Skolkovo Innovation Center, which works under a special legal regime that gives it preferential access to drugs registered in OECD member-states, even if they are not registered in Russia.
30th Sep 2021 - The Moscow Times
Slovenia suspends use of J&J coronavirus vaccine
Slovenia suspended the use of the single-shot coronavirus vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson after a twenty-year-old woman died two weeks after receiving the shot. This development risks undermining Slovenia’s already slow vaccine uptake fuelled by a potent anti-vaccination movement. The suspension will be in place until all the circumstances of the woman’s death have been ascertained, according to Health Minister Janez Poklukar. There is not currently any confirmation that the woman died as a direct result of the vaccine. Unlike in several other countries where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (also known as the Janssen vaccine) is administered only to older patients, it was available in Slovenia to anyone over 18, except pregnant women.
30th Sep 2021 - EURACTIV
Malaysia makes COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for government employees
Malaysia said on Thursday it would now be mandatory for all federal government employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with exceptions only to be allowed on health grounds. The announcement comes as the country looks to boost vaccination rates with the aim of inoculating 80% of the population by the end of the year. Malaysia has one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in Southeast Asia, with 61% of its 32 million population already fully vaccinated. In a statement, the Public Service Department said vaccinations would be made compulsory for federal staff in order to boost public confidence and ensure government services can be delivered smoothly.
30th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Russia may allow access to unregistered COVID-19 vaccines, report says
Russians may soon be able to receive COVID-19 vaccines not registered in the country from clinics set up in a special economic zone, under a healthcare ministry proposal, Russian Kommersant daily reported on Thursday. Many Western nations have not registered Russian vaccines such as Sputnik V and require visitors to have other shots that are not available to Russians, a situation that has prompted vaccine tourism
30th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Vietnam's biggest city to start lifting COVID-19 curbs to spur business
Vietnam's commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City will start relaxing its coronavirus curbs from later on Thursday, officials said, allowing more business and social activities after four months of measures aimed at arresting a spiralling death rate. Policies will seek to spur the economy and restore some normalcy while coexisting with the virus, which hit the country hard in recent months, with overall deaths jumping from 36 in mid May to more than 19,098 as of Wednesday. "All checkpoints on the streets will be lifted and no travel permits will be needed after today," Le Hoa Binh, deputy chairman of the city's people's committee, told a news conference.
30th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Biden vaccine mandate splits US on party lines: AP-NORC poll
A survey of Americans on President Joe Biden’s plan to require most workers to get either vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 finds a deep and familiar divide: Democrats are overwhelmingly for it, while most Republicans are against it. With the highly contagious delta variant driving deaths up to around 2,000 per day, the poll released Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that overall, 51% say they approve of the Biden requirement, 34% disapprove and 14% hold neither opinion. About three quarters of Democrats, but only about a quarter of Republicans, approve. Roughly 6 in 10 Republicans say they disapprove. Over the course of the outbreak, Democrats and Republicans in many places have also found themselves divided over masks and other precautions. “I don’t believe the federal government should have a say in me having to get the vaccine or lose my job or get tested,” said 28-year-old firefighter Emilio Rodriguez in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Republican is not vaccinated.
30th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
PAHO says it is buying more COVID vaccines for Americas
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has said it is pushing to secure additional COVID-19 vaccines for residents of the Americas amid huge discrepancies in vaccination rates between countries in the region. PAHO, the Americas branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac to buy 8.5 million vaccine doses for 2021 and another 80 million doses next year.
29th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullUnvaccinated players to face extensive COVID-19 curbs: ESPN
NBA players who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will have to comply with a long list of restrictions to take part in the upcoming season, according to a memo obtained by Reuters. The National Basketball Association's tentative protocols released to teams on Tuesday showed vaccinated players will only be tested if they show coronavirus symptoms or are a close contact of a positive case. However, unvaccinated players will have to undergo daily testing prior to entering a team facility, participating in team activities or interacting with players and coaches.
29th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Zimbabwe's vaccine mandates squeeze some of world's poorest
For months, Acholo Jani was told to get a COVID-19 vaccination because it might save his life. He hesitated, fearful of potential side effects. But the moment he was told it would save his job, Jani got in line. The 43-year-old mechanic’s employer is among many in Zimbabwe mandating shots for their staff, including the government, which is requiring the vaccine for its 500,000 employees. That sets the southern African nation apart from nearly every other on the continent, where the most immediate challenge is still simply acquiring enough doses. Zimbabwe, by contrast, says it has ample supply for now, mostly purchased from China, but that hesitancy is holding back its campaign — a problem that has also troubled other African countries, partly driven by a general distrust of authorities. But Zimbabwe’s strategy is raising worrying rights questions.
29th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Tanzania: Samia Calls for Mass Education on Coronavirus Vaccine
President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged religious leaders to help educate their members about coronavirus and vaccine currently administered freely and voluntarily across the country. Addressing clerics and bishops of the Anglican Church of Tanzania at the church's 50th anniversary held in Dodoma, President Samia it is important for the citizen to be well informed about the vaccine. "Vaccine helps reduce complications as well as mortality," she said. "We have to use all means necessary and vaccine is one of them." Apparently some church members had managed to develop a locally made-vaccine claimed to battle coronavirus. President Samia hailed the initiative insisting that her administration would help verify the efficacy of the vaccine with health authorities before mass production.
"Let me congratulate the youth from this church who are trying to get a vaccine... We will help send some samples to international institutions for testing and if approved it can be allowed so that more people will get vaccinated," she noted.
29th Sep 2021 - AllAfrica.com
Roll-out of Covid-19 boosters to NI care homes gets underway
Health Minister Robin Swann has welcomed the roll-out of the Covid-19 booster jab programme in Northern Ireland. Health Trust vaccinator teams are bringing the boosters to care home residents and staff as part of a planned programme. The minister said the roll-out will be on phased basis, as the booster vaccine dose is to be offered no earlier than six months after receipt of the second dose. “I very much welcome the fact that vaccinator teams are providing vital vaccine booster doses to care home residents and staff," said Robin Swann. “This will give added and important protection for some of the most vulnerable people in our society as we head towards winter." The Health Department said the wider booster dose programme will begin in October for those eligible.
29th Sep 2021 - ITV News
Sri Lanka to lift quarantine curfew on Oct. 1 as COVID-19 cases decline
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday instructed related authorities to lift the existing nationwide quarantine curfew over COVID-19 on Oct. 1 as the South Asian country has seen a decline in coronavirus infections.
29th Sep 2021 - Xinhua
Slovenia temporarily suspends J&J's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine
Slovenia on Wednesday temporarily suspended the application of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccines after the death of a young woman, health minister Janez Poklukar was quoted as saying by the STA national news agency.
Johnson & Johnson was not available for an immediate comment. "The patient had blood clots and bleeding in the brain at the same time, intensive care was not successful," Igor Rigler, a neurologist at the Ljubljana hospital centre, told the STA.
29th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Vatican orders all staff to be vaccinated or undergo regular Covid-19 testing
The Vatican made the announcement on Tuesday to staff, according to reports. Even the most senior members of the Catholic Church will not be exempt. The Pope has made the Catholic Church's stance on vaccinations clear. Francis himself was vaccinated in January and has called it a 'moral duty.' On Monday, Pope Francis emphasised the need for attention to be given to other diseases after Covid-19 has taken up most resources for almost two years
29th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Four in five students had received at least one Covid-19 jab by August – poll
More than four in five university students had received at least one Covid-19 vaccination by August, a survey suggests. The figure is now likely to be “considerably higher”, the National Union of Students (NUS) has said, as a further one in 10 said they intended to have a vaccine as soon as possible. The survey, of more than 5,000 students between July and August, suggests that three in five (60%) students who are moving into halls of residences are concerned about living with others. This is partly down to a fear of catching Covid-19 and others not following rules and good hygiene, according to the NUS poll.
29th Sep 2021 - Evening Standard
Swiss buy 150,000 doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine
Switzerland has agreed to buy 150,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. from Johnson & Johnson that will arrive this week and be distributed to regional authorities next week, the government said on Wednesday. Switzerland has relied so far on vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna using new mRNA technology but also considered standard vector jabs from Johnson & Johnson to help persuade more people to get immunized. “People aged 12 and over are still recommended to be vaccinated primarily with an mRNA vaccine, as this offers a very high level of protection and is very safe,” the Federal Office of Public Health said.
29th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Americans Are Getting Covid-19 Boosters—No Questions Asked
The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have authorized a third shot of the vaccine made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for a wide swath of the U.S. population. Anyone over age 65 is eligible for a booster shot, as is anyone over 18 with a pre-existing condition predisposing the person toward a severe case of Covid-19. Also eligible are those with a job or living situation that poses a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. Boosters for all patients must be given at least six months after an initial Pfizer vaccine course. Patients who received initial doses of the vaccines made by Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson aren’t eligible yet. Approval of a booster regimen for those patients is expected in the coming months. The FDA did amend its emergency-use authorization in August, however, to allow a third Moderna dose for immunocompromised people.
29th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Employer vaccine mandates convert some workers, but not all
Businesses that have announced vaccine mandates say some workers who had been on the fence have since gotten inoculated against COVID-19. But many holdouts remain — a likely sign of what is to come once a federal mandate goes into effect. Even before President Joe Biden’s Sept. 9 announcement that companies with more than 100 workers would have to require vaccinations, dozens of companies, including Amtrak, Microsoft, United Airlines and Disney issued ultimatums to most workers. And smaller companies in New York, San Francisco and New Orleans have been required to implement mandates for customers and workers. Some mandates seem to have converted hesitant workers, but employers are still dealing with holdouts. United said late Tuesday it will begin terminating 593 employees over the next few days for refusing to get vaccinated. Other companies are offering alternatives, including weekly testing or working remotely or away from other staff.
29th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
In India, demand for Russia’s expensive Sputnik vaccine sputters
Some of India’s private hospitals have cancelled orders for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as they struggle to sell COVID-19 shots amid surging supplies of free doses of other vaccines offered by the government. Some industry officials said low demand and the extremely cold storage temperatures required have spurred at least three big hospitals to cancel orders for Sputnik V, sold only on the private market in the world’s biggest producer of vaccines.
29th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
AT&T mandates COVID-19 vaccination for union-represented employees
AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it would require its union-represented employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering their work location, following a similar mandate for its management employees last month. The U.S wireless carrier, one the largest employers of union-represented workers, said the Communications Workers of America linked employees must be fully vaccinated by Feb. 1, 2022. CWA represents more than 150,000 employees at AT&T. Other major companies including Facebook Inc, Google and Microsoft Corp have also mandated vaccinations for employees as the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus drives up infections in the United States.
29th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullYemen uses UN speech to call for more COVID-19 vaccines
The top diplomat of Yemen s internationally recognized government said Monday his conflict-torn country needs millions more coronavirus vaccines to ensure some of the world's poorest are not left behind. In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said the roughly 1 million doses Yemen was given are not enough to vaccinate even the most vulnerable portions of its population. Yemen has a long way to go toward vaccinating the majority of its some 30 million people, most of whom are facing multiple humanitarian crises, including poverty, hunger and poor access to adequately run hospitals. Yemen’s government has received just roughly 500,000 doses so far this year through the COVAX initiative, and the rest through direct donations from other countries. “These amounts are still not enough to cover the targeted groups,” Bin Mubarak said. “We hope that the donating countries will contribute to increasing the number of vaccines so that no one is left behind.”
28th Sep 2021 - The Independent
Australia is still 56th in the world for coronavirus vaccination coverage — but it's clawing its way up
Australia is clawing its way up from the bottom of the pack of wealthy nations in the COVID-19 vaccination race. After months spinning its wheels near the start line, we are now roaring towards the vaccination levels that will allow a safer re-entry into the world. But there is still a distance to go. Of all the nations home to at least 500,000 people, Australia currently ranks 48th on partial vaccination levels, according to the latest data compiled by Our World In Data. Australia is 56th in the world for full vaccination coverage. Among the relatively wealthy OECD nations, Australia still ranks near the bottom of the pack. But the nation is now clambering upwards, with one of the fastest vaccination speeds in the world.
28th Sep 2021 - ABC News
For many families, the countdown has begun to coronavirus vaccines for younger children
For almost a year, Whitney Kuhn has been trying to escape the grip of long-haul symptoms after contracting covid-19. And she has not stopped worrying about how to protect her 10-year-old son, Tyler, from the illness she experienced. She has been too anxious to go on family vacations, visit relatives for the holidays or even take Tyler to the grocery store. She has pulled him from basketball — his favorite sport — and other extracurriculars. And when he had to return to school, she could only hope his classmates wore their masks the right way.
28th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
New York can move forward with coronavirus vaccine mandate for school workers, judges say
A federal appeals court Monday made way for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to implement a coronavirus vaccine mandate for all school employees, ruling against four educators who had sued to stop it. The court decision marks a major victory for the nation’s largest school system, which employs 150,000 people and educates over 1 million students in a city gutted by the coronavirus last year. Unlike most other cities, New York’s mandate does not allow employees to submit to regular testing as an alternative to getting a vaccine. The city’s mandate would have required all school employees to show proof of at least one shot by midnight Monday. But on Friday, a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued an injunction temporarily halting the requirement.
28th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Cuba begins commercial exports of its COVID-19 vaccines
Cuba has begun commercial exports of its homegrown COVID-19 vaccines, sending shipments of the three-dose Abdala vaccine to Vietnam and Venezuela. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced the arrival of vaccines in Vietnam on his Twitter feed on Sunday. The official Cubadebate news website said the shipment included 900,000 doses bought by Hanoi and 150,000 more donated by Cuba. Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited Cuba last week and toured the laboratory that produces the vaccine, announcing an agreement to buy at least five million doses. As two of the last five Communist countries in the world, Cuba and Vietnam have maintained longstanding ties.
28th Sep 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Egypt allows immediate COVID-19 vaccination amid fourth wave
Egypt is now providing immediate COVID-19 vaccinations at youth centres across the country without prior online registration, a step aimed at encouraging vaccinations and relieving pressure on hospitals and health units amid a fourth wave of infections. Nearly 270 youth centres are now open for citizens to get the vaccines, the health ministry said, bringing the total number of vaccination sites across the country to 1,100. The move is part of the "Together We Are Assured" campaign, launched by the health ministry in mid-September, that allows citizens to register and receive vaccinations immediately after complaints of a large time difference between the two steps.
28th Sep 2021 - Reuters
People in the Northeast could prevent a Covid-19 surge like the one in the South by following these measures, Fauci says
As weather grows colder and children spend more time in school, a surge of Covid-19 cases like the one in the South could be in store for the Northeast, but it is not too late to get ahead of it, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. "It is within our power, and within our grasp, to prevent that from occurring," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Monday. The way to do it, he said, is by utilizing mitigation measures such as wearing masks indoors and in schools, as well as increasing vaccination rates. The idea of vaccine mandates for schools and businesses has sparked debate through much of the country, but with the spread of the Delta variant, more leaders are adopting such methods.
28th Sep 2021 - CNN
Japan to lift emergency COVID-19 curbs, but gradually
Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday for the first time in nearly six months, as the number of new cases and deaths falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said. Daily cases have fallen nationwide from more than 25,000 last month to 1,128 on Monday, but the opening will be gradual with some curbs on restaurants and large-scale events staying in place for about a month.
28th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Hospitals fear staffing shortages as vaccine deadlines loom
Hospitals and nursing homes around the U.S. are bracing for worsening staff shortages as state deadlines arrive for health care workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. With ultimatums taking effect this week in states like New York, California, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the fear is that some employees will quit or let themselves be fired or suspended rather than get the vaccine. “How this is going to play out, we don’t know. We are concerned about how it will exacerbate an already quite serious staffing problem,” said California Hospital Association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea, adding that the organization “absolutely” supports the state’s vaccination requirement.
28th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Biden, McConnell get COVID-19 boosters, encourage vaccines
Seventy-eight-year-old Joe Biden and 79-year-old Mitch McConnell got their booster shots Monday, the Democratic president and the Republican Senate leader urging Americans across the political spectrum to get vaccinated or plus up with boosters when eligible for the extra dose of protection. The shots, administered just hours apart on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue, came on the first workday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for Americans 65 and older and approved them for others with preexisting medical conditions and high-risk work environments.
28th Sep 2021 - The Independent
With one simple decision, the Canadian government can save lives
With one simple decision, the Canadian government can save lives. This is the message I want to bring to Canada’s newly re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On May 11 of this year, the Plurinational State of Bolivia signed an agreement with the Canadian manufacturer “Biolyse Pharma” to produce 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines using the Jensen vaccine formula of the North American company Johnson and Johnson. The implementation of this agreement depends on the Canadian government carrying out the necessary procedures so that the vaccines can be produced under the compulsory licensing mechanism established by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
28th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Ireland to donate 335,500 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Uganda
Ireland is to donate 335,500 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Uganda, it has been announced. This donation is in addition to the one million Covid-19 vaccines that Ireland has already committed to donate via Covax, which aims to guarantee fair and equitable vaccine access for every country in the world. Along with this donation of vaccines to Uganda, Ireland is also donating all of the consumables needed to support the administration of 335,500 doses (plus a consumables contingency).
28th Sep 2021 - The Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in full'Every Day Is Frightening': Working For Walmart Amid Covid
Sore, disoriented, he’d already grasped what his mother was now telling him: He’d had another seizure. But he also grasped a larger truth: He needed to pull it together and somehow go to work. A cashier and self-checkout host at the nearby Walmart, Mr. Naughton dreaded depleting his limited paid time off in the midst of a pandemic. His mother, for her part, insisted that her epileptic son, then 44, stay home and rest. The hours after a seizure were difficult enough. Toss in the stress of Covid-19 and a customer base that largely — and often angrily — rejected mask use, and a day at work seemed anything but recuperative.
27th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
Covid-19 vaccine passports a 'no brainer', says Nichola Mallon
The introduction of vaccine passports in Northern Ireland is a "no brainer", the infrastructure minister has said. SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon said she has raised the issue at Stormont executive meetings on "a number of occasions". It comes after her party leader Colum Eastwood called for the introduction of vaccine passports earlier this week. "It's frustrating that we're still sitting having this discussion," Ms Mallon told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme. Since July, the EU Digital Covid Certificate system has been in operation in the Republic of Ireland.
27th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Tanzania to receive 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from China
The government yesterday said two million doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China is expected to arrive in the country as the number of vaccinated Tanzanians reached 400,000 off from the million doses initially received. The government spokserson, Mr Gerson Msigwa said yesterday that unlike the Johnson & Johnson doses that are injected once a year, Tanzanians will have to be inoculated twice a year with the Sinopharm doses.
27th Sep 2021 - GhanaWeb
Why Does Biden's Vaccine Mandate Have a Testing Loophole?
President Joe Biden’s new vaccine mandate for large businesses is a strange one, in that it does not actually make vaccines mandatory for the roughly 80 million Americans it’s aimed at. Tucked plainly into the rule is a singular and obvious opt-out: Unlike federal employees and contractors, those in the private sector can test for the coronavirus on an at-least-weekly basis, a no-jab alternative that makes the White House’s decision quite a bit gentler than it could have been. “It’s a stick, but it’s sort of a soft stick,” Julia Raifman, a health-policy researcher at Boston University, told me.
27th Sep 2021 - The Atlantic
Want to help prevent more variants down the road? Get vaccinated, CDC director says
Adequate rates of vaccination can help prevent the rise of new mutations that could force people to get booster after booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday. The CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration recommended booster shots for many Americans last week to help preserve their immunity. But that doesn't necessarily mean people will need to keep getting boosters. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CBS's "Face the Nation."
27th Sep 2021 - CNN
US has enough COVID-19 vaccines for boosters, kids shots
With more than 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccines available, U.S. health authorities said they're confident there will be enough for both qualified older Americans seeking booster shots and the young children for whom initial vaccines are expected to be approved in the not-too-distant future.
27th Sep 2021 - The Independent
New Zealand to begin letting people isolate at home as it looks to ease border curbs
New Zealand is to begin allowing small numbers of vaccinated travellers to isolate at home instead of in state-run quarantine facilities as part of a phased approach to re-opening its borders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. The pilot project starting next month will be open to 150 people, who must be New Zealand citizens or residents and are fully vaccinated, Ardern said at a news conference.
"While this is a pilot, it gives you a sense of where we intend to go on our borders," Ardern said, adding that the government was working on a wide range of options for allowing people back in safely.
27th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Recovered COVID patients will require vaccine dose to receive Green Pass
The Health Ministry announced on Sunday that, from October 3, when a number of new restrictions will be introduced, recovered COVID-19 patients will be required to get a single coronavirus vaccine dose in order to be eligible to receive a Green Pass. Under the current Green Pass rules, entry to certain businesses and events is limited to those with proof of vaccination, recovery from COVID-19, or a negative test result. The new rules mean that some 1.2 million Israelis who have been diagnosed with the virus since the start of the pandemic, along with those who have a positive serological test showing high antibodies, will need at least one vaccine shot to qualify for the Green Pass.
26th Sep 2021 - The Times of Israel
UK counts on vaccines, ‘common sense’ to keep virus at bay
Britons are encouraged these days — though in most cases not required — to wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson regularly appears in the packed, poorly ventilated House of Commons cheek-by-jowl with other maskless Conservative lawmakers. For critics, that image encapsulates the flaw in the government’s strategy, which has abandoned most pandemic restrictions and is banking on voluntary restraint and a high vaccination rate to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As winter approaches, bringing the threat of a new COVID-19 surge, Britain’s light touch is setting it apart from more cautious nations.
26th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Federal judge delays vaccine mandate for NYC teachers
New York City schools have been temporarily blocked from enforcing a vaccine mandate for its teachers and other workers by a federal appeals judge just days before it was to take effect. Workers in the nation’s largest school system were to be required to show vaccination proof starting Monday. But late Friday, a judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary injunction sought by a group of teachers pending review by a three-judge panel, which will take up the motion Wednesday. Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Filson said officials were seeking a speedy resolution in court. “We’re confident our vaccine mandate will continue to be upheld once all the facts have been presented, because that is the level of protection our students and staff deserve,” Filson said in an email.
25th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Biden, Walensky boost COVID vaccine boosters
"If you got the Pfizer vaccine in January, February or March of this year, and are over 65, go get the booster, or if you are a frontline worker, go get a free booster now. I’ll be getting my booster shot." That was President Joe Biden's message today, as he briefed the nation on COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. For Pfizer vaccine recipients, roughly 100 million Americans, a third dose of vaccine is now recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for several groups, including those over 65, and those ages 40 to 54 who have underlying medical conditions that put them at risk for severe infection. Those ages 18 to 39 with underlying medical conditions may get a booster, as well.
24th Sep 2021 - CIRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullRowdy celebrations erupt in Norway as COVID restrictions end
Police in Norway have reported dozens of disturbances and violent clashes including mass brawls in the Nordic country’s big cities after streets, bars, restaurants and nightclubs were filled with people celebrating the end of COVID-19 restrictions
26th Sep 2021 - ABC
Cuba kicks off COVID-19 vaccine exports with shipment to Vietnam
Cuba said on Saturday it had exported its three-shot Abdala coronavirus vaccine for the first time, sending an initial shipment to Vietnam as part of a contract to supply five million doses to the Southeast Asian country. Scientists in the Communist-run island have developed three home-grown vaccines against COVID-19, all of which are waiting to receive official recognition from the World Health Organization.
26th Sep 2021 - Reuters
To Reach Vaccine Holdouts, Scientists Take a Page From Digital Marketing
Public-health researchers seeking new ways to persuade vaccine holdouts to take coronavirus shots are turning to the strategies of the digital marketing industry to figure out how to win over the reluctant. Companies that use online ads to sell products try out various colors, phrases, typefaces and a whole host of other variables to determine what resonates with consumers. So why not, the thinking goes, apply the same sort of A/B testing to figure out how best to promote vaccines?
26th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
Nevada hospital urges residents to take COVID-19 seriously: 'We are pleading with you'
A hospital in Nevada is urging residents to take the coronavirus seriously as it nears capacity due to an influx of COVID-19 patients. “As a hospital staff, we are pleading with you to practice the precautions we know are effective in stopping COVID-19,” Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital said in a COVID-19 update on Friday. The hospital urged citizens to wear masks, avoid large gatherings, practice social distancing and get vaccinated against COVID-19. “Most importantly, please get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccination truly is the best way to protect yourself and others from being hospitalized with this disease,” the hospital said.
26th Sep 2021 - The Hill
El Salvador to begin giving third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
El Salvador will begin administering a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to various groups including the elderly, healthworkers and people with underlying health conditions, President Nayib Bukele said on Friday. The Central American nation of roughly 6.4 million people has obtained some 12 million vaccines since February.
Third shots would be given to people including those aged over 60, frontline health staff, teachers, the armed forces, police and firefighters, as well as Salvadorans with pre-existing health problems, Bukele said on Twitter.
25th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Brazil approves COVID-19 booster shots for healthcare workers
Brazil has approved booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for "health professionals," with preference given to the Pfizer shot, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Friday. The boosters will only be given to people six months after they complete initial round of COVID-19 vaccination, Queiroga said in a Twitter post.
25th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Doctors scale rockslides, invoke gods to vaccinate Himalayan villages
To visit the Indian village of Malana deep in the Himalayas, a COVID-19 vaccination team scrambled over a landslide that blocked the road the day before, scaled a retaining wall and then began a three-hour trek down and up a river valley. Despite the hostile terrain, the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where Malana is located, earlier this month became the first in India to administer at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose in all its adults. The steep topography was one challenge overcome by health workers walking for hours or days to reach remote villages and another was religious beliefs, as the tourism-dependent state immunised its roughly 5 million adults.
25th Sep 2021 - Reuters India
Cuba starts to reopen economy as COVID-19 vaccine campaign races ahead
Cuba is allowing a staggered opening from Friday of restaurants, shopping centres and beaches in provinces that have lowered coronavirus cases even as it battles some of the highest nationwide rates of infection per capita worldwide. The easing of lockdown restrictions coincides with preparations by the cash-strapped Caribbean island nation for its tourist high season, which it hopes will bring much-needed dollars to palliate a dire economic crisis. The government has already announced it will allow more flights and accept COVID-19 vaccination certificates for inbound travelers in lieu of a PCR test from November.
24th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Mexico to use only Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on at-risk kids
The COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will be the only one used in Mexico for at-risk children aged 12-17, Mexico's deputy health minister said on Friday. Mexico is expanding its vaccine campaign to children with health issues like cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular disease that make them vulnerable to the virus. "We can only use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because it is the only one that has already been scientifically proven to be safe and effective in girls, boys and adolescents from 12 to 17 years old," Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a regular news conference.
24th Sep 2021 - Reuters
D.C. area officials begin giving booster shots as the climbing number of cases reach peak levels in unvaccinated Shenandoah Valley
High-risk or elderly residents of the D.C. area who received a Pfizer coronavirus vaccination at least six months ago can receive a booster shot as of Friday, Maryland and D.C. health officials said, although leaders in Virginia have yet to offer their own guidance on the rollout. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called it a “significant step toward providing additional protection for our most vulnerable residents.” Maryland, he noted, had already begun providing booster shots for elderly residents in nursing homes. “While this action was long overdue, I am glad that the federal government has finally approved booster shots for seniors and high-risk individuals,” he said.
24th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Margaret Keenan: First UK person to get the Pfizer jab gets booster
A woman who became the first person in the world to get the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has had her booster. Margaret Keenan, 91, from Coventry, got her third injection at University Hospital in the city on Friday, the same place she was first vaccinated. Also getting the booster was Matron May Parsons, who administered Ms Keenan's first jab back in December, Ms Keenan said she felt happy she had got it done and that it meant she felt free. The UK has administered more than 48 million first doses of coronavirus vaccine so far. Booster jabs are being offered to the over-50s, younger adults with health conditions and frontline health and care workers.
24th Sep 2021 - BBC News
States Begin a Complex Booster Shot Rollout for Pfizer Recipients
State health officials rushed on Friday to roll out campaigns to provide coronavirus booster shots for millions of vulnerable people who got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and to help a confused public understand who qualifies for the extra shots. Among their challenges: making sure that recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines know that they are not yet eligible for boosters, reaching isolated elderly people and informing younger adults with medical conditions or jobs that place them at higher risk that they might be eligible under the broad federal rules.
“Those of us overseeing vaccine rollouts don’t have a clear idea of what to do,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s Covid-19 czar.
24th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
New York Hospitals Face Possible Mass Firings as Workers Spurn Vaccines
In Buffalo, the Erie County Medical Center plans to suspend elective in-patient surgeries and not take intensive-care patients from other hospitals because it may soon fire about 400 employees who have chosen not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Officials at Northwell Health, New York’s largest provider of health care, estimate that they might have to fire thousands of people who have refused to get vaccinated. And while the vast majority of staff members at New York City’s largest private hospital network, NewYork-Presbyterian, had been vaccinated as of this week, more than 200 employees faced termination because they had not.
24th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
Education Secretary Cardona backs mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for students
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Thursday he supports mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for older teenagers, saying vaccines are critical to keeping students in school. “I wholeheartedly support it,” he said. “It’s the best tool that we have to safely reopen schools and keep them open. We don’t want to have the yo-yo effect that many districts had last year, and we can prevent that by getting vaccinated.” Cardona said that in general, he believes governors, not school superintendents, should implement the mandates. “I really want to make sure that governors and health officials are driving the communication around public health measures, which vaccinations are,” he said.
23rd Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullUSOPC will require COVID-19 vaccine for all US athletes at Beijing Games
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee on Wednesday said all U.S. athletes hoping to compete at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
23rd Sep 2021 - Reuters
India likely to allow export of Sputnik Light COVID shot this month - sources
India is likely to allow the export of domestically produced doses of Russia's Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine this month, as the shot has yet to be approved in India, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Local media have reported that Indian drugmaker Hetero has already manufactured 2 million doses of the single-shot vaccine, for whose approval the country's drug regulator has sought a separate "immune-bridging clinical trial" in its residents.
23rd Sep 2021 - Reuters India
Unvaccinated but willing: The group volunteers and clinics hope to vaccinate against coronavirus
Yolanda Orosco-Arellano decided she would get the coronavirus vaccine long before it became available. But securing an appointment for it was less straightforward. The hotel housekeeper and mother of four worried about her anemia, a risk factor for severe illness from the virus. But Orosco-Arellano doesn’t have a car and needed a vaccination slot scheduled around her shifts at the hotel.
Barriers to getting the shot and information about the vaccines have hindered the “unvaccinated but willing,” who account for approximately 10 percent of the American population, according to a report last month by the Department of Health and Human Services. Unlike those who have declined vaccines, some vocally, because of their politics or ideology, a quieter share — about 44% of unvaccinated people — say they would get vaccinated but are on the fence for certain reasons.
23rd Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Coronavirus Vaccine Inequity a Focus at UN General Assembly
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni are set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. Access to COVID-19 vaccines has been one of the major topics of the annual meeting in New York and is likely to be one of the most discussed again Thursday as leaders from African nations make up a large portion of the day’s list of speakers. While some countries such as the United States have had vaccine doses widely available to their populations for months, other countries have struggled to access COVID-19 vaccine supplies.
23rd Sep 2021 - Voice of America
England’s Covid travel rules spark outrage around the world
England’s Covid travel rules and refusal to recognise vaccines administered across huge swaths of the world have sparked outrage and bewilderment across Latin America, Africa and south Asia, with critics denouncing what they called an illogical and discriminatory policy. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, described England’s rules, unveiled last Friday, as “a new simplified system for international travel”. “The purpose is to make it easier for people to travel,” Shapps said. But in many parts of the world there is anger and frustration at the government’s decision to recognise only vaccinations given in a select group of countries.
23rd Sep 2021 - The Guardian
FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster for older Americans and those at high risk of illness
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older and adults at risk of severe illness, an effort to bolster protection for the most vulnerable Americans against the highly transmissible delta variant of the virus. In addition to older Americans, boosters should be made available to people 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe illness from the coronavirus and those “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure” to the virus puts them at high risk of serious complications from the disease caused by the virus, the agency said.
23rd Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine offered to Ayrshire children aged 12 to 15 as NHS tackles Covid cases
Schoolkids in Ayrshire are now being offered the Covid-19 vaccine. Youngsters aged 12 to 15 can receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech inoculation following a decision by Scottish Ministers to accept advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs). Children should either attend a local drop-in vaccination clinic from today or await appointment details to arrive by post.
Appointed clinics for this age group will begin on Wednesday. NHS Ayrshire & Arran's Public Health Director, Lynne McNiven, said: “The roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine to all young people aged 12-15 marks a significant milestone in the vaccination programme.
23rd Sep 2021 - Daily Record
Japan to double COVID-19 vaccine donations to other countries to 60 mln doses
Japan plans to give other countries 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday, doubling the target from the previous pledge of 30 million doses. "Today, I am pleased to announce that, with additional contributions, Japan will provide up to approximately 60 million doses of vaccine in total," Suga said in a pre-recorded video message at the U.S.-hosted Global COVID-19 Summit.
23rd Sep 2021 - Reuters
The pace of first Covid-19 vaccine doses is the slowest in two months, CDC data shows, worrying health professionals as flu season approaches
The pace of people getting first doses of Covid-19 vaccines is the slowest it has been since July 23, according to data released Wednesday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data comes as flu season is around the corner, which could increase death tolls and put more strain on hospitals already struggling with an influx of patients and depleted resources. More than 312,000 people have initiated the vaccination process -- gotten their first shot -- over the last week, CDC data shows. That's a 7% drop from last week and a 35% drop from the previous month.
23rd Sep 2021 - CNN
New Zealand's Ardern says lockdowns can end with high vaccine uptake
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday the country should aim for a 90%-plus rate of inoculation, and could drop strict coronavirus lockdown measures once enough people were vaccinated.
23rd Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.K. Eases Covid Travel Rules for COP26 Climate Conference
The U.K. has relaxed Covid-related travel restrictions for people attending the international climate conference in Glasgow that’s now less than six weeks away.
Minister-level officials from so-called red list countries, along with two staffers, won’t be required to spend time in quarantine when they arrive for the COP26 conference, according to updated travel requirements. That’s a change from an earlier stance that required visitors from the high risk, red-list countries to spend five days in isolation.
23rd Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
Portugal to Lift Limits at Restaurants, Allow Nightclubs to Open
Portugal said it will remove limits on the size of groups that can be seated at restaurants from Oct. 1 as it takes the next step in a plan to gradually lift restrictions that were put in place to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, with a EU digital certificate required at the entrance, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference in Lisbon on Friday. Portugal accelerated its Covid-19 inoculation campaign amid a new surge of cases in June, and more than 80% of the population has now completed vaccination, among the highest rates in the world.
23rd Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullSupplier Contracts Get Revamped After Covid-19 Disruptions
Pandemic-driven strains in supply chains are triggering changes in contract terms between suppliers and their manufacturing and retail customers as companies try to address the risks and added costs brought on by persistent delays and disruptions. Procurement experts say that when drafting new contracts and renewing existing ones, companies increasingly are seeking to add provisions that cover the impact of pandemics or epidemics and accelerating inflation. The moves come as commodity costs and shipping prices have soared far faster during the past two years than considered in traditional contract terms. A fourfold increase in container shipping rates has made ocean freight for some shippers more expensive than the products they are shipping.
22nd Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Why the NFL Wants Its Personnel to Get Covid Tests—Even When They’re Vaccinated
Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel woke up one August morning feeling mostly fine, but just a little bit off. His throat was sore, and his ear ached. It could have easily been explained by a long summer day at training camp barking at players. Yet when Vrabel arrived at the team facility that morning, he asked for a coronavirus test. Vrabel, who is vaccinated against Covid-19, waited in his car until the result came back. It was positive. So was a follow-up test. And so instead of possibly exposing colleagues and players, he was placed into isolation. It was a model response for an organization like the NFL—or for anybody trying to conduct business as usual—in the age of vaccines. As mass mandatory testing recedes as a containment strategy, monitoring symptoms and voluntary testing is now a front line of defense.
22nd Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
U.K. Faces Backlash Over Selective Vaccine Policy at Border
The U.K. government is facing a rising backlash over its refusal to recognize visitors as vaccinated unless they received their shots in a handful of select countries. Under travel rules unveiled last week, fully dosed arrivals from nations such as the U.S., Israel and Australia will be allowed to enter England without quarantine starting Oct. 4. But vaccinated people from vast swathes of the world still face tougher restrictions, including a 10-day home isolation period. The measure applies even if the visitor has had a vaccine approved and used in the U.K., such as the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE version or the shot produced by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University. It doesn’t matter whether the country is on the “red list” of those facing additional restrictions on entry or not
22nd Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
COVID-19: Should countries send vaccines abroad instead of giving booster jabs?
As the UK starts rolling out booster jabs, health experts have raised concerns about diverting resources from developing countries with much lower vaccination rates. Sky News analysis has found two-thirds of countries have vaccinated less than 40% of their population - the target that WHO set for the end of 2021. The UK is one of a number of developed countries rolling out a third dose to over-50s and vulnerable groups from this week in order to bolster protection against the virus. But the WHO's director general has called for the suspension of boosters until the "critical milestone" of 40% vaccine coverage has been reached across all countries.
22nd Sep 2021 - Sky News
‘Don’t get vaccinated’: Fake funeral home used to promote coronavirus shot
An ad truck appearing to spread anti-vax messaging caused a stir among US football fans in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend. The vehicle, which had a funeral home’s name and website at the bottom of its giant advert, was emblazoned with a plain black board and a slogan which read: “Don't get vaccinated”. As it happens, though, the advert contains a hidden message. There is no “Wilmore Funeral Home”, which the ad claims to represent, and going to its website takes visitors to a landing page instructing them to do the opposite of what it says. “Get vaccinated now” appears on the site, along with a message that says, “If not, see you soon”. The ad agency, BooneOakley, said it was time to get creative and tackle America’s waning Covid-19 vaccine take-up
22nd Sep 2021 - The Independent
Unvaccinated should get priority for an effective early covid-19 treatment, some officials say
Faced with a new federal push to conserve a highly effective covid-19 treatment, some officials are urging health-care providers to put the unvaccinated first. Demand for once-obscure monoclonal antibodies has skyrocketed as federal authorities and particularly Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promote the treatment’s success at preventing mild or moderate covid-19 cases from escalating to hospitalization. The Biden administration moved last week to take over distribution of the therapy, drawing an outcry in Southern states that have used the treatments heavily and will probably have to cut back. The recommendation to prioritize the unvaccinated — who are far more likely to be hospitalized — comes after intense backlash to the idea of penalizing the unvaccinated while rationing hospital care.
22nd Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
UAE eases COVID-19 face mask rules as Expo nears
The United Arab Emirates has cut the number of places where face masks must be worn as it gears up to open the Expo 2020 world fair next month and as official COVID-19 case numbers fall. The UAE had required masks in all public places and among members of different households in private vehicles. While adhering to a two-metre distancing rule, masks can now be removed when doing exercise in public places, on beaches and at poolsides, in hair salons and in medical centres when being treated. The change follows a steady decrease in reported daily cases since early July, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said
22nd Sep 2021 - Reuters
Panama to give immunocompromised people third COVID-19 vaccine shot
Panama will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to moderate and severely immunocompromised people starting this week, Health Minister Luis Sucre said. The decision follows similar moves by other Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Chile, which are already giving a booster vaccine dose to people at risk, for instance those with immunodeficiencies or the elderly. Among those eligible to get an extra shot during the first phase of the Panamanian plan are people undergoing cancer treatment and transplants, as well as those who received stem cells in the last two years or suffer from an advanced or untreated HIV infection.
22nd Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.S. parents weigh risks, benefits as COVID-19 vaccine for kids nears approval
Monday's announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech that a low dose of their coronavirus vaccine proved safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11 in a clinical trial has come as a relief to many parents anxiously awaiting the chance to protect their children. The highly contagious Delta variant of the virus has collided with the start of the U.S. academic year, sending infections among young children soaring - including many cases requiring hospitalization - and forcing thousands of schools to shut for days or even weeks. The companies said they plan to file for regulatory authorization as soon as possible for a 10-microgram dose for children ages 5 to 11 after it led to a strong immune response in a 2,268-participant trial.
22nd Sep 2021 - Reuters
Iran eyes normalisation as COVID vaccination drive accelerates
The rollouts of Iran’s vaccination campaign against COVID-19 has gathered significant pace, after months of public anger about slow imports, raising hopes of a relative return to normal life in the Middle East’s worst-hit country. More than 30 million jabs alone were imported during the sixth month of the Iranian calendar which ends on Wednesday – higher than all doses imported since the start of February combined. Another 13.4 million doses were imported in the previous Iranian month, in the middle of which President Ebrahim Raisi took office.
22nd Sep 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Biden doubles US global donation of COVID-19 vaccine shots
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots to share with the world to 1 billion doses as he embraces the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year. The stepped-up U.S. commitment marks the cornerstone of the global vaccination summit Biden convened virtually on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where he encouraged well-off nations to do more to get the coronavirus under control. World leaders, aid groups and global health organizations are growing increasingly vocal about the slow pace of global vaccinations and the inequity of access to shots between residents of wealthier and poorer nations.
22nd Sep 2021 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID creates shortages of an array of U.S. medical supplies
Shortages of masks and gloves that marked the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic have spread to a host of other items needed at medical facilities in the United States, from exam tables and heart defibrillators to crutches and IV poles. It can now take up to five months to get some types of exam tables, for instance, compared to three to six weeks before the pandemic, according to CME Corp, a distributor of medical equipment that handles over 2 million products.
21st Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.S. retail industry seeks 90-day lead time on COVID-19 rules
Two major U.S. retail industry groups on Tuesday asked the Biden administration for at least 90 days before imposing new rules that will require employees at larger firms to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing. On Sept. 9, the White House said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an emergency temporary standard that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated, or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative COVID-19 test once a week.
21st Sep 2021 - Reuters
Britain's daily Covid cases rise again by nearly a fifth in a week and deaths climb 10%
Department of Health bosses posted 31,564 new coronavirus infections today, up 18.5 per cent on last week. The number of people dying within 28 days of testing positive for the virus increased 9.7 per cent to 203. But Covid hospital admissions are continuing to fall — with 861 new patients recorded last Thursday
21st Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Romania could offer third Covid-19 vaccine dose from next week
Romania could start offering a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to medical staff and at-risk people as early as next week as the number of new daily cases was rising sharply, the head of the national vaccination committee said on Tuesday.
21st Sep 2021 - Reuters
Thai campaign to vaccinate schoolchildren makes progress
Health officials in the Thai capital made headway Tuesday in their effort to vaccinate children against the coronavirus, giving shots of the Pfizer vaccine to students aged 12 to 18 with underlying diseases. Vaccinations for that age bracket were first offered last month through hospitals, but now are arranged by schools. A separate campaign by a medical research institute on Monday began inoculating children aged 10 to 18 with China’s Sinopharm vaccine. On Tuesday, 1,500 students received shots of the Pfizer vaccine, 800 for the first time and 700 as a follow-up to their first shot in August.
21st Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
DC school, childcare workers must get covid vaccine, no test option
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday that all teachers and school staff and early child-care workers in the District must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 1, eliminating a testing option for these professionals who regularly interact with children who are often too young to be vaccinated. The mayor’s initial vaccine requirement — which included a testing option — did not apply to public charter or private school workers nor day-care employees. But this stricter mandate applies to these nongovernment employees.
21st Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Argentina loosens COVID-19 restrictions, will ease open borders
Argentina on Tuesday unveiled plans to ease coronavirus pandemic restrictions, including loosening strict border controls, allowing more commercial activities and getting rid of the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors. Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said the easing of rules would allow more economic, industrial and commercial activities in closed places, while borders would gradually reopen from this month, with all tourists allowed back in from November.
21st Sep 2021 - YAHOO!News
India calls new UK COVID-19 vaccine rules 'discriminatory'
ndia on Tuesday criticized the British government’s decision not to recognize coronavirus vaccine certificates issued by Indian authorities, calling it a "discriminatory policy” that will impact its citizens who want to travel to that country.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the new rules unveiled last week, which take effect next month, could force India to “impose More than half of companies in the U.S. are planning to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates on their employees by the end of the year, a new survey finds. Researchers from Willis Towers Watson, a British multinational risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory company, polled nearly 1,000 companies who employ around 9.7 million people. They found that by the fourth quarter of 2021, 52 percent of employers are planning or could have one or more vaccine mandate requirements
21st Sep 2021 - The Independent
More than HALF of companies are planning to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Willis Towers Watson, a risk management and advisory company, surveyed nearly 1,000 U.S. companies employing 9.7 million workers. More than half, 52%, said they are planning to impose Covid vaccine mandates on their employees by the end of the year. Nearly one-third are planning or considering making vaccines a requirement to enter the workplace and 21% are considering the shots for all new hires
Of companies tracking vaccination status 62% require workers to submit proof and 36% count on workers to self-report
21st Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Calls grow among experts in Singapore for a vaccine mandate as COVID-19 spikes
Some health experts in Singapore are calling for mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus with a growing toll of severe COVID-19 among unvaccinated people as infections surge and with vaccine take-up plateauing at 82% of the population. The government has linked reopening to vaccination targets but it paused the easing of restrictions this month to watch for signs that severe infections could overwhelm the health system.
21st Sep 2021 - Reuters
India says it will resume Covid-19 vaccine exports next month
India will resume exports of Covid-19 vaccines in the October quarter, prioritizing the global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX and neighboring countries first as supplies rise, the country's health minister said on Monday. India, the world's biggest maker of vaccines, stopped exports of Covid shots in April to focus on inoculating its own population as infections exploded. The country's monthly vaccine output has since more than doubled and is set to quadruple to over 300 million doses next month, minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, adding that only excess supplies would be exported. Total production could top 1 billion in the last three months of the year as new vaccines from companies such as Biological E are likely to be approved, he added.
21st Sep 2021 - CNN
Poland recommends COVID-19 booster shot for people over 50
Poland will recommend a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people over 50 as well as healthcare workers, a deputy health minister said on Tuesday. Waldemar Kraska said the booster would be administered at least 6 months after the second shot. A third dose was already recommended earlier for the immuno-compromised.
21st Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Vaccinated school pupil 'excited' to be near grandparents
One of the first pupils in England to receive a Covid-19 vaccination in the rollout to under-16s said he was "excited" that he could now spend time with his grandparents. All children aged 12-15 across the UK are to be offered one dose of a Covid vaccine. Quinn, 15, was given a Pfizer vaccination at Belfairs Academy in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. He said: "I was nervous at first but in the long run it's going to be good." Quinn said he wanted the vaccine because "I can keep safe near my family and with my grandparents".
21st Sep 2021 - BBC News
India asks UK to revise COVID quarantine rules, warns retaliation
India’s foreign minister has urged the United Kingdom for an “early resolution of quarantine issue” in the wake of a new British rule requiring Indians visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated. England and Scotland will ease pandemic restrictions from early October, but the list of countries with approved vaccines does not include India, despite the country using a locally made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK.
21st Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullIndia 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.
20th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
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.
20th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
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
20th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
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.
20th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
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.
20th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
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.
20th Sep 2021 - DW (English)
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.”
20th Sep 2021 - The Independent
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."
20th Sep 2021 - Sky News
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.
20th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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
20th Sep 2021 - ABC.Net.au
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.
20th Sep 2021 - Sky News
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.
20th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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.
20th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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.
20th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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
18th Sep 2021 - CBC.ca
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullAfrica's Biggest City to Vacinate 30% of Residents in a Year
Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, plans to give Covid-19 shots to 30% of residents within a year, the state’s governor said in an emailed statement. To be able to do so “the world must ensure that vaccines were available to all, especially poorer countries that had struggled with supply,” Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who governs Africa’s biggest city said. Lagos has only been been able to vaccinate 1.2% of its estimated 24 million residents, which is far below the recommendation set by the World Health Organization, Sanwo-Olu said.
19th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
White House debates vaccines for air travel
The Biden administration is facing an internal debate over whether to impose vaccine mandates for air travel, with President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, saying he would support a mandate but the White House claiming a new policy isn’t forthcoming. The potential of a mandate for domestic air travel would be fiercely opposed by Republicans and the travel industry and could add to the pushback Biden has received over his mandate on COVID-19 vaccines and testing for companies with at least 100 employees. The White House sees the mandate on such businesses as politically popular, but it has run into opposition from GOP governors who have threatened to sue.
19th Sep 2021 - The Hill
A New Covid Testing Model Aims to Spare Students From Quarantine
More school districts are embracing “test-to-stay” protocols that allow uninfected close contacts to remain in the classroom.
19th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
Scottish Covid vaccine trialists ‘treated like second-class citizens’
Scottish vaccine volunteers are being treated like “second-class citizens” while waiting for the Novavax jab to be approved, an MSP has said, as they continue a months-long fight to have their vaccines recognised on the standard NHS Scotland database. The trialists are worried that the introduction of vaccine passports in Scotland next month could put them at a further disadvantage as they cannot access the standard electronic version, instead possessing only a piece of paper.
Some have been abused online by anti-vaxxers while others have felt forced to lie to obtain an approved dose, despite having no information about side-effects of vaccine mixing.
19th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
U.S. administers about 384.9 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines -CDC
The United States has administered 384,911,290 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday morning and distributed 466,569,635 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from 383,994,877 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 17 out of 464,315,725 doses delivered.
19th Sep 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
New Zealand sees small increase in daily COVID-19 cases over weekend
New Zealand reported 24 new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Sunday, up from 20 on Saturday, showing an upturn after several days of lower numbers, as the country's largest city Auckland awaits to hear if its lockdown restrictions will ease. All of the new cases have been reported in greater Auckland, a city of about 1.7 million people which has been in a full level 4 lockdown since mid-August.
19th Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to buy hundreds of millions more doses of Pfizer vaccine to donate to the world
The Biden administration is buying hundreds of millions more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to donate to the world, according to two people familiar with the deal, as the United States looks to increase efforts to share vaccine with the global population. The administration is expected to purchase 500 million doses, but the terms are not finalized, said the people with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the donation. The announcement of the purchase is slated for early next week and timed to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly meeting.
18th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Vaccine boosters for more people are on the horizon. But the unvaccinated remain the biggest obstacle to curbing the pandemic
While more people are likely to be eligible for Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, the most glaring issue prolonging the pandemic is the large swath of unvaccinated people, who are filling up hospitals and dying from the persistent virus, officials and health experts said. Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration greenlighted recommending emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine six months after full vaccination for people 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness from the virus. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting next week with its vaccine advisers, and the agency determines the final approval for the shots. But with 54.4% of the US total population fully vaccinated, health experts reiterated that booster shots are not the answer to ending the pandemic.
18th Sep 2021 - CNN
Delta variant: Major Covid testing flaws and home quarantine loophole gave strain ‘the keys to the house’
The UK’s fight against the Delta variant as it swept into the country this spring was hampered by two major flaws repeatedly flagged as concerns by scientific advisers. Samples of swabs taken from travellers arriving in the country in March and April could not be examined by Public Health England (PHE) because the body had no contractual link with the private firms carrying out the testing. And people living with those who had travelled from amber list countries and were required to quarantine at home – which included India until 23 April – were able to go to work and mix with others. The loophole meant home quarantine was “not effective”, experts said.
18th Sep 2021 - iNews
Covid-19 Australia: Victoria could end lockdown early if Pfizer wait time halved
Victoria has recorded 535 new Covid-19 cases and one death amid hopes the state could end lockdown as soon as Melbourne Cup day if the wait time between Pfizer doses is halved. World Health Organisation epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman said it was time to revise the window period between receiving both doses of the vaccine. The waiting period could be cut down from six to three weeks and ultimately fast track the state to reach its 80 per cent vaccination target by November 2. At its current pace, Victoria is expected to reach the milestone by November 19.
18th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Coronavirus NI: Students getting vaccinated will help ease disruption to their lives, says health minister as 'jabbathon' continues
In Northern Ireland, students getting vaccinated against Covid-19 will help ease the disruption they have endured since the start of the pandemic, the Health Minister has said, Robin Swann was speaking as details of Jabbathon clinics aimed at rolling out Covid-19 vaccines to as many young adults as possible were announced yesterday. Mobile walk-in clinics will continue at 30 campuses across Northern Ireland’s universities and further education colleges next week.
17th Sep 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Coronavirus: plans to end free rapid tests in England ‘reckless’
England’s coronavirus testing strategy has been been criticised as “reckless” amid plans to end the free provision of rapid tests and relax the monitoring of cases from abroad. Families and businesses will have to pay for lateral flow tests from next year in an overhaul of Downing Street’s approach to the pandemic. More than 95m of the 30-minute tests have been used since they were made freely available in England from April. Reported to cost £5-£30 each, they have identified more than 620,000 cases, mostly in people without symptoms but who could still transmit the virus. Mayors, teaching unions and directors of public health said charging for lateral flow tests was a “backward step” that threatened to throw schools back into chaos, accelerate the spread of the virus and deepen health inequalities.
17th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
Nearly half of Spaniards think Covid-19 vaccination should be mandatory
“Everyone should be forced to get vaccinated even if they don’t want to.” Fully 47.7% of Spaniards checked this answer in a survey about Covid-19 immunization carried out in September by Spain’s Center for Sociological Studies. Another 25.4% said that “nobody should be forced to get vaccinated” while 21.8% said it depends on each case and 4.8% were undecided. These percentages rise considerably for certain professions: 81.5% of respondents said that healthcare personnel, senior home staff and workers who deal directly with the general public should all get mandatory shots. This percentage includes the 47.7% who support obligatory inoculation for everyone regardless of their occupation.
17th Sep 2021 - El País
Cuba begins vaccinating children as young as two against COVID-19
On Thursday Cuba began a massive vaccination campaign for children between the ages of two and 10, becoming one of the first nations to do so. Health officials in the country say Cuba’s homegrown vaccines have been found safe for young children. “Our country would not put [infants] even at a minimal risk if the vaccines were not proven save and highly effective when put into children,” Aurolis Otano, director of the Vedado Polyclinic University, told The Associated Press news agency in a vaccination room. Otano said the circulation of the Delta variant led to an increase in infections among the youngest, so Cuba’s scientific community decided to “take the vaccine to clinical trial” and it was approved for children.
17th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Covid 19: Doctor calls red list travel shake up 'worrying'
Dr Amir Khan warned that any new variants of the Covid-19 virus could be ‘missed’ if fully vaccinated people returning from a green list country no longer have to take PCR tests. A huge shake up to how international travel will work during the ongoing pandemic is expected to be announced later today. According to reports, one of the measures thought to be revealed will see double-jabbed people required to take lateral flow tests rather than expensive PCR tests when arriving back in the UK.
17th Sep 2021 - Metro.co.uk
COVID-19: Italy makes vaccine passport compulsory - workers can be fined and suspended without pay
Italy is to become the first European country to make a vaccine passport system compulsory for all workers. Proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection must be provided or staff will be suspended without pay and face a fine. However, they cannot be sacked. The law set to apply to both public and private employees from 15 October after the Italian government approved the measures on Thursday.
17th Sep 2021 - Sky News
FDA panel is first key test for Biden COVID-19 booster plan
Dealing the White House a setback, a government advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots across the board, and instead endorsed the extra vaccine dose only for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes represented a heavy blow to the Biden administration’s sweeping effort, announced a month ago, to shore up nearly all Americans’ protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. The nonbinding recommendation — from an influential committee of outside experts who advise the FDA — is not the last word. The FDA will consider the group’s advice and make its own decision, probably within days. And the CDC is set to weigh in next week.
17th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
What will the Covid-19 booster roll out look like? Public health groups plan as they await details
Health agencies, providers, and other groups tasked with the herculean effort to vaccinate the public against Covid-19 are readying for the next phase of the endeavor: boosters. But they’re also having to account for an array of unknowns about who will be eligible and when, with just days remaining before the White House originally said the shots would be available. “They’re planning to plan, because there’s so little information right now about what this is going to look like,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, the CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
17th Sep 2021 - STAT News
Companies Grapple With Questions About Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
Companies preparing to implement the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate face logistical challenges and unanswered questions about how to comply, employment and compensation lawyers say. Businesses are awaiting more details in a formal rule that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to issue in coming weeks. One of the biggest unknowns is who will be responsible for covering the cost of testing for employees who choose to remain unvaccinated, lawyers said.
17th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullParents Seek Out Covid-19 Vaccine Trials for Their Children Ahead of Official Authorization
Rachael DiFransico’s 14-month-old daughter Sybil chewed on a plastic toy at a doctor’s office in the Cleveland suburbs while waiting one recent day to enroll in a study testing whether a Covid-19 vaccine works safely in children. “This trial is our best shot at getting the vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Ms. DiFransico, who said she wanted Sybil to be able to spend more time with other children and extended family. “We want some semblance of normalcy for her.”
16th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Italy Is First EU Country to Require Covid Pass for All Workers
Italy will require all workers to have a valid Covid passport, as the government led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi moves to set the toughest vaccination requirements in Europe. A cabinet meeting Thursday approved the measure, which applies to all public and private-sector workers and will come into force Oct. 15. Workers faces fines of as much as 1,500 euros ($1,763) for noncompliance, while employers who fail to check their workers may have to pay as much as 1,000 euros. The wider use of the passports -- dubbed Green Passes -- had met fierce opposition from right-wing parties including Matteo Salvini’s League, which backs Draghi’s government.
16th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
United says about 90% staff vaccinated ahead of company deadline
United Airlines Holding said on Thursday 95% of its management was fully vaccinated and about 90% of all employees had uploaded proof of shots ahead of the company's Sept. 27 deadline for staff vaccination. United has taken a tough stance on employees who decline to get vaccinated and became the first U.S. carrier in early August to announce it would mandate vaccines for employees.
16th Sep 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Vaccine booster programme begins as NHS starts giving third jabs
The NHS has started rolling out COVID-19 booster jabs. Over 50s, people in care homes, frontline health and social care workers and vulnerable people between 16 and 49 are among those who will be offered a third dose. At least six months must have passed since the second jab. Hospital hubs began giving third doses to health and social care workers on Thursday, NHS England said, with other eligible people now being identified.
16th Sep 2021 - Sky News
Spain to give COVID-19 booster dose to nursing home residents
Spain will give a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents, organ transplant recipients and other vulnerable groups, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. Cancer patients undergoing chemo or radiotherapy and people with health conditions that require immunosuppressive treatment would also be eligible for a booster dose, the ministry said.
16th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 Australia: Queensland health to send text messages to track people in home quarantine
Australians in home quarantine will soon receive timed text messages to ensure they are isolating or face a visit from the cops as part of a compliance crackdown in Queensland. The texts are part of the state's new Covid-19 laws - which come into effect immediately - that give people in home quarantine a ten minute window to respond as part of a real-time check in system. Health Minister Yvette D'Ath told parliament on Thursday residents who are isolating at home after returning from to the state will receive daily text messages at random times of the day from Queensland Health.
16th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Virgin Australia to require COVID-19 vaccinations for staff
Virgin Australia said on Thursday it will require all its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in line with domestic rival Qantas Airways and a growing number of airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. Pilots, cabin crew and airport workers will need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 15, while other staff will have until March 31, 2022, Virgin said, aligning its dates with Qantas. "We also remain supportive of any government-led measures to ensure travellers are vaccinated," Virgin Chief Executive Officer Jayne Hrdlicka said.
16th Sep 2021 - Reuters
US working on new COVID-19 rules for international visitors
The Biden administration is considering requiring vaccinations against COVID-19 and contact tracing of international visitors after the U.S. revamps current broad restrictions that bar many foreigners from traveling to the U.S., a top White House adviser said. Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said that because of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, current travel restrictions will remain in place until the administration rolls out a “new system” for regulating international travel. The system will include a prominent role for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
16th Sep 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: France suspends 3,000 unvaccinated health workers
About 3,000 health workers in France have been suspended because they have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. A new rule, which came into force on Wednesday, made vaccination mandatory for the country's 2.7 million health, care home and fire service staff. But French Health Minister Olivier Véran said on Thursday that "most of the suspensions are only temporary". Many are now agreeing to get jabbed because "they see that the vaccination mandate is a reality", he said. The rule applies to all doctors, nurses, office staff and volunteers.
16th Sep 2021 - BBC News
The government’s winter Covid plan can prevent another UK lockdown – if we all work together
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. He writes: 'To avoid a lockdown, we need the various components of the system – vaccination, behavioural changes and widespread testing – to work together. Covid-19 is still here, and we are still in the midst of a pandemic. Let us hope this autumn brings a move away from a divided society arguing over how serious Covid-19 is, to one where we collectively work towards managing this problem, slowing the spread of the disease, and saving lives and livelihoods.'
16th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
Asia supercharges vaccination efforts after slow start, U.S. lags
Several Asian nations are quickly ramping up vaccination campaigns from shaky starts to combat growing COVID-19 infections, as supply shipments roll in and people overcome hesitancy in hopes of easing curbs and freeing up travel. Japan and South Korea have passed the United States in terms of those who have received at least one dose and are fast catching up with the second. And Australia, which is targeting high vaccination rates in its drive to escape lockdowns and re-open borders, has given 56% of people at least one shot as infections peak.
16th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Beyond ‘vaccinopia’: Rapid tests should play a larger role in Biden’s Covid-19 plan
America is suffering from a serious case of vaccinopia: an inability to look beyond shots in arms when considering how to manage the pandemic. This was made clear by President Biden’s new Covid-19 plan, which emphasizes vaccine mandates while providing insufficient support for rapid tests, which we believe to be the most promising — and most underused — tool in the armamentarium against the coronavirus. We are strong proponents of the Covid-19 vaccines, which have proven to be impressively effective and safe. In an ideal world, every eligible American would have been vaccinated by now. But we do not live in an ideal world. Covid-19 vaccination has become so politicized that a broad, societal consensus on its merits seems all but impossible. As many as one in five eligible Americans may continue to decline vaccination. Vaccine mandates could change that, but their immediate impact will be blunted by the inevitable legal challenges and the months-long process of delivering millions of vaccinations and waiting for sufficient immunity to develop.
16th Sep 2021 - STAT News
End of the face mask in fight against Covid? Around 4.3 million people stopped wearing coverings this summer, data shows
Millions of Britons stopped wearing face masks in public this summer, Government data suggests. An Office for National Statistics survey found 89 per cent of people wore coverings outside their home in the week ending September 5. For comparison, uptake stood in the region of 98 per cent at the start of May when the second wave was receding. This equates to around 4.3 million people having turned their backs on masks, figures suggest.
16th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Italy makes COVID health pass mandatory for all workers
The Italian government approved on Thursday some of the strictest anti-COVID measures in the world, making it obligatory for all workers either to show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection. The new rules will come into force on Oct. 15 in the latest effort by Prime Minister Mario Draghi's broad coalition to persuade people to get inoculated and blunt contagion in one of the countries worst-hit by the virus.
16th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullMontana's Largest Hospital Nears 'Crisis Standards of Care' Rationing Over Covid
Montana’s largest hospital is considering crisis standards of care procedures that grant authority to decide who receives life-saving treatment, the Billings Gazette reported Wednesday. Intensive care unit capacity at Billings Clinic is at 150% as Covid-19 rages, the newspaper said. “If it comes to a point where we have to make those incredibly [difficult] life or death situations, we will have an objective team that will be available to provide council and make those decisions,” said Laurie Smith, chief nursing officer.
15th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
U.S. administers 382.3 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC
The United States has administered 382,294,795 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 461,117,525 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 381,453,265 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 14 out of 458,771,465 doses delivered. The agency said 210,361,099 people had received at least one dose while 179,695,287 people are fully vaccinated as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
15th Sep 2021 - Reuters
New US immigrants required to get coronavirus vaccine, USCIS says
The United States will require new immigrants to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as part of its routine medical examination, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Tuesday. The measure goes into effect on Oct. 1. Most people applying to become a permanent resident in the United States are required to receive the immigration medical examination “to show they are free from any conditions that would render them inadmissible under the health-related grounds,” according to USCIS. The announcement comes after the Biden administration last week unveiled a sweeping set of vaccination mandates, requiring federal employees to get immunized against the coronavirus, and ordering businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccinations or weekly testing
15th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
COVID-19: Javid defends return to office advice after experts warn of hospital admissions soaring
The health secretary says A&E pressures and a rising number of COVID patients could trigger the government's "plan B" for the winter - as experts warned hospital admissions could reach 7,000 a day. Sajid Javid added that a new variant of concern would not necessarily be a trigger as he refused to rule out a lockdown. Plan B, which includes mandatory face masks, a work from home order and vaccine passports, was revealed by the government on Tuesday as part of the autumn and winter plan for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
15th Sep 2021 - Sky News
Portugal fully vaccinates 80% of population against COVID-19
Portugal has fully inoculated 80% of its population against the coronavirus, official data showed, becoming one of the world's most vaccinated nations as authorities gradually drop most COVID-19 restrictions. According to a Reuters tracker, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates have the same rate of complete vaccinations, jointly leading the world. The southern European nation, which at the start of this year battled what was then the world's worst coronavirus surge, has vaccinated around 8.2 million people out of its population of just over 10 million
15th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Sydney nightly curfew to end as COVID-19 vaccinations hit fresh milestone
A curfew imposed on more than two million people in the 12 Sydney suburbs hardest hit by the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant will end on Wednesday night, authorities said, stopping short of easing more lockdown restrictions. Officials said first-dose COVID-19 vaccination levels have reached 80% of the New South Wales (NSW) adult population, while the dual-dose rate in Sydney's home state stands at 48% now. That's above the national average of 43%, but well below the 70% level that will trigger the easing of other curbs first imposed three months ago. Authorities expect to achieve the 70% rate around the middle of next month, and plans to relax more restrictions once it has climbed to 80%.
15th Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.S. Pres Biden to meet executives on COVID-19 mandate
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet on Wednesday with business leaders as he pushes companies to require workers to be vaccinated amid a surge in COVID-19 infections among those without a dose. Participants in the meeting include the chief executives of Walt Disney, Microsoft and Walgreens Boots Alliance, the White House said. Biden last week announced vaccine mandates for nearly all federal employees, federal contractors, and larger companies as the number of U.S. infections continued to rise, hospital beds in some parts of the country filled up and mask requirements returned.
15th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Close-contact pupils 'should not be sent home from school'
In Northern Ireland, schools should not send pupils home as close contacts or ask them to self-isolate, according to guidance to principals from the Department of Education (DE). It said schools should not identify close contacts unless asked to do so by the Public Health Agency (PHA). The PHA took over responsibility for contact tracing in schools on Friday. The move brings Northern Ireland into line with the approach taken in England, Scotland and Wales.
15th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19: Government lays out its “plan B” to protect NHS this winter
Ministers will reintroduce a range of precautionary measures against covid-19 this autumn and winter if a further surge in cases threatens to overwhelm the NHS. The government’s plan,1 published on 14 September, sets out what it calls a “plan B for England” that it will initiate if data suggest the NHS is likely to come under unsustainable pressure during the coming months. Measures would include introducing mandatory vaccine certification in specific settings, bringing back the legal requirement to wear face coverings in some settings, and advising people to work from home if they are able to. The government said it was committed to taking “whatever action is necessary” to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed but said stricter economic and social restrictions such as lockdowns would only be considered as “a last resort.”
15th Sep 2021 - The BMJ
Largest colleges push student vaccines with mandates, prizes
At most of the largest U.S. public universities, students are under no obligation to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Some schools do require vaccines, but with leniency for those who opt out. Still others have expelled students who do not comply. As a new semester begins amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, administrators and faculty nationwide see high vaccination rates as key to bringing some normalcy back to campus. Where mandates face political opposition, schools are relying on incentives and outreach to get more students vaccinated. An analysis by The Associated Press shows 26 of the nation’s 50 largest public university campuses are not requiring vaccination, representing roughly 55% of students enrolled at those schools. The AP looked at the largest campuses by 2019-2020 enrollment that offer on-campus housing and award bachelor’s degrees
15th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Unvaccinated French health care workers face suspension
Health care workers in France face suspension from their jobs starting Wednesday if they haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. With as many as 300,000 workers still not vaccinated, some hospitals fear staff shortages will add to their strain. Vaccines are now compulsory for medical care, home care and emergency workers in France, and Wednesday is the deadline for such staff to have had at least one shot. Failing that, they face having pay suspended or not being able to work. But a top court has forbidden staff to be fired outright.
15th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
WHO aims for 30 percent of needed Africa COVID jabs by February
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have said they hope to provide Africa with about 30 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines the continent needs by February, badly missing the 60 percent vaccination coverage goal that African leaders had once hoped for this year. Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world so far, only 2 percent have been in Africa.
14th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullBiden’s Vaccine Mandate Risks Overwhelming U.S. Testing Capacity
The U.S. may not have enough tests to keep pace with the Biden administration’s tightened workplace Covid-19 mitigation measures.
14th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg on MSN.com
Trump says he likely WON'T get coronavirus booster shot because he's in 'good shape' after getting vaccinated
Donald Trump said he 'doesn't think' he'll get a coronavirus booster shot because he feels he is in 'good shape' after getting vaccinated.
14th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail on MSN.com
UK health secretary signals the end of PCR COVID-19 tests for travel
Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid signalled on Tuesday that a requirement for expensive PCR tests for COVID-19 for international travellers arriving in Britain would be dropped in favour of cheaper lateral-flow-tests. Asked by a lawmaker if lateral flow tests could be used for initial screening, with the small proportion of positive cases then needing a PCR test, Javid said: "I don't want to pre-empt the statement of my right honourable friend the transport secretary but I believe when he makes that statement that my honourable friend will be pleased."
14th Sep 2021 - Reuters UK
Schools will need vaccine mandates for in-person classes to last, expert says
As kids return for a new school year and Covid-19 cases rise among younger age groups, vaccine mandates in schools may become the only way forward, a vaccine expert said. "So far, we've not seen a lot of Covid vaccine mandates, even for the teenagers," vaccinologist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine Dr. Peter Hotez told CNN. "It's gonna have to happen if we're going to get kids through the school year." Cases have risen "exponentially" among children, with the weekly count of 243,373 new cases showing about a 240% increase compared with the week of July 22-29, data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows.
14th Sep 2021 - CNN
Travel vaccine mandate could segregate society, experts warn
Experts have warned mandating vaccines for travel could be problematic and promote segregation, as the Federal Government prepares to trial vaccine passports for international travel. A new study published by the Medical Journal of Australia found mandatory vaccines must be backed by strong justification before being rolled out by the government. Championing the research, a string of leading health professionals found a general population mandate could cause resentment and mistrust in government and public health agencies.
14th Sep 2021 - 9News.com.au
Nadhim Zahawi: patients could get Covid jab each year with flu vaccine
Patients in England could get routine annual Covid jabs at the same time as their flu vaccinations, the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, has said, as the government prepares to start the booster programme in the coming days. Scientists have warned that the NHS is likely to be under significant pressure from other seasonal illnesses as well as Covid-19 infections. Zahawi said he hoped the booster programme would be the “last piece of the jigsaw” to allow society to continue through the winter without lockdowns.
14th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
India under pressure to resume coronavirus vaccine exports with cases down
India is facing growing pressure to lift its ban on exporting coronavirus vaccines, months after curbs were imposed to tackle a massive domestic outbreak that has since relented. Officials in the United States and with Covax hope a more stable health situation will persuade the country to resume exports. The pressure comes as wealthy nations, including the U.S., move to offer coronavirus booster shots to their own vaccinated residents. But Indian officials have not committed to a firm date. Instead, mixed messaging has clouded production forecasts, even as President Biden plans to call on global leaders to make new commitments to fight the pandemic, including fully vaccinating 70 percent of the world’s population by next September
14th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Covid: Sajid Javid unveils winter plan to tackle coronavirus
The health secretary has unveiled the government's plan for tackling Covid during autumn and winter in England. Sajid Javid said it included offering booster jabs to those most at risk from the virus and maximising uptake among those who have not yet had the vaccine. Ministers have also prepared a "Plan B" if measures are needed to prevent "unsustainable pressure" on the NHS. This could include compulsory face coverings in certain settings and asking people to work from home. But "more harmful economic and social restrictions would only be considered as a last resort", the government's winter plan says.
14th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Dutch expected to ease COVID-19 measures, introduce 'corona' pass
The Dutch government is expected to ease COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday, mirroring other countries in Europe, and introduce a "corona" pass, showing proof of vaccinations, that will allow eating out and admission to cultural events. Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Cabinet is expected to lift social distancing requirements from Sept. 25. Likely remaining in place are a mask requirement for public transportation and schools, and a recommendation that people work from home when possible
14th Sep 2021 - Reuters
UK recommends COVID-19 booster shots for over 50s
The U.K. said it will offer a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to everyone over age 50 and other vulnerable people after an an expert panel said the boosters were needed to protect against waning immunity this winter. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers that the government had accepted the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization and would start offering booster shots next week. The World Health Organization has asked wealthy nations to delay booster shots until every country has vaccinated at least 40% of their populations.
14th Sep 2021 - The Independent
New Zealand looks to boost COVID-19 vaccinations as new cases ease
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has asked New Zealanders to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it was the only way to beat the spread of coronavirus and see curbs lifted in the biggest city of Auckland. Tuesday's 15 new infections in New Zealand were a drop from Monday's figure of 33, but about 1.7 million people will stay in lockdown in Auckland until next week, as the government battles to hold down a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant. "The vaccine is the best tool we have in our toolbox and our ticket to greater freedom," Ardern told a news conference. "The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer restrictions you have to have."
14th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 hotel quarantine could last 'three or four years' in Australia
Covid-19 hotel quarantine could be in place for three or four years but Australians returning from overseas may be allowed to isolate at home by Christmas. Jane Halton, a former public servant who conducted a review of the quarantine system last year, said hotel quarantine could last even longer if a new Covid-19 variant evades vaccines. 'In three or four years' time I'll be quite surprised if we're using these kinds of arrangements unless for example there's a very nasty new variant,' she told ABC radio
14th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
Asia’s Covid-19 Success Stories Warily Ponder Post-Vaccination Moves
Earlier this month, Singapore reached a Covid-19 milestone: The fully vaccinated portion of the population crossed 80%. But instead of moving ahead with a planned reopening pegged to the achievement, the government put on the brakes. That is because cases were rising to several hundred each day after an earlier relaxing of some restrictions, raising fears of a hospital-bed shortage.
14th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19 vaccine rollout to start in NI for 12 to 15 year olds
Young people aged 12 to 15 years old in Northern Ireland are to be offered a first dose of a Covid-19 jab shortly, the Department of Health has said. It follows unanimous advice to ministers from the UK's four chief medical officers. There are approximately 98,000 12 to 15 year olds in Northern Ireland. They will be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine with parental consent sought prior to vaccination. Health Minister Robin Swann said the move will help to protect young people from catching the virus.
14th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Ukrainian government announces vaccine passports
The Ukrainian government has decided to introduced COVID-19 "vaccine passports" verifying citizens' vaccination status, the health ministry said. The passports will allow businesses such as cinemas, gyms, theatres and swimming pools to operate without social distancing requirements if all visitors and at least 80% of staff at the venues are at least partially vaccinated, the ministry said in a statement.
14th Sep 2021 - Reuters
U.S. to buy 1.4 mln additional doses of Regeneron's COVID-19 therapy
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday the U.S. government will buy 1.4 million additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV.
The cocktail, a combination of antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab, was authorized in November for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
14th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid vaccine: Over 30 million people to be offered booster jab as rollout extended to over-50s
More than 30 million people are to be offered a Covid booster jab as part of government plans for "living with the virus" throughout the winter. Following final recommendations provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, all over-50s, clinically vulnerable individuals and healthcare workers will be offered a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the weeks ahead – regardless of what jabs they received earlier in the year.
14th Sep 2021 - The Independent
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullSchool vaccine campaigns targeting students face blowback
Fearing his parents wouldn’t approve of his decision to get a COVID-19 vaccine but needing their signature, Andrew signed up for the appointment in secret, and then sprang it on them at the last minute. They said no. Andrew cursed at his mother and father and called them idiots. Andrew’s dad grabbed him by the shirt collar.
“He said, ‘You’re not getting this damn vaccine; you need to lower your voice. Watch your tone when you talk to me.’ It was, it was the first time my dad had ever done something like that — he grabbed my shirt and yelled in my face,” said Andrew, a 17-year-old student in Hoover, Alabama. In most states, minors need the consent of their parents in order to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Navigating family politics in cases of differing views has been a challenge for students and organizers of outreach campaigns, who have faced blowback for directly targeting young people.
14th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
More than half of Americans support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms and sporting events
Americans have grown more supportive of coronavirus vaccine mandates for workers, students, and in everyday public life, according to a new CNN poll. The shift comes amid renewed worries about the pandemic and a continued partisan divide over the efforts to combat it. The public is split about evenly, 51% to 49%, on whether requiring proof of vaccination for everyday activities is an acceptable way to increase the vaccination rate, or an unacceptable infringement on personal rights.
But there's greater backing for requiring vaccines in many specific instances. More than half of Americans now say they support requiring vaccinations for office workers returning to the workplace (54%), students attending in-person classes (55%) and patrons attending sporting events or concerts (55%), although fewer (41%) support requiring vaccinations for a shopper to enter a grocery store.
13th Sep 2021 - CNN
Iraq receives over 100,000 coronavirus vaccine doses
Iraq has received a donation of more than 100,000 AstraZeneca doses against Covid-19 from Italy via vaccine-sharing facility Covax. More than four million people in Iraq, or around 10 percent of its 40 million inhabitants, have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab, according to the health ministry. Healthcare workers say they are battling not just the coronavirus but also widespread scepticism over vaccines, as a result of misinformation and public mistrust in the state.
13th Sep 2021 - FRANCE 24
Vaccinate children to stem winter wave of coronavirus, says Neil Ferguson
Children should be vaccinated to boost the UK’s immunity levels and stem the risk of a large winter wave of coronavirus, a leading scientific adviser to the government has said. Professor Neil Ferguson, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said that the UK’s immunity levels were falling behind other European counties, such as Spain, Italy and France. But he also said he “hoped” that the country would not need another national lockdown, saying: “If we do need to drive down transmission we may not need another full lockdown.”
13th Sep 2021 - The Independent
India worried about complacency over second dose of COVID-19 vaccine - sources
India is worried that growing complacency as COVID-19 infection rates and deaths decline could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the coronavirus, said two health experts briefed on the matter. India has administered more than 744 million vaccine doses - with 60% of its 944 million adults getting a first shot and 19% fully vaccinated with the required two shots. India has the most partly immunized people in the world, according to the Our World in Data website, mainly due to a long gap of between 12 and 16 weeks between doses, as prescribed by the government.
13th Sep 2021 - Reuters
It may take 'many, many' more vaccine mandates to end the Covid-19 pandemic, Fauci says
Millions of Americans still need to get vaccinated to slow or stop the spread of Covid-19 and getting the pandemic under control could take "many, many" more vaccine mandates, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. Fauci said if more people aren't persuaded to get vaccinated by messaging from health officials and "trusted political messengers," additional mandates from schools and businesses may be necessary. "I believe that's going to turn this around because I don't think people are going to want to not go to work or not go to college ... They're going to do it," Fauci told CNN's Jen Christensen. "You'd like to have them do it on a totally voluntary basis, but if that doesn't work, you've got to go to the alternatives."
13th Sep 2021 - CNN
COVID-19: Boris Johnson wants to avoid vaccine passports in England 'if we possibly can' - but will keep them 'in reserve'
Boris Johnson has said the government wants to avoid the introduction of COVID vaccine passports in England "if we possibly can", but added they would be an option to be kept "in reserve". The prime minister, who will on Tuesday set out his plan to deal with coronavirus during the upcoming autumn and winter months, said he would "do everything that's right to protect the country".
13th Sep 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19 vaccine clinics open on Northern Ireland campuses
Walk-in clinics have been set up in universities and further education colleges in a bid to get more students vaccinated against Covid-19. The first of 60 clinics will open on Monday as part of the Department of Health's "jabbathon" drive. They will cover 30 campuses and offer first doses to students throughout September. About 72% of 18 to 29-year-olds in Northern Ireland have had at least one Covid vaccine dose. Nearly 88% of adults have received one dose and about 82% have been fully vaccinated.
13th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19: Work-from-home guidance and face masks could be brought back in winter
Guidance to work from home and the mandatory use of face masks are likely to be retained as options in the Covid winter plan due to be set out by Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister will tell the nation on Tuesday how the country can learn to live with the virus, underlining how vaccinations will be a central part of the response to coronavirus in the coming months. Covid laws that are no longer required will be ditched and plans for vaccine passports for nightclubs and other large crowd venues have been shelved. The travel traffic lights system is also expected to be scrapped and PCR tests will no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers.
13th Sep 2021 - Evening Standard
Australia's NSW state says coronavirus vaccination pace slows
The government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations had slowed as first-dose coverage neared 80% and urged the unvaccinated to get shots soon or risk missing out on freedoms when curbs ease. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has promised to relax some restrictions for the state's 8 million residents once two-dose vaccination rates hit 70%, expected to be around the middle of next month. So far, about 46% of the state's adult population has been fully vaccinated, above the national average of 42%. "For those of you who choose not to be vaccinated, that is your choice, but don't expect to do everything that vaccinated people do when we hit 80%," Berejiklian said
13th Sep 2021 - Reuters
South Africa loosens COVID curbs as third wave eases
South Africa will ease COVID-19 restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew from Monday after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address. Authorities will also extend the hours of alcohol sales, the president said, further relaxing restrictions introduced in June to combat a third wave of cases caused by the Delta variant. "While the third wave is not yet over, we have seen a sustained decline in infections across the country over the last few weeks," Ramaphosa said.
13th Sep 2021 - Reuters
COVID lockdowns only used as last resort, says UK PM's spokesman
Britain's government will only introduce a new COVID-19 lockdown as a last resort, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, after the country's health minister signalled he did not expect to see them used again. "The ability to do that is retained as you would expect, but it would only be done in a last resort and as I said we are in a very different position thanks to the strength of our vaccination programme than where we were when it was necessary to take those steps previously," the spokesman told reporters.
13th Sep 2021 - Reuters UK
UK OKs vaccines for 12 year olds, aims to avoid lockdowns
Britain decided Monday to follow other countries in offering coronavirus vaccines to children 12 and up, as the government gambled that expanded vaccination and mild tweaks to social behavior can avert the need for lockdowns in the winter. Vaccinations for children and booster shots for at-risk adults are expected to be part of a “tool kit” to control COVID-19 infections this fall and winter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce Tuesday. On Monday, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommended that children ages 12 to 15 be given a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, despite the government’s vaccine advisors saying this month that the step would have only marginal health benefits.
13th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullSurging Covid-19 Cases Hammer Asian Factories
Factory activity faltered across Asia in August, with a resurgence in Covid-19 infections adding to global supply-chain disruptions and confirming fears of a slowdown in the region’s economic recovery. Gauges of manufacturing activity plummeted across major Asian economies, in large part because virus lockdowns, port congestion and higher input costs hampered production. There were also signs that global demand for some Asian goods has been leveling off, as consumers rein in spending in the West.
11th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Why Federal Research Bolsters the Case for Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates
Scientists believe the administration’s new measures may tamp down the pandemic, although the effects will not immediately be obvious.
11th Sep 2021 - The New York Times
3M, Qiagen to comply with Biden's COVID-19 vaccination, test mandate
3M Co, the biggest U.S. producer of N95 masks, and German genetic testing specialist Qiagen said separately on Friday that they will comply with the Biden administration's new COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandate for workplaces.
"We strongly support all initiatives aiming to increase vaccination rates especially at the workplace," Qiagen told Reuters in an email.
11th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Calls to step up COVID-19 vaccinations, tests in New South Wales prisons
A human rights lawyer is calling for the New South Wales government to step up measures to vaccinate prisoners. George Newhouse from the National Justice Project said the government needed to increase its vaccinations or release some inmates. He said of the 13,000 prisoners in NSW, only 21 percent were double vaccinated. Thirty-point-five per cent of patients in a state-run correctional centre were fully vaccinated, according to a spokesperson for the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, which deals with the health of NSW prisoners.
11th Sep 2021 - ABC News
Germany recommends COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant women
Germany's vaccine oversight body on Friday recommended that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should be vaccinated against COVID-19 with an mRNA-based shot. The Permanent Vaccination Commission (STIKO) advises that women should receive two shots from the second trimester of pregnancy, according to guidance posted on the website of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.
11th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Not getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is like driving while intoxicated, one health expert says
As the US averages more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths daily, not getting vaccinated is akin to driving while intoxicated, one health expert said Friday. "We need to start talking about the choice to remain unvaccinated as the choice to go out and drive intoxicated," CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Wen's remarks come after the Biden administration announced Thursday a Covid-19 vaccine mandate plan that directs the US Labor Department to require all businesses with 100 employees or more to ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week.
11th Sep 2021 - CNN
Vaccine mandate spawns new fear: finding and keeping workers
The new federal vaccine requirement announced by President Joe Biden has created another worry for large businesses: With help wanted signs up almost everywhere, some could lose valuable employees or won’t be able to find new ones. Biden announced sweeping new orders Thursday that will require employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccinations against COVID-19 or offer weekly testing. The new rules could affect as many as 100 million Americans, although it’s not clear how many of those people are currently unvaccinated.
11th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
Biden's vaccine rules to set off barrage of legal challenges
President Joe Biden’s sweeping new vaccine requirements have Republican governors threatening lawsuits. His unapologetic response: “Have at it.” The administration is gearing up for another major clash between federal and state rule. But while many details about the rules remain unknown, Biden appears to be on firm legal ground to issue the directive in the name of protecting employee safety, according to several experts interviewed by The Associated Press.
11th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
With more doses, Uganda takes vaccination drive to markets
At a taxi stand by a bustling market in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, traders simply cross a road or two, get a shot in the arm and rush back to their work. Until this week, vaccination centers were based mostly in hospitals in this East African country that faced a brutal COVID-19 surge earlier this year. Now, more than a dozen tented sites have been set up in busy areas to make it easier to get inoculated in Kampala as health authorities team up with the Red Cross to administer more than 120,000 doses that will expire at the end of September.
11th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Unions split on vaccine mandates, complicating Biden push
The National Nurses Union applauded President Joe Biden’s proposal to require that companies with more than 100 employees vaccinate their work force. The American Federation of Teachers once said vaccine mandates weren’t necessary, but now embraces them. In Oregon, police and firefighter unions are suing to block a mask mandate for state workers. The labor movement is torn over vaccine requirements — much like the country as a whole — wanting to both support its political ally in Biden and protect its members against infection but also not wanting to trample their workers’ rights.
11th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Amid talk of boosters, global vaccine disparity gets sharper
Several hundred people line up every morning, starting before dawn, on a grassy area outside Nairobi’s largest hospital hoping to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Sometimes the line moves smoothly, while on other days, the staff tells them there’s nothing available, and they should come back tomorrow. Halfway around the world, at a church in Atlanta, two workers with plenty of vaccine doses waited hours Wednesday for anyone to show up, whiling away the time by listening to music from a laptop. Over a six-hour period, only one person came through the door.
11th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
With Biden Vaccine Plan, Politics Is Fully in Charge
Lumping 75 million unvaccinated Americans into one category is wedge partisanship, not science.
10th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Virus claims Black morticians, leaving holes in communities
When the last mourners departed and funeral director Shawn Troy was left among the headstones, he wept alone. For five decades, the closing words at countless funerals in this town of 4,400 had been delivered by his father, William Penn Troy Sr. Now the elder Troy was gone, one of many Black morticians claimed by a pandemic that has taken an outsized toll on African Americans, after months of burying its victims. And as Shawn Troy stepped forward to speak in place of a man well known beyond his trade -- for his work in county politics and advocacy of its Black citizens -- the emptiness felt overwhelming. Not just his family, but his community, had lost an anchor.
10th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 vaccine: Unvaccinated NHS workers could be barred from treating patients as jabs to be compulsory
Frontline NHS staff could be barred from treating patients and possibly lose their jobs if they refuse to have the Covid-19 vaccine. The government has launched a six-week consultation into proposals to make Covid jabs mandatory for all frontline NHS workers. On a visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out staff losing their jobs if they refuse the vaccine.
9th Sep 2021 - iNews
China announces £22m emergency aid to Afghanistan, including 3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses
China has pledged emergency aid worth 200 million yuan (£22m) to Afghanistan, including three million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and food supplies. This was the first official aid announced for Afghanistan by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi at a meeting on Wednesday with his counterparts from Afghanistan’s neighbours,
9th Sep 2021 - The Independent
People who got Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus shot feel left behind in push for boosters
Janice Higgins isn’t the type to ignore advice from health professionals, especially when it comes to protecting herself from the coronavirus. When officials recommended masks, she wore them. When the vaccines arrived, she got the first one available to her. But the Biden administration’s plan for coronavirus booster shots is testing her faith in the process.
9th Sep 2021 - The Washington Post
Unvaccinated health and care workers in England could be redeployed
Health and care sector workers in England who decline to be fully vaccinated could be moved to back-office roles, a UK government minister has suggested, as a consultation on plans to mandate Covid-19 and flu vaccinations was launched. The six-week consultation process will take views on whether vaccine requirements should apply for health and wider social care workers – those in contact with patients and people receiving care. It would mean only those who are fully vaccinated, unless medically exempt, could be deployed to deliver health and care services.
9th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
As Singapore pauses reopening, experts suggest 'bolder' COVID-19 strategy
Singapore is ramping up COVID-19 testing and has warned it would not rule out reimposing tighter curbs as infections rise - moves some experts see as too cautious for the vaccine frontrunner that is preparing to live with the virus as an endemic disease.
9th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa: Free football tickets for fans with jabs
South African football fans who are vaccinated can get free entry to watch the national team play Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifier next month, the country's football association says. Its head Danny Jordaan said the deal would apply to half the tickets. It is subject to an agreement with the government and depends on how many fans show up, according to the News24 site. The government is concerned about growing anti-vaccine sentiment in the country. Only 10 million people have been inoculated against Covid-19, and the government says this needs to reach 40 million for population immunity.
9th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19 vaccine: Unvaccinated NHS workers could be barred from treating patients as jabs to be compulsory
Frontline NHS staff could be barred from treating patients and possibly lose their jobs if they refuse to have the Covid-19 vaccine. The government has launched a six-week consultation into proposals to make Covid jabs mandatory for all frontline NHS workers. On a visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out staff losing their jobs if they refuse the vaccine.
9th Sep 2021 - iNews
Sydney outlines roadmap out of lockdown
Sydney's cafes, restaurants and pubs are set to reopen in the second half of October after months of strict COVID-19 lockdown.
9th Sep 2021 - Reuters.com
New Zealand buys Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Spain
Around a quarter of a million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine bought from Spain will arrive in New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday, boosting the country's inoculation programme. The doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday, Ardern said, adding to some 1.8 million doses being delivered directly from Pfizer throughout September.
9th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Sydney pubs to open in mid-Oct as end of COVID lockdown looms - with cases set to rise
Lockdown easing plans come as NSW cases still near record level. Cases will rises, PM warns, state leaders must 'hold nerve.' Sydney pubs, cafes may reopen before schools. Several regions outside Sydney to exit lockdown
9th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Amazon.com to cut cost of COVID-19 PCR test kits
Amazon.com said it will cut the cost of its direct-to-consumer COVID-19 PCR Test Collection kit to $36.99, a $3 price reduction. The U.S. retailer said the price cut reflects its costs for selling the FDA-approved kit and is the result of a public-private partnership with the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that Amazon, Walmart , and Kroger will sell at home rapid COVID-19 tests at-cost for the next three months.
9th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus vaccine passports to be rolled out in October
Australia will begin issuing coronavirus vaccine passports from next month as preparations to restart international jetsetting continue. Travel is not expected to start until vaccination coverage for people aged 16 and over reaches 80 per cent, which is likely months away. The first international immunisation certificates are set to be rolled out in October with the federal government also working with other countries to determine which vaccines will be recognised.
8th Sep 2021 - PerthNow
UK decision on Covid vaccine boosters expected on Thursday
The UK’s vaccines watchdog is expected to decide on Thursday about a Covid booster vaccine programme, with ministers hopeful that approval for vaccinations for 12- to 15-year-olds could follow imminently. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is scheduled to meet on Thursday to examine interim results from the Cov-Boost study, which looks at the impact of one of seven different vaccines as a third dose, on top of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines.
8th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
Covid-19: Further push to vaccinate students in 'jabbathon'
There is to be a further push to vaccinate more students at campuses in Northern Ireland. The health minister Robin Swann announced details of the plan on Wednesday. The initiative - termed "jabbathon" - will involve 60 walk-in clinics across 30 campuses giving first jabs to students in universities and Further Education colleges.
8th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Australia to support waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines
Trade Minister Dan Tehan says Australia will support an international push to waive intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines as soaring infection rates across the globe prolong the pandemic and create ripe conditions for new variants. India and South Africa have spearheaded the campaign to change World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in an effort to make it easier for low and middle-income countries to manufacture and sell cheaper generic copies of COVID-19 vaccines produced by multinational pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer.
8th Sep 2021 - ABC News
Queensland detects no new cases of COVID-19, sets new vaccination record and announces football hub plan
Queenslanders will be able to get their COVID-19 jab at the football from this weekend with the government trialling a stadium pop-up vaccination hub.The announcement comes as the Queensland government steps up its attacks on the federal government's rhetoric about vaccine distribution, on a day the state recorded no new COVID-19 cases.
8th Sep 2021 - ABC News
S.Korea planning to live 'more normally' with COVID-19 after October
South Korea is drawing up a plan on how to live more normally with COVID-19, expecting 80% of adults to be fully vaccinated by late October, health authorities said on Wednesday.
8th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 Australia: Last health restrictions lifted under Federal Government National reopening plan
Epidemiologist predicts masks and large gathering bans will be last restrictions
Professor Catherine Bennett said workplaces will return as lockdowns ease
Restrictions are gradual and attuned to community outbreak transmissions
Bennett warns patchy vaccine uptake may mean health restrictions until 2022
8th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
COVID-19 boosters are coming but who will get them and when?
COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out. The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. 20, contingent on authorization from U.S. regulators. But now administration officials acknowledge Moderna boosters probably won’t be ready by then — the Food and Drug Administration needs more evidence to judge them. Adding to the complexity, Moderna wants its booster to be half the dose of the original shots.
8th Sep 2021 - The Associated Press
US COVID-19 cases top 40 million; Biden to deliver new plan
In 2 days President Joe Biden will announce a new six-point plan to battle the current surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the highly transmissible Delta (B1617.2) variant and an uneven vaccination campaign that has left only half of the nation fully protected from the novel coronavirus. The speech will come as America faces two milestones: Over the holiday weekend, the country topped 40 million cases of the virus, the largest tally in the world, and the number of hospitalized Americans is now double what it was last Labor Day. Yesterday, almost 100,000 (99,823) Americans were in hospitals because of COVID-19 infections.
7th Sep 2021 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullBiden to outline plan to curb coronavirus Delta variant as cases grow
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One that he will lay out the six-pronged strategy "working across the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control." Asked about possible new mandates, Psaki said the White House would offer more details later about the plan and acknowledged that the federal government cannot broadly mandate that Americans get vaccinated.
7th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Profitable Australian companies urged to repay government Covid support
Some of Australia’s biggest companies are under pressure to repay billions of dollars of Covid-19 support provided under a scheme after it emerged that they had made money during the pandemic. The A$98bn (US$73bn) JobKeeper programme was introduced to help companies retain staff during the country’s coronavirus-induced lockdowns. But Australia’s Parliamentary Budget Office in July released data showing that in its first three months of operation, about A$12.5bn went to businesses that were largely unaffected by the pandemic.
7th Sep 2021 - Financial Times
South America's Least-Vaccinated Country Gets First Covax Shots
Venezuela received the first shipment of vaccines against Covid-19 purchased through the World Health Organization-sponsored Covax program after months of delays and payment issues hindered the country’s inoculation plan. The shipment of 693,600 Sinovac Biotech Ltd. shots arrived early Tuesday, the Pan American Health Organization said in statement on its website. The country is due to receive a total of 12 million doses through Covax, PAHO said. The first shipment was expected to arrive by the end of July but was delayed for reasons not publicly disclosed. In June, some government payments to Covax were temporarily blocked by banks, the government said at the time.
7th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
The Masked Professor vs. the Unmasked Student
Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition, sent out a raw emotional appeal to his students at the University of North Georgia just before classes began: The Covid-19 Delta variant was rampaging through the state, filling up hospital beds. He would teach class in the equivalent of full body armor — vaccinated and masked. So he was stunned in late August when more than two-thirds of the first-year students in his writing class did not take the hint and showed up unmasked.
7th Sep 2021 - New York Times
Hong Kong relaxes Covid quarantine rules for travellers from mainland China
Hong Kong will allow people from mainland China to visit without having to face its quarantine procedures in the city’s first serious relaxation of its strict Covid-19 entry requirements for tourists. But critics of the Hong Kong government’s quarantine policies, which will begin on September 15, said it was another sign the Asian financial centre was prioritising a travel bubble with mainland China over the international links important to executives living in the city.
7th Sep 2021 - Financial Times
Covid-19: 'Without the vaccine we would have been on our knees'
BBC News NI is given access to Belfast City Hospital's intensive care unit, where a consultant warns the system is "one step from chaos". Seven patients had Covid-19 - six of the men and women in their 20s, 40s and early 60s were unvaccinated. One of them was double-jabbed. "Without the vaccine we would have been on our knees weeks ago," Dr Gardiner said
7th Sep 2021 - BBC News
Hint on freedoms as vaccine rate soars
Eligible people in NSW who haven’t yet received their coronavirus vaccine are being warned not to be “left behind” as the state races towards reopening. The Premier hinted that pubs and other hospitality venues could reopen by mid-October to those who are fully vaccinated. Nearly three quarters of eligible people in NSW have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday. The state has reached 74 per cent first-dose vaccinations, with some areas of Sydney recording an even higher rate
7th Sep 2021 - NEWS.com.au
NSW records 1,220 COVID-19 cases and eight deaths as police to begin checking vaccination status of residents
NSW residents have been warned police will be checking the vaccination records of anyone enjoying new freedoms next week as the state records 1,220 new COVID-19 cases. A small number of new freedoms around outdoor recreation for the fully vaccinated come into effect next week and Deputy Premier John Barilaro said police would monitor people's vaccination status from Monday. From September 13 those who live in the 12 local government areas of concern will be able to leave home for an hour of recreation (which includes picnics) with their household members.
7th Sep 2021 - ABC.Net.au
How to protect children under 12 from Covid-19, according to Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci says there's an important step adults can take to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated against Covid-19. "The way you protect children who, because of their age, cannot get vaccinated yet is to surround the children -- be it friends, family, school teachers, personnel in the school -- surround the children with vaccinated people," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN on Sunday.
7th Sep 2021 - CNN
CEPI warns of major hurdle to developing new Covid-19 vaccines and studying best booster approaches
The world still needs more — and better — Covid-19 vaccines. But a major hurdle stands in the way of the development of new vaccines, as well as the critical studies needed to determine the best way to use these important tools, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) warned in a letter published Tuesday in the journal Nature.
7th Sep 2021 - STAT News
Get COVID-19 vaccine or please quit, Zimbabwe tells government workers
Government workers in Zimbabwe who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should resign, its justice minister said on Tuesday. The southern African nation has so far vaccinated 2.7 million people, against a target of inoculating two-thirds of its 15 million population by the end of the year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government says it has paid for 12 million COVID-19 doses from China.
7th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Philippines to relax COVID curbs even as cases hit record levels
Caught between a struggling economy and a health emergency, the Philippines is expected to ease COVID-19 restrictions from Wednesday to allow more business activities to resume, even as the country posts record numbers of daily cases and a test positivity rate of almost 30 percent. The Philippines reported a record 22,415 COVID-19 cases on Monday, with a positivity rate of 28.8 percent. At least 103 more deaths were reported, lifting the country’s official death toll to more than 35,000.
7th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhy 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.
6th Sep 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
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.
6th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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.”
6th Sep 2021 - HuffPost UK
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
6th Sep 2021 - Sky News
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
6th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
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.
6th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
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.
6th Sep 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
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.
6th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
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.
6th Sep 2021 - Associated Press
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.
6th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
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
6th Sep 2021 - Reuters
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.
5th Sep 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Sep 2021
View this newsletter in fullIsrael is planning to administer fourth Covid shot which could be adjusted to fight new variants as country battles wave of infections despite hugely successful vaccine roll-out
Israel is set to begin preparations to administer fourth doses of the coronavirus vaccines as the country deals with soaring cases despite its trail-blazing roll-out of jabs. The country's national coronavirus czar Salman Zarka said the country needs to prepare for a fourth injection, which could be modified to better protect against new variants of the virus. 'Given that that the virus is here and will continue to be here, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection,' he told Kan public radio. 'This is our life from now on, in waves.'
5th Sep 2021 - Daily Mail
COVID-19: Ministers face difficult decision on whether to defy JCVI's finding on vaccinating children
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has resisted intense pressure from ministers by refusing to recommend coronavirus vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said parents would find it "deeply reassuring" if children were given jabs, and leaks from Whitehall insiders suggested the JCVI was ready to sign off on vaccines for teenagers as schools return in England. Yet although the vaccination programme has been expanded to cover more children with underlying health conditions, the JCVI has not approved vaccination for the entire age cohort
4th Sep 2021 - Sky News
Ho Chi Minh City could lift lockdown, end 'zero COVID-19' policy
Vietnam's coronavirus epicentre Ho Chi Minh City, which has kept residents confined at home under lockdown, is considering reopening economic activity from Sept. 15, shifting from a "zero COVID-19" strategy to a policy of living with the virus. The city of 9 million people is targeting a phased reopening and the full vaccination of its citizens by the end of this year, according to the draft seen by Reuters, which has yet to be endorsed. Ho Chi Minh City last month deployed troops to enforce its lockdown and prohibited residents from leaving their homes to slow a spiralling rate of deaths. Just 3% of Vietnam's 98 million population has been fully vaccinated
4th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Maduro says Venezuela to receive first COVAX vaccines this week
Venezuela this week will receive the first coronavirus vaccines obtained via COVAX, President Nicolas Maduro said, following months of stalled attempts to obtain inoculations through the global vaccine program. The South American nation has been inoculating its population with doses acquired directly from China and Russia, following months of delays in making payments to COVAX that Maduro has attributed to U.S. sanctions. "This week, the first vaccines from the COVAX mechanism will arrive," Maduro said in an interview with state television. "We hope the COVAX mechanism accelerates, such that in October they deliver the vaccines for an estimated 6 million Venezuelans."
5th Sep 2021 - Reuters
Florida Covid Deaths Jump to Pandemic Record
Florida reported 2,345 additional Covid-19 deaths in its latest weekly report, the most ever in a similar period. The daily average rose 36% to 335, according to calculations based on the report. That would surpass the high for the entire pandemic in Johns Hopkins University data. The data is based on when the death was reported, not when it occurred. People 65-and-over accounted for 63% of the deaths reported in the period. Cumulatively over the entire pandemic, Florida seniors have made up 79% of deaths.
4th Sep 2021 - Bloomberg
Tyson Foods, unions strike deal over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Tyson Foods said that labor unions have agreed to support its requirement for U.S. employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November, and the company will offer new benefits to workers including paid sick leave. Companies have been working to incentivize employees to get vaccinated through bonuses and other benefits as the highly contagious Delta variant drives an increase in U.S. coronavirus infections. In some instances, employees who do not get shots face penalties like higher insurance costs
4th Sep 2021 - Reuters
American Airlines to end pandemic leave for unvaccinated staff
American Airlines said it would not provide special leave from next month to unvaccinated employees who have to quarantine due to COVID-19. Unvaccinated workers will have to use their sick time or medical leave if they miss work due to the disease, it said. "Given there is an FDA-approved vaccine, pandemic leave will only be offered to team members who are fully vaccinated and who provide their vaccination card to us," the carrier said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.
4th Sep 2021 - MSN.com
Australian PM seeks quicker reopening after COVID-19 vaccine swap with Britain
Australia will receive an additional 4 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine this month after agreeing a swap deal with Britain, to help accelerate its vaccination programme amid a record surge in infections. The deal, announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will double the availability of Pfizer vaccines this month, with the first shipment of vaccines from Britain expected to arrive over the weekend. Australia on Friday recorded its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 infections, with 1,657 new cases and 13 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
4th Sep 2021 - Reuters
As COVID surges, more Florida school districts revolt against governor's mask rules
In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID. Some opponents of the mask proposal brandished signs that read “Let Our Children Breathe.” Even with Florida seeing a record number of coronavirus cases, one attendee called the pandemic "overblown." Another was escorted out by deputies after yelling at board members. The proposal would require staff and students to wear masks for 14 days at schools with COVID positivity rates at or above 5%. But Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, effectively banned similar mandates in July.
4th Sep 2021 - Reuters
GP surgeries in England cancel flu jabs amid vaccine shortage
GP surgeries are being forced to cancel appointments for the winter flu jab after the NHS’s biggest provider warned that it could not deliver supplies for up to two weeks due to “unforeseen road freight challenges”. Practices in England have begun contacting patients to postpone their immunisation without being able to rebook them at a later date. The problem emerged on Friday when vaccine maker Seqirus wrote to surgeries alerting them to the possibility of having to rearrange booked appointments. “We would like to inform you that due to unforeseen road freight challenges, there will be a delay to your scheduled delivery by one to two weeks,” the firm said.
4th Sep 2021 - The Guardian
Share Of Adults Who Won't Get COVID-19 Vaccine Drops 5 Points
The share of adults saying "no" to getting the COVID-19 vaccine dropped 5 percentage points in a month, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to Pfizer's vaccine. The survey, which was in the field from Aug. 26 through Tuesday, found 19% of U.S. adults now say they do not intend to be vaccinated. That's down from 24% in a Marist poll from the end of July. The number of Americans who say they have gotten or will get a COVID vaccine is up to 79%, a 5-point improvement in a month.
3rd Sep 2021 - NPR
Amid vaccine hoarding criticism, Biden admin plots $2.7 billion manufacturing push
It didn’t take long for the Biden administration to answer criticism that the United States wasn’t doing enough to ease the world’s COVID-19 vaccination shortfall. On Thursday, White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients revealed that the government has earmarked $2.7 billion to beef up vaccine manufacturing. Zients did not discuss details of the plan—such as which companies would receive the aid—but he did say that the funds will boost production of key supplies to produce the shots. Some of those materials include bioreactor bags, tubing, lipids, vials, needles and syringes, Bloomberg and The New York Times report, citing officials familiar with the plan.
3rd Sep 2021 - FiercePharma
15 million Covid vaccine doses thrown away in the U.S. since March, new data shows
Pharmacies and state governments in the United States have thrown away at least 15.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since March 1, according to government data obtained by NBC News — a far larger number than previously known and still probably an undercount. Four national pharmacy chains reported more than 1 million wasted doses each, according to data released by the CDC. Walgreens reported the most waste of any pharmacy, state or other vaccine provider, with nearly 2.6 million wasted doses. CVS reported 2.3 million wasted doses, while Walmart reported 1.6 million and Rite Aid reported 1.1 million.
1st Sep 2021 - NBC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Aug 2021
View this newsletter in fullMore US employers mandate COVID-19 vaccines
The list of major American companies who will soon begin mandating COVID-19 vaccines continues to grow, as both Tyson Foods and Microsoft announced that all employees will need to show proof of vaccination in the coming months. Tyson Foods is the first major food industry employer to require vaccinations. All front-line workers will be required to be vaccinated by Nov 1. According to the Associated Press, the Springfield, Arkansas, company will offer a $200 bonus for all front-line workers who receive a vaccine. So far, only half of Tyson employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. Throughout the past 18 months, Tyson meat processing plants were the site of major outbreaks, but the company now reports low numbers after investing $700 million in workplace safety.
4th Aug 2021 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCVS Pharmacies Adds Coronavirus Vaccines at 40 California Locations, Including in San Diego County
CVS Pharmacies will continue its rollout of the coronavirus vaccine Thursday as it makes doses available at 40 more select CVS locations across California – including several in San Diego County. The company said approximately 49,140 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are being made available to distribute at these locations in California through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
25th Feb 2021 - NBC San Diego
‘It’s Up to You’: Ad campaign to encourage coronavirus vaccination gets underway
For tens of millions of Americans still unsure about taking coronavirus vaccine shots, advertising industry experts and government scientists have a new message: “It’s Up to You.” That message and accompanying ad campaign — shaped by months of consumer research and backed by more than $50 million in donated funds — is to be unveiled Thursday across TV and digital video, social media and audio platforms like Pandora and Spotify. It also will include messaging tailored toward Black and Hispanic communities, where studies have found a lack of trust about the coronavirus vaccines and their long-term effects. The ads and related events will feature celebrities, scientists and members of the faith community.
25th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Coronavirus vaccine: one of UK's largest care home firms introduces 'no jab, no job' policy
One of the UK’s largest care home operators has instituted a no jab, no job policy for new staff amid ongoing concern about vaccine take-up among care workers. A spokesperson for Care UK, which runs 120 homes and has seen more than two-thirds of its staff vaccinated, said: “Everyone applying for a role which requires them to go into a home will be expected to have been vaccinated before they start work.” The move comes after Barchester, which operates more than 220 private care homes, said it would insist that current staff are vaccinated, warning that if they “refuse … on non-medical grounds [they] will, by reason of their own decision, make themselves unavailable for work”.
25th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Kenya to Receive First Batch of Covid-19 Vaccines Next Week
Kenya will receive its initial batch of Covid-19 vaccines in the first week on March, according to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office. Health-care workers and frontline personnel, including security officers, teachers, vulnerable persons and those in the hospitality sector, will be the first priority for inoculation, the presidency said in a statement
25th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19 vaccine tiers may disappear as supply chain ramps up, Garcetti says
After setbacks and shipment delays tied to winter weather, the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Los Angeles is ramping up again, officials said. Tuesday was the second-busiest day at city-run vaccination sites, Mayor Eric Garcetti said, with 17,572 doses administered. And while some scarcity remains, the numbers are expected to improve in the days and weeks to come. “While we still don’t have clarity on the supply chain, in the next week or two, simple math indicates we should only see more and more supply in the weeks ahead,” Garcetti said. “So get ready.” The city is still primarily providing second-dose appointments but hopes to be able to “accelerate once again first-dose appointments” starting next week, the mayor said
25th Feb 2021 - Los Angeles Times
One third of Scotland's adult population given a Covid-19 vaccine, Sturgeon says
A third of Scotland’s adult population have been given a coronavirus vaccine, with more than 1.5 million jabs administered, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Speaking to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister said 1,515,980 people in Scotland have received their first dose. “The fact that more than one and a half million people have now received the first dose of vaccination is, I think, a really significant milestone,” she said.
25th Feb 2021 - Aberdeen Evening Express
Coronavirus Vaccine Finder Aims to Help Americans Get Shots
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hoping to make it easier for Americans to find Covid-19 vaccines, is backing the test of a centralized online portal where the public can search for nearby vaccination locations with doses on hand. The website, called VaccineFinder, is run by Boston Children’s Hospital with the help of several collaborators. It grew out of the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009 and has been used for years to coordinate the distribution of flu and childhood vaccines. It expanded on Wednesday to include the availability of coronavirus vaccines at more than 20,000 locations, concentrated in several states. If the program goes well, the website’s developers plan to expand it nationwide in coming weeks to include nearly all vaccine providers that agree to be featured.
25th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
Germany's Merkel warns of third wave if lockdown is lifted too quickly
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that her country could be caught in a third wave of Covid-19 if it lifts its lockdown too quickly. Her comments come as daycare centers and elementary schools were reopened in 10 of the Germany's 16 states this week, and as the nation mulls ways to lift the heavy restrictions that have shuttered the country's non-essential businesses for more than 10 weeks. "Because of (variants), we are entering a new phase of the pandemic, from which a third wave may emerge,'' Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an interview published on Wednesday. "So we must proceed wisely and carefully so that a third wave does not necessitate a new complete shutdown throughout Germany."
25th Feb 2021 - CNN
Travel restrictions have no end in sight as European leaders worry about new variants
Looking to holiday in Greece or Spain? You could be waiting some time. European leaders are expected to say on Thursday that all non-essential travel needs to remain restricted as the Covid health situation remains “serious” across the continent, according to a document seen by CNBC. The European Union’s 27 heads of state will gather virtually on Thursday afternoon to discuss the current state of the pandemic in the region. The EU is still one of the worst hit parts of the world by the coronavirus, with a number of nations still in lockdown or with strict social restrictions in place. At the same time, vaccination efforts have faced a bumpy start and some question whether the EU will reach its target of vaccinating 70% of its adult population by the summer.
25th Feb 2021 - CNBC
More schools, gyms to open as Cyprus eases lockdown
Cyprus on Thursday announced that more children will return to school while tentatively opening gyms as it gradually exits a national lockdown to contain Covid-19 infections. Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the government was determined to allow a return to normal life "slowly, carefully and in a controlled manner". The number of new Covid-19 infections has been stabilising and hospital admissions are down, he said.
25th Feb 2021 - FRANCE 24
COVID rules set to revert to pre-Christmas restrictions
COVID-19 restrictions similar to those that were in place at Christmas are set to return, with the government expected to relax rules that have lingered since the end of the five-day lockdown. Nine senior Victorian ministers will meet on Friday morning to finalise a plan to ease mask restrictions and allow more people inside homes, provided there are no new locally-acquired cases. Thursday was the sixth day in a row with no new local cases.The intention, according to two government sources familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details are subject to change, is to revert to a set of rules resembling the “COVID-safe summer” restrictions that were in place before an outbreak in late December that was traced to a Thai restaurant in Black Rock.
25th Feb 2021 - The Age
British vaccine minister says confident in supply from manufacturers
Britain has confidence in its supply of COVID-19 vaccines and has good visibility on future supplies thanks to regular contacts with manufacturers over timetables for deliveries, the minister responsible for rolling out shots said on Wednesday. The country has accelerated its vaccine rollout plans with a view to easing lockdown, although Monday saw the lowest number of first doses given since daily figures were first reported. “We have real confidence in our supply and our visibility of supply,” Nadhim Zahawi told lawmakers.
25th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Youngsters can sing again as Swiss start lockdown exit
Switzerland’s young people will be able to sing again from March 1, the government on Wednesday, as it announced the first phase in a cautious easing from COVID-19 restrictions. The cabinet, conscious of the impact the lockdown and social distancing is having on the psychological health of youngsters, said it was allowing sports and cultural activities for under-20s to resume, raising the age limit from 16. Children’s and youth choirs will be able to practise and hold events, albeit without audiences.
25th Feb 2021 - Reuters
India’s health workers baulk at taking homegrown COVID vaccine
India is struggling to convince its healthcare and front-line workers to take a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine controversially approved without late-stage efficacy data, government data showed on Thursday, days ahead of a wider roll-out. The country has the world’s second-highest number of COVID-19 infections after the United States, with cases recently surging as mask-wearing declines and states have eased social distancing measures. A lack of confidence in a homegrown vaccine could prevent India from meeting its target of vaccinating 300 million of its 1.35 billion people by August.
25th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullThailand receives its first coronavirus vaccines
Thailand received on Wednesday its first 200,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac, the country’s first batch of coronavirus vaccines, with inoculations set to begin in a few days. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to be among the first to receive the vaccine this weekend. Most doses have been reserved for frontline medical workers.
24th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Ghana becomes first nation in world to receive Covax coronavirus vaccines
Ghana has received the world’s first delivery of coronavirus vaccines from the United Nations-backed Covax initiative. It marked the long-awaited start for a programme that has so far fallen short of hopes that it would ensure shots were given quickly to the world’s most vulnerable people. The arrival of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the West African country marks the beginning of the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef.
24th Feb 2021 - Aberdeen Evening Express
Israel to use excess Covid vaccines for international diplomacy
Israel will wield some of its excess supply of coronavirus vaccines as international humanitarian aid, using its glut of jabs to pursue diplomatic goals while Palestinians wait for aid shipments for their own supplies. The first three countries to receive thousands of doses will be Honduras, the Czech Republic and Guatemala, all of whom recently agreed to strengthen their diplomatic presence in Jerusalem, bolstering Israel’s claim to the contested city.
24th Feb 2021 - Financial Times
More than half a million have received coronavirus vaccine in NI
More than half a million people have received a Covid-19 vaccine in Northern Ireland. Those aged over 65 and the clinically vulnerable are among those being booked in for jabs. Health minister Robin Swann said it was a landmark moment. Mr Swann announced on Tuesday the first confirmed cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 in the region. He said three cases of the variant had been confirmed.
24th Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
All adults in Wales will get a coronavirus vaccine by July 31, says nation's health minister
Every adults in Wales eligible for coronavirus vaccine will receive a jab by July 31, health minister Vaughan Gething has announced. He said that Wales would be able to offer a vaccine to all eligible adults by July 31, provided that the supply promised by the UK government was fulfilled. Mr Gething said: "Our incredible vaccine programme is the other beacon of hope that will help guide us out of lockdown. I can today confirm that we will offer the vaccine to all eligible adults in Wales by 31 July, as long as the supply matches our ambition."
24th Feb 2021 - Wales Online
Ukraine: Health workers welcome COVID-19 vaccination drive
Ukraine launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign Wednesday in hopes of halting the spread of the coronavirus that has put a significant strain on the country's teetering health care system. Medical workers and military personnel in different regions of the country were the first to get their shots of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, 500,000 doses of which arrived in the Ukrainian capital from India on Tuesday. It is better to prevent infections "than to treat the complications of the disease later,” said Yevgeny Gorenko, an intensive care specialist who was the first person to receive a shot on Wednesday.
24th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: Africa vaccine rollout off to a slow start
Africa has now recorded over 100,000 Covid-19 deaths and there is growing concern over delays in rolling out vaccination programmes. Some countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe have begun vaccination programmes, but many others will have to wait until later in the year for stocks to arrive. The first vaccines distributed under the Covax programme have now arrived in Ghana.
24th Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19 'vaccine diplomacy': China, Russia and India cherry-picking the countries they help
China, Russia and India have been accused of engaging in "vaccine diplomacy" as they cherry-pick nations to give their COVID-19 vaccines to in order to bolster their influence. Sky News analysis has found 47 countries, plus the African Union which represents 55 nations, have made or been offered vaccine deals with India, China and Russia. In 21 countries, their sole vaccine supplies up until 19 February were from Russia, China and India.
24th Feb 2021 - Sky News
150,000 more people with learning disabilities prioritised for COVID-19 vaccine
Everyone on GP practice learning disability registers - around 300,000 people in England - will now be added to JCVI cohort 6 - the group GP-led vaccination sites are currently focusing on. Cohort 6 covers patients aged 16-64 with underlying health conditions - including patients with 'a severe and profound learning disability' or severe mental illness. Around half of patients on GP learning disability registers fall outside the original definition of cohort 6 - but these patients will now also be offered vaccination as part of this group.
24th Feb 2021 - GP online
Malaysia rolls out Covid-19 vaccinations under state of emergency
Malaysia is set to roll out its Covid-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday as its prime minister faces accusations of exploiting the pandemic to seek a state of emergency and cling on to power. Malaysia’s king last month declared the nationwide state of emergency, the country’s first since deadly race riots in 1969, at the behest of the government of Muhyiddin Yassin, the prime minister. The monarch said the order, which will run until August, was necessary to fight the pandemic, but it followed the loss of Muhyiddin’s thin parliamentary majority after two members of his coalition defected.
24th Feb 2021 - Financial Times
Three experts have their say on Boris Johnson's England Covid lockdown exit plan
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the steps his government will take to end England’s lockdown over the coming months. Lifting restrictions will be split into four stages, with a minimum of five weeks between each to observe the effects of easing restrictions. Criteria – concerning vaccine rollout and effectiveness, infection rates and mutations – will need to be met each time the country is due to move onto the next stage. Easing restrictions will begin with the reopening of schools on March 8. Here, three academics give their view on the government’s plans.
24th Feb 2021 - Wales Online
Coronavirus: Home tests will give Germany 'more freedom'
Speaking to Germany's Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed to the approval of home coronavirus tests, known as antigen tests, as an important step on the return to normalcy. Though Spahn spoke of freedoms regained, he warned citizens not to let their guard down and called for patience about the availability of tests. Three such self-administered rapid antigen tests have been given special approval for use by Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Although he expressed confidence that more and more tests would be available in the days and weeks following approval, Spahn warned they would be in short supply initially.
24th Feb 2021 - Deutsche Welle
Germany’s Spahn under fire over rapid coronavirus tests
German Health Minister Jens Spahn came under fire Wednesday on another front besides the country's sluggish coronavirus vaccine campaign: His failed promise to roll out rapid antigen tests. Spahn, who pledged that rapid tests and self tests would become a key part of Germany's coronavirus strategy starting in March, got a testy reception on Wednesday as he spoke to lawmakers. Spahn pitched the tests so that visiting public places like concerts and care homes was safer, initially promising to roll out mass testing on March 1. He then had to go back on his word when Chancellor Angela Merkel decided on Monday to address the issue on March 3, at her next conference with Germany's state premiers.
24th Feb 2021 - Politico
Merkel Warns of Third Virus Wave as Germany Weighs Ending Lockdown
Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany is in the midst of a third wave of coronavirus infections and should proceed carefully with reopening schools and businesses, putting a damper on discussions to loosen lockdown curbs. The note of caution comes as Germany struggles on numerous fronts to control the pandemic. Infection rates haven’t come down for days, while the pace of vaccinations remains sluggish. A delayed test strategy represents the latest foul-up.
24th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
India turns to private sector to boost sluggish Covid-19 vaccine drive
I first arrived in India in the mid-1990s at the tail-end of its socialist-style “Licence Raj”. New Delhi was relaxing control over the country’s economic life, but basic amenities — long the monopoly of the state providers — were still in short supply.
24th Feb 2021 - The Financial Times
Hungary starts using China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine in EU first
Hungary cannot yet ease its partial coronavirus lockdown as a third wave of infections has boosted new cases and only a small section of the population has received a vaccine so far, the prime minister said. Hungary became the first European Union country on Wednesday to start inoculating people with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, following a similar move with Russia’s Sputnik V shot, which have not been granted regulatory approval in the EU.
24th Feb 2021 - South China Morning Post
Denmark to take 'calculated risk' by easing COVID curbs in March
Denmark plans to allow shops and some schools to reopen in March in a much awaited move that could however send hospital coronavirus admissions soaring in coming months. In what the prime minister has called a “calculated risk”, the government will allow stores under 5,000 square metres to reopen, while outdoor leisure activities can resume with an upper limit of 25 people. Schools in parts of the country will also be allowed to reopen, but will require students to test themselves twice a week.
24th Feb 2021 - Reuters
US to ramp up vaccination efforts amid decline in COVID-19 cases
The White House coronavirus task force announced on Wednesday that it would increase the rate of vaccination across the United States, amid a decrease in COVID cases, hospitalisations and deaths. Jeffrey Zients, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said the weekly supply of vaccines to states is now 14.5 million, up from 8.6 million five weeks ago – a 70 percent increase. “We’ve nearly doubled weekly of doses in just five weeks,” Zients said during a coronavirus task force news conference on Wednesday.
24th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 24th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullOver 850,000 coronavirus vaccines delivered to Belgian hospitals
More than 850,000 vaccines have been delivered to Belgium as of 22 February, Belgium’s Federal Agency for Medicine and Health Products (FAMHP) announced on Tuesday. Most of those vaccines were delivered by Pfizer and BioNTech. A total of 738,465 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were distributed
23rd Feb 2021 - The Brussels Times
Breton aims to reset EU’s vaccine narrative
After spending months under siege from EU capitals and pharma heads over Europe’s sluggish vaccine rollout, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is seeking to change the narrative via a high-profile jaunt to the Continent's drug factories. Monday's stop: Puurs, a small Belgian town 30 minutes from Brussels, home to a Pfizer factory that's the top vaccine producer in Europe. Breton, who took the job leading the Commission’s Vaccine Task Force less than three weeks ago, has made himself the public face of the EU’s fight to secure vaccines by visiting the facilities where they are made. He started on February 10 with Thermo Fisher Scientific, which has been subcontracted to make AstraZeneca's drug substance in Belgium, followed by Lonza, which is doing that work for Moderna in Switzerland, last Friday.
23rd Feb 2021 - POLITICO.eu
Egypt receives second shipment of Chinese coronavirus vaccine
Egypt received 300,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in the early hours of Tuesday, the health ministry said in a statement. The new batch from China was the second shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine to Egypt. The country received its first 50,000-dose shipment in December. The North African country also got 50,000 doses of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca earlier in February as part of its programme to vaccinate health workers
23rd Feb 2021 - Reuters
Spain among world leaders in administering second Covid-19 dose, but strategy under debate
Spain is one of the countries that has administered the highest percentage of the population with the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine: 2.4% have received the two jabs, meaning they have the full protection offered by the vaccine. According to figures from Our World in Data, which is run by Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Spain is only behind Israel – which is the clear world leader, with nearly a third of the population fully vaccinated – the United States (4.83%), Denmark (2.99%), Romania (2.74%) and Serbia (2.67%). But while this is good news – it means that the vaccines are being administered at a good speed as they are delivered – there is another side to the coin. Studies indicate that just one dose of the vaccine can provide a high level of protection from Covid-19. This means that every second dose administered could be seen as a jab that didn’t go toward protecting another person.
23rd Feb 2021 - El País
NHS app could be used to show coronavirus vaccine or test result
The NHS app could be used to display vaccination status or latest coronavirus test results, as ministers consider the ethical issues surrounding the possible introduction of vaccine passports. Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he has tasked senior minister Michael Gove with leading a review into the “deep and complex issues” surrounding “Covid status certificates”. But it was understood that the “proper review” will also investigate whether businesses such as pubs and theatres could be prohibited from making access conditional on vaccination alone.
23rd Feb 2021 - Aberdeen Evening Express
Chile powers ahead in Covid-19 vaccination race
More than 2.7m vaccinations have been administered to Chile’s population of 19m so far — more than in all of Africa. That has made the country one of the frontrunners in the global scramble for vaccines on a per capita basis, lagging behind just a handful of richer countries including Israel, the UK and the US. Although the centre-right administration of President Sebastián Piñera came under pressure after violent protests against inequality erupted in October 2019, its far-sighted and pragmatic approach in securing vaccines is poised to boost both Chile’s economic recovery and the government’s political standing ahead of presidential elections in November.
23rd Feb 2021 - Financial Times
‘No fourth lockdown’: Ireland to set out cautious reopening plan
Ireland will set out a broad and gradual plan to reopen its economy on Tuesday to ensure there is no fourth lockdown, a minister said, as the more infectious UK COVID-19 variant slows suppression of its deadliest wave to date. Ireland has been back in lockdown since late December after a brief reopening led to an enormous spike in infections. Some students will return to school next week but no consideration will be given to re-opening the hospitality sector before mid-summer, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said last week
23rd Feb 2021 - Metro US
Dutch expected to ease lockdown slightly despite rising infections
The Netherlands on Tuesday slightly eased COVID-19 restrictions, allowing schools and hairdressers to reopen, as the government seeks to relieve months of lockdown even as infection rates rise again. A controversial night-time curfew, which sparked a string of riots when it was introduced on Jan. 23, will remain in place until at least March 15, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, as health experts warn of a new wave of infections due to the rise of more contagious variants of the virus. New coronavirus cases increased 19% to 29,997 in the week through Tuesday, the Dutch Institute for Public Health RIVM said, as new variants continued to take hold.
23rd Feb 2021 - Metro US
UK Covid Lockdown: Ministers Review Vaccine Passport Options to Help Firms Open
U.K. firms may be allowed to demand proof that customers do not have coronavirus under options being considered to help businesses reopen after the pandemic.
Ministers are conducting a review of whether so-called vaccine passports and test certificates could enable venues to open without fueling a surge in infections once lockdown rules are lifted. In one potential scenario, someone planning to go to an event could be asked to show staff a medical record on their National Health Service smart-phone app proving they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19, a person familiar with the matter said.
23rd Feb 2021 - Bloomberg
Covid-19: Everyone 'has to play their part' in lockdown easing, says Hancock
Everybody has to "play their part" to meet the dates for England's lockdown to be eased, Matt Hancock has said. But it is currently "too early" to say how long social distancing will be in place, the health secretary said. The aim is for measures like masks to become a "matter of personal responsibility", rather than law, in the future. Boris Johnson has outlined a strategy that could see restrictions lifted by 21 June - if strict conditions are met.
23rd Feb 2021 - BBC News
More German state workers to get AstraZeneca jab as doses go begging
The German government is reworking its strategy to vaccinate the nation against COVID-19 as its campaign, which has faltered due to a lack of supply, also faces public resistance to the shot from AstraZeneca Plc. As schools and kindergartens start to reopen from a lockdown imposed in November, federal and state health ministers on Monday reworked vaccination rules so that teachers will now get priority access to the AstraZeneca vaccine. “Children, the young, and their parents are especially affected by lockdown,” they said in a document seen by Reuters. “Since it can be hard to ensure social distancing with young children, teachers must be protected in another way.”
23rd Feb 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: How European nations are trying to plot route out of lockdown
The details of England's route out of lockdown were revealed this week. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "very optimistic" he will be able to remove all coronavirus restrictions by 21 June under his four-stage plan. But how are European countries faring in the second year of the pandemic?
23rd Feb 2021 - Sky News
Long wait over as first COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Ukraine from India
Ukraine received its first batch of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, allowing it to launch its delayed roll-out, starting with front-line medical workers and soldiers. One of Europe’s poorest countries, Ukraine has lagged behind its neighbours in securing vaccines for its 41 million people, asking European Union member states for help while refusing to buy the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia. “We will start vaccination ASAP. We need to fight COVID together,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted.
23rd Feb 2021 - Reuters
When will Covid mass vaccination drive start, asks Maharashtrians dreading another lockdown
As a worry of complete lockdown looms large over many Maharashtra cities, citizens are asking the government to start vaccination for common people. However, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said the Central government must take a call on the mass vaccination programme. In his recent address to the State, Thackeray said the government will have to consider imposing a lockdown if the number of Covid-19 cases multiplies in the next 8-10 days.
23rd Feb 2021 - Hindu Business Line
Easing lockdown will allow Covid to spread. Here's how to mitigate the risks
The government’s roadmap for ending Covid restrictions in England commits it to steps that may increase the rate at which the virus spreads. Some of that is unavoidable. But even as we reopen, there is more that we could do to mitigate the risk, and get us to the summer – and normality – without a resurgence. One reason that east Asian countries have done better during the pandemic is that prior experience with Sars has given people the understanding of how respiratory diseases spread, and how to avoid them. Japan’s three Cs guidance – avoidance of closed spaces, crowded places, and conversations – helped it avoid a serious epidemic without imposing a national lockdown. But the UK’s messaging still prioritises hand washing, surface cleaning and 2-metre distancing, and there has been no public education campaign about ventilation on the scale of last year’s hand-washing campaign.
23rd Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Lockdown easing: How are other countries handling it?
The UK has laid out its road map for lifting all lockdown restrictions by the end of June, but many major economies are taking a different approach. The British Government’s strategy is underpinned by the rapid rollout of its vaccine programme, with 17.7 million people having received their dose as of Sunday. But other nations were more cautious in approving vaccines, and are wary of over-promising while the full risk posed by Covid-19 variants are still unknown.
23rd Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
COVID-19: PM promises 'vaccine passports' review as holiday-starved Britons flock to book a break after lockdown exit plans revealed
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a review of so-called vaccine passports as eager Britons book holidays, excited by Monday's roadmap out of lockdown. Mr Johnson said: "There are deep and complex issues that we need to explore, ethical issues about what the role is for government in mandating all people to have something or indeed banning people from doing such a thing." He said senior minister Michael Gove would lead a review into the issue, although he added that some form of vaccine passport is "going to come on the international stage whatever" for foreign travel, as some other countries would insist on it.
23rd Feb 2021 - Sky News
Pharmacists say 'pooling' Covid vaccines could save thousands of doses
As millions of people across the U.S. line up for their coronavirus vaccination shots, health officials are struggling to meet the surging demand, the result of short supplies. Some pharmacists say a simple solution could get thousands more people vaccinated each week, but the FDA is standing in the way. It's called "pooling" — and it's not a new concept. Pharmacists have been doing it for years with everything from flu vaccines to some chemotherapy medications to antibiotics. It involves taking what's left over in a drug vial and combining it with what's left in another vial to create a full dose.
23rd Feb 2021 - NBC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 23rd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullSpanish region vaccinates 7,000 adults living with a disability in a week
In Spain, Extremadura last week took on the challenge of vaccinating 7,000 adults with need for daily care who are not in residences, and their professional carers in a week. This group included people who need help to carry out basic tasks, recognized as Grade III dependents under the Law of Dependency, those who have asked to be recognized in this category and those who, without having made any request, are accredited with suffering from a disease which requires them to have significant support measures. Thanks to the support of family and health workers, the vaccination day was “surprisingly easy,” said the coordinator of the drive, Paula Salamanca. Red Cross teams, which facilitated up to 300 trips to the center, were also key. Salamanca said that it all comes down to teamwork: “If one of us fails, we all fail.”
22nd Feb 2021 - El País
U.S. administers 64.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC
The United States has administered 64,177,474 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Monday morning and delivered 75,205,940 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Monday, the agency said. According to the tally posted on Feb. 21, the agency had administered 63,090,634 doses of the vaccines, and distributed 75,204,965 doses.
22nd Feb 2021 - Reuters
More than 100,000 Covid-19 vaccines to be administered this week
In Ireland, more than 100,000 doses of Covid-19 are set to be administered this week, as supplies of the vaccine are to be ramped up over the coming weeks. Health Service Executive (HSE) boss Paul Reid said the light is “beginning to emerge” as the State scales up its vaccine programme. The CEO of the HSE said that it delivered some 40,000 to 45,000 doses every week, but that increased to 80,000 vaccines last week. He said that 13,500 of those vaccines went to people aged over 85, while 25,000 were delivered to healthcare workers and 40,000 to residents and staff in long-term residential facilities.
22nd Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Superdrug launches £120 COVID-19 PCR saliva testing service
In the UK, Superdrug has become the first high street pharmacy chain to offer a saliva-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19, at the price of £120. The saliva-based PCR test is designed to be less intrusive than the standard method of using a swab to retrieve a sample from the back of the patient's nose or throat. It is available in all 200 Superdrug branches across the country and via the multiple’s website, it announced last week
22nd Feb 2021 - Chemist+Druggist
Tens of thousands more will die of Covid-19 as lockdown eases, advisers warn
Tens of thousands more people will die of Covid-19 as Britain opens up, government scientific advisers have concluded. Even a gradual easing during the spring is likely to produce a peak on the scale of last month or last April because so many people remain susceptible, according to modelling by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). Lifting all restrictions from the end of April would lead to a far bigger wave of hospital admissions than last month and some limits on social contact will be needed into the summer, the models suggest. Sage told ministers last week that mask-wearing, avoiding crowds and contact tracing may be needed indefinitely to keep the virus under control.
22nd Feb 2021 - The Times
Life may be close to normal by June 21, says PM as he unveils roadmap
Boris Johnson said there is “light ahead”for the UK today after earlier revealing his roadmap to bring England out of lockdown. All pupils in England’s schools will return to class from March 8 while people will be able to socialise with one person outside, Mr Johnson confirmed earlier. Mr Johnson, laying his “roadmap” out of lockdown to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, also revealed from April 12 at the earliest shops, hairdressers, nail salons, libraries, outdoor attractions and outdoor hospitality venues such as beer gardens will be allowed to reopen. From June 21 at the earliest, all remaining restrictions on social contact could be lifted, larger events can go ahead and nightclubs could finally reopen.
22nd Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Germany reopens some schools amid fears pandemic may rebound
Elementary students in more than half of Germany’s 16 states returned to school Monday after more than two months at home, the first major relaxation of the country s pandemic measures since before Christmas. Kindergartens also reopened their doors for pre-school children, giving much-anticipated relief to stressed parents trying to juggle working from home and childcare during the lockdown. The move was agreed at a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and state governors two weeks ago, and stuck to despite signs that the decline in case numbers seen in the country is flattening out again and even rising in some areas.
22nd Feb 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: New York City Is Down to 1,000 First Vaccine Doses
Vicious winter weather has snarled vaccine deliveries nationwide. The White House estimated that the weather had created a backlog of six million doses, and pleaded with local officials to extend hours at vaccination sites and schedule additional appointments. The bad weather has slowed two vaccine shipping hubs — a FedEx center in Memphis and a UPS site in Louisville, Ky. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency said this week that more than 2,000 vaccine sites were in areas with power outages.
22nd Feb 2021 - The New York Times
COVID-19: Gaza starts inoculation drive amid vaccine shortage
The inoculation campaign against COVID-19 in the besieged Gaza Strip has kicked off after the arrival of vaccines donated by Russia and the United Arab Emirates. On Monday, officials and health workers received the first shots of 22,000 Russian Sputnik V jabs in front of dozens of cameras.
22nd Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Step by step: how England's Covid lockdown will be lifted
Boris Johnson has announced detailed plans for the unlocking of England amid the coronavirus vaccination programme. Here is the proposed timetable, in four stages, and other initiatives announced by Downing Street. No 10 is stressing that after the first step the subsequent stages of reopening could be subject to delay and that the programme would be guided by “data rather than dates”. There is a minimum of five weeks between each stage – four weeks to collect and assess data and then a week for people and businesses to prepare for the next step.
22nd Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Health chiefs say NI vaccine programme on target
Northern Ireland's Covid-19 vaccine programme is "ahead of schedule," health officials have said, after Boris Johnson announced new UK-wide targets. Earlier, the prime minister said all UK adults should be offered a first dose of vaccine by the end of July. The previous target was September for first dose completion, but the PM has now said it should "go further and faster" to help ease lockdown rules. Stormont's Department of Health said its plans were dependent on supply.
21st Feb 2021 - BBC News
U.K. to ‘Cautiously’ Ease Lockdown Despite Vaccine Push: Hancock
The U.K. government will take a “cautious” approach to easing lockdown, with restrictions lifted every few weeks to judge the impact, despite a significant acceleration of its Covid-19 vaccination program, a senior minister said. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged people to keep following the rules even when vaccinated, after the government announced that all adults will be offered a shot by the end of July and everyone over 50 by mid-April. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a meeting with his senior ministers on Sunday to sign off on plans for how to ease England’s lockdown, ahead of a statement to Parliament on Monday
21st Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Britain to offer all adults a COVID-19 vaccine by end of July
All adults in Britain will be offered a first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday ahead of a planned announcement on the cautious reopening of the economy from lockdown. Johnson will set out a roadmap to ease England’s third national lockdown on Monday, having met a target to vaccinate 15 million Britons from higher-risk categories by mid-February. Britain now aims to give a first dose to all over-50s by April 15, the government said, having previously indicated it wished them to receive the shot by May.
21st Feb 2021 - Reuters
Green Pass: Israel's Covid-19 vaccination certificate opens fast track to normal life
People with the so-called "Green Pass" will get access to gyms, hotels and theatres, as more than 46 percent of its 9 million population get vaccinated.
21st Feb 2021 - NBC News
Over 200 million coronavirus vaccines administered worldwide
Thus far, 92% of doses have been administered in high-income countries or the wealthiest of countries placed by the World Bank in the medium-development bracket. Together, they account for a mere 53% of the world’s population. Among the 29 least developed countries, only Guinea and Rwanda have begun to vaccinate their people.
20th Feb 2021 - The Brussels Times
Biden administration, vaccine makers scramble to outflank coronavirus variants
If vaccines need to be switched, when should companies and government officials pull the trigger? Drug companies already have started working on updating their vaccines against new, more transmissible variants — a move encouraged by government officials. “What we are saying is, ‘Go ahead and study them, get them ready to go,'” said a health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the message conveyed to manufacturers. “You do a construct for the 351 variant [first detected in South Africa], test it in people and get all the information. If you need it a few months from now, you have it. You essentially hold them in the freezer” until needed. While the current shots by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use a new technology that allows for speedy modifications, changing vaccines adds wrinkles to manufacturing and distribution schemes that are already complex.
20th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Gen V: The Young Vaccine Heroes Convincing Their Elders To Get The Covid Jab
Neesie has recruited 20 young people aged between 18 and 25 who are from Black, Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, and teamed up with Bradford’s university and hospital to teach them about Covid and arm them with facts about the vaccine. The plan was for the young people to go out into their communities to spread awareness – but, due to the lockdown, they are speaking to community groups through online platforms to eradicate myths and misconceptions. Someone who looks like you and speaks the same language and has the same cultural or faith background as you is often better at relaying the message and being trusted
20th Feb 2021 - HuffPost UK
Mayor Lori Lightfoot Provides Update On Chicago's Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout
NPR's Scott Simon asks Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot about vaccination efforts in Chicago and other issues.
20th Feb 2021 - NPR
Short of Vaccine, States Find Hidden Stashes in Their Own Backyards
In the U.S. millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine were still sitting in freezers, allocated in excess to nursing homes or stockpiled for later use. Now states are claiming them. Virginia took the lead negotiating the release of stored second doses. It is now seeing leading the way in delivering COVID-19 shots.
20th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
Covid vaccines: Boris Johnson pledges surplus to poorer countries at G7
Boris Johnson is pledging to donate most of the UK's surplus vaccine supply to poorer countries in a speech to a virtual G7 meeting on Friday. He urged rich countries to back a 100-day target for the developing new vaccines for future emerging diseases. The UK has ordered more than 400 million doses of various vaccines, so many will be left over once all adults are vaccinated. But anti-poverty campaigners say the UK is not doing enough. Decisions on when and how much of the surplus will be distributed will be made later this year, with ministers taking into account the supply chain and whether booster shots are needed in the autumn.
20th Feb 2021 - BBC News
How To Register For The Coronavirus Vaccine In Your State
The process to sign up for COVID-19 vaccines varies by place so NPR created a tool to help you understand how things work in your state and connect you with local resources.
20th Feb 2021 - NPR
Biden’s First Month of Covid-19 Response Marked by Larger Federal Role
In his first month in office, President Biden has positioned the federal government squarely at the front of the battle against Covid-19, tapping the military to staff mass-vaccination centers, joining with state and local officials to accelerate the pace of vaccinations, and requiring masks on buses, planes and federal property. But Mr. Biden’s efforts to use his bully pulpit to pressure states to take actions the federal government doesn’t control—such as keeping mask mandates in place—have had mixed results, and many school districts across the country are still grappling with how and when to return to in-person instruction.
20th Feb 2021 - Wall Street Journal
What's safe after COVID-19 vaccination? Don't shed masks yet
It’s great if the vaccine means someone who otherwise would have been hospitalized instead just has the sniffles, or even no symptoms. But “the looming question,” Fauci said during a White House coronavirus response briefing last week, is whether a person infected despite vaccination can still, unwittingly, infect someone else. Studies are underway to find out, and hints are starting to emerge. Fauci pointed to recent research from Spain showing the more coronavirus an infected person harbors — what’s called the viral load — the more infectious they are. That’s not surprising, as it’s true with other illnesses.
20th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faces criticism over COVID-19 vaccine distribution
In Manatee County, Florida, this week, thousands of people got called to come to the affluent Lakewood Ranch development and get a coronavirus vaccine. It was a call many had been waiting for. "We were very fortunate, we got the call, we came right down," one woman told CBS News' Jim Axelrod. It was more than good fortune. Those who received the call all lived in two specific zip codes. Their doses came through a deal struck by Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and the CEO of Lakewood Ranch's parent company, owned by major Republican donors.
Manatee County Commissioner Misty Servia said in a county meeting that the deal bypassed county protocol, allowing a select group of residents to go the front of the vaccine line. "So rather than this randomized pool where everybody gets a fair shake, these two zip codes were going to receive preferential treatment," she said.
20th Feb 2021 - CBS News
COVID-19: Sadiq Khan urges BAME communities to get vaccine after he receives jab
Sadiq Khan has received his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and urged members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to follow suit, declaring: "I wouldn't be taking the jab if I didn't think it was safe." The London mayor received a COVID-19 jab on Friday morning at a vaccine centre located inside a church in southwest London.
20th Feb 2021 - Sky News
UK Government needs to donate surplus Covid-19 vaccines now, warns WTO
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has urged the UK Government to start donating Covid-19 vaccines across the world now. The head of the WTO said there should be no delay in sending the surplus coronavirus vaccines to developing countries. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged the Government to act now as it is “in the interest” of rich countries as well as poor countries to have “equitable access”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to donate the majority of the UK’s surplus vaccines to poorer nations in the lead-up to Friday’s virtual G7 meeting
20th Feb 2021 - Wales Online
Covid-19: California’s Governor Reserves Vaccines for Teachers
Under pressure to reopen classrooms in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that, starting March 1, the state will reserve 10 percent of its first doses of Covid-19 vaccines for teachers and school employees. Noting that the federal government has been steadily increasing the state’s vaccine allotment, the governor said he would set aside 75,000 doses each week for teachers and staff planning to return to public school campuses in person. Although California prioritizes teachers for the vaccine, supply has been an issue. Only about three dozen of the state’s 58 counties have had enough doses on hand to immunize those who work at public schools.
20th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
Here are the four steps needed to safely end the UK's Covid lockdown
Our first collective aim should be reducing transmission to as low a level as possible – and keeping it low. Secondly, it will be crucial that we continue to monitor transmission and quickly identify any new variants. The third important aspect of this roadmap should be a highly effective test, trace, isolate and support system. As cases fall and people begin to mix again, keeping the virus under control will depend upon the effectiveness of this system. Councils and communities must work together to ensure those who are least likely to take up the offer of a vaccination are engaged and supported, whether through targeted, culturally aware communication campaigns or enlisting community representatives to encourage uptake. Local community leaders, businesses, faith groups, libraries, schools, sports clubs and local media will all be central to these efforts.
20th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
COVID: Schools and outdoor mixing could be first areas where lockdown will be eased
The prime minister is still aiming to reopen all schools in England next month despite concerns from teachers and scientists. Ahead of an announcement about easing coronavirus lockdown on Monday, Downing Street refused to be drawn on specific reports that more extensive outdoor socialising could be allowed by Easter, including suggestions that two households will be allowed to meet outside. Schools and outdoor mixing are likely to be the first areas where rules will be relaxed.
20th Feb 2021 - Sky News
UK Covid lockdown easing: A No 10 'priority' is to allow more social contact
Reuniting families and allowing people to have more social contact will be an "absolute priority" in easing lockdown after schools reopen, No 10 says. Options being considered include allowing two households to mix outdoors in the coming weeks. It comes after confirmation that care home residents in England will each be allowed one regular visitor from 8 March. The full plan for England's lockdown easing is due to be set out on Monday.
20th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Germany must ease lockdown measures with caution - health minister
Falling coronavirus infections and a steady rise in vaccinations mean lifting lockdown measures in Germany is possible, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday, urging caution given that a more infectious variant had been identified. “There are rising demands to end the lockdown and this is possible but we need to be careful in order not to jeopardize our achievements,” Spahn told a news conference.
20th Feb 2021 - Reuters
How are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland planning to lift lockdown restrictions?
The whole of the UK is currently under lockdown in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19 and therefore reduce the burden on NHS hospitals and staff. But each of the devolved nations is following slightly different rules tailored to suit their own circumstances and differing levels of infection. Prime minister Boris Johnson will unveil his "roadmap" out of England's lockdown in an announcement scheduled for 22 February. So how do England's lockdown rules compare with those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how is each nation planning to lift restrictions?
20th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Zimbabwean president urges all Zimbabweans to be vaccinated against COVID-19, thanking China for its generosity
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday urged all Zimbabweans to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying that this was the only way to conquer the pandemic. Addressing mourners at the burial of national hero Moses Mpofu at the National Heroes Acre, Mnangagwa said the vaccines which Zimbabwe had received from China earlier during the week were safe and an effective antidote against COVID-19. Vaccinations, however, remain voluntary.
20th Feb 2021 - China Daily
Pub and travel bosses demand plan for easing lockdown in England
Pub and travel bosses have demanded that the prime minister produce a detailed roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions in England, amid mounting friction between the government and business leaders. Ahead of an update on the government’s plans, due on Monday, increasingly irate pub executives urged Boris Johnson to mend fences with the industry by offering clarity about the way forward.
Separately, in a letter to the prime minister, the travel industry warned “we cannot wait for the full rollout of the vaccination programme before people start to travel again”.
20th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Hold my hand: English care home visits allowed from March 8
Care home residents in England will be allowed one regular visitor from March 8, the government said, as it starts to ease COVID-19 lockdown measures, underpinned by the rollout of vaccines to older and clinically vulnerable people. Older people living in care homes have been offered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as part of a programme that has seen almost 17 million shots given to date.
20th Feb 2021 - Reuters
UK to allow outdoor two-household gatherings by Easter: The Telegraph
Britain will allow outdoor two-household gatherings by Easter under lockdown exit plan to be revealed by Boris Johnson, the Telegraph reported here on Friday.
However, social distancing rules that people should keep two metres apart when outside are likely to remain in place for “months”, the report added. The news came after the UK announced on Friday that the number of new COVID-19 infections in Britain is shrinking by 3% to 6% each day, faster than last week, adding that the closely watched reproduction “R” number might be slightly lower too.
20th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Spain’s regions move to ease coronavirus restrictions despite high contagion rates
Speaking on Thursday evening to present the latest data, Fernando Simón, the director of the Health Ministry’s Coordination Center for Health Alerts (CCAES), called on citizens not to drop their guard, but some of the country’s regions have already started to roll back their social restrictions. Since yesterday, the Madrid region has changed its curfew time from 10pm to 11pm, and is allowing bars and restaurants to stay open until the same time (until Thursday they had to close at 9pm). Castilla y León, for its part, will be lifting the perimetral lockdown of some of its provinces, while Aragón will be suspending the confinement of the cities of Zaragoza and Calatayud.
19th Feb 2021 - EL PAÍS in English
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in full676,405 coronavirus vaccines delivered to Belgium
A total of 676,405 coronavirus vaccines have been delivered to Belgium up until 14 February, the latest figures from the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) show. In total, 623,805 Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines were delivered last week, which is some 80,000 more than the week before. As of Wednesday morning, 370,019 people in Belgium have received the first dose of their vaccinations, or 4.01% of the population aged 18 and older. In addition, 203,755 people have received their second dose
18th Feb 2021 - The Brussels Times
Mexico arrests 6 for trafficking false coronavirus vaccines
Police in northern Mexico arrested six people Wednesday for allegedly trafficking in fake coronavirus vaccines. The federal Public Safety Department said the arrests were made in the northern border state of Nuevo León, though they did not say what kind of fake shots were involved or whether they had been offered for sale. “You don't play around with health, and in these moments of pandemic, nobody should be profiteering,” said Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez.
18th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Pfizer coronavirus vaccines to arrive in Perth this weekend with high-risk workers a priority for initial 5,000 doses
Western Australia is set to receive its first 5,000 doses of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine this weekend. WA Premier Mark McGowan said quarantine and international border workers would be among the first West Australians to be eligible for the vaccine. "Our quarantine hotel workers, including hotel staff, cleaners, police, security and clinical staff working in our quarantine facilities are at higher risk of contracting the virus, so it makes sense that they are prioritised," he said. "That goes for particular staff at our airports and ports, particularly those who board and spend time on overseas vessels."
18th Feb 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Zimbabwe starts COVID-19 vaccinations, vice-president gets first shot
Zimbabwe kicked-off its COVID-19 vaccination programme on Thursday after receiving a donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China earlier in the week. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who doubles as the country’s health minister, was the first to receive the jab, at Harare’s Wilkins Hospital. Zimbabwe aims to vaccinate around 60,000 healthcare and other frontline workers in the first round of vaccinations. The elderly and those with chronic conditions will follow.
18th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19 passports aim to streamline travel requirements. But there’s no one-size-fits-all fix.
International travel declined by around 90 percent after the pandemic hit — but those still crossing borders may have begun to encounter a novel concept: “covid-19 passports,” or a mobile platform that proves a traveler meets a country’s requirements, like a negative coronavirus test or, in a few cases, having received the coronavirus vaccine. Also called health passports, these are not official documents granted by governments; rather, they are digital passes issued by apps, and accepted by some companies and countries, that have arisen to meet demands by airlines and governments that travelers have a negative coronavirus status. Instead of showing paper-based proof of a test or vaccination card at an airport — which could either be forged, lost or arbitrarily rejected without a streamlined process — a traveler would be able to store and certify their information via their phone
18th Feb 2021 - Washington Post
How Will Covax Deliver Covid-19 Vaccines to Poorer Countries?
Developing countries are falling dangerously behind in the global race to end the coronavirus pandemic through vaccinations. The Covax facility aims to get Covid-19 shots to at least 20% of the populations of the world’s poorest nations. Covax has made deals with most of the big manufacturers, including Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Novavax Inc. But during the first half of 2021, the majority of planned deliveries from the facility are for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC and Oxford University. For the whole year, the AstraZeneca vaccine is forecast to make up about one-third of Covax supplies, assuming that the shots by J&J and Novavax and other manufacturers get authorized as expected.
18th Feb 2021 - Wall Street Journal
COVID-19: Parents of England secondary school pupils 'will be asked to test them twice a week'
Parents of secondary school pupils in England will be required to test their children twice a week once schools return, it has been reported. According to the Daily Telegraph, they will have to use rapid lateral flow tests under government plans to reopen schools as the COVID-19 lockdown is eased. Asked about this report during an interview on Sky News, care minister Helen Whately did not confirm or deny the story. "Next week more will be set out about how the return to school is going to work," she said.
18th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Boris Johnson will soon receive the crucial data which decides the UK’s route out of lockdown
Boris Johnson is due to receive the data which will ultimately determine how quickly the UK can leave lockdown. The Prime Minister will be given the most recent figures available on the impact of the UK’s vaccination programme, which will play a large part in deciding the speed at which existing restrictions can be relaxed.
18th Feb 2021 - The Scotsman
COVID vaccine data 'so good' that it points to lockdown ending earlier, Sage adviser says
Coronavirus vaccine data is “so good” that it points to an earlier end to the UK’s lockdowns, MPs have been told. Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) adviser Professor Mark Woolhouse said every aspect of the UK’s vaccine rollout has gone so well that ministers should bring forward their plans to begin easing restrictions. As of 15 February, 16.12 million doses had been administered in the UK. According to Oxford University’s Our World in Data website, the UK is third in the world in terms of doses administered per 100 people.
18th Feb 2021 - Yahoo News UK
Mass tests for teachers and pupils to be part of England lockdown easing, report says
Teachers, schoolchildren and their families could be tested for coronavirus twice a week under a plan for mass rapid testing that has been touted as key to safely easing England’s lockdown, reports claim. As many as 400,000 rapid lateral flow tests will be sent to homes every day, supported by a public information campaign to encourage people to take tests even if they do not show any symptoms, it is claimed. Boris Johnson is expected to give further details of the scheme when he outlines his roadmap for easing restrictions on Monday.
18th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Boris Johnson refuses to budge on lockdown exit plan
Boris Johnson resisted pressure for a faster easing of lockdown today, despite a strong decline in infections, with a minister saying that it will take “months” to get back to normal. Care minister Helen Whately said there would be a “step-by-step” approach to lifting restrictions when the Prime Minister publishes his Roadmap to Recovery on Monday. Downing Street is waiting for the delivery of key data, expected tomorrow, on how much vaccines can reduce transmission rates before making decisions on how long it will be before pubs and restaurants can reopen.
18th Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Boris Johnson plots reopening of UK economy within months
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is plotting a staged exit from lockdown that would see the United Kingdom’s battered economy returning to work over the next five months after leaping ahead of most of the world on vaccinating its people. The novel coronavirus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed 2.4 million people worldwide, upended normal life for billions and tipped the United Kingdom into its worst slump in 300 years. After moving faster than all other Western peers bar Israel to vaccinate its population, the United Kingdom’s $3 trillion economy is aiming to be among the first major Western economies to return to some semblance of normality - though still far behind the furnaces of global growth in China.
18th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Switzerland plans cautious easing of pandemic lockdown from March
Switzerland plans to make its first “cautious steps” towards ending its coronavirus lockdown next month, the government said on Wednesday, contrasting with neighbours that are sticking with many restrictions. In the first step, shops, museums and libraries are due to reopen from March 1. Zoos, gardens and sports facilities will also be reopened, with a final decision to come on Feb. 24. Ministers have been caught being caught between health experts supporting stricter limits and struggling businesses calling for a reopening, but a easing in the number of infections has allowed the government to change course. “The efforts of the last few months are now paying off, the population has been very disciplined,” said Health Minister Alain Berset.
18th Feb 2021 - Reuters
AstraZeneca's vaccine contract with the UK is based on 'best efforts,' just like its deal with a frustrated EU
AstraZeneca's contract to supply the UK with 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses commits it to making "best reasonable efforts," the same language used in its deal with the European Union, which critics blamed for the bloc's faltering inoculation program. The details of the contract are contained in a redacted version published online without fanfare months ago, long before the UK and the EU became embroiled in a bitter dispute over vaccine supply. British officials had earlier declined to provide the contract to CNN, making no mention of the redacted version, and have repeatedly refused to give details on the country's vaccine supplies, citing "security reasons."
18th Feb 2021 - CNN
Macron urges US, EU to rapidly divert COVID vaccines to Africa
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged fellow European nations and the United States to give up to five percent of their current COVID-19 vaccine supplies to developing countries in Africa, warning poorer nations are paying “astronomical prices” for jabs being made in the West. Macron said the current uneven distribution of doses marked an “unprecedented acceleration of global inequality” and cautioned some countries were being charged two or three times the price paid by the European Union for vaccines such as the one produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca. “We are allowing the idea to take hold that hundreds of millions of vaccines are being given in rich countries and that we are not starting in poor countries,” Macron told the Financial Times. “It’s an unprecedented acceleration of global inequality,” he added.
18th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Don't expect Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine to quickly lift U.S. supplies. Early shipments will be small, officials say
Johnson & Johnson's easier-to-use, single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is nearing a rollout, theoretically promising a major boost to the frantic U.S. immunization campaign. But J&J's early supplies are extremely limited, a White House advisor said. After the vaccine’s expected FDA emergency authorization in early March, the company will have just “a few million” doses ready to go, President Joe Biden's coronavirus response coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, said, as quoted by the New York Times. J&J’s contract with the federal government, inked last summer, calls for the drugmaker to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June. But it's now looking like deliveries will be “back-end loaded,” Zients said.
18th Feb 2021 - Fierce Pharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: UK calls for temporary ceasefires to allow vaccine rollout in world's war zones
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is calling for a UN resolution for ceasefires across the globe to allow those living in war zones to get COVID vaccines. As he chairs a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Mr Raab will urge world leaders to agree a resolution for negotiated vaccine ceasefires. The foreign secretary believes there is a "moral duty to act" in order to prevent more than 160 million people being excluded from vaccines because of instability and conflict, including in Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia.
17th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Pfizer and BioNTech reach agreement with European Union for 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech said they have reached an agreement to supply the European Union with another 200 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine. The US and German companies said in a statement that the doses come on top of the 300 million initially ordered. The EU's executive Commission has an option to request a further 100 million doses. They said the 200 million doses are expected to be delivered this year, with an estimated 75 million of them in the second quarter.
17th Feb 2021 - heraldscotland.com
NYC’s rich neighbourhoods get disproportionate share of coronavirus vaccines
New York City’s vaccines are going disproportionately to wealthier neighbourhoods in Manhattan and Staten Island, according to data the city released on Tuesday. The disparities highlight the inequities of a vaccine drive that has already been criticised for what New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called "profound" racial disparities. White residents composed almost half the people who had at least one dose, despite being only a third of the population. More than a quarter of those getting the coronavirus vaccine are nonresidents, who tend to be younger and are more likely to be White than those living in the city.
17th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: NI vaccination programme extended to carers
Northern Ireland's Covid-19 vaccination programme has been extended to include carers and more people with underlying health conditions. The vaccine rollout will be divided between GP practices and the seven regional vaccination centres. Northern Ireland's vaccine rollout is running weeks ahead of schedule, Health Minister Robin Swann has said. On Wednesday, the Department of Health recorded six more Covid-19 related deaths, taking its death toll to 2,015.
17th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Biden to Boost Funds for COVID-19 Tests in Schools, Shelters: White House
The Biden administration plans to provide $650 million to expand COVID-19 testing for elementary and middle schools, as well as homeless shelters and other underserved congregate settings, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. It will also spend $815 million to increase U.S. manufacturing of testing supplies and $200 million for virus genome sequencing, the statement said.
17th Feb 2021 - U.S. News & World Report
Gaza gets its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment, officials say
Gaza received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday after Israel approved the transfer through its border with the Hamas Islamist-run territory, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
17th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Switzerland Plans Cautious Easing of Pandemic Lockdown From March
Switzerland plans to make its first "cautious steps" towards ending its coronavirus lockdown next month, the government said on Wednesday, contrasting with neighbours that are sticking with many restrictions. In the first step, shops, museums and libraries are due to reopen from March 1. Zoos, gardens and sports facilities will also be reopened, with a final decision to come on Feb. 24. Ministers have been caught being caught between health experts supporting stricter limits and struggling businesses calling for a reopening, but a easing in the number of infections has allowed the government to change course. "The efforts of the last few months are now paying off, the population has been very disciplined," said Health Minister Alain Berset.
17th Feb 2021 - U.S. News & World Report
Covid: Boris Johnson to focus on 'data, not dates' for lockdown easing
Boris Johnson says it is "absolutely right" to take a "data not dates" approach to leaving lockdown, stressing England will ease measures "cautiously". The prime minister said he would set out "what we can" in a road map for easing restrictions on Monday. "We want to be going one way from now on, based on the incredible vaccination rollout," he said. It follows a call from scientists for a data-led approach to lifting measures. Speaking at a mass vaccination centre in Cwmbran, south Wales, Mr Johnson said relaxation of measures would be done in "stages" and that the reopening of hospitality was one of the last things to return after the first lockdown.
17th Feb 2021 - BBC News
German vaccination programme accelerating, but variants raise stakes: minister
Germany is set to speed up its vaccination programme, but even with declining case numbers the rapid spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus means nobody should drop their guard, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday. Spahn told a news conference that Germany would have received a total of 10 million vaccine doses by the end of next week. Some 4 million people, mostly carers and care home residents, have so far been vaccinated. He added that a government programme to offer everyone free, rapid antigen coronavirus tests from March, financed from the public purse, would also help slow the spread of the virus. The German government has faced criticism for its relatively slow pace of vaccinations, and business is increasingly impatient for an easing of the lockdown, now in its fourth month, especially with case numbers drifting downwards.
While vaccination was voluntary, Spahn urged the public to take up the offer of a jab: "If you wait, you risk serious illness," he said.
17th Feb 2021 - TheChronicleHerald.ca
Angela Merkel's Potential Successors Laschet, Soeder Spar on Covid Lockdown Exit
The two leading conservative contenders to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor took contrasting approaches to exiting Germany’s coronavirus lockdown, as campaigning ahead of September elections gradually gains steam. Armin Laschet, the newly elected head of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, took an unusual swipe at Merkel’s pandemic policy, saying at a party event earlier this week that the government shouldn’t treat voters like “under-aged children” incapable of making their own decisions. His chief rival, Markus Soeder, fired back on Wednesday in a veiled attack.
17th Feb 2021 - Bloomberg
New prime minister, Mario Draghi, vows to speed up Italy's Covid vaccinations
Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Draghi, has pledged to speed up the country’s coronavirus vaccination programme as he presented his government’s priorities before a confidence vote in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. In his much-anticipated maiden speech, Draghi, who was sworn into office on Saturday, said the government’s first duty was to “fight the pandemic by all means and safeguard the lives of citizens”. His promise came after Italy recorded 336 more coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total to 94,171 – the highest in Europe after the UK – and amid concerns over rapidly spreading Covid-19 variants.
“The virus is everyone’s enemy,” Draghi said. “It is in memory of those who are no longer here that our commitment grows”.
17th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Boris told not to lift lockdown quickly as NHS at capacity ‘for six more weeks’
The NHS is expected to remain at full capacity for at least another six weeks, warned a leading health official who urged the prime minister not to ease lockdown yet. Chief Executive of NHS Providers,
17th Feb 2021 - Metro
Vaccination about to pick up pace in Germany - health minister
Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Draghi, has pledged to speed up the country’s coronavirus vaccination programme as he presented his government’s priorities before a confidence vote in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. In his much-anticipated maiden speech, Draghi, who was sworn into office on Saturday, said the government’s first duty was to “fight the pandemic by all means and safeguard the lives of citizens”. His promise came after Italy recorded 336 more coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total to 94,171 – the highest in Europe after the UK – and amid concerns over rapidly spreading Covid-19 variants.
“The virus is everyone’s enemy,” Draghi said. “It is in memory of those who are no longer here that our commitment grows”.
17th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Boris Johnson charting path to re-open UK economy within months
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is plotting a staged exit from lockdown that would see the United Kingdom’s battered economy returning to work over the next five months after leaping ahead of most of the world on vaccinating its people. The novel coronavirus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed 2.4 million people worldwide, upended normal life for billions and tipped the United Kingdom into its worst slump in 300 years. After moving faster than all other Western peers bar Israel to vaccinate its population, the United Kingdom’s $3 trillion economy is aiming to be among the first major Western economies to return to some semblance of normality - though still far behind the furnaces of global growth in China.
17th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Vaccines, drugs, testing key to easing lockdown safely - UK's Raab
Vaccines, drugs and testing at scale are key to easing lockdown measures safely, Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday as the government prepares to set out a roadmap on how to loosen restrictions. “The two or three things that are going to be really important if we are to ease out of lockdown safely and responsibly are, yes of course, the vaccine and... the drugs... but also this lateral flow testing, being able to do at it at scale,” he told Sky News.
17th Feb 2021 - Reuters
White House announces plans to ramp up COVID testing
The White House announced new efforts on Wednesday to expand and improve testing for the coronavirus, as the United States ramps up efforts to vaccinate Americans. In a news briefing, Carole Johnson, the nation’s new COVID-19 testing coordinator, announced that the federal government would invest $1.6bn to increase nationwide testing. “We need to test broadly and rapidly to turn the tide of this pandemic but we still don’t have enough testing and we don’t have enough testing in all the places it needs to be,” Johnson said during a news briefing.
17th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Colombia, Mexico roll out vaccine, Brazil suffers shortages
Head nurse Veronica Luz Machado, who for months has battled the coronavirus pandemic from an intensive care unit in the northern Colombian city of Sincelejo, became the first person in the Andean country to receive a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Beginning with Machado, Colombia will kick off its plan to immunise 35.2 million people with vaccines acquired through a raft of bilateral deals as well as the World Health Organization-backed COVAX mechanism. “The pandemic really changed our lives completely, particularly for me and my colleagues, because we were facing an unknown virus, we didn’t know how to respond,” Machado, who works at Hospital Universitario, said in a government broadcast earlier this week, before receiving the first shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine. “It’s a risk that health workers face every day when we leave our homes to come to work in what we enjoy, in what we are passionate about. I was very afraid,” Machado, a nurse for more than two decades, added.
17th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Germany dashes hopes of businesses for quick reopening of economy
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier on Tuesday dashed hopes of business lobby groups for a quick reopening of the economy, saying the country should not rush to ease coronavirus restrictions as this could risk another wave of infections. “Business can’t flourish if we get a third wave of infections,” Altmaier told German television before a virtual meeting with representatives of 40 industry associations.
The minister said he recognised that lots of businesses were desperate for a prospect of an end to the current lockdown, but added that Germany was proceeding with caution for fear of new coronavirus variants in neighbouring countries.
16th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 17th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullFears over Covid vaccine access in Pakistan as private imports sanctioned
Pakistan will allow private companies to import coronavirus vaccines and has exempted the vaccines from price caps in a divisive move that health experts fear will create vast inequalities in access. The country has been scrambling to secure vaccine supplies but so far only the Chinese-made Sinopharm treatment is being deployed. This month 500,000 doses were donated to Pakistan. Like many other countries, Pakistan has been relying on the Gavi/World Health Organization Covax vaccine initiative, but has yet to receive any of the 17m doses it is expecting. The cabinet granted permission for unlimited imports of coronavirus vaccines, which could be sold to customers.
16th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
COVID-19 vaccine priority groups expanded as 1.7m added to shielding list
In England, more than 800,000 extra patients will be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination after a major expansion of the shielding list based on data from a risk assessment tool. Around 1.7m additional patients have been identified as being at increased risk from COVID-19 based on a combination of factors including age, ethnicity, BMI and medical conditions or treatments. Of these, around 820,000 are outside the over-70 age group already offered a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by the NHS and will now be prioritised for a jab. These patients have been identified through a population risk assessment by NHS Digital, based on a risk prediction tool called 'QCovid', developed by the University of Oxford and thought to be the world's only reliable COVID-19 risk prediction model.
16th Feb 2021 - GP online
Boris Johnson’s cautious tone suggests slow way out of lockdown, say scientists
Scientists and business leaders said that Boris Johnson’s ultra-cautious new tone on Covid-19 suggests he will keep many restrictions in place for longer, despite the success of the vaccine roll-out. The Prime Minister said he wants “really, really low” case numbers and warned against allowing more dangerous new strains of Covid to be incubated in the population. Kate Nicholls, of Hospitality UK, said the change of tone was “worrying” for owners who face ruin, some within weeks, unless they can open their doors. Scientists said the language was significant because it suggested that the Government was being advised against the strategy being pressed by Tory MPs and many firms, which is to sanction a rise in case numbers from May when all 32 million “at-risk” people are due to have been safely vaccinated.
16th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19: Phased return of schools in Scotland to begin on Monday, Nicola Sturgeon announces
The phased return of pupils to classrooms in Scotland will begin on Monday, the first minister has confirmed. Nicola Sturgeon revealed the news in a statement to the Scottish parliament, as she said the country's lockdown would continue until "at least" the beginning of March and "possibly for a further period beyond that". She told MSPs the shutdown was working - with fewer COVID-19 patients in hospital and intensive care - but cautioned that "even a slight" easing of restrictions could see cases "start rising rapidly again".
16th Feb 2021 - Sky News
UK health chiefs urge caution over lockdown as COVID deaths fall -
UK health chiefs have urged caution over any relaxation of lockdown rules amid signs that the impact of vaccination and social distancing regulations are beginning to work. Prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a “cautious but irreversible” roadmap for the relaxation of lockdown rules early next week. Dr Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation representing hospitals and clinics, said the downward trend in deaths is good news and is “testament to the monumental efforts” from the NHS to care for patients along with the impact of lockdown. But she added: “However, we must remember that there is a long way to go yet, as the number of deaths from COVID is still very high, and still accounts for some 42.6% of all deaths in England and Wales, the third highest proportion recorded during the pandemic.
16th Feb 2021 - Pharmaphorum
England's route out of Covid lockdown taking shape but timings unclear
While the government has said very little about how lockdown restrictions in England will start to be relaxed, there is a lot to be read between the lines. With a week to go before Boris Johnson spells out his roadmap for lifting the lockdown, leaks about new rules and timetables being discussed in multiple meetings across Whitehall will be filtering into newspapers. The chronology now seems to be taking shape. There is a hope of allowing a small easing of restrictions at the same time as schools reopen, to allow people to meet one other person for a coffee in the park, say, rather than just for exercise, without running the risk of being moved on by police. That would put the whole country under something similar to the tier 4 rules that were in place across swathes of England in December. Apart from schools reopening, the difference to a full lockdown is only subtle.
16th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Squeezed out of the race for Western vaccines, developing countries turn to China
As Peru is caught in the throes of a brutal second wave, millions of people are putting their faith in one country to turn the deadly tide. Peru has joined developing nations from North Africa to the Andes in counting on China for help. For these customers, the vaccines developed in Chinese laboratories and now being distributed globally could hold the solution to a massive problem: how to inoculate their populations after bigger and richer nations have pushed them to the back of the line for the more reliable vaccines developed in the West.
16th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Victoria's snap lockdown to end on Wednesday
Victoria’s snap five-day lockdown will end as planned at 11:59 on Wednesday after senior Andrews government ministers met to confirm the plans on Tuesday night.
The Herald Sun is reporting ministers met on Tuesday to finalise plans to end the lockdown “barring any mystery cases” emerging overnight. Key government ministers will reconvene on Wednesday morning to confirm the plan to reopen the state after it was plunged into a five-day lockdown following the emergence of less than 20 cases from hotel quarantine.
16th Feb 2021 - Sky News Australia
Australia's Victoria 'well placed' to start easing COVID-19 curbs, premier says
Australia’s Victoria state is well placed to begin easing out of a snap five-day coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday, Premier Daniel Andrews said, as it reported just two new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday.Andrews reported two new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the recent cluster to a total of 19 people. “This strategy is working,” Andrews told reporters. “We are well-placed to be able to make changes tomorrow night. As I said yesterday, I’m not in a position to definitively commit to that, because these next 24 hours will be crucial,” Andrews said.
16th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Syringe shortage hampers Japan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive
Fears are growing in Japan – where an inoculation drive against COVID-19 will begin on Wednesday – that millions of doses of Pfizer vaccine could be wasted because of a shortage of special syringes that maximise the number of shots from each vial. The government has made urgent requests, but manufacturers are struggling to ramp up production fast enough, creating the latest headache for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who suffers from weak public support.
16th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
Israel blocks shipment of Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Gaza
Israel has stopped 1,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine that are intended for front-line medical workers from entering the besieged Gaza Strip. The Palestinian group Hamas which governs the Gaza Strip on Tuesday blasted Israel’s refusal to allow vaccine doses destined for Gaza health workers through its blockade of the territory as a “violation” of international law. Israel – which is carrying out one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns per capita – has faced international calls to share its stocks as an occupying power with Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
16th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
‘Vaccine nationalism’ will hurt all countries: New WTO chief
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) incoming chief has warned against “vaccine nationalism” that would slow progress in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and could erode economic growth for all countries – rich and poor. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Reuters news agency that her top priority is to ensure the WTO does more to address the pandemic, saying members should accelerate efforts to lift export restrictions slowing trade in needed medicines and supplies.
16th Feb 2021 - AlJazeera
South Africa to share COVID vaccine as Europe weighs J&J vaccine
In the latest international COVID-19 developments, South Africa health officials announced they will share the country's AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine with other African nations, and in Europe, Johnson & Johnson submitted its request for an emergency use authorization for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. South Africa recently announced a pause on the rollout of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, following early study findings that it appears have little impact on mild-to-moderate disease from the B1351 variant that is dominant in the country. It followed that development with an announcement that it would temporarily switch to using the unapproved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
16th Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
Biden to refocus on COVID-19 relief as severe weather limits vaccination
President Joe Biden will host a town hall meeting tonight in Milwaukee to address his $1.9 billion COVID-19 relief bill, and bring Americans' focus back to the pandemic after former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial ended this weekend, the Washington Post reported. In addition to promised relief checks for families, the Biden administration today said it is once again increasing the number of vaccine doses given to states each week—from 11 million to 13.5 million, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Psaki also said the federal government continues to increase its partnerships with commercial pharmacies, and will send 2 million doses of vaccine to local pharmacies this week.
16th Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
Hotel quarantine rollout in England 'an absolute joke', says border official
Border staff received guidelines on how to execute England’s new “red list” quarantine rules in an email two and a half hours before they came into force in a rollout that one worker described as “an absolute joke”. British and Irish nationals or UK residents arriving from a list of 33 countries are now required to book a 10-day quarantine package costing £1,750 per adult, as the government seeks to limit the spread of new and potentially more dangerous coronavirus variants arriving from abroad. Border Force sources told the Guardian that all immigration control staff had received a lengthy email with five attachments, detailing official guidance for carrying out the new checks at the border, at 9.25pm on Sunday. The rules came into effect at midnight.
15th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 16th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullVaccine passport for shops could happen, says Dominic Raab
Shops and restaurants could require customers to show vaccine passports under plans being considered by the government, the foreign secretary has suggested. Dominic Raab said that the government was considering using vaccine passports at the “domestic or local level”. His comments appear to put him at odds with No 10, which has repeatedly ruled out using them within the UK. The government is working on plans for the use of vaccine passports to enable international travel. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, denied that there were plans to introduce them within the UK.
15th Feb 2021 - The Times
Sturgeon 'satisfied' Scotland will meet coronavirus vaccine target ahead of slowdown
Nicola Sturgeon is “satisfied” Scotland has hit its target to vaccinate all over-70s and the clinically vulnerable but warned progress will slow in the coming days as some centres reduce their hours following a dip in supplies. The first minister said everyone in the cohort should have been offered an appointment by close of business on Monday and vowed “nobody is going to be left behind” as she encouraged anyone still to be reached to contact their GP. Monday is the final day for the Scottish Government to ensure everyone aged 70 and older or in the clinically vulnerable group is given a slot, and the SNP leader said she is “satisfied we have met that target”.
15th Feb 2021 - The Courier
Phoenix is paying its employees to get COVID-19 vaccine. Other cities and employers offer incentives, too
Phoenix is paying its employees $75 if they get vaccinated for COVID-19. Other cities in the Phoenix area are rewarding their employees for receiving the vaccine, as well, either by giving them a discount on their health insurance or giving them wellness points that could add up to a discount on their insurance. The city programs come as many large private-sector employers announce they are doing the same. Dollar General, Kroger, McDonald’s and Olive Garden are paying their employees either a flat rate or a certain number hours of pay to get the vaccine.
15th Feb 2021 - USA Today
Widespread vaccinations in the US won't come until the summer. Here's what's been driving down Covid-19 cases so far
Kudos to all the Americans who've been responsible about mask wearing and social distancing. Health experts say your efforts are paying off. After an abysmal start to winter, some Covid-19 numbers have been falling for weeks. But it's not just due to vaccines. More than 14 million Americans have been fully vaccinated with both doses of their Covid-19 vaccines, but that's only about 4% of the US population. And it takes weeks for vaccines to fully kick in. So why are we seeing improvement? "It's what we're doing right: staying apart, wearing masks, not traveling, not mixing with others indoors," said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US CDC
15th Feb 2021 - CNN
EU seeks new COVID-19 vaccine deal with Moderna, AstraZeneca flags doses made outside EU - sources
The EU is holding talks with Moderna on buying more COVID-19 vaccine and AstraZeneca, with which talks have stalled, has suggested delivering doses of its own vaccine made outside Europe to make up for supply cuts, two EU sources said. The European Union has set a target of vaccinating 70% of its adult population by the end of the summer, but has struggled to secure the doses promised by pharmaceutical companies. It is now trying to expand its reserve of vaccines, which already amount to nearly 2.3 billion doses from six drugmakers for its population of about 450 million. The EU is negotiating a new supply deal with Moderna that could nearly double the volume of vaccine doses from the U.S. biotech firm, two senior EU officials involved in the talks told Reuters.
15th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Millions of asthmatics 'must wait for vaccine'
In England, people whose asthma is under control will not be prioritised for the Covid vaccine, the government has confirmed. Sufferers of the condition will not be on the list ahead of their peers unless they are formally shielding, regularly take steroid tablets or have ever had an emergency hospital admission. This appears to be a rowing back from previous guidance indicating steroid-inhaler users would be eligible. It has since been judged this group is not at increased risk of death. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was following independent advice that the immediate priority should be to "prevent deaths and protect health and care staff, with old age deemed the single biggest factor determining mortality".
15th Feb 2021 - BBC News
South Korea cuts first-quarter COVID-19 vaccination plan, restricts use of AstraZeneca shot
South Korea said on Monday it will not use AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on people aged 65 and older, reversing an earlier decision, and scaled back initial vaccination targets due to delayed shipments from global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX. South Korea had said it would complete vaccinations on 1.3 million people by the first quarter of this year with AstraZeneca shots, but it slashed the target sharply to 750,000. The decision is largely due to adjustments in the supply timetable of the 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from COVAX, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said
15th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Covid-19: Special school teachers 'forgotten' in vaccine rollout
In Northern Ireland, it is an "insult" that the Stormont executive did not vote to vaccinate all special school staff, according to the National Association of Headteachers. A special school teacher has also told BBC News NI she felt "outrage, disappointment, fear and frustration" at the decision. Special schools in Northern Ireland have been open for all pupils since the start of January. Only a limited number of staff are to be given priority for vaccination. That will include some of those working in the direct care of clinically vulnerable children. Education Minister Peter Weir claimed the NI Executive had been "reluctant" to hold a vote on a plan to vaccinate all special school staff.
15th Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Vaccine programme moves to phase two after 15 million receive first coronavirus jab
Letters are being sent to those aged over 65 and the clinically vulnerable to invite them to receive the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine. It comes a day after the UK reached the target of giving at least one dose of the vaccine to 15 million people - the majority of them most at risk from the disease. This means that the first four priority groups - those aged over 70 and the clinically extremely vulnerable - have all been invited to receive the first dose of the vaccine.
15th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: First travellers arrive in UK for hotel quarantine stay
The first travellers required to stay at quarantine hotels have begun arriving in the UK. All British and Irish citizens and UK residents who arrive in England after being in a high-risk Covid country now have to self-isolate in hotels. The "red list" of 33 countries includes Portugal, Brazil and South Africa. The new regulations, which aim to stop Covid variants entering the country, apply to arrivals who have been in one of those places in the past 10 days. In Scotland, the rule to stay in a hotel applies to travellers from all countries - rather than just those from the list of 33 countries.
15th Feb 2021 - BBC News
UK risks ‘substantial wave’ of Covid infections if lockdown lifts too soon - what scientists are saying
A scientist advising the Government has said that the UK could face another wave of Covid-19 as big as the current one if lockdown restrictions are lifted too early. Professor Steven Riley, a member of the Spi-M modelling group, said that while the rollout of the vaccine programme has been “incredibly successful”, it does not mean that safety measures and restrictions can simply be dropped. The professor explained that if we were to “choose to just pretend” Covid-19 wasn’t present any more, and drop our safety measures, then “there is potential to go back to a wave that is a similar size to the one that we are in now”.
15th Feb 2021 - The Scotsman
Zimbabwe receives 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in donation from China
Zimbabwe has received its first batch of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines from China as it ramps up efforts to begin vaccinating two thirds of its population. Receiving the vaccines at Robert Mugabe International Airport, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said: "it has not been lost on us that in times of need, China's response has been swift." Chiwenga said the donation was "timely" and "yet another demonstration of the long bond of friendship and solidarity." Zimbabwe is the first country in southern African to receive the Sinopharm jabs, whose efficacy against a new variant that emerged in neighbouring South Africa, is still unclear.
15th Feb 2021 - RFI
PoliticsNow: Health Minister Greg Hunt says 4 million vaccine jabs to be done by early April
Health Minister Greg Hunt says 4 million vaccinations will be administered by early April. It comes amid news that the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines have landed in Australia, while Scott Morrison told parliament that the first vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been filled in a Melbourne facility today. Premier Daniel Andrews says he ‘can’t say’ when the statewide lockdown will end as Victoria recorded just one new local case of COVID-19 today.
15th Feb 2021 - The Australian
When will lockdown end? How restrictions will be lifted in three stages, with pubs possibly open by Easter
In England, the Government has developed a plan for leaving lockdown that could see pubs and restaurants open by Easter. A senior official told i that Boris Johnson’s road map out of lockdown will begin with the reopening of schools, already scheduled for 8 March. Non-essential retail will follow, and finally hospitality. When these reopen will depend on how the return of pupils affects the virus’ reproduction rate, known as the R number. On Friday that figure fell below one for the first time since July.
15th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
England's quarantine hotels open in bid to keep COVID variants out
Passengers arriving in England from Monday from any of 33 “red list” countries will have to spend 10 days quarantined in a hotel room under new border restrictions designed to stop new variants of the coronavirus. The launch of the system, which had already been set out earlier this month, marks the government’s latest effort to prevent another relapse into crisis after a second wave of a more contagious COVID-19 variant forced the country into a prolonged lockdown at the start of the year. New cases, deaths and hospitalisations are falling sharply and the rollout of vaccines has reached more than 15 million people, but ministers are still wary that new mutations from overseas might unravel that progress.
15th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Johnson wants 'cautious but irreversible' path out of COVID-19 lockdown
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he would plot a cautious but irreversible path out of the COVID-19 lockdown this week after the vaccination of 15 million vulnerable people. With nearly a quarter of Britain’s population now inoculated with a first dose of a COVID vaccine in a little over two months, Johnson is under pressure from some lawmakers and businesses to reopen the economy. Speaking later from Downing Street, Johnson said there was not yet enough data about how vaccines were affecting the spread of COVID-19, though data from Israel, currently the world leader on vaccination, was promising.
15th Feb 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19 vaccine in high demand across US, but supply limited
Across the U.S., states are expanding vaccination criteria and opening mass COVID-19 vaccination sites to an eager population. But, as the New York Times reports, few states claim they have enough vaccine supply to meet demand. The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows that 70,057,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered in the United States, and 52,884,356 have been administered. That translates to roughly 12% of the US population having had at least the first dose in a two-dose series of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
15th Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
STAT-Harris Poll: 1 in 4 Americans were unable to get a Covid-19 test when they wanted one
As the U.S. struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly a quarter of Americans say they wanted to get tested for the coronavirus but were unable to do so, according to the latest survey from STAT and The Harris Poll. Specifically, 24% reported that they could not get tested for various reasons – a testing site was not nearby, the wait for a test was too long, transportation to a test site was unavailable, or it was unclear where to go for a test. Some people cited more than one of these hurdles. The issue cited most often — 10% complained of the wait. At the same time, 31% said they were able to get tested when they sought to do so, according to the online survey, which queried 2,043 people between Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. The rest said they have never wanted to be tested.
15th Feb 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullJapan Health Ministry says it has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
Japan’s Health Ministry said on Sunday it has officially approved Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, the first such approval in the country as it steps up efforts to tame a third wave of infections in the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games. The move had been widely expected after a government panel recommended approval on Friday, at which point Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said Japan would give its final approval as soon as possible. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said vaccinations will begin from the middle of next week, starting with some 10,000 health workers. The government hopes to secure enough supplies for the whole populace - some 126 million people - by mid-year.
14th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Serbia donates Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to North Macedonia
Serbia on Sunday donated a first batch of 8,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to North Macedonia, which is yet to deliver its first jabs. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev attended a border checkpoint handover ceremony of the shipment, praising friendship between the two neighboring Balkan states. Serbia, a country of 7 million, has so far vaccinated some 600,000 people, mainly with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine and Russian Sputnik V, and to a lesser extent with the Pfizer jab. The country has been one of the most successful in Europe in terms of how fast it has rolled out the vaccine among its population. By contrast, North Macedonia, like most of other Western Balkan countries, has not yet secured a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine for its population of 2.1 million.
14th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Covid: Vaccine given to 15 million in UK as PM hails 'extraordinary feat'
More than 15 million people in the UK have now had their first coronavirus vaccine, in what Boris Johnson described as a "significant milestone". The PM hailed the "extraordinary feat", reached just over two months after the first jab was given on 8 December. It comes as the government is expected to announce on Monday it has met its pledge to offer a jab to everyone in the top four priority groups in the UK. The rollout is now being expanded to over-65s and the clinically vulnerable. In a video, Mr Johnson praised a "truly national, UK-wide effort", adding that in England the jab had been offered to all those in the top four priority groups. Wales has also met the target.
14th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Israel plans to reopen restaurants in March, restart tourism with Cyprus
Israel plans to reopen restaurants around March 9 and restart tourism with Cyprus as part of a gradual return to normality thanks to a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, officials said on Sunday. With more than 41% of Israelis having received at least one shot of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, Israel has said it will partially reopen hotels and gyms on Feb. 23 to those fully inoculated or deemed immune after recovering from COVID-19. To gain entry, these beneficiaries would have to present a “Green Pass”, displayed on a Health Ministry app linked to their medical files. The app’s rollout is due this week.
14th Feb 2021 - Reuters
First Australian vaccines to arrive this week
Australia’s first shipment of Pfizer vaccines will arrive in the country later this week in a high-security operation, with the first vaccinations to begin within days after arrival. Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed that about 80,000 doses of the first Pfizer vaccines would be exported from Belgium this week where they will arrive in Australia by the end of the week under tight security and be taken to a central distribution point. The Therapeutic Good Administration will then complete final testing of the vaccines to ensure quality before doses are distributed around the country on a per head of population basis. They’ll be taken to hospital hubs and directly to aged care centres, with hospitals told to be ready to administer the first jabs from February 22
14th Feb 2021 - The Australian
Brexit Britain's victory over the EU on Covid vaccination is not what it seems
Britain got a month’s head start on the EU by approving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the start of December, and then AstraZeneca’s at the end of that month. It had to accept the terms offered by the pharmaceutical companies, however, both in paying a higher price per dose, and by waiving their civil liability in the event of adverse effects. But, and there’s a very big but, the UK’s “success” is a really an illusion: because to be fully effective, the vaccine requires two doses. And only 0.80% of the UK population has received both shots, less than that of France (0.92%), and a long way behind Denmark, which has 2.87% of its population fully vaccinated.
14th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
COVID-19: Domestic vaccine certificates 'under consideration', Dominic Raab says
Vaccine certificates to let Britons prove they have been inoculated against coronavirus are "under consideration", the foreign secretary has suggested. Dominic Raab sparked surprise by saying the idea "hasn't been ruled out", after it was repeatedly rubbished by some other ministers. The documents have been mooted given the fast-paced rollout of COVID-19 jabs, as attention turns to when and how restrictions can be lifted.
14th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Some foreign nationals are getting coronavirus vaccines in the United States
One of Mexico’s best-known TV hosts sat in a car, masked, looking straight ahead while a needle was plunged into his bare upper arm. Juan Jose “Pepillo” Origel was the latest Mexican national to get the coronavirus vaccine — by coming to the United States. “Vaccinated! Thank you #USA how sad that my country didn’t provide me with this security!!!” the 72-year-old star tweeted in Spanish on Jan. 23, along with a photo of his inoculation in the parking lot of the Miami zoo. Mexican social media users immediately savaged Origel, protesting that his ability to fly to the United States for the vaccine crystallized their nation’s vast inequities. About the same time, Florida health leaders, concerned that out-of-state residents and foreign nationals were flying in for precious doses of scarce coronavirus vaccine, moved to restrict access to people who live in the state full- or part-time.
13th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
How India is delivering the coronavirus vaccine to its remotest villages
Vast distances, guerrilla warfare and vaccine hesitancy are just some of the hurdles India must overcome to vaccinate its 1.4 billion people against the coronavirus. Devjyot Ghoshal and Danish Siddiqui follow a feat of co-ordination as a vaccine makes a 1,700km journey to a rural health worker
13th Feb 2021 - The Independent
How AI and data models help governments fight Covid-19
A not-for-profit business group including IBM and Rolls-Royce is using AI and data models to help Europe fight Covid-19 and help prepare an economic recovery. As Covid-19 vaccines roll out, getting economies and societies back to normal after the worst of the pandemic has passed will depend on collaboration between industry and the public sector – and harnessing the power of data and technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). These are among the reasons why IBM, Rolls-Royce, Microsoft and dozens of global companies recently founded Emergent Alliance − a not-for-profit collaboration specialising in data, analytics and technology. Last April, data scientists and AI experts at IBM (Data Science and AI Elite Team) and Rolls-Royce (R2 Data Labs) joined a team to work on a crucial pandemic-related challenge: how to get a more accurate and up-to-date regional picture of Covid-19 cases so as to help local authorities mount a more effective response to coronavirus outbreaks.
13th Feb 2021 - The Financial Times
Pentagon approves 20 more COVID-19 vaccination teams
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 20 more military vaccination teams that will be prepared to go out to communities around the country putting the department on pace to deploy as many as 19,000 troops if the 100 planned teams are realized. The troop number is almost double what federal authorities initially thought would be needed. Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's latest approval brings the number of COVID-19 vaccination teams so far authorized to 25, with a total of roughly 4,700 service members. He said the teams, which largely involve active duty forces, are being approved in a phased approach, based on the needs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
13th Feb 2021 - The Independent
'Unethical and unconscionable': Should young Americans get COVID-19 vaccine before poorer nations' most at-risk?
While images of people lined up for long-awaited COVID-19 vaccinations spurred hope in millions across the globe, they stirred up something else in Dr. Juan Jose Velez: frustration. Velez runs the coronavirus ward in one of the biggest public hospitals in Colombia, a country with one of the highest death rates and positivity rates in the world. While more than 152 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, with roughly a third of those in the U.S., according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker, Colombia is among a number of lower- to middle-income countries that still had not administered a single dose by mid-February.
13th Feb 2021 - USA TODAY on MSN.com
Why Canada is falling behind in Covid vaccinations
Canada has secured the world's largest number of potential Covid vaccine doses per capita - but it's struggling to get its hands on some of those doses and to get jabs into arms. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised an "enormous increase" in doses coming to Canada of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the only two currently authorised for use in the country. He is under pressure from critics who say he has not delivered vaccines fast enough, and has promised that all Canadians who want a vaccine will get one by the end of September. Canada's inoculation drive began 14 December, and the country has so far given just over 1.18 million doses. It currently stands at 40 in global rankings of doses per 100 people, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
13th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Covid passports could deliver a 'summer of joy,' Denmark hopes
Like many countries around the world, Denmark is desperate to reopen the parts of its economy frozen by the pandemic. The kingdom of under six million people has become one of the most efficient vaccination distributors in Europe and aims to have offered its whole population a jab by June. But before that target is reached, there's pressure for life to get back to normal for Danes already inoculated and to open up borders for Covid-immune travelers from overseas. Morten Bødskov, Denmark's acting finance minister, last week raised the prospect of a so-called coronavirus passport being introduced by the end of the month. "Denmark is still hard hit by the corona pandemic," he said. "But there are parts of Danish society that need to move forward, and a business community that needs to be able to travel."
13th Feb 2021 - CNN
Covid-19: How well is Northern Ireland's vaccination going?
Covid-19 vaccinations have now opened up to another group in Northern Ireland - those 80,000 or so people who were in receipt of a shielding letter because they are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV). The vaccination programme is crucial in the plan to exit lockdown and get on top of the virus. But how well is it going?
13th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19 pandemic: Warning vaccine roll-out risks prolonging crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to end unless poorer countries can access vaccines, scientists writing in medical journal the Lancet have warned. Unprecedented numbers of doses are needed, the article says, but poorer countries lack funds and richer countries have snapped up supplies. The experts want to see production ramped up and doses priced affordably. It is the latest warning that so-called "vaccine nationalism" is putting lives at risk. At last year's UN General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres called the practice - when countries sign deals to inoculate their own populations ahead of others - "unfair" and "self-defeating".
13th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Virus in Reverse Across U.K. as Johnson Plots Lockdown Exit
The U.K. government said it is “confident” the country’s coronavirus epidemic is shrinking, as the reproduction rate of the disease dropped to levels last seen in July. The latest so-called R number for the U.K. is between 0.7 and 0.9, according to official estimates published Friday, down from 0.7 to 1.0 last week. It means that on average, every ten people infected with the virus are passing it on to between seven and nine others. The last time the upper end of the range was below 1 was on July 31 last year, after the first wave of infections
13th Feb 2021 - BloombergQuint
Covid-19: How England's hotel quarantine will differ from Australia's
England's rules on quarantine hotels for travellers arriving from Covid "red list" countries are less stringent than those enforced in Australia. The BBC has seen a copy of the government's official requirements for hotel operators ahead of the policy starting on Monday. It spells out the rules for handling travellers for 11 nights of quarantine. The UK government said its hotel quarantine measures were "in line with those in other countries". And it promised to update guidance for hotels "imminently".
13th Feb 2021 - BBC News
UK ministers in push to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday he was optimistic he could announce the easing of some lockdown measures soon as the government nears its target of offering vaccines to 15 million people in priority groups. The government says it is on track to have offered an injection by Monday to everyone who is aged 70 and over, as well as those who are clinically vulnerable, frontline health and social care workers and older adults in care homes. With infections and hospitalisations beginning to fall, Johnson is under pressure from some in his own party to set out when strict lockdown restrictions, which have caused the biggest crash in economic output in more than 300 years, will be eased.
13th Feb 2021 - Reuters
‘No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe’ – Vaccine Rollout Misses Key People
Homeless people, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and some people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are among those struggling to get a coronavirus jab even when they’re entitled to one. The UK’s coronavirus vaccination rollout is being hailed as a rare pandemic success with the NHS on target to hit its goal of immunising 15m of the most vulnerable people by next week. But people are falling through the gaps because they face barriers to accessing healthcare. Experts say many of the people being missed out in the vaccine rollout are already at greater risk of health inequalities and have cautioned that until all communities in the population are reached with the vaccine, coronavirus cases will “keep creeping back”. Charities and campaigners say the easiest route for people to be called for a coronavirus vaccine is by being called for one by their GP. But those with an unstable immigration status are often too terrified of registering with a GP or seeking medical care as they fear they might get reported to the Home Office and deported.
13th Feb 2021 - Huffington Post
COVID-19: Next phase of UK vaccine rollout 'may not meet the public's expectations', group of MPs warns
A lack of planning could affect the next phase of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, MPs have warned. The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) praised the "world-beating" effort to get the jab to the most vulnerable, but said there is "much to be done" if the UK government is to hit its next target. Ministers are aiming to offer a jab to about 15 million people in the top four priority groups by 15 February, then a further 17.7 million people in the next five groups - including all over-50s - by the end of April. But a new report by the PAC said: "We are concerned by departments' lack of planning for the next phase of the programme and in learning the lessons from what has already been done that will be so vital to the programme's success."
12th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: C.D.C. Urges Reopening of Schools With New Guidelines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged that K-12 schools be reopened and offered a comprehensive science-based plan for doing so speedily, an effort to resolve an urgent debate roiling in communities across the nation. The new guidelines highlight the growing body of evidence that schools can openly safely if they put in effect layered mitigation measures. The agency said that even when students lived in communities with high transmission rates, elementary students could receive at least some in-person instruction safely — a finding echoed by an independent survey of 175 pediatric disease experts conducted by The Times. Middle and high school students, the agency said, could attend school safely at most lower levels of community transmission — or even at higher levels, if schools put into effect weekly testing of staff and students to identify asymptomatic infections.
12th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
UK social distancing rules could remain until autumn
Social distancing norms in Britain could remain until the autumn under plans being considered by ministers, The Times newspaper reported on Friday. The government's roadmap out of lockdown assumes people will have to wear masks and remain a metre apart of each other for months, the newspaper reported here.
Scientists believed the restrictions may need to go on until the end of the year, according to the report.
12th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Late April or May before lockdown eases with month of low cases needed before change
Level 5 restrictions will not be eased until very low Covid-19 case numbers are sustained for up to four weeks, according to multiple senior Government sources. Such a scenario could see the wider reopening of society, beyond schools and construction, pushed back until late April or early May. The concept of a “pause”, where no easing takes place until numbers stay at a consistent level for a few weeks, is used in New Zealand and Australia and is viewed favourably by a number of Ministers as an effective indicator that it is safe to lift restrictions. The “cautious and conservative” approach enunciated by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in recent days is now widely accepted across all three Government parties. Ministers including the Taoiseach have accepted mistakes were made before Christmas, when measures were relaxed too early .
12th Feb 2021 - The Irish Times
Biden Announces a Big Vaccine Deal, but Warns of Hurdles
The Biden administration says it has now secured enough vaccine to inoculate every American adult, but President Biden warned that logistical hurdles would most likely mean that many Americans will still not have been vaccinated by the end of the summer. Officials said Thursday that they had arranged to get 200 million more doses of vaccine by the end of summer, which amounts to a 50 percent increase. That should be enough vaccine to cover 300 million people. But it will still be difficult to get those shots into people’s arms, and Mr. Biden lamented the “gigantic” logistical challenge his administration faces during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health.
11th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullChurches pair up with clinics to deliver coronavirus vaccine to those who need it most
Pastor Joseph Daniels folded his 6-foot-3-inch frame into the mobile coronavirus vaccine clinic outside Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church in Southeast Washington on Wednesday and joked that he was no fan of needles. Before he knew it, a nurse wearing a face shield, a mask and gloves was applying a bandage to his upper arm.
“Oh, okay,” he said. “That was easy.” Daniels was one of a handful of pastors, along with their spouses, who received a vaccination Wednesday morning as part of the city’s pilot program staging clinics at churches, part of an effort to combat vaccine hesitancy and improve access to the shots in hard-hit neighborhoods where vaccination rates are low
11th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Ministers to discuss vaccine certificates for international travel
Ministers are set to discuss plans on Friday for vaccination and test certificates to ease international travel after lockdown is lifted. But the discussion will not involve "vaccine passports" to prove immunity at venues in the UK. Instead, it will focus on how Britain can co-operate with the international system expected to be introduced eventually to facilitate journeys between different countries. A source said proposals were at a very early stage, and any scheme is not expected to be put into effect for some time.
11th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Dr Fauci declares April 'open season' for COVID-19 vaccinations
Dr Anthony Fauci has predicted that any American who wants one will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine by April. 'By the time we get to April, that will be what I would call, for better wording, "open season," namely, virtually everybody and anybody in any category could start to get vaccinated,' Dr Fauci said during a Thursday Today show interview. 'Hopefully as we get into the middle and end of the summer we will have accomplished the goal of...the overwhelming majority of people have gotten vaccinated.'
11th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Roadmap out of lockdown may not be revealed on February 22 after all
The date for unveiling a roadmap out of lockdown has been pushed back, in a move that could delay the reopening of schools. Boris Johnson had previously promised to set out a plan for lifting restrictions on Monday February 22, but today his official spokesperson broadened the deadline by saying it would be published some time that week. If the plans are not published until the end of the week, on February 26, schools would not be able to reopen until at least March 12, which is on a Friday. That is a week later than the previous target date of March 8. It has previously been reported that some outdoor socialising could be allowed within weeks of pupils going back to the classroom and that pubs could reopen by May.
11th Feb 2021 - Metro
Nicola Sturgeon warns staycations at risk in lockdown 'trade off'
Scots should “be cautious” about booking any holiday staycations this summer despite progress in beating back the virus, Nicola Sturgeon warned. The First Minister addressed public health concerns as the country prepares for tough quarantine rules on international travel. However, there remain serious concerns today about differences in approach between the UK and Scottish governments. It’s feared the English plan to quarantine people from a “red list” of higher risk countries will be “leaky” and provide a backdoor for people coming back to Scotland unchecked.
11th Feb 2021 - Daily Record
Britain can beat Covid and avoid more lockdowns with vaccine rollout, says top scientist Jeremy Farrar
Britain can beat the virus to avoid any more lockdowns by getting “population immunity” with the vaccine roll-out, a top scientist said today. Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, stressed that there was still a long way to go to cut Covid-19 infection levels and warned against lifting lockdown too early. However, he also made clear that an end is in sight to the nightmare epidemic if Covid jabs are offered to the whole population, including school children.
11th Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
UK set for 'easier' end to lockdown restrictions than expected, says Matt Hancock
In England, Matt Hancock has said that the unexpectedly high uptake of Covid vaccinations means that the country is set for an “easier” and safe exit from lockdown. The Health Secretary spoke to BBC Breakfast, voicing his optimism about the UK’s vaccination programme and what it means for the relaxation of lockdown measures. The Health Secretary’s comments reflect this success but come after Boris Johnson’s press conference yesterday, in which the Prime Minister said that people would have to be “patient” about making plans for summer.
11th Feb 2021 - Cambridgeshire Live
Why have almost half EU countries restricted use of the Astrazeneca vaccine?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the rollout of Astrazeneca’s Covid vaccine for use in all age groups, after a slew of European countries slapped limitations on the jab’s distribution. WHO officials said a “preponderance of evidence weighed in favour of not constraining the vaccine for certain age groups”, and refused to recommend an upper age limit for the drug. But almost half of all EU countries have now applied age restrictions to the rollout of the Astrazeneca jab, despite it receiving official approval for all over-18s by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last month.
11th Feb 2021 - City A.M.
Hunt for the 2million unvaccinated Britons as Boris Johnson urges vulnerable people to come forward
Ministers are hunting for the final two million vulnerable Britons who have not yet come forward for their Covid vaccine, warning that having large numbers of unprotected people could delay the easing of lockdown. The Government has made it its mission to inoculate the 15million Brits most at risk of dying from the coronavirus by Monday, which includes everyone over 70, care home residents, their carers and frontline NHS staff, as well as patients classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, such as those with terminal illnesses. But while 13 million in the most vulnerable categories have had the jab, including 90 per cent of the over-70s and care home residents, the Prime Minister has warned there is still a group numbering roughly twice the population of Birmingham who had yet to receive one.
11th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Spain’s regions favor higher age limit for AstraZeneca vaccine
Following the Spanish government’s decision that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will only be administered to people between the ages of 18 and 55, several regional leaders said they would seek to raise that threshold to 65. Andalusian premier Juan Manuel Moreno and the deputy premier of the Madrid region, Ignacio Aguado, both said they would make this request at the Wednesday gathering of central and regional health officials known as the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Healthcare System, which meets every week to discuss coronavirus policy.
11th Feb 2021 - El País
Covid lockdown could wind down in May if UK follows Israel's roadmap
Britain will only begin to emerge from lockdown at the end of May, if it follows the Israeli roadmap for defeating coronavirus. Israel has started implementing a three-stage plan to exit draconian Covid restrictions – similar to the blueprint Boris Johnson is set to lay out on February 22. Israeli officials hope to let non-essential shops, gyms and libraries reopen within a fortnight. But ministers will only give the move the green light on February 23 if 90 per cent of over-50s have been vaccinated and at least a third of the country have had their booster dose. Infection rates must also continue to plummet.
11th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Coronavirus in the UK: Prof Devi Sridhar says ‘very open debate’ is needed over easing of lockdown restrictions
Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, described how vaccines could be used to enable schools to reopen and people to visit crowded bars and restaurants, but said “the cost is restricted movement internationally”. Asked whether fully stopping transmission of the disease could be done, Profesor Sridhar told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have seen that it’s possible. “If we look across the world to New Zealand, Australia, East Asian countries, and even the debate’s now happening within Japan and now in Germany, you’re seeing there’s a turn towards saying: ‘Do we want to use our vaccines and the tools we have to actually just stop transmission of the virus and be able to get back our normal life’, which means normal schooling, fully open and crowded restaurants and bars, gyms and fitness studios, live music festivals, large spectator sports events, but the cost is restricted movement internationally?
11th Feb 2021 - The Scotsman
Quarantine hotel chaos as booking website crashes minutes after launching
In the UK, the government's plan to quarantine international arrivals in hotels has today been thrown into chaos as its booking website crashed minutes into its launch, while travellers were not allowed to reserve rooms for the first two days. Arrivals from a 'red list' of 33 countries - who will only be allowed to fly into one of five airports - will be expected pay £1,750 to quarantine for 10 full days (11 nights) in designated hotels from Monday. Those who attempt to evade quarantine by providing false information face a fine of up to £10,000, and up to 10 years in prison, while those who do not book a hotel place before arriving in England face a £4,000 fine. But as the booking website for the scheme was launched, searches at Birmingham, Glasgow and Heathrow airports showed they weren't 'any applicable hotels' for passengers to stay in.
11th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Covid-19 vaccination rates follow the money in states with the biggest wealth gaps, analysis shows
Connecticut has the most glaring disparity in vaccination rates between its richest and poorest communities — a difference of 65% — according to a STAT analysis of local-level vaccine data in 10 states with the biggest wealth gaps. Four other states — California, Florida, New Jersey, and Mississippi — also have vaccinated a significantly higher proportion of people in the wealthiest 10% of counties. The discrepancies vary: In California, 156 shots have been given to residents in the richest areas for every 100 vaccines in the poorest counties, while in Mississippi, 111 vaccines have been given to residents of the richest counties for every 100 doses in the poorest places. The findings back up, with hard data, anecdotal reports from around the country that wealthy people have been able to gain access to vaccines ahead of low-income people.
11th Feb 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullBahrain authorises Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use - Bahrain TV
Bahrain has authorised Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, Bahrain TV’s twitter account said on Wednesday. Bahrain already uses the Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccine, one manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
10th Feb 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: South Africa wants to swap 500,000-dose AstraZeneca order for another vaccine
South Africa wants to swap a 500,000-dose order of the AstraZeneca vaccine for a different treatment. The COVID jabs have yet to arrive in the country but the health minister said he hoped to arrange an exchange, or even sell the treatment on. It comes as scientists advising the World Health Organisation have recommended the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in adults of all ages. South African officials have suspended the rollout of the jab in their country after a small trial suggested it may offer less protection against the variant that originated there.
10th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Barack Obama makes direct appeal to Black Americans to get coronavirus vaccine
Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter Tuesday to urge Americans - especially Black Americans - to get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as they are eligible. Mr Obama addressed misinformation about the vaccine, and asked Americans to trust the science behind the drugs. "There is a lot of disinformation out there, but here’s the truth: You should get a Covid vaccine as soon as it's available to you. It could save your life—or a loved one’s," Mr Obama wrote on the tweet. His tweet included a link to a New York Times opinion piece that included 60 Black health experts warning Americans about vaccine disinformation and the importance of the drugs in the fight against the coronavirus.
10th Feb 2021 - The Independent
NHS plans for annual coronavirus vaccinations
The NHS is planning a mass campaign of booster jabs against new variants of coronavirus as early as the autumn, in what the vaccines minister suggested would become an annual effort to prevent Covid-19 as the virus keeps mutating. High-street pharmacists and retired doctors who were not enlisted in the first phase of the vaccination programme could be involved in the effort to protect the UK against new strains, according to people familiar with the logistics. Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that the government was expecting annual inoculations to take place every autumn in much the same way as flu prevention, adding: “Where you look at what variant of virus is spreading around the world, you rapidly produce a variant of vaccine, and then begin to vaccinate and protect the nation.”
10th Feb 2021 - Financial Times
European Union admits errors in coronavirus vaccine rollout, 'deeply regrets' decision on export curbs
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged failings in the EU's approval and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. She was speaking to MEPs in the European Parliament following criticism of the slow rollout of vaccines and a plan to curb exports that initially sought to set up a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, causing an outcry in London and Dublin. "And yet it is a fact that we are not today where we want to be in the fight against the virus," she said. "We were late with the approval. We were too optimistic on mass production. And perhaps we were also too certain that the orders would actually be delivered on time."
10th Feb 2021 - ABC.Net.au
Nearly a third of US adults say they definitely or probably will not get a COVID-19 vaccine
Nearly one-third of U.S. adults say they are not likely to get a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available to them, a new poll suggests. Conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the report found that 67 percent of Americans plan to get vaccine or have already done so. However, 15 percent are certain they will not get the jab and 17 percent said they probably will not. Many expressed doubts about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, suggesting that substantial skepticism persists more than a month and a half into the U.S. vaccination drive that has encountered few side effects.
10th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Covid-19: Robin Swann says NI must tread carefully to end lockdown
NI must "tread carefully" when it comes to easing the coronavirus lockdown and some restrictions may remain in place long term, Robin Swann has said. The health minister said that despite progress with vaccinations, serious uncertainties remain about the future. His comments came amid warnings from health officials that some restrictions could remain in place until next year. "If we want a better spring and summer, we need to make the utmost effort now," added Mr Swann. Northern Ireland re-entered lockdown on 26 December, as hospitals faced severe pressures in managing a third wave of the virus.
10th Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Boris Johnson says 'we'll have to get used to idea' of autumn booster jabs
The prime minister has raised the prospect of people getting a coronavirus vaccine "booster" jab in the autumn. Boris Johnson said the move would likely be required as the UK battles the emergence of new variants of COVID-19. "I think we're going to have to get used to the idea of vaccinating and then revaccinating in the autumn, as we come to face these new variants," he told the Commons during PMQs. Mr Johnson said a deal with pharmaceutical firm CureVac for 50 million doses would help in developing vaccines to respond "at scale to new variants of the virus".
10th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: 10-year jail term for travel lies defended
In Britain, a maximum 10-year jail term for lying about recent travel history has been defended by the government. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the British public "would expect pretty strong action" and the maximum sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime. It was criticised by former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption who said lower tariffs exist for sex offences. From Monday, people arriving in England from "red list" countries must isolate for 10 days in hotels, costing £1,750. It follows concerns that existing vaccines being rolled out in the UK may struggle to control new virus variants identified around the world.
10th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Don’t book summer holidays until lockdown eases, UK minister warns
The travel industry has criticised the UK government after ministers warned it was too soon for Britons to book holidays at home or abroad. Grant Shapps, transport secretary, said on Wednesday that people should not book holidays internationally or domestically until there was a clearer plan for exiting lockdown, due to be announced by prime minister Boris Johnson later in February. Britons should “do nothing at this stage,” he said, adding that under current lockdown restricitons, anyone in the UK is currently banned from leaving the country for a holiday.
10th Feb 2021 - The Financial Times
Schools are safe to reopen next month if rest of country remains locked down, say scientists
A “cautious” reopening of schools from March 8 can be done without sparking another wave of Covid-19, researchers said today. The findings raise hope that Boris Johnson will be able to proceed with an easing of the lockdown from next month. The Prime Minister is due to set out his roadmap on February 22, with the reopening of schools said to be a priority. Experts from University College London, Oxford university and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine say there is “tentative evidence” that it will be safe to start reopening schools, with the best option being to start with primary schools and secondary pupils in exam years.
10th Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Poor support for self-isolation undermines the UK's Covid vaccination effort
The UK currently has no plan to eliminate coronavirus from our shores. Lockdown will minimise contacts and protect the NHS. Rapid distribution of vaccines will protect the vulnerable, until all adults receive the vaccine in the longer term. Then we can treat the virus like seasonal flu, with booster doses to protect against new variants. At Monday’s press briefing, the deputy chief medical officer for England, Jonathan Van-Tam, confirmed as much. So the national strategy has not changed. In early February 2020, UK advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), against World Health Organization advice, took the view that coronavirus, like influenza, could not be stopped. Ignoring UK coronavirus experts and effective country responses in Asia, they followed the rulebook for pandemic influenza.
10th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
'The best shield': Peru launches inoculation drive with Sinopharm vaccine
Peru launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday with newly arrived doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, as the South American country struggles to control a fierce second wave of infections that has forced a lockdown in the capital, Lima. Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti was vaccinated later in the day and urged vaccine skeptics to get inoculated. A survey by Ipsos Peru last month showed 48% of Peruvians would refuse to be vaccinated, citing fears of side effects.
10th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Britons should not book holidays at home or abroad - minister
British people should not book a holiday domestically or abroad until more is known about the success of Britain’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday. Under new border restrictions, people arriving from countries where coronavirus variants are spreading will have to pay for 10 days of quarantine in hotels. Anyone who breaks the rules could face a heavy fine or a 10-year jail term. Addressing the “shrinking chance” that anyone was considering booking a holiday, Shapps said it would be the wrong thing to do as going on holiday is illegal under current restrictions, he said.
10th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Cambodia launches COVID-19 vaccinations with shots for PM's sons, ministers
Cambodia launched its coronavirus inoculation drive on Wednesday, using 600,000 vaccine doses donated by China, with the sons of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and government ministers among the first recipients. The Southeast Asian nation of about 16 million has managed to limit the spread of the disease, reporting just 478 infections and no deaths, although a rare cluster of cases emerged in November. Hun Sen had vowed to take the first dose, but later said that at 68 he was above the age to get the vaccine, made by Sinopharm. His sons and the justice and environment ministers were among the first to get it instead.
10th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Japan to discard millions of Pfizer vaccine doses because it has wrong syringes
Millions of people in Japan will not receive Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine as planned due to a shortage of specialist syringes – an oversight that could frustrate the country’s inoculation programme. Standard syringes in use in Japan are unable to extract the sixth and final dose from each vial manufactured by the US drugmaker, according to the health minister, Norihisa Tamura. Japan has secured 144m shots of the Pfizer vaccine – enough for 72 million people – on the assumption that each vial contained six doses.
10th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
Do the math: Vaccines alone won’t get us out of this pandemic
As Covid-19 vaccines are being rolled out across the U.S., Americans seem to be heaving a collective sigh of relief. Yes, it will take months to get the vaccine to everyone. Yes, there were tremendous gaps in the Trump administration’s plans to distribute the vaccines, including promising doses that didn’t exist. But it seems as if there is light at the end of the tunnel. As long as we maintain social distancing, keep wearing masks, and washing our hands, it feels to many as though we can hold on until we get vaccinated. I’m sorry to be writing the words that follow, but here they are: We can’t vaccinate our way out of this pandemic. And the myopic focus on achieving herd immunity through mass vaccination may even make it tougher for America — and the world — to defeat Covid-19.
10th Feb 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 10th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullNear complete uptake of Covid vaccine among people aged 75-79
Nearly 96% of people aged 75-79 have had their Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, the health secretary announced today. In a Covid update to the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, where he announced tough new border measures to control variants, Mr Hancock revealed the uptake
9th Feb 2021 - Pulse
Uber and Walgreens team up to offer free rides and access to the COVID-19 vaccine for underserved communities
Uber and Walgreens are teaming up to distribute the vaccine to underserved communities by offering free rides and education to the communities who haven't received their share of doses, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. As COVID-19 vaccines become widely available at retail pharmacies across the country starting February 11, the two companies partnered up to help "drive equitable access" to the shots as health organizations point to a disparity in who is receiving the majority of doses. Walgreens President John Standley said the companies are each using their expertise to "take bold action to address vaccine access and hesitancy among those hit hardest by the pandemic."
9th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19: Ignore 'scary headlines' about South Africa variant and get coronavirus vaccine, says Professor Jonathan Van-Tam
Britons "should not be concerned" that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine could be less effective against the South African coronavirus variant, a government adviser has said. Professor Jonathan Van-Tam explained case numbers of the variant in the UK are "very small" and it is not likely to become more dominant than the strain first found in Kent. He was seeking to calm people's fears after South Africa halted the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
9th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Ethiopia says it has secured 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines till April
Ethiopia has secured nine million doses of COVID-19 vaccines up until April and hopes to inoculate at least a fifth of its 110 million people by the end of the year, the health minister said on Tuesday. “For now up to April we have been allocated close to nine million doses,” Lia Tadesse said. “Within this year we want to make sure we get at least 20% of the population,” she told Reuters.
9th Feb 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Over-70s can now book first coronavirus jab and don't need to wait for contact from NHS
People aged 70 and over in England who have not yet had a coronavirus vaccine are being urged to book an appointment with the NHS to get a jab. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the policy is changing to make sure no-one falls through the cracks as the drive to inoculate against COVID-19 continues. It comes as the race intensifies for all those in the top four priority groups to get their first jab by 15 February before attention turns to rolling the vaccine out to the other five priority groups, reaching all over-50s by May.
9th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: Travellers face £1,750 cost for England quarantine hotels
Travellers having to stay in quarantine hotels in England will be charged £1,750 for their stay, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced. The measures, which come into force on Monday, apply to UK and Irish residents returning from 33 red list countries. Those who fail to quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel for 10 days face fines of up to £10,000. Meanwhile, all travellers arriving into Scotland from abroad by air will have to go into quarantine hotels.
9th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Schools could open if rest of lockdown stays, say researchers
Reopening UK schools to all pupils in early March is feasible, as long as other lockdown measures continue, say researchers who have modelled the likely impact on infection numbers. The London and Oxford team believes coronavirus cases could be kept in check while letting pupils have face-to-face lessons in the classroom. The least risky scenario would be to open primaries and only exam-critical years in secondary schools. It could keep R below 1, says the team. That would mean spread of the disease should continue to shrink, rather than grow.
9th Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: All travellers arriving in UK to have to pay for £100 COVID tests while in quarantine
All travellers arriving in the UK are to face mandatory coronavirus tests - paid for by themselves - from next week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is poised to announce to MPs. In a Commons statement, Mr Hancock will say that from next Monday, 15 February, all passengers arriving in the UK will be required to take a PCR test, which currently cost around £100 per test, on days two and eight after they arrive. The new rules, which will cause further dismay in the already-reeling airline industry, will apply to arrivals not just from 33 so-called Red Zone countries heading into hotel quarantine, but also those isolating at home.
9th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Spain’s government pinning hopes on a vaccination passport to help kick-start ailing tourism sector
The Spanish government is pinning its hopes on 2021 being a year of recovery. That said, the administration is well aware that one of the mainstays of the country’s economy, tourism, will struggle to return to some kind of normality this year given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. To deal with this issue, the coalition government – made up of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos – is looking for formulas to speed up the return to levels of tourism that existed pre-Covid. One of the key factors being considered is the creation of a Europe-wide vaccination card that could help bring back foreign tourists.
9th Feb 2021 - El Pais
Government adviser says people who 'society values most' could be first in line for Covid vaccines when over-50s are jabbed amid calls for teachers and police officers to be bumped up the queue
A Government adviser has said people who 'society values most' could be first in line for Covid vaccines in the coming weeks amid calls for teachers and police officers to be bumped up the queue when over-50s have been jabbed. The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) — which advises ministers on the priority order — is currently in talks over who should receive the jab after the first nine groups. JCVI member Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, claimed plans will be set out by the end of February or early March. By then, the UK is on track to have dished out up to 25million doses
9th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 9th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCambodia gets first COVID-19 vaccine from key ally China
Cambodia on Sunday received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine, a donation of 600,000 doses from China the country’s biggest ally. Prime Minister Hun Sen his senior Cabinet members and Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian were at Phnom Penh International Airport for a reception ceremony for the Sinopharm vaccine carried by a Chinese Air Force flight. Hun Sen had announced that he would be the first person to be vaccinated, but backtracked last week, saying the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine was effective only for people aged between 18 and 59, while he is 68. He said Sunday at the airport that he would urge younger members of his family, as well as top officials and generals under 60, to get vaccinated Wednesday as an example to the public
8th Feb 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: Undocumented migrants 'likely to remain fearful' despite govt's vaccine amnesty offer
The government's "vaccine amnesty" has been criticised for not giving enough assurance to those who are too scared to access healthcare in the UK. The Home Office has promised no action will be taken against people in the UK illegally if they register with a GP to be vaccinated. It is part of a government effort to get as many people as possible vaccinated against the virus, which has already caused the deaths of more than 112,000 people in the UK.
8th Feb 2021 - Sky News
Confusion and chaos: Inside the vaccine rollout in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
The first precious boxloads of the frozen elixir arrived in December, bearing great promise for curtailing the pandemic that has paralyzed the region and the world.
Nurses and firefighters got injections on live TV. Some of them cried. Watching at home, many hopeful people cried, too. But in the weeks that followed, that hope was mixed with frustration, then anger, as it became clear that getting the potentially lifesaving vaccine would not be easy — not nationally, and not in the District, Maryland and Virginia.
8th Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
Covid: BAME communities urged to have coronavirus vaccine
"I'd shout it from the street - please have your vaccinations, you don't know what we're going through." This is a plea from Shamim Abbas of Newport, who lost husband Ghulam and brother-in-law Raza to Covid. The brothers died within hours of each other last April. Concerns have been growing in recent weeks about an apparent hesitancy from some people in black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to have the Covid-19 vaccine. And even though the virus has had such a devastating impact on Shamim's family, some relatives have been unsure about having it.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta begin relaxing COVID-19 restrictions
Several provinces began relaxing COVID-19 restrictions on Monday amid what Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam described as “hopeful signs of declining COVID-19 activity.“ Loosened rules went into effect in Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia, while the Ontario government announced that restrictions in some parts of the province would start being eased on Wednesday. The number of new cases reported daily across the country is continuing to trend down, Tam said in a statement. But she warned that these trends could reverse quickly and that new variants “could rapidly accelerate transmission of COVID-19 in Canada.”
8th Feb 2021 - The Star
Of course Covid-19 vaccination certificates are discriminatory – that’s the whole point
Boris Johnson’s statement, as quoted by Nadhim Zahawi (News, 7 February), that this government won’t be issuing Covid-19 vaccination certificates because it is discriminatory and “that’s not how we do things in the UK, we do them by consent”, is as fatuous as one would expect from him. I hereby publicly voice my consent to receiving a Covid-19 vaccination certificate. I own a yellow fever vaccination certificate, and have carried a variety of other vaccination certificates for travel purposes throughout my life. They do, indeed, discriminate between those who have had vaccinations and those who haven’t. That is precisely their public health purpose where international travel is concerned.
8th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Covid-19: Minister urges vaccine confidence, as South Africa stops AstraZeneca jab rollout
The public should have "confidence" in the UK vaccination programme, the vaccines minister says - despite a study showing the AstraZeneca jab may be less effective against the South African variant of Covid-19. The study involved about 2,000 people, with an average age of 31. It showed the jab offered "minimal protection" against mild and moderate disease from the South African variant. AstraZeneca said it did not know whether the jab would stop severe illness, because the study was predominantly on younger people. But the company said it could still be effective. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says the jabs "appear to work well" against the variants currently dominant in the UK. On Sunday, he told the BBC that a booster in the autumn, and annual vaccines, could be needed to combat variants.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Covid: Boris Johnson 'very confident' in vaccines being used in UK
Boris Johnson says he is "very confident" in the Covid vaccines being used in the UK, amid concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab's effectiveness against the South Africa variant. The vaccines are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness, the PM said. A small study found the Oxford jab gave "minimal protection" against mild disease from the South Africa variant. But scientists are confident it will protect against serious disease. Some 147 cases of the South Africa variant have been found in the UK. However, the Oxford vaccine has shown to provide good protection against the so-called Kent variant, which remains the dominant strain in the UK.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
UK tries to allay vaccine concern
The Biden administration’s recent investment of $230 million to expedite rapid production of the Ellume home Covid-19 test represents an audacious step forward in mitigating the pandemic. Some experts have criticized it as a “waste of money” because this kit costs more than other alternatives and because of the timing of the investment. I believe the test is worth the extra cost, due to its connectivity and the types of research it enables, though all of these tests need to be evaluated against the other options. Throughout the pandemic, public health officials have struggled to demonstrate the value and importance of measures such as mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccines. The ultimate result has been public skepticism, poor uptake of helpful interventions, and even outrageous conspiracy theories. We must learn from these missteps and design interventions that can be measured quickly and precisely.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Covid testing expanded to more workplaces in England
Workplace Covid testing is being offered to more companies in England, for staff who cannot work from home during lockdown, the government says. Businesses with more than 50 employees are now able to access lateral flow tests, which can produce results in less than 30 minutes. Previously only firms with more than 250 staff qualified for testing. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged businesses and employees to take up the offer to "stop this virus spreading". "When you consider that around one in three people have the virus without symptoms and could potentially infect people without even knowing it, it becomes clear why focusing testing on those without symptoms is so essential," he said, adding that firms should regularly test staff.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
What might the South African variant mean for plans to ease lockdown restrictions?
What might the South African variant mean for plans to ease the lockdown?
It’s probably too early to say. It’s important to remember that, according to the latest data, only 147 cases of the South African variant (B.1.351) have been found in the UK, according to health minister Ed Argar this morning. This is an increase of 42 on the 105announced a week ago by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, which sparked the “surge testing” in nine locations across England, including West Ealing and Hanwell –where Mayor Sadiq Khan visited today - Tottenham Hale and Pollards Hill in Merton.
8th Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Revisiting Ischgl: Austria eases coronavirus lockdown, annoys Bavaria
Austria is easing its coronavirus lockdown after six weeks, despite stubbornly high infection numbers. While the government is keeping bars, restaurants and hotels closed and a nighttime curfew in place, schools, hairdressers and museums reopened on Monday under strict hygiene rules as testing capacities were expanded. The move came amid growing pressure on Vienna to lift at least some restrictions, with data showing that Austria's economic downturn is particularly severe. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the economy contracted by 4.3 percent over the previous quarter amid slumping tourism, the worst performance of any EU country for that period.
8th Feb 2021 - POLITICO.eu
More testing as minister rules out vaccine passport
Almost one in four adults in the UK have had their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, Matt Hancock has said. The Health Secretary speaking at a Downing Street press briefing after new data showed that coronavirus deaths in the UK had hit a six-week low. A further 333 fatalities and 14,104 infections were reported on Monday. People over-70 who have not yet received their first dose have been asked to contact the NHS to arrange their jab.
8th Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Israel begins exit from third virus lockdown
Israeli barbershops and some other businesses reopened Sunday as the country began easing its third coronavirus lockdown Sunday amid an aggressive vaccination campaign. Early Friday, the government announced it was lifting some restrictions imposed since December, when the country saw a rise in Covid-19 infections. Jerusalem barber Eli Aroas was among those re-opening on Sunday morning, the start of the working week.
8th Feb 2021 - FRANCE 24
I've been in Covid quarantine in South Korea – there's a lot Britain can learn
The UK government’s decision to require overseas arrivals from “high risk” countries to self-isolate in hotels has triggered a debate on the effectiveness of enforced quarantine in government-run facilities. Some have balked at its cost and restrictive character while others have dismissed the measure as half-baked and too little, too late. My experience in a quarantine facility for Covid-19 patients in South Korea might be illuminating in this regard. Last November, I flew into South Korea to spend a holiday with my family. To sum up the complicated arrival process at Seoul: I was required to download a Covid-19 tracking app, had my temperature checked and was whisked away by pre-approved taxis to the public clinic nearest to my home to take a PCR test. I was then required to self-isolate for more than two weeks at home.
8th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
What is needed to bring back freedom of movement
As COVID-19 spread around the world, countries fought against the invisible threat by restricting people’s movements — from entry bans and strict lockdowns to softer lockdowns like Japan’s state of emergency. Each government took a completely different approach in how to restrict the freedom of movement domestically and internationally. But in the end, how should governments implement effective border control measures to restore the freedom of movement? China was initially reluctant to disclose the actual situation of the COVID-19 outbreak within the country, which allowed many people to continue to travel freely across national borders. But after China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, Beijing took extremely strict measures to curb the spread of the virus, almost ignoring the freedom of movement of its own citizens and mobilizing every possible technology. Its strong enforcement capabilities stunned many people around the globe.
8th Feb 2021 - The Japan Times
Annual vaccines and autumn ‘booster’ could be required to combat new Covid variants, minister says
The minister responsible for the coronavirus vaccine rollout has suggested annual jabs or a “booster in the autumn” could be required to combat new variants of the disease. Nadhim Zahawi’s remarks came as official government data showed on Sunday that over 12 million people in Britain had now received a first dose of a Covid vaccine — putting the government on course to reach the 15 February target of inoculating 15 million in high priority groups. As Boris Johnson prepares to tell the nation how the government will begin unwinding the lockdown in two weeks, Mr Zahawi insisted he was confident the NHS would be able to reach the new “tough” target of immunising all those over the age of 50 by May.
8th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Western Australia to make masks mandatory for high school students and teachers in rigorous post-lockdown ruling - after recording another day of ZERO cases
Masks will be mandatory for teachers and senior school students in the Perth, Peel and South West regions. Western Australia recorded no new cases of Covid on Sunday, both within the community and in hotel quarantine.
8th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
WA moves to ban coronavirus hotel quarantine security guards from taking second jobs
The WA Government has moved to restrict hotel quarantine security staff to one job only, a week after the state was plunged into lockdown when a guard tested positive to COVID-19. WA Premier Mark McGowan said letters stipulating the change in contract had gone out to the four security companies that provided staff to the nine quarantine hotels.
8th Feb 2021 - ABC News
US administers more than 4 million Covid vaccines to most vulnerable: ‘We are on the path to protection’
The United States has administered more than 4.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to 3.8 million of its most vulnerable people in an effort to decrease hospitalisations and deaths caused by the novel virus. "Those who are dying in large numbers last year are now on the path to protection," said Andy Slavitt, Joe Biden's senior coronavirus adviser, during the White House Covid response team press briefing on Monday. People living in long-term care facilities, alongside healthcare workers, were prioritised above all others in the country to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. This was after the country witnessed deadly spreads of the novel virus within these facilities last year.
8th Feb 2021 - The Independent
Travellers to UK set to be tested after arrival
Travellers entering the UK are set to be tested for coronavirus a few days after they arrive. The new, expanded testing regime will be announced shortly. Enhancing the testing regime "to cover all arrivals while they isolate" would add another level of protection, the Department of Health said. The move is designed to help to track any new cases which might be brought into the country and make it easier to detect new variants. It is in addition to the current rules which say travellers arriving in the UK, whether by boat, train or plane, must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry. The test must be taken in the 72 hours before travelling, and anyone arriving without one faces a fine of up to £500.
8th Feb 2021 - BBC News
4 in 5 Americans ready for COVID-19 shot, but vaccine messages remain key, analysis finds
Has the vaccine hesitancy tide turned into a wave of vaccine excitement? Possibly. A new W2O Group study using search and social data found that 80% of Americans are likely willing to get vaccinated. However, vaccine makers still have their work cut out for them—especially among certain groups of people—and messaging will be critical, W2O Chief Data Officer Seth Duncan said. Out of four groups of people established for the study, many of those who aren’t inclined to get vaccinated are politically right-leaning. Among the group—defined as those who follow at least three right-leaning politicians, journalists or news outlets—only 41% show a willingness to get a vaccine. That compares with 95% of center left, 93% of the educated left and 91% of the apolitical groups who are ready to get vaccinated.
8th Feb 2021 - FiercePharma
A digital option is the right investment for at-home Covid-19 testing
The Biden administration’s recent investment of $230 million to expedite rapid production of the Ellume home Covid-19 test represents an audacious step forward in mitigating the pandemic. Some experts have criticized it as a “waste of money” because this kit costs more than other alternatives and because of the timing of the investment. I believe the test is worth the extra cost, due to its connectivity and the types of research it enables, though all of these tests need to be evaluated against the other options. Throughout the pandemic, public health officials have struggled to demonstrate the value and importance of measures such as mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccines. The ultimate result has been public skepticism, poor uptake of helpful interventions, and even outrageous conspiracy theories. We must learn from these missteps and design interventions that can be measured quickly and precisely.
8th Feb 2021 - Stat News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19 Vaccine Promises Fall Short for Many Doctors, Elderly in Europe
Eugenio Del Rio, a 77-year-old writer, leaves his Madrid apartment only to shop for food and take an occasional stroll as he awaits his turn to get the coronavirus vaccine. The wait is getting longer and longer. So long, in fact, that he has come to realize a book he is writing, about the cultural factors that pushed some youth to oppose the Franco regime, might be published before the country is through the pandemic. “I hope to be vaccinated in April, but even if that happens it will be ages before we return to normal life because so many people will still need to be vaccinated,” said Mr. Del Rio.
7th Feb 2021 - Wall Street Journal
UK eyes COVID-19 booster in autumn, then annual vaccinations, says minister
A COVID-19 booster in the autumn and then annual vaccinations are very probable, Britain’s vaccine deployment minister said on Sunday as countries race to administer injections in the face of new variants. Britain has already injected over 12 million first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and is on track to meet a target to vaccinate everyone in the top most vulnerable groups by mid-February. Among coronavirus variants currently most concerning for scientists and public health experts are the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants, which appear to spread more swiftly than others.
7th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Cambodia gets first COVID-19 vaccine from key ally China
Cambodia on Sunday received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine, a donation of 600,000 doses from China, the country’s biggest ally. Prime Minister Hun Sen, his senior Cabinet members and Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian were at Phnom Penh International Airport for a reception ceremony for the Sinopharm vaccine carried by a Chinese Air Force flight. Hun Sen had announced that he would be the first person to be vaccinated, but backtracked last week, saying the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine was effective only for people aged between 18 and 59, while he is 68. He said Sunday at the airport that he would urge younger members of his family, as well as top officials and generals under 60, to get vaccinated Wednesday as an example to the public.
7th Feb 2021 - ABC News
COVID-19: Rapid testing to be offered to workplaces with more than 50 employees
Rapid tests will be offered to workplaces with more than 50 employees in an effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The lateral flow tests can produce results in less then 30 minutes but were previously only available to firms with more than 250 staff. Officials said the move is an effort to "normalise" testing in the workplace and ensure the safety of those who cannot work from home.
7th Feb 2021 - Sky News
The U.S. needs a National Vaccine Day
Vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations do. That is an essential lesson we have learned from working at the forefront of vaccine development and health communication. One of us (S.P.) helped develop vaccines for rubella, rabies, and rotavirus, that have played an essential role in reducing preventable childhood deaths in the United States and around the world — but only because of public health campaigns that built trust in vaccination and made vaccines easily accessible to people from every walk of life. Now along comes Covid-19, a highly infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, that humans had never previously encountered. In an amazing feat of science and speed, we now have vaccines against this virus that are proving to be highly effective.
7th Feb 2021 - Stat News
South Africa pauses rollout of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
South Africa has stopped the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after data emerged that showed it provided minimal protection against the South Africa coronavirus variant, which is currently dominant in the country. Reuters reports that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize made the announcement on Sunday following disappointing results from a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The outlet reports that the South African government had planned to roll out doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday but will now offer the vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer instead
7th Feb 2021 - The Hill
South Africa Says AstraZeneca's Covid-19 Vaccine is Not Effective at Stopping Variant
South Africa halted use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine on Sunday after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical-trial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious virus variant that was first seen there. The findings were a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to combat the pandemic. Scientists in South Africa said on Sunday that a similar problem held among people who had been infected by earlier versions of the coronavirus: the immunity they acquired naturally did not appear to protect them from mild or moderate cases when reinfected by the variant, known as B.1.351.
7th Feb 2021 - The New York Times
Coronavirus in Scotland: Restrictions will not be scrapped when vaccine rollout complete, says Deputy First Minister
Covid-19 restrictions will not be scrapped in Scotland once the vaccination programme is complete, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has said.
6th Feb 2021 - The Scotsman
NFL Offers All 30 Stadiums For Use As Coronavirus Vaccine Sites
Every NFL team will offer their stadium as a possible mass vaccination site to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a letter to President Biden. The move would expand an effort that currently includes seven teams. Each team "will make its stadium available for mass vaccinations of the general public in coordination with local, state, and federal health officials," Goodell wrote in the letter, which was sent on Thursday. The effort would be helped, he said, by the experience the teams already have with transforming parts of their facilities into coronavirus testing sites. The NFL has 32 teams, but the offer comprises 30 stadiums, because pairs of teams share facilities in both New York and Los Angeles.
6th Feb 2021 - NPR
Scotland hits coronavirus vaccine milestone as more than three quarters of a million receive first dose
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has hailed the "enormous efforts" of coronavirus vaccinators as the number of Scots to have been given their first injection passed three quarters of a million. Figures published by the Scottish Government showed that by Saturday morning, 786,427 people had now had their first jab - with 10,332 having received both doses of the vaccine. The figures were revealed as it was announced there had been a further 48 deaths among those who had tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days - taking the total number of deaths under this measurement to 6,431. In addition, a further 895 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours - 5.9% of all those tested.
6th Feb 2021 - Daily Record
Coronavirus: Vaccine chief 'optimistic' about over-50s May target
The UK can meet the target of vaccinating all over-50s by May, the chairman of the vaccines taskforce has said, adding he is "very optimistic". Dr Clive Dix told the BBC the taskforce has met every target set. The UK would be "ahead of the game" in terms of anticipating variants of coronavirus and was making "libraries of future vaccines", he said. He added that the UK would not hoard supplies but would distribute them globally, once the UK target is met. Downing Street has said everyone in the UK aged 50 and over should have been offered a coronavirus vaccine by May.
6th Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Still too early to talk about ending coronavirus restrictions amid 'very, very high' infection rates - PM
Boris Johnson says it is still too early to talk about ending coronavirus restrictions, with news reports suggesting pubs might be able to reopen by May. Downing Street has confirmed that it aims to vaccinate those aged over 50 and those aged 16 to 65 who have certain health conditions by May. And some MPs have said there would be little reason to keep restrictions once those in the nine priority groups have been vaccinated.
6th Feb 2021 - Sky News
More COVID-19 vaccine megasites open nationwide, including at Yankee Stadium
More COVID-19 vaccination megasites opened this week across the country, including at a casino in Missouri and at Yankee Stadium in New York — where a long line formed as it opened on Friday to local residents. Legendary MLB player Mariano Rivera was there, encouraging people to get their shots. "Now, it's time to support you and let you know that it's okay to be vaccinated," Rivera said. More sites are on the way. In California, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara County will become the state's biggest vaccination site when it opens early next week, according to the county and the San Francisco 49ers. The goal is to be able to vaccinate as many as 15,000 people there a day.
6th Feb 2021 - CBS News
Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron discuss Covid-19 collaboration
Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron have discussed co-operation in the global fight against Covid-19 in their first conversation since a vaccine row. No 10 said the two leaders agreed that collaboration between governments was vital in defeating coronavirus. They also discussed cross-channel relations amid continuing tensions over the UK's post-Brexit arrangements. The EU withdrew its threat last week to restrict vaccine exports to Northern Ireland after an outcry in the UK. But the dispute, prompted by concerns on the continent over the slow rollout of vaccinations, intensified calls for the post-Brexit rules governing trade between Britain and Northern Ireland to be reviewed.
6th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Gradually easing lockdown and mass vaccination ‘could still lead to 130,000 deaths’
Easing lockdown slowly and ‘ramped up vaccinations’ would still lead to over 130,000 deaths between now and next June, scientists have warned. A report to the Government’s advisers claims vaccines are ‘insufficient’ to allow the UK to go back to normality ‘within the year’. Academics who authored the paper, including Professor Neil Ferguson whose modelling led to the original lockdown, said 3 million doses a week were considered ‘critical to avoid exceeding national hospital capacity after the current wave’. But even if this target was met and restrictions were lifted gradually, the dossier predicts 130,800 people could die between now and June 2022.
6th Feb 2021 - Metro
Slovenia eases anti-coronavirus restrictions after criticism
Slovenia will reopen ski resorts and some shops and has eased restrictions on people entering the country imposed to help reduce the rate of COVID-19 infections, after coming under pressure over its handling of the pandemic. From Saturday, daily migrant workers and academics entering Slovenia from European Union countries that have lower 14-day incidences of COVID-19 will not have to present negative coronavirus tests, or be quarantined, the government said. Also, ski resorts as well as shops and service businesses not larger that 400 square meters will be allowed to reopen next week, with weekly mandatory testing of employees, Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek said.
6th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Why aren't covid-19 vaccines being manufactured in standard prefilled syringes?
Prefilled syringes are the safest and standard recommended delivery device for most modern vaccines—so why are covid-19 vaccines being packaged in glass vials in the middle of a global glass shortage? Jane Feinmann reports By 24 January 2021 more than 5.8 million people in the UK had been given their first dose of covid-19 vaccine. The achievement is all the more remarkable given the tough and time consuming safety precautions that must be taken. For the AstraZeneca injection, healthcare professionals, working alone or in pairs, take “full responsibility” for following a lengthy, itemised standard operating procedure, which was published for NHS use only by the Specialist Pharmacy Service on 7 January 2021.
6th Feb 2021 - The BMJ
Covid: All over-50s in UK to be offered vaccine by May
All adults aged 50 and over should have been offered a coronavirus vaccine by May, Downing Street has confirmed. Previously ministers had said it was their "ambition" to vaccinate the first nine priority groups by the spring.
5th Feb 2021 - BBC News
Israeli Health Officials Fear Worse COVID Outbreak if Schools Reopen Too Quickly
Senior Israeli official warns that an 'uncontrolled, rapid exit' from the lockdown could bring another spike in an already high rate of COVID19 illness particularly among young people
5th Feb 2021 - Haaretz
Britain to work with Germany's CureVac on vaccines against coronavirus variants
Britain on Friday said it had agreed on a deal with German biotech firm CureVac to work to develop vaccines against coronavirus variants, placing an initial order for 50 million doses in case they are needed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cited the possibility of new variants of the coronavirus as one of the biggest risks to the vaccine rollout and hopes that the economy can start to be reopened from lockdown in the spring. The government said both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines being currently rolled out appear to work well against variants currently dominant in Britain.
5th Feb 2021 - Reuters
‘A waste of money’: The home Covid-19 test funded by the Biden administration is too costly and complex, critics say
For months, U.S. public health experts have called on the federal government to approve and fund cheap and fast at-home Covid-19 tests, to help bring the spread of infection under control. But when the Biden administration this week announced a $231.8 million deal to ramp up production of the first fully at-home test, the experts’ response was, to say the least, unenthusiastic. One dismissed it as “a spit in the ocean.” It’s not that home testing with a 15-minute turnaround time isn’t a good idea, they said, it’s just that the rollout of this initial kit is too little and too late, and the test too expensive and complicated, to help extinguish the raging pandemic fire. A number of experts called on the Biden administration to subsidize the home test for consumers, and said the Food and Drug Administration needs to do more to make such tests widely available.
5th Feb 2021 - Stat News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19 vaccine inequality could cause 'deadly consequences,' experts warn
Around 70% of the total coronavirus vaccine doses administered globally have been in the 50 wealthiest countries compared to only 0.1% administered in the 50 poorest countries, according to analysis by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The IFRC described the disparity as alarming and said it could result in “deadly and devasting” consequences, warning that if large areas across the globe remain unvaccinated, the virus will carry on circulating and mutating. “This is alarming because it is unfair, and because it could prolong or even worsen this terrible pandemic,” Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the IFRC, said.
4th Feb 2021 - CNN Philippines
Coronavirus vaccines: More than 250,000 in NI have received Covid jab
More than a quarter-of-a-million people in Northern Ireland have received their first Covid-19 vaccine, Arlene Foster has said. The first minister said 263,735 people have received their first jab, with 25,539 people receiving both. The R - or reproduction - number in the community is now sitting between 0.75 and 0.85. Mrs Foster said it was not the time to "ease up" but "push on" against the virus with lockdown restrictions. She said hospitals and intensive care units were still under significant pressure
4th Feb 2021 - BBC
Outrage as 'people jump queue for a coronavirus vaccine' after being sent NHS link
Non-priority groups including Public Health England workers and friends of NHS staff have been jumping the queue for the coronavirus vaccine jab. Over a hundred members of PHE staff at Porton Down, Wiltshire, have had the treatment, even though they are not in an of the qualifying categories. The director at the facility insisted they were spare doses that would have gone to waste if they had not been used - but would not comment on the total
4th Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Why Are So Many Health-Care Workers Resisting the Coronavirus Vaccine?
Despite confronting the damage of covid-19 firsthand—and doing work that puts them and their families at high risk—U.S. health-care workers express similar levels of vaccine hesitancy as people in the general population. Recent surveys suggest that, over all, around a third of health-care workers are reluctant to get vaccinated against covid-19. (Around one in five Americans say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated; nationwide, hesitancy is more common among Republicans, rural residents, and people of color.) The rates are higher in certain regions, professions, and racial groups. This hesitancy is less outright rejection than cautious skepticism. It’s driven by suspicions about the evidence supporting the new vaccines and about the motives of those endorsing them. The astonishing speed of vaccine development has made science a victim of its own success
4th Feb 2021 - The New Yorker
Iran receives its first batch of foreign coronavirus vaccine
Iran on Thursday received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East. The shipment consists of 500,000 doses of Russian-made Sputnik V vaccines which arrived at Tehran’s Imam Khomeieni International Airport from Moscow, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Also Iranian state TV quoted Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying that Iran has ordered 5 million doses from Russia. The next batches are to arrive on Feb. 18 and Feb. 28, said Jalali.
4th Feb 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: Hotels 'kept in the dark' over quarantine plan as further details pushed back to next week
Further details on the plans for quarantine hotels will be released next week - not today as the prime minister had suggested. Boris Johnson announced at a Downing Street news conference on Wednesday that the health secretary would be detailing further rules for travellers arriving in England in a statement to the Commons on Thursday. However, Downing Street issued a statement saying no announcements on the issue will be made today. Ministers have been under fire for failing to come forward with details as to when the scheme will come into effect, a week after it was first announced.
4th Feb 2021 - Sky News
COVAX publishes first interim vaccine distribution forecast
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization, as co-leads of the COVAX initiative for equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF, are pleased to publish COVAX’s first interim distribution forecast. Building on the publication of the 2021 COVAX global and regional supply forecast, the interim distribution forecast provides information on early projected availability of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in 1st quarter of 2021 and the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine candidate in first half of the year to COVAX Facility participants.
4th Feb 2021 - MercoPress
COVID-19: MEPs want to ensure developing countries' access to vaccines
COVID-19 vaccines should be produced also in developing countries to overcome the pandemic, development MEPs told Commissioner Urpilainen on Thursday. “Distributing vaccines globally is our exit strategy from the pandemic,” International Partnership Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen told the Development Committee, adding that the Commission will coordinate a “common EU vaccine sharing mechanism”, in which EU countries can donate part of their vaccines through the COVAX program, especially when vaccine production is scaled up. The EU is also seeking to scale up production capacity in developing countries and to contribute to strengthening their regulatory framework in the pharmaceutical field, she said
4th Feb 2021 - EU News
Covid: UK 'past the peak' but levels 'forbiddingly' too high to relax lockdown
It is too soon to imagine the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in England, with infection levels of coronavirus "still forbiddingly high", the prime minister has said, though the UK is thought to be "past the peak". Boris Johnson said the UK's Covid vaccination programme has provided "some signs of hope", with 10 million people having received their first jab, but he warned the NHS is still "under huge pressure". The PM said his plan remains to set out a plan, on February 22, for an exit out of lockdown but the "level of infection is still forbiddingly high for us to imagine relaxation of currently guidelines".
4th Feb 2021 - ITV News
COVID: No special freedoms for the vaccinated in Germany
The German Ethics Council on Thursday spoke out against lifting restrictions for individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Germany has been in partial lockdown since November. Vaccinations started at the end of December with people over 80 and their carers front of the line. There is currently a shortage of vaccines in Germany, and it will take several months for a majority of people to be immunized and become eligible for the lifting of restrictions. Over the past few weeks tourism agencies, event managers and some politicians had suggested allowing those who have been vaccinated to travel, eat in restaurants, attend concerts and other events which would involve close contact with a high number of other people.
4th Feb 2021 - Deutsche Welle
German health minister open to deconfinement before end of winter
German Health Minister Jens Spahn is in favour of starting to relax coronavirus measures before the end of winter, he said on Thursday. “We can’t stay in this harsh confinement all winter, our society wouldn’t stand it well,” Spahn told regional press group Funke. In addition, “the figures are encouraging, we are seeing a significant downward trend in new infections,” the minister added. However, Spahn did not want to commit to a start of deconfinement from the start of February, whereas the restrictions have been programmed for the moment to last until the 14th of the current month.
4th Feb 2021 - The Brussels Times
North Korea to receive nearly 2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses in first half of the year
North Korea has requested COVID-19 vaccines and is expected to receive nearly two million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine by the first half of this year, said agencies leading the COVAX vaccine-sharing programme. The COVAX Facility will distribute 1.99 million doses of the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, according to the COVAX interim distribution report on Wednesday (Feb 3).
4th Feb 2021 - Channel NewsAsia
Western Australia lifts lockdown as raft of restrictions kick in
Western Australia is preparing to take steps out of its snap five-day lockdown with a raft of restrictions to be lifted at 6pm on Friday. Premier Mark McGowan said the state will forge ahead with lifting its lockdown after a week-long testing blitz uncovered no new cases as of 8pm on Thursday. People in the Perth and Peele areas will be free to leave their homes from tomorrow night, with masks mandatory both indoors and outdoors and on public transport. However, masks will not required during vigorous outdoor exercise. Community sports may also resume.
4th Feb 2021 - MSN.com
Johnson says will set out more on lockdown plans on February 22
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he hoped to announce more details on Feb. 22 about Britain’s route map out of the COVID-19 lockdown and plans to ease restrictions. “On February the 22nd, we will be setting out in as much detail as we can about where we see the dates, what the timetable could be, the earliest dates by which we want to do what - you remember what we did last year - setting out a route map, we’ll do that again,” he said.
4th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Hungary PM flags easing of lockdown after Easter, economy rebounding in Q2
Hungary’s vaccination drive will accelerate and could potentially enable the country to ease coronavirus restrictions in April after Easter, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday. Nationalist Orban, who will face parliamentary elections in early 2022, is under pressure to reopen the economy. Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said the economy was likely to shrink again in the first quarter but that the second quarter could be a turning point. Hungary has already vaccinated nearly 250,000 people using Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines and, first in the European Union, has signed deals to buy large quantities of Russia’s Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine and Chinese company Sinopharm’s vaccine.
4th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Kaduna, Zipline sign agreement for drone-delivered COVID-19 vaccines
In Nigeria, Kaduna State Government has signed a deal with medical delivery firm Zipline that will allow drone shipment of COVID-19 vaccines without significant state investment in cold-chain storage. Zipline in a Reuters report noted that its end-to-end cold chain distribution capability can safely deliver even the Pfizer vaccine which would allow Kaduna health facilities to bypass purchases of ultra-low freezers and enable on-demand deliveries of precise amounts of COVID-19 vaccines.
4th Feb 2021 - The Guardian Nigeria
The Health 202: How West Virginia beat other states in administering coronavirus vaccines
The Biden administration will start shipping extra coronavirus vaccine doses straight to pharmacies, hoping to speed the process of getting shots into arms. But in West Virginia — which has administered the vaccines faster than any other state except Alaska — officials lament that the new allocations will not be going directly to the state to distribute. “We’re appreciative of any help we’re given, but we would appreciate it more if we would get it delivered to us and in our system,” James Hoyer, the director of the Joint Interagency Task Force for Vaccines in West Virginia, said yesterday.
4th Feb 2021 - Washington Post
Concerns raised over queue-jumping as PHE workers given Covid vaccine
More than 100 Public Health England workers have been given a Covid jab despite not falling into any of the priority categories, the Guardian can reveal. The decision to vaccinate staff at PHE’s site in Porton Down, Wiltshire, has raised questions internally at the agency about how those involved were allowed to jump the queue for their first doses of the vaccine. The move has also sparked fears that it will undermine the public health message about the importance of vaccinating priority groups first – a strategy that PHE helped to draw up and promote.
4th Feb 2021 - The Guardian
COVID-19 challenges continue across US
As the United States continues to roll out doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, states continue to struggle with how best to reach the elderly and minorities, groups at greater risk for severe COVID-19. In Mississippi, 38% of state residents are black—the highest in the nation—but only 17% of the state's vaccine recipients have identified as black. An NBC News analysis on that state shows several barriers to accessing the vaccine: Many residents live far from a drive-thru vaccination site and lack access to a car. Similarly, announcements made about open vaccination slots and registration times are missed by people without reliable internet access.
4th Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
Gilead forecasts 2021 growth, strong remdesivir COVID-19 sales
Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday forecast its 2021 results above Wall Street estimates after posting a 26% rise in fourth-quarter 2020 revenue, driven by sales of its antiviral drug, remdesivir, which is used to treat COVID-19 patients. Shares of Gilead were up 2.5% in extended trading. Gilead said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect its sales, including its treatments for hepatitis C and HIV, due to fewer people going to their doctors. It expects a gradual recovery in underlying market dynamics starting the second quarter of this year. Remdesivir, which is sold under the brand name Veklury, brought in $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, above analysts’ estimates of $1.34 billion. Excluding Veklury, Gilead said its quarterly sales fell 7%.
4th Feb 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullSlow COVID-19 vaccine rollout expected in war- ravaged Syria
The success of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in war-ravaged Syria depends on their availability and distribution and may initially cover only 3% of the population, a World Health Organization official said Tuesday. Akjemal Magtymova, WHO's representative in Syria, said the country is eligible to receive vaccines for free through the global COVAX effort aimed at helping lower-income countries obtain the shots. But Magtymova couldn't say when the first shipment would arrive, how many vaccines were expected, or how they would be rolled out in a divided country still at war. The COVAX rollout is expected to begin in April. Magtymova spoke to The Associated Press in the capital Damascus amid concerns over the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines across the country, where the health care sector has been devastated by a decade of war and remains divided into three rival parts.
3rd Feb 2021 - The Independent
Israel opens coronavirus vaccines to all over-16s
Israel’s health ministry has said it will offer coronavirus vaccines to anyone over the age of 16, as part of a rapid campaign that has already seen the majority of older and vulnerable populations receive shots. The ministry has told healthcare providers they can start booking appointments for the new age group starting on Thursday. One in three Israelis has received at least one injection, a far higher fraction than anywhere else. The country of 9 million had previously allowed anyone over 35, as well as at-risk groups and exam-taking students aged 16 to 18, to be inoculated.
3rd Feb 2021 - The Guardian on MSN.com
COVID-19: 10 million people have had a first coronavirus vaccine in the UK, Hancock says
Ten million people in the UK have now had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. "This is a hugely significant milestone in our national effort against this virus. Every jab makes us all a bit safer - I want to thank everyone playing their part," Mr Hancock said. A further 1,322 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive test, and another 19,202 cases have been recorded. It brings the total number of UK deaths to 109,335 and the total number of cases to 3,871,825.
3rd Feb 2021 - Sky News
Hundreds of coronavirus vaccines wasted after fridge switched off
More than 400 doses of Covid-19 vaccines went to waste after a fridge was accidentally turned off in a vaccination centre, it has been reported. Staff are understood to have discovered the issue when they checked the fridge temperature early in the morning of January 8. A total of 450 doses of the Pfizer jab had to be binned following a “power-related issue” with a fridge at Montgomery Hall in Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, last month. Ninety vials of the vaccine – each containing up to five doses – were wasted when the fridge was inadvertently switched off overnight at the venue, sources confirmed to the PA news agency.
3rd Feb 2021 - Evening Standard
Australia places no upper age limit on Pfizer coronavirus vaccine
Australian regulators have decided to place no upper age limit on use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine despite reports of dozens of deaths among the elderly in Norway. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration said in a statement Tuesday that it received reports on Jan. 14 of about 30 deaths in more than 40,000 elderly people vaccinated with Pfizer PFE, -0.43%. But it added that “no causal link between vaccination and deaths could be established.” The agency says that “elderly patients can receive this vaccine and there is no cap on the upper age limit.” The regulator last month gave provisional approval for the use of the Pfizer vaccine in Australia and the first doses are due to be administered to people aged 16 and older in late February.
3rd Feb 2021 - MarketWatch
Some U.S. pharmacies to begin getting direct shipments of coronavirus vaccine
Several thousand pharmacies across the United States will start to receive direct shipments of coronavirus vaccine next week in the first phase of a strategy intended to simplify the ability to get shots, White House officials said Tuesday. Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House’s covid-19 response, said the 1 million doses that will be sent to pharmacies starting Feb. 11 come on top of a modest increase in vaccine allocations to states that is beginning this week. And to help states cope with financial burdens created by the pandemic, Zients said, the government will reimburse them retroactively for emergency expenses associated with fighting the public health crisis, including the purchase of masks and gloves, and the mobilization of the National Guard.
3rd Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
China announces plan to provide 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to developing nations through global COVAX facility
China announces plan to provide 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to developing nations through global COVAX facility.
3rd Feb 2021 - ABC News
MP encourages city's Black community to get covid jab
A Merseyside MP has visited a health centre to encourage the city's Black community to take up the offer of a coronavirus vaccine. Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson visited Princes Park Health Centre, which recently began its Covid-19 vaccination programme. Ms Johnson, along with Dr Katy Gardner, Cllr Steve Munby and Cate Murphy, a member of the MP's team, were given a full tour of the centre.
Ms Johnson said: "We were blown away by the dedication and expertise of all the staff, including Dr David Lewis, Fiona Lemmens, Michelle Fairhurst and the fantastic team of medical students. "While I welcome the development, the delay has been frustrating.
3rd Feb 2021 - Liverpool Echo
Covid-19: Study showing Oxford vaccine slows virus spread 'superb' - Hancock
Results that show the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine might reduce the spread of coronavirus have been hailed as "absolutely superb" by the health secretary. Matt Hancock said the study shows "vaccines are the way out of this pandemic". It is the first time a vaccine has been shown to reduce transmission of the virus. The UK has given a first Covid jab to more than 10 million people so far. The results of the study, which has not yet been formally published, suggest that the vaccine may have a "substantial" effect on transmission of the virus. It means the jab could have a greater impact on the pandemic, as each person who is vaccinated will indirectly protect other people too.
3rd Feb 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Nicola Sturgeon aims for phased return of Scotland schools within three weeks
A phased return of pupils to classrooms in Scotland could begin from 22 February, the first minister has announced. Nicola Sturgeon revealed the news as she confirmed the country's COVID-19 lockdown restrictions would be extended until at least the end of February. Ms Sturgeon said the measures were having an effect, noting that the prevalence of the virus has fallen in Scotland, but stressed "continued caution" was required with pressure on the NHS still "severe". She held out the prospect of a "careful and gradual" easing of restrictions from the start of next month, if progress continues to be made, adding she would update MSPs on a possible relaxation of measures in two weeks.
3rd Feb 2021 - Sky News
Oxford vaccine study marks moment of vindication for roll-out plan, but hopes of easing lockdown are premature
The latest data on the Oxford/AztraZeneca vaccine which reveals is both effective in protecting patients and cutting transmission of the virus is a moment of victory for the Government’s immunisation policy. The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the strategy of waiting longer than three-to-four-weeks between the first and second dose of vaccines in the face of scepticism from health bodies and criticism from other countries. But the new analysis from Oxford University showed the jab offers 76 per cent protection up to three months after just one dose.
3rd Feb 2021 - i on MSN.com
Ukraine government to allow regions with lower COVID cases to ease lockdown measures
The Ukrainian government is ready to cancel a nationwide lockdown and allow health authorities to ease lockdown measures in regions where COVID-19 cases are lower, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on Wednesday. The decision may be taken in the coming days, he told a televised cabinet meeting.
3rd Feb 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 3rd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullCOVID-19: EU warns of consequences if vaccine orders not delivered
The EU has ruled out an immediate ban on vaccine exports, but signalled there could be consequences if manufacturers do not produce the expected doses. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Joao Vale de Almeida, the bloc's ambassador to London, confirmed that the European Commission is not introducing export bans on vaccine supplies, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with Ursula von der Leyen on Friday night. But he added that "everyone will have access to the vaccines" if "companies export according to their contractual obligations and our expectations in contracts are met".
2nd Feb 2021 - Sky News
Japan concerned over EU COVID-19 vaccine supply uncertainty
Japan is concerned about delays in the distribution of European-made coronavirus vaccines an official said Tuesday, as it struggles to obtain enough doses to allow it to host the Olympics this summer. Taro Kono the Cabinet minister in charge of COVID-19 vaccines, said the EU s lack of clarity in its supply schedule is affecting Japan's preparations. “Our vaccine supply schedule has not been finalized even now,” Kono said. Last month, the EU announced export controls on coronavirus vaccines made in the bloc under a so-called transparency mechanism requiring producers to prioritize existing contracts with the EU.
2nd Feb 2021 - The Independent
PM unveils deal with Novavax to produce its COVID-19 vaccine in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a deal has been struck with Novavax to produce its COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, but the pharmaceutical company isn’t expected to be ready to roll out doses domestically until the fall at the earliest. The federal government has signed a “memorandum of understanding” with Novavax to pursue options to produce its COVID-19 vaccine at a new Montreal facility that is under construction. While the prime minister is calling this a “major step forward,” it could be months before this potential first made-in-Canada vaccine candidate is approved, let alone shipped to delivery sites nationwide.
2nd Feb 2021 - CTV News
How Britain placed its coronavirus vaccine bets boldly and reaped rewards
With a record death toll, failure to secure PPE and bungled management of lockdowns, many felt Britain had been diminished internationally by its handling of the pandemic. Until, that is, the vaccine procurement effort when the country was fast out of the blocks to begin inoculating its population. Each day seems to bring positive vaccine news: yesterday it was announced that the manufacturer Valneva would deliver another 40 million doses to the UK stock, bringing its commitment to 100 million by 2022.
2nd Feb 2021 - The Times
Uganda orders 18 mln doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
Uganda has ordered 18 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and up to 40% of the shipments are expected to arrive in the country by the end of March, the government said on Tuesday. Uganda has so far reported 39,651 COVID-19 cases and 325 deaths - a much lower toll than in most countries due to what experts attribute to years of experience battling other viral outbreaks such as HIV AIDS and Ebola. Its economy, however, is reeling from the impact of the measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The vaccine shots will be procured from the Serum Institute of India, the government said in a statement detailing cabinet deliberations at a sitting held on Monday.
2nd Feb 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
COVID-19 vaccine will be manufactured in Canada once it is approved, Justin Trudeau says
On the same day that Ontario was lamenting the impact of vaccine delivery delays on nursing homes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that Canada will be able to produce a new COVID-19 vaccine this year. But the news will do nothing to alleviate the provinces’ frustration with delays in the deliveries of two other vaccines that have already been authorized for use in Canada, or help Ottawa keep a pledge to provide vaccinations to all Canadians by September. The new vaccine developed by the U.S.-based firm Novavax must first be approved by Health Canada. The National Research Council facility in Montreal that is expected to manufacture it is under construction, and scheduled to be completed by summer. That facility will then have to be certified by Health Canada.
2nd Feb 2021 - The Star
UK compromising safety over Covid-19 vaccine, says Ursula von der Leyen
Britain failed its “gigantic responsibility” to ensure the proper safety of vaccines and the European Union should be proud of its strategy, Ursula von der Leyen said today. Amid growing criticism of her handling of the vaccine crisis, the German president of the European Commission has insisted that the EU has acted appropriately despite falling way behind the UK in the number of shots administered.
2nd Feb 2021 - The Times
Eye on Africa - South Africa eases some Covid-19 restrictions as vaccines arrive
In tonight's edition: South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country has "passed the peak" of its second wave of Covid-19, allowing for the easing of restrictions ahead of the first vaccinations this month.
2nd Feb 2021 - FRANCE 24
Spain's vaccine delays hamper fight against pandemic
The Isabel Zendal hospital in Madrid only opened in December, but already it's feeling the strain. Spain's third wave of Covid-19 broke after the Christmas holiday, making January the worst month the country has had in terms of infections. "We had a terrible January," said Javier Marco, medical director of the hospital. It was built in just three months specifically to manage the Covid crisis. "It's been stressful." The country's infection rate has stabilised in recent days, at just below 900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but the pressure is still on the healthcare system.
2nd Feb 2021 - BBC News
France Says Europe Vaccine Strategy Safer Than U.K.'s
France is taking the lead in defending Europe’s faltering vaccine program, and a jab at the U.K. in the process. “The Brits are in an extremely difficult health situation,” France’s junior minister for European Union affairs, Clement Beaune, said on France Inter radio. “Understandably, they are taking many risks in this vaccination campaign.” Brexit Preparations at France's Second Biggest Port
Beaune defended the EU’s decision to purchase the doses in common. Beaune cited the U.K.’s decision to focus on the first vaccine jabs and its reliance on AstraZeneca Plc despite doubts over its efficiency on older people. “I don’t think citizens would accept us taking risks that contradict scientific recommendations,” he said.
2nd Feb 2021 - Bloomberg
Ramaphosa announces eased level 3 lockdown for South Africa – including changes for alcohol sales and curfew
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa’s adjusted level 3 lockdown regulations will be relaxed following a decline in Covid-19 transmissions.
In a national address on Monday (1 February), the president said that the country has recorded its lowest daily increase in infections since December, and that the country has now passed the peaked of the second wave. The average number of daily infections has almost halved, while the number of hospital admissions has also dropped, the president said. While the indicators are pointing in the right direction, Ramaphosa said that that the number of transmissions in the country is still relatively high.
2nd Feb 2021 - BusinessTech
Austria to loosen lockdown, allowing shops and schools to reopen
Austria will loosen its coronavirus lockdown next week, switching to a nighttime curfew from all-day restrictions on movement and letting non-essential shops and schools reopen. The conservative-led government announced the move despite coronavirus infections staying higher than it would like, citing the social toll of continuing the country’s third lockdown, which began on Dec. 26. “Epidemiologically the issue is clear. The safest course would be to remain in lockdown,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference after discussions with scientific experts, influential provincial governors and opposition parties.
2nd Feb 2021 - Reuters
White House to begin shipping COVID-19 vaccines to drug outlets
President Joe Biden's coronavirus czar, Jeff Zients, announced the administration would send 1 million doses of mRNA vaccines to more than 6,500 pharmacies across the country next week in an effort to further expand vaccination in the United States. The 1 million doses represent a weekly shipment expected to ramp up quickly, Zients said during a press conference. Eventually, Zients said, 40,000 retail pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid locations, will receive millions of vaccine doses to distribute
2nd Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
As 13 million in US get COVID vaccine, minority uptake uncertain
About 13 million Americans—about 5% of the population 16 years and older—received at least the first of their two COVID-19 vaccine doses in the first month of availability, but limited data paint a foggy picture of how many doses reached key demographics like blacks, according to a report yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Another MMWR study homes in on skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), finding that more than three quarters of residents and almost 40% of staff members have received at least one vaccine dose during the first month. Both studies were led by scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
2nd Feb 2021 - CIDRAP
Germany looking to accelerate sluggish distribution of vaccines
Chancellor Angela Merkel and German state governors were planning to talk with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry on ways to beef up the country's sluggish vaccination campaign. Monday's videoconference, which also will involve the European Union's Executive Commission, comes as finger-pointing in the bloc's most populous country mounts over who is to blame for the slow vaccine rollout. By Friday, 1.85 million people had received a first vaccine dose in Germany, a country of 83 million, and more than 461,000 had a second dose.
1st Feb 2021 - heraldscotland.com
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 2nd Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullHow Brazil missed its chance to secure Covid-19 vaccines
Only about one million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in Brazil -- a stunningly low number given Brazil's decades-long success in vaccinating its population. CNN's Matt Rivers reports.
1st Feb 2021 - CNN on MSN.com
Coronavirus: Flow of Pfizer-Biontech vaccine from EU now guaranteed, says minister
The flow of Pfizer-Biontech vaccines into Britain is “absolutely guaranteed”, according to a cabinet minister who also suggested that doses may be shared with other countries later on. Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, promised that the UK’s order of 40 million jabs would make its way into the country after Brussels backed down in an extraordinary row over supplies
1st Feb 2021 - The Times
Coronavirus in Scotland: Over 575,000 people have had first dose of vaccine, says Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has said over 575,000 people have had first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in Scotland. Speaking at the Scottish Government daily coronavirus briefing on Monday, the First Minister added this included 98% of those living in care homes for older people, and 88% of staff in these homes. Ms Sturgeon also said that vaccinations for the over-70s have begun – with two mass vaccination centres opening in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Already 14% of the over-75s have been vaccinated.
1st Feb 2021 - The Scotsman on MSN.com
Covid-19: UK orders extra 40m doses of Valneva vaccine
The UK has ordered an extra 40 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine from the French pharmaceutical company Valneva, that should become available later in the year and into 2022. The government says it will give flexibility should people need revaccinating next winter or beyond. The UK has secured 407 million doses of different coronavirus vaccines - more than enough for the entire population. Valneva's jab is still being tested in trials. Although those will take time to satisfy regulators before it can be rolled out, manufacturing at a site in West Lothian, Scotland, has already begun. The site is already supporting 100 new highly-skilled local jobs for scientists and technicians.
1st Feb 2021 - BBC News
Israel to give 5,000 coronavirus vaccines to Palestinian doctors
Israel has agreed to transfer 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize frontline medical workers, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's office announced Sunday. It was the first time that Israel has confirmed the transfer of vaccines to the Palestinians, who lag far behind Israel's aggressive vaccination campaign and have not yet received any vaccines.
1st Feb 2021 - NBC News
COVID-19: Every care home resident in England has been offered a coronavirus jab
Every care home resident in England has been offered a COVID-19 jab, the NHS has confirmed, just hours after a new record was set for vaccinations in the UK.
Older people living in more than 10,000 care homes across England have either been vaccinated or offered the jab and those forced to wait because of an outbreak of the virus will be treated as soon as possible, health professionals said.
1st Feb 2021 - Sky News
Over 80% of Northern Ireland people will take the coronavirus vaccine
The vast majority of people in Northern Ireland will accept the Covid-19 vaccine when offered - but a hefty minority will not or are still unsure, the new LucidTalk poll has indicated. More than 80% of the population here will definitely get the jabs, 7% said they will not, and 10% do not know, are unsure or have no opinion. The percentage of vaccine supporters is similar to the UK as a whole and also the Republic of Ireland, but it is much higher than some other European countries.
1st Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Many who have received the coronavirus vaccine wonder: What can I safely do?
Soon after Marc Wilson gets his second dose of coronavirus vaccine, he plans to resume one of his pre-pandemic joys: swimming laps with his friends. But most other activities — including volunteering at a food pantry and homeless shelter — will be off-limits until the outbreak is curbed and scientists know more about the threat of emerging variants. “I can definitely broaden the things I do, but I still have to be quite cautious,” said Wilson, 70, a retired accountant in Norman, Okla., who has diabetes and other health problems. “When your doctor tells you, ‘If you get covid, you’re dead,’ that gets your attention real good.”
1st Feb 2021 - The Washington Post
More than HALF of Americans say they'll delay getting coronavirus vaccine or REFUSE it altogether
Only 41 per cent of people surveyed said they are happy to be vaccinated now
13 per cent will refuse vaccinations while 31 per cent want to 'wait and see.' Survey also found divisions on political, racial and economic lines in the US. Many are reluctant to get the shots because of myths spread by anti-vaxxers. President Biden plans to roll out 100million doses in 100 days in office
1st Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
South Africa welcomes first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines
South Africa gave a hero’s welcome Monday to the delivery of its first COVID-19 vaccines — 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greeted the crates of vaccine that arrived at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport. The shipment will be followed up later this month by another 500,000 doses. The vaccine will be effective in preventing severe disease and death from the variant that has become dominant in South Africa, a vaccine expert says. The AstraZeneca vaccines will be used to inoculate South Africa’s front-line health workers, which will kickstart the country’s vaccination campaign. The first jabs are expected to be administered in mid-February, after the vaccines are tested and approved by South Africa’s drug regulatory authorities.
1st Feb 2021 - Associated Press
White House awards $230M to help produce over-the-counter, rapid COVID-19 tests
Andy Slavitt, White House COVID-19 adviser, said the administration will provide nearly $232 million to an Australian company called Ellume, which received authorization for the test in December. The company was part of the National Institutes of Health's RADx initiative to spur test development, and received $30 million from the program. "Thanks to this contract, they'll be able to scale their production to manufacture more than 19 million test kits per month by the end of this year," Slavitt told reporters.
1st Feb 2021 - The Hill on MSN.com
England hits 'monumental milestone' as all eligible care homes offered Covid-19 jab
Tributes have been paid to “dedicated” health and care staff for their efforts in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine to the most vulnerable, as NHS England claims jabs have now been offered to all eligible care homes for older adults.
1st Feb 2021 - Nursing Times
Covid-19: Volunteers step forward as vaccination taxis
With the Covid-19 vaccination rollout in full swing, people are stepping forward to volunteer to take people for their jabs. But this service can be more than just a car journey, a connection is being made with some of the most vulnerable in our communities. Carolyn Carter, 56, chairwoman of Chippenham Link Transport in Wiltshire, regularly drives clients to their medical appointments and is now helping with vaccination runs. She said: "I thought long an hard about doing it, but...I can do good by doing this. "Wednesday we were all just backwards and forwards to the surgery. Between the 11 of us we did about 40 trips over two days. "Everyone has been fantastic. They are just helping with whatever they can to get this done."
1st Feb 2021 - BBC News
Covid: Regional tier system may not return after lockdown, Boris Johnson says
The regional tier system for England's coronavirus measures may not return after lockdown ends, the prime minister has said. Boris Johnson said it may be more appropriate to ease measures on a national basis "this time around", rather than locally as had been the plan, due to the way Covid-19 is currently "behaving". In a few weeks he will set out a "road map" for exiting lockdown, with March 8 targeted as the earliest possible date for reopening schools and easing other measures. Following the last lockdown, England returned to tiered arrangements which restricted activities permitted in an area depending on various criteria, such as pressure on local NHS services and levels of coronavirus.
1st Feb 2021 - ITV News
Covid: Boris Johnson 'optimistic' about summer holiday prospects
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "optimistic" people will be able to have summer holidays this year - but it depends on certain things going well. Asked about tourism in the UK, he said he did not want to give "concrete" dates for such trips but would set out more details on 22 February. The success of the vaccine rollout and level of Covid cases would be factors taken into consideration, he added. Nearly 9.3 million people in the UK have had their first dose of a vaccine.
A vaccine has been offered to all older residents at eligible care homes in England, the NHS announced earlier - an achievement Mr Johnson described as a "crucial milestone".
1st Feb 2021 - BBC News
UK Covid-19 lockdown will end in time for ‘great British summer’, Matt Hancock promises
The nationwide lockdown will be over in time for a “great British summer”, Matt Hancock has predicted as he said the “vast majority” of adults would be vaccinated against Covid-19 within the next six months. Data on the effects that vaccinations have on the spread of coronavirus in Britain should be available within a fortnight, according to the Covid-19 response director at Public Health England (PHE) – but she warned that the end of lockdown should be done “very slowly, very cautiously” to avoid a resurgence in cases.
1st Feb 2021 - iNews
Germany looking to accelerate sluggish distribution of vaccines
Chancellor Angela Merkel and German state governors were planning to talk with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry on ways to beef up the country’s sluggish vaccination campaign. Monday’s videoconference, which also will involve the European Union’s Executive Commission, comes as finger-pointing in the bloc’s most populous country mounts over who is to blame for the slow vaccine rollout. By Friday, 1.85 million people had received a first vaccine dose in Germany, a country of 83 million, and more than 461,000 had a second dose.
1st Feb 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Boris Johnson says lockdown is working and vaccines ARE effective against Covid variants as internal report hails 'stabilising' cases - but PM warns it is too early to take ...
Boris Johnson insisted the coronavirus lockdown is working and vaccines are effective on current variants. The PM warned that it is still too early to take our 'foot off the throat of the beast' by easing curbs at this stage. He said he was 'optimistic' Britons will be able to go on summer holidays this year but did not give schedule
Two cases of South African strain not linked to travel found in Surrey with 'surge' testing scheme under way. Dr Mike Tildesley said vaccination rollout could mean lockdown starting to be eased sometime next month
1st Feb 2021 - Daily Mail
Not Yet Desperate, Japan and South Korea Plod Toward Vaccinations
Japan’s biggest cities are under a state of emergency as coronavirus deaths rise, even while the country tries to convince the world it can safely hold the Summer Olympics. South Korea is prohibiting gatherings of five or more people to keep a recent surge in cases under control. Hong Kong imposed stringent lockdowns on some of its poorest neighborhoods to stop an uptick. And yet none of these places have begun to carry out the only solution with any hope of putting the pandemic behind them: vaccinations.
1st Feb 2021 - The New York Times
India pandemic-fighting budget to boost health care spending
India’s government has proposed to increase spending on health care in a $477 billion budget for 2021-22 that promises extra help for weathering the coronavirus pandemic. India is in its worst economic slowdown in a decade. The budget proposal presented to parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday also focuses on developing financial institutions and shoring up of infrastructure to get the pandemic-ravaged nation back on track as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. “India is well well-poised to be the land of promise and hope,” she said in explaining the budget for the fiscal year that begins April 1.
1st Feb 2021 - The Associated Press
Covid: Lockdown easing must happen 'very slowly', adviser says
Ending the current coronavirus lockdown must happen "very slowly, very cautiously", Public Health England's Covid strategy chief has said. Dr Susan Hopkins said the focus should be on getting people vaccinated and preventing another wave of infections. She told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "I hope that this summer will be similar to last summer... and that will allow us to do things that feel more normal." Meanwhile, Matt Hancock predicted "a happy and free Great British summer". But the health secretary warned of a "a tough few months" as national restrictions continue across the UK while vaccinations are administered. "We have to follow the data, we have to see the impact of the vaccine on the ground. It's a difficult balance: we've got to move as fast as we can but in such a way that keeps people safe," he told BBC Politics East.
1st Feb 2021 - BBC News
How are delays in vaccine deliveries really affecting Spain’s campaign?
At the current rate, it would take years to vaccinate the entire population of Spain against Covid-19. This assertion, which is being touted by a number of political leaders in the country, is true. But it doesn’t provide any information that we haven’t already known for more than a month now. Barring a few deviations from the plan, this was the expected speed for the early stage of the campaign. The government is planning for a ramping up of the inoculations once laboratories are able to produce more doses and new vaccines are approved. The delay in the arrival of the available vaccines has, up to now, prompted the reorganization of schedules. But it has not significantly changed the forecasts that were put in place at the end of December, when announcements were made about how many doses would be arriving in the country during the first quarter of the year. Whether or not the government’s objectives are met – i.e. vaccinating the majority of the population by the summer – will not depend on the number of doses that arrive before the spring, which was always due to be very limited, but rather those that start to arrive from that moment onward.
1st Feb 2021 - El Pais
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 1st Feb 2021
View this newsletter in fullWorld Bank Pledges US$12 Billion For Africa's Vaccine Purchase - OpEd
The World Bank has expressed readiness to commit US$12 billion as concessional loans to assist African countries access foreign vaccines. During a virtual meeting on the Africa COVID-19 Vaccine Financing and Deployment Strategy, the World Bank informed that the emergency vaccine financing projects in Africa, including Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Mozambique, Tunisia, Eswatini and Cabo Verde. The funds are available now, and for most African countries, the financing would be on grant or highly concessional terms, adding, IFC is working to mobilize financing for vaccine production and therapeutics focused on developing countries.
1st Feb 2021 - Eurasia Review
First batch of coronavirus vaccines due to arrive in South Africa
South Africa, the continent’s worst COVID-hit country, is due to receive its first batch of coronavirus vaccines on Monday. Initially scheduled for the end of January, the first one million shots of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced in India will be used to inoculate healthcare workers over the next three months. The second batch of 500,000 jabs is scheduled to arrive later in February. Despite criticism from opposition parties and medical experts that the procurement process of the vaccine has taken too long, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize has called the arrival of the vaccines from the Serum Institute of India “a massive achievement of unprecedented proportions”. Once the consignment has undergone quality checks, which are going to take between 10 and 14 days, the country will begin its long-awaited, three-phase immunisation campaign. Following the inoculation of front-line healthcare workers, other high-risk groups such as the elderly, people with comorbidities and essential workers such as minibus drivers, police and teachers are going to receive their shot. The third phase targets everyone else above the age of 18.
1st Feb 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Israel to give some coronavirus vaccines to Palestinians
Israel has agreed to transfer 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize front-line medical workers Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz s office announced Sunday. It was the first time that Israel has confirmed the transfer of vaccines to the Palestinians, who lag far behind Israel's aggressive vaccination campaign and have not yet received any vaccines. The World Health Organization has raised concerns about the disparity between Israel and Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and international human rights groups and U.N. experts have said Israel is responsible for the well being of Palestinians in these areas.
31st Jan 2021 - The Independent
Israeli official sees COVID-19 turnaround when 1/3 of population vaccinated
Israel could begin overcoming the COVID-19 crisis after fully vaccinating a third of its population, an official said on Sunday, indicating it would take some weeks more than previously thought. Launching what has become the world’s fastest vaccine rollout on Dec. 19, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set protecting Israel’s most vulnerable cohorts - around 24% of 9 million citizens - as the benchmark for a possible reopening of the economy in February. But a projected mid-January turnaround in curbing the spread of the illness did not transpire. Despite a third national lockdown, cases and deaths have surged among the part of the population that has not yet been vaccinated. Officials blame this on highly communicable foreign variants of the coronavirus.
31st Jan 2021 - Reuters
EU rejects Astrazeneca’s compromise offer over Covid-19 vaccine
The European Union has rejected an offer from Astrazeneca of eight million more doses, with the European Commission chief insisting that the company honour its existing “binding contract”. Details of an intended compromise in the row between Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm and the bloc over a sudden cut to Covid vaccine supplies emerged today. An EU official said that the cuts, blamed on production problems at a Belgian plant, would mean only 31 million doses being delivered in the period to the end of March, a 60 per cent reduction. It is a major blow for the bloc’s 27 member countries, which are already lagging behind the vaccination campaigns in Israel, Britain and the United States.
30th Jan 2021 - The Times
Coronavirus: WHO criticises EU over vaccine export controls
The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticised the EU's announcement of export controls on vaccines produced within the bloc, saying such measures risked prolonging the pandemic. The EU introduced the measure amid a row with vaccine manufacturers over delivery shortfalls. But WHO vice-head Mariangela Simao said it was a "very worrying trend". Earlier WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "vaccine nationalism" could lead to a "protracted recovery". Speaking at the Davos Agenda - a virtual version of the global summit - he said vaccine hoarding would "keep the pandemic burning and... slow global economic recovery", in addition to being a "catastrophic moral failure" that could further widen global inequality.
30th Jan 2021 - BBC News
When Covid-19 vaccines are about to expire, health care workers must scramble to make sure they are used
Mechanical breakdowns. Bad weather. Expiration deadlines. The earliest phases of Covid-19 vaccine distribution in some instances have left doctors, nurses, and health officials scrambling to inoculate Americans. In the worst cases, valuable doses have been wasted or thrown out. However, quick thinking by practitioners mixed with a bit of luck have found them administering vaccines in unique circumstances. On Thursday night, after a freezer containing vaccine doses malfunctioned in Seattle, a nearby hospital had less than nine hours to administer more than 800 vaccinations before they spoiled. Vaccines from Pfizer-BioTech and Moderna require certain low temperatures for storage and have a limited shelf life when exposed to room temperature.
30th Jan 2021 - CNN on MSN.com
Failed freezer forced overnight dash to give out more than 1,600 doses of coronavirus vaccine
The last shots were given at about 3.45am, out on the street, with literally no time to spare. All night, staff and volunteers with Seattle's Swedish Health Services had been rushing to administer hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine set to expire early in the morning after a freezer malfunction. Finally, they had only a few dozen shots left and about 15 minutes to get them into people's arms. "We were literally like . . .who can get people here? People started texting and calling and we were just counting down," said Kevin Brooks, the chief operating officer of Swedish, who helped coordinate everything at their clinic at Seattle University. "Thirty-seven. Thirty-five. Thirty-three . . . People were showing up and running down the hall."
30th Jan 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: EU 'recognise they made a mistake' in move to block vaccine exports, says Gove
The EU "recognise they made a mistake" by invoking a Brexit deal clause to prevent coronavirus vaccine shipments entering the UK, Michael Gove has said. The bloc has faced widespread criticism after its short-lived move to override part of the agreement on Northern Ireland over export controls. And Minister for the Cabinet Office Mr Gove said the union now realised it was in the wrong - and promised the UK would "work with them to make sure their own problems can be tackled".
30th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Shortage of coronavirus shots heaps pressure on European leaders
Edleff Joachim should have been among the first to receive a jab when Germany launched its mass Covid-19 vaccination programme on December 27. A month on, the 84-year-old is still waiting. “It’s just chaos,” said Mr Joachim, who lives in the town of Görlitz on the Polish border. “No one seems to know what's going on.” His frustration bears testament to a German vaccination drive in disarray — a mess now replicated across much of the EU due to a shortage of doses. Over-80s were supposed to be inoculated first, along with care home residents, but tens of thousands of eligible Germans have yet to get the shot.
30th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Macron: AstraZeneca vaccine seems ‘quasi-ineffective’ on older people
French President Emmanual Macron said Friday the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine appeared to be "quasi-ineffective" on people older than 65 — just hours before the EU's drugs regulator approved it for use on all adults. "The real problem on AstraZeneca is that it doesn’t work the way we were expecting it to," Macron told a group of reporters, including POLITICO, in Paris. "We’re waiting for the EMA [European Medicines Agency] results, but today everything points to thinking it is quasi-ineffective on people older than 65, some say those 60 years or older." Later in the day, the EMA gave the vaccine the green light. It said: "There are not yet enough results in older participants (over 55 years old) to provide a figure for how well the vaccine will work in this group. However, protection is expected, given that an immune response is seen in this age group and based on experience with other vaccines; as there is reliable information on safety in this population, EMA’s scientific experts considered that the vaccine can be used in older adults."
30th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
I’m a Covid vaccinator and thousands of doses are being thrown away every day – it’s an outrage
I’m a doctor and I’m writing to tell you that the news about coronavirus vaccines being binned in Britain is absolutely true. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the main vaccine programme in the UK. The challenges around its use have been well documented. Once thawed from its -70C storage, it has to be used within a matter of days. Some vials contain extra doses of the vaccine, an extra one to two doses can be obtained from the advertised five doses. A combination of these factors – as well as reports of some centres unexpectedly receiving extra vaccines – mean it's notoriously difficult to be precise about how many people to invite to a vaccine centre on any given day. In turn, this means there are often extra doses left over at the end of the day.
30th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Algeria starts COVID-19 vaccination drive with Russian shots
Algeria launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign Saturday in the city where the country s first COVID-19 case was confirmed in March. The North African nation is using Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine, and a 65-year-old retiree received the first shot at a hospital in Blida, a city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Algiers Health authorities were on hand for the event. “All measures have been taken to ensure a good rollout of the vaccination campaign on the national territory,” Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said. Vaccines will get administered in all regions of the country starting Sunday with health care workers, elderly adults and other vulnerable populations.
30th Jan 2021 - The Independent
More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are accidentally DESTROYED in Florida
Palm Beach health care worker accidentally shut off power supply to a refrigerator where the Pfizer vaccines were being stored. The Pfizer vaccine must be kept refrigerated in order to preserve some of its components or else it is rendered useless. The blunder meant that 232 vials of the vaccine - consisting of 1,160 doses - had to be destroyed. Palm Beach County official are now storing supplies in centralized refrigerators with a backup generator to prevent such an incident from reoccurring. Officials are struggling to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the American population in a timely fashion. Only 6.9 percent of Americans have received their first Pfizer or Moderna shot; just 1.4 percent of citizens are fully vaccinated. It is concerning news given that highly-contagious mutations of the virus from the UK, Brazil and South Africa have now been detected on US soil
30th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
COVID-19: BAME communities less likely to take coronavirus vaccine, ONS figures suggest
People from ethnic minority backgrounds are far less likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said only 49% of 150 black or black British adults said they would be likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 85% of 13,240 white adults. More than a quarter (28%) said they would be unlikely to do so, as did 7% of white adults. Some 13% of 170 people with mixed ethnicity and 8% of 460 Asian or Asian British adults said they would be unlikely to get a jab.
30th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Norway to gradually ease capital's COVID-19 lockdown from February 3
The Norwegian government will gradually loosen the capital region’s coronavirus lockdown, allowing some shops and recreational activities to reopen from Feb. 3 onwards, Health Minister Bent Hoeie said on Saturday. The outbreak of a more contagious variant of COVID-19, first identified in Britain, had prompted the introduction of stricter measures on Jan. 23, including the closure of all non-essential stores in and around Oslo for the first time in the pandemic. “Infections are going down continuously in Norway and we now have a better overview over the outbreak and spread,” Hoeie told a news conference.
29th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Public back teachers getting half-term Covid jabs to re-open schools again
The public supports our bid to prioritise teachers for the Covid-19 vaccine in Phase 2 of the rollout, a poll revealed. Teachers topped the poll, which asked who should be next after the most vulnerable. Pressure is growing on Boris Johnson to get school staff vaccinated. In a poll by Ipsos MORI, 46% said school and nursery staff should come before healthy 60 to 69-year-olds, ahead of 42% for emergency service workers. Labour wants school staff vaccinated in the February half term to make it safer if pupils start to back from March 8. Keir Starmer said it was vital to avoid staff being off sick or isolating due to Covid-19. He said: “It’s likely to go back to the disruption we have in September and October.
29th Jan 2021 - Mirror Online
How Europe fell behind on vaccines
The Europen Union's vaccination effort came under fire just as it was beginning to deliver. Heralded for months as the flagship of European solidarity during the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission’s strategy of joint vaccine procurement is now being accused by national leaders of being too bureaucratic, too limiting to its members, too slow. Specifically, the bloc’s decisions to prioritize process over speed and to put solidarity between EU countries ahead of giving individual governments more room to maneuver have been criticized for holding back the coronavirus response.
29th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
U.S. Labor Department issues COVID-19 workplace safety guidance
The guidance issued by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outlines key measures for limiting the coronavirus’ spread, including ensuring infected or potentially infected people are not in the workplace, implementing and following physical distancing protocols and using surgical masks or cloth face coverings. It also provides guidance on use of personal protective equipment, improving ventilation, good hygiene and routine cleaning. But the guidance is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations.
29th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullGlobal Covid-19 vaccine passports 'probably' way to go, says Jason Leitch
Scotland's national clinical director has voiced guarded "support" for calls to introduce a global Covid-19 vaccine passport to suppress future spread of the virus. But Professor Jason Leitch warned more data would be needed on the impact of vaccines before pressing ahead with the move, which is being proposed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The ex-Labour leader says the UK could lead the the way in the creation of a global ID that shows Covid-19 vaccine and disease status. Mr Blair claimed this would aid the recovery of the economy, including the vital tourism sector.
28th Jan 2021 - MSN.com
Covid-19: Vaccines 'needed across world to reduce chance of new variants'
Coronavirus vaccines must be made available around the world in an effort to keep cases down and prevent new mutations which could escape the effects of the jabs, an expert has warned. Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the amount of virus circulating in the world will determine the chances of a new variant emerging. He said new strains are "a warning of what is coming, which we must take incredibly seriously" and suggested countries with access to vaccines could donate a percentage of their doses through the international Covax drive which aims to ensure equitable access.
28th Jan 2021 - The Irish News
NI coronavirus vaccine roll-out: GPs raise concern about supply amid worry of speed of roll-out to ‘higher priority groups’
The Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland has spoken out about concerns over the supply of vaccines. Dr Laurence Dorman, who chairs the organisation, was responding to the decision to open Trust vaccination centres to those aged 65-69 while those aged 70-79 are asked to wait for an appointment to see their GP. “We fully support the principle of vaccinating as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and it is encouraging to see such high demand for appointments since the booking portal launched on Wednesday night,” he said. “However, we have concerns about the speed of vaccine rollout to those people in higher priority groups."
28th Jan 2021 - Belfast Newsletter
Health workers, stuck in the snow, administer coronavirus vaccine to stranded drivers
Unlike many who have to drive miles to get a Covid-19 vaccine, some travelers in southwestern Oregon had the vaccine come to them Tuesday under treacherous weather conditions. Josephine County Public Health workers were returning from a mass vaccination clinic at Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction when about 20 members of the group got stranded in a snowstorm at Hayes Hill, the agency said.
They had with them six leftover doses of the vaccine. To keep those doses from going unused before expiring, the workers went from car to car to offer people the chance to get a shot, the health department said. An ambulance was waiting nearby in case any recipients had an adverse reaction
28th Jan 2021 - CNN
Matt Hancock names Bristol one of the best areas in UK for Covid-19 vaccine rollout
Bristol and its surrounding areas have been named as one of the best performing parts of the UK for rolling out the Covid-19 vaccinations, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The "fantastic efforts" of the vaccination teams were praised in a letter to a North Somerset MP Liam Fox. More than 80% of care home residents in the area covered by the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG) had received the vaccine, making it one of the “highest performing” parts of the country. In the letter, Matt Hancock said the success in Bristol and its surrounding areas was down to the “tireless” efforts of everyone involved in rolling out the vaccine. He praised the “incredible” community spirit that has contributed to the success.
28th Jan 2021 - ITV
Africa secures another 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
Another 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been secured for the African continent through the Serum Institute of India, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. With the new doses, on top of the 270 million doses announced earlier this month from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, “I think we’re beginning to make very good progress," Africa CDC director John Nkengasong told reporters. An Africa CDC spokesman said the 400 million doses are of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. As with many vaccine deals, there were no immediate details on cost or how much people might pay per dose.
28th Jan 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: Germany says Oxford/ AstraZeneca jab should not be given to over 65s
Germany has said the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should not be offered to people over the age of 65, a source close to the country's government has told Sky News.
It comes after Reuters reported Germany's vaccine committee made the recommendation, citing insufficient data about how effective the jab is for older people, not because of any safety concerns. But UK prime minister Boris Johnson said he was not worried because Britain's medicines regulator had judged it is "effective across all age groups and provides a good immune response across all age groups".
28th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Trust chiefs get Covid-19 jab while some people over 80 are still waiting
In Northern Ireland, the chief executives of health trusts have received a Covid-19 vaccine while some patients over 80 years old are still waiting for the potentially lifesaving jab, it has emerged. The row over the vaccination programme intensified on Wednesday night as a leading doctor hit out at the system that means healthcare staff working at home have been given priority over those most at risk of dying from the virus. Guidance from the UK advisory body the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) states that “as the risk of mortality from Covid-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age”.
28th Jan 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Covid-19: Self-isolation payment rules 'need to be reviewed'
In England, self-isolation payment rules need to be reviewed as some people have to chose between self-isolating or putting food on their tables, a council has said. Knowsley Council has rejected two thirds of applications for £500 as they did not meet government criteria, which includes those on low incomes. Councillor Jayne Aston said "only a small number of people who need this help actually qualify". Knowsley currently has the highest rate of Covid-19 infections in England, according to the latest data, with 822.6 infections per 100,000 people in the week to 23 January. "Our rates are beginning to fall, but only very slowly," Ms Aston said.
28th Jan 2021 - BBC News
EU warns it could block vaccine exports, wields legal threat at drugmakers
Europe's fight to secure COVID-19 vaccine supplies intensified on Thursday when the European Union warned drug companies such as AstraZeneca that it would use all legal means or even block exports unless they agreed to deliver shots as promised. The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States in rolling out vaccines, is scrambling to get supplies just as the West's biggest drugmakers slow deliveries to the bloc due to production problems. As vaccination centres in Germany, France and Spain cancelled or delayed appointments, the EU publicly rebuked Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca for failing to deliver and even asked if it could divert supplies from Britain.
28th Jan 2021 - MSN.com
Coronavirus: Germany may limit AstraZeneca jab to under-65s
Germany's vaccine committee has said AstraZeneca's Covid jab should only be given to people aged under 65. The committee cited "insufficient data" over its efficacy for older people. The European Medicines Agency is to decide on Friday whether to approve the vaccine for use across the EU. The UK has been using the AstraZeneca vaccine in its mass immunisation programme for weeks now, and public health officials say it is safe and provides "high levels of protection". The German announcement comes as the EU is in dispute with leading manufacturers over a shortage of vaccines on the continent.
28th Jan 2021 - BBC News
India will make more home-grown coronavirus vaccines available, Modi tells World Economic Forum
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would release more locally made Covid-19 vaccines as New Delhi continues to save the lives of people in other countries by exporting medicines and vaccines. “So far only two made-in-India vaccines have been introduced, but in the future many more vaccines will be made available,” Modi said at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, adding India had fulfilled its global responsibilities by setting up infrastructure related to vaccination. Modi also said India will issue health identity cards to 1.3 billion citizens. The South Asian nation, one of the world’s biggest makers of medicines, is producing two vaccines – Covishield, licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and Covaxin, developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with Indian Council of Medical Research.
28th Jan 2021 - South China Morning Post
Germany will mobilize up to 50 billion eur more state aid for firms
Germany has the fiscal strength to mobilize further state aid of up to 50 billion euros ($60.5 billion) for companies affected by the second coronavirus lockdown, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Thursday in a speech in parliament. This comes on top of grants already paid out of roughly 80 billion euros, an additional 23 billion euros as part of the Kurzarbeit job protection scheme, and a multi-year stimulus programme worth 130 billion euros, Altmaier told lawmakers.
28th Jan 2021 - Reuters
German minister sees COVID-19 vaccine shortage well into April
Germany faces a shortage of coronavirus shots well into April, its health minister said on Thursday, and called for a summit with the country’s state leaders to discuss vaccinations as the government faced fresh criticism over the pace of the roll-out. “We will still have at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage of vaccine,” Jens Spahn said in a Tweet, adding the meeting should focus on how Europe gets its fair share of shots and what can be done to support the process. Germany, like the rest of the European Union, is scrambling to obtain shots as the West’s biggest drugmakers slow deliveries to the bloc due to production problems. Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper described the problem of procuring enough vaccines as a “scandal”.
28th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Coronavirus: people of colour must get fair access to vaccines, Fauci says
The top US public health official and chief medical adviser to Joe Biden, Dr Anthony Fauci, has emphasised the need for people of colour to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccines. “I think that’s the one thing we really got to be careful of,” Fauci told the New England Journal of Medicine. “Most of the people who are getting it are otherwise, well, middle-class white people. You really want to get it to the people who are really the most vulnerable … you don’t want to have a situation where people who really are in need of it, because of where they are, where they live, what their economic status is, that they don’t have access to the vaccine.”
28th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 28th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullAstraZeneca denies pulling out of Covid-19 vaccine talks with EU amid row over doses shortfall
AstraZeneca has denied pulling out of vaccine talks with the European Union amid a row over a shortfall of doses for EU member states. The pharmaceutical company says it plans to meet with EU officials in Brussels later on Wednesday. The latest disagreement between the two sides came after AstraZeneca rejected the EU’s accusation that the company had failed to honour its commitments for the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine. The company says figures in its contract with the EU were targets that could not be met because of problems in rapidly expanding production capacity.
27th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard on MSN.com
Philadelphia let ‘college kids’ distribute vaccines. The result was a ‘disaster,’ volunteers say.
Philadelphia is home to some of the most venerated medical institutions in the country. Yet when it came time to set up the city’s first and largest coronavirus mass vaccination site, officials turned to the start-up Philly Fighting COVID, a self-described “group of college kids” with minimal health-care experience. Chaos ensued. Seniors were left in tears after finding that appointments they’d made through a bungled sign-up form wouldn’t be honored. The group switched to a for-profit model without publicizing the change and added a privacy policy that would allow it to sell users’ personal data. One volunteer alleged that the 22-year-old CEO had pocketed vaccine doses. Another described a “free-for-all” where unsupervised 18- and 19-year-olds vaccinated one another and posed for photos.
27th Jan 2021 - The Washington Post
Madrid region to halt new vaccinations as supplies run out
Supplies of coronavirus vaccines have become so scarce that the Madrid region of Spain will stop all new jabs for at least 10 days, a top official said on Wednesday, as Catalonia complained its supply was also running out. Madrid’s move appears to be the first such pause in the EU, highlighting the bloc’s mounting problems with distributing the vaccine. Ignacio Aguado, the deputy head of Madrid’s regional government, said shortages of both the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines — the only ones so far approved by the EU — meant it was impossible at “the current pace” to meet national and European targets of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population by the end of June. Instead, “we would take until 2023 to arrive at this level”, he added.
27th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Kamala Harris receives second dose of coronavirus vaccine
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff have received a second dose of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. She sat for her shot at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on Tuesday. The vice president urged “everyone to take the vaccine when it is your turn.” “It is really pretty painless, and it will save your life,” she said.
27th Jan 2021 - The Independent
"Vaccine nationalism" disputes threaten European nations' COVID-19 vaccine supplies
Disputes over the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines are threatening supplies between the United Kingdom and the European Union, as some world leaders accuse wealthy countries of hoarding doses. The scramble for vaccinations in Europe has never been more critical, CBS News' Charlie D'Agata reports, and the tension never higher. In the Netherlands, a night-time curfew that sparked riots this week was one of the more aggressive measures taken to stem the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus first identified in the U.K. — where a grim-faced Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country had become the first in Europe to surpass 100,000 COVID-linked deaths.
27th Jan 2021 - CBS News
Coronavirus UK: Britain falls off pace in Covid vaccine rollout
NHS England figures revealed today that there were 260,307 vaccinations administered across the country. The data revealed that the highest number of first doses were administered in the Midlands with 1,166,017. Britain remains ahead of all countries in Europe in vaccine drive and has one of the highest per-person rates
27th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
UK's Johnson hopes schools in England can reopen on March 8
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated Wednesday that the coronavirus lockdown in England will remain in place until at least March 8 as he ruled out any imminent return to school for most students. In a statement to lawmakers, Johnson also confirmed new restrictions for travelers arriving in England from countries deemed to be high-risk. He said the U.K. remains in a “perilous situation” with more than 37,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly double the number during the country's previous peak in April.
27th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Boris Johnson promises plan next month for 'phased' easing of lockdown
The PM has said he hopes a "gradual and phased" relaxation of Covid restrictions can begin in early March. Boris Johnson told MPs he intended to set out a plan for how the lockdown in England could be eased and the criteria involved in the final week of February. Factors will include death and hospitalisation numbers, progress of vaccinations and changes in the virus. He has ruled out schools in England re-opening after the February half term, instead setting an 8 March target. In a statement to Parliament, Mr Johnson said the scientific data was not sufficiently clear to make any decisions now but he hoped to publish a detailed roadmap in just under a month's time as the "picture became clearer".
27th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Vaccine's role in tackling transmission crucial to easing UK lockdown
The UK government has commissioned a study to investigate the effects of Covid-19 vaccination on transmission of the virus, which will play a big role in Boris Johnson’s decision on when to ease England’s lockdown. Coronavirus vaccines have been found to have a high degree of efficacy in providing immunity from the disease, but their impact on transmission of the disease is less clear. Downing Street officials said cutting transmission was a “critical factor” in easing the current restrictions. The study, which is being overseen by Public Health England, is focused on frontline healthcare workers who were given jabs early in the vaccination programme. Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer, is closely involved with the research, which is expected to conclude in late February.
27th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Covid England: Boris Johnson to unveil 'road map' out of lockdown
Boris Johnson has again insisted he takes responsibility for Government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. The PM said there were no 'easy' answers' as Keir Starmer highlighted the UK death toll topping 100,000. Mr Johnson said 'perpetual lockdown is no answer' as he said he will unveil a road map out of lockdown soon
Border crackdown is also set to be unveiled later with travellers from 'red list' countries in 'quarantine hotels.' Infection figures were down from 68,000 cases recorded on January 7 to just over 20,000 yesterday, he said
27th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Cyprus eases second virus lockdown
Cyprus announced Wednesday a cautious easing from February 1 of its national lockdown following a decline in the spread of Covid-19 infections that peaked after Christmas. The Mediterranean island went into lockdown on January 10 for the second time since last March after daily cases hit a record 907 on December 29.
Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the government has been relying on testing, restrictions and vaccinations to keep the pandemic in check.
27th Jan 2021 - FRANCE 24
Boris Johnson hopes to publish criteria for easing lockdown next month
The PM has said he hopes a "gradual and phased" relaxation of Covid restrictions can begin in early March. Boris Johnson told MPs he intended to set out a plan for how the lockdown in England could be eased and the criteria involved in the final week of February. Factors will include death and hospitalisation numbers, progress of vaccinations and changes in the virus. He has ruled out schools in England re-opening after the February half term, instead setting an 8 March target. In a statement to Parliament, Mr Johnson said the scientific data was not sufficiently clear to make any decisions now but he hoped to publish a detailed roadmap in just under a month's time as the "picture became clearer".
27th Jan 2021 - BBC News
South Korea willing to share COVID-19 vaccines with North, PM says
South Korea is willing to share excess COVID-19 vaccines with North Korea as part of an overall effort to resume relations with its nuclear-armed neighbor, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Wednesday.
27th Jan 2021 - UPI.com
Free vaccines and India's humanitarian diplomacy
Large parts of the world are still reeling from the spread of the coronavirus, with renewed lockdowns in effect in many places. With every stricken country focused on tackling its COVID-19 crisis, there is little international generosity in donating large quantities of medicines or vaccines when demand for them is sky-high. So, when India in recent days delivered millions of COVID-19 vaccines as gifts to countries in the Indian Ocean region, it attracted international attention. More than 5 million Indian-made vaccines were airlifted last week to countries extending from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Mauritius and the Seychelles. And millions of more free vaccines are on their way this week.
27th Jan 2021 - The Japan Times
Ireland plans to exit lockdown 'very slowly' after March 5 - deputy PM
Ireland is set to extend a shutdown of the economy until March 5 and will ease restrictions very gradually similar to its exit from an initial lockdown last year if it can suppress COVID-19 again, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Monday.
COVID-19 cases have begun to fall sharply in Ireland after exploding at the fastest rate in Europe at the turn of the year, fuelled by a four-week relaxation of restrictions and increasing prevalence of a new, more transmissible variant first detected in England. But with 766 COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people still recorded in the past 14 days, Varadkar and senior ministers will advise the Cabinet on Tuesday to keep most shops, building sites and all hospitality closed until March 5.
27th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Cyprus to ease lockdown measures gradually after fall in COVID cases
Cyprus announced on Wednesday a staggered easing of lockdown measures following a fall in the number of COVID-19 infections, including the reopening of primary schools and shopping malls on Feb. 8. The island has been in a strict lockdown since Jan. 10 after a spike in COVID-19 cases and the detection of a more contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain. Bans on large gatherings and the closure of shopping centres and restaurants had already been announced in December.
27th Jan 2021 - Reuters
India Has Plenty of Coronavirus Vaccines But Few Takers
Most of the world is struggling to secure enough vaccines to inoculate their populations. India has the opposite problem: Plenty of shots, but a shortage of people willing to take them. As India rolls out one of the world’s biggest inoculation programs, some health-care and other frontline workers are hesitating because of safety concerns over a vaccine that has yet to complete phase III trials. As of Monday, only about 56% of people eligible to get the shot have stepped forward in a nation with the world’s second-worst Covid-19 outbreak. Unless the inoculation rate significantly increases, India will fall far short of its target of inoculating 300 million people -- or about a quarter of the population -- by July. That will setback global efforts to contain the virus and snuff out optimism that a recovery is taking root in an economy set for its biggest annual contraction in records going back to 1952.
26th Jan 2021 - Bloomberg
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 27th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhite House expected to tell governors they will get more coronavirus vaccine doses starting next week
The Biden administration said Tuesday it will seek to buy another 200 million doses of the two coronavirus vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use in the United States. The purchases would increase available supply by 50 percent, bringing the total to 600 million doses by this summer. Because both products — one developed by Pfizer and German company BioNTech and the other by Moderna — are two-dose regimens, that would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million people. An estimated 260 million people in the United States are currently considered eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine, though Pfizer and Moderna have initiated trials for children as young as 12, the results of which could expand the pool
26th Jan 2021 - The Washington Post
EU threatens to impose export controls on Covid vaccines
Prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged to launch an inquiry into Britain’s handling of the pandemic, but insisted on Tuesday evening that “we truly did everything that we could, and continue to do everything that we can, to minimise [the] loss of life and to minimise suffering.” However, for many of those scientists who either advised the government or watched on helplessly from the sidelines as their warnings went unheeded, there is no excusing the realities of the past year and the scale of mortality that has swept across the UK.
26th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Covid vaccine: Scottish GPs say vaccination target for over-70s is a ‘big ask’
Coronavirus vaccination centres around Scotland will have to be operating at “full steam” in a matter of days for all over-70s to given their first dose on time, doctors have warned. Dr Andrew Buist, chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GPs group, described the official target of reaching this age group by mid-February as a “big ask”. While he said he was very confident that the over-80s would receive their first dose by the end of next week as planned, he was much less certain about the over-70s target.
26th Jan 2021 - iNews
People 75 and older can sign up for coronavirus vaccine beginning Wednesday
Massachusetts embarks on the next stage of its COVID-19 vaccination program on Wednesday, extending eligibility to people 75 and older, the population most devastated by the coronavirus, amid frustration over the pace and priority of distribution. As the Biden administration announced plans to buy 200 million more doses of the vaccine and increase weekly shipments to states, Massachusetts officials said residents 75 and over could now register for appointments at scores of immunization sites across the state. The first shots for this age cohort, approximately 450,000 people, will begin Monday. “By the end of this week, we will have 103 vaccination sites open to the public with the ability to administer about 240,000 doses each week,” Governor Charlie Baker said Tuesday in his State of the Commonwealth address. “And by mid-February, we will have 165 public sites, including seven mass vaccination sites, and all together, we will have the capacity to administer approximately 305,000 doses every week.
26th Jan 2021 - The Boston Globe
Wales reveals how much coronavirus vaccine is being wasted
The Welsh Government has published detail for how much coronavirus vaccine is being wasted. In total 0.3% of the vaccine distributed in Wales has been wasted - which is equivalent to around 870 of the 290,000 coronavirus doses that have so far been administered in Wales. See the daily update here. However Wales will not be releasing figures on coronavirus vaccine stock and supply levels - despite the health minister stating they would be in yesterday's press conference. Vaughan Gething said on Monday that information would be put in the public domain about the amount of vaccines Wales had received, the amount supplied and the amount of vaccine wastage. This information is in addition to the data Public Health Wales now releases on a daily basis showing the number of people being immunised against Covid-19 and their priority category. But the Welsh Government has now said that figures on the amount of doses supplied to Wales will not be released. It said that the UK Government has asked that vaccine stock data is not published "due to current commercial sensitivities".
26th Jan 2021 - Wales Online
Covid-19: Plans to vaccinate all over-65s by end of February
The Department of Health has said it plans to vaccinate everyone aged over 65 in Northern Ireland by the end of February. Both GP practices and regional vaccination centres will be used to vaccinate members of the public from prioritised groups. People aged between 65 and 69 in NI are to be vaccinated at their local vaccination centre. Until now only health care workers have been vaccinated at these locations. As of Monday, 159,642 people in Northern Ireland had received a first coronavirus vaccine dose. On Tuesday, the Department of Health daily figures reported an additional 16 Covid-19 related deaths and 550 new cases, bringing the total number of positive tests to 101,291.
26th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19 in Scotland: Half of over-80s have had first vaccine dose
More than half of people over 80 have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.The 51 per cent figure announced by Scottish ministers is significantly lower than the UK-wide average of 78.7
26th Jan 2021 - The Times
Four in five over-80s have had first COVID-19 jab despite weekend slump in vaccinations
Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said on 25 February that 78.7% of people aged over 80 have now received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine - up from 60% around a week ago. UK-wide there are 3.3m people aged over 80 - suggesting that around 2.6m in this cohort have had at least one dose of vaccine.
Of the 6.6m total first-dose COVID-19 jabs administered UK-wide to date, around 40% have gone to over-80s. NHS officials have said around three quarters of jabs in England have been administered by GP-led local vaccination sites.
26th Jan 2021 - GP online
Davos highlights: Merkel appeals for international co-operation to overcome Covid-19
European leaders on Tuesday urged greater international co-operation as they reflected on the pandemic and signalled hopes for Joe Biden’s administration to extend its early efforts to re-engage in multilateral forums. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said the coronavirus pandemic has been the “hour of multilateralism”, as she used her speech to plead for more international collaboration to defeat the virus. “We must choose the multilateral approach,” she said on Tuesday, adding that isolation was not the solution and urging for coronavirus vaccines to be distributed fairly to poorer countries. Ms Merkel also said the pandemic had highlighted the importance of international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris climate accord.
26th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Coronavirus: Vaccine supply fears grow amid EU export threat
The EU has warned Covid vaccine producers they must deliver agreed supplies, amid fears reductions could seriously hamper its inoculation drive. AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech have both said production problems mean they cannot supply the expected numbers. The EU warned it could restrict exports of vaccines made in the bloc, with Germany's health minister demanding "fair distribution". The UK's vaccine minister warned of "the dead end of vaccine nationalism". AstraZeneca is mainly produced in the UK, while the UK's supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine come from the company's Belgian plant.
26th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Delaying the second Covid dose in the UK is controversial, but it's the right decision
A recent YouGov poll shows that the British are among the most willing in the world to take the Covid-19 vaccine. This is good news. But there are still questions about the vaccines and the way they’re being deployed, especially after the government decided to spread out the time between the two doses from three weeks to 12 weeks. The confusion is understandable, as we are in a developing situation. Clear messages about why tough decisions are made can get lost in the noise. First, it is absolutely clear that the two Covid-19 vaccines that are being deployed in the UK will save lives. Moreover, they will reduce the burden on hospitals. The Pfizer data, measured from day 14 post-vaccination, showed only one severe case of Covid-19 in 21,000 vaccinated people. The AstraZeneca data showed no hospitalisations or severe disease in 6,000 vaccinated trial participants. The caveat to this was that there were a small number of cases in the first two months after the first vaccine dose. This brings me to an important point.
26th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Covid: No risk to delivery of Pfizer vaccine, minister insists, despite EU threat to impose export controls
There is no risk to deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine, a minister is insisting, despite the EU threat to impose controls over a separate row with UK-based AstraZeneca. Nadhim Zahawi sought to play down growing fears of “vaccine nationalism” – saying he was “confident” that tens of millions of doses of Pfizer jabs ordered from Belgium will arrive. Brussels announced plans for export controls after AstraZeneca – which was due to deliver 80 million doses to the EU by the end of March – suddenly said it was cutting supplies to as low as 30 million. But, asked whether the EU could prevent Pfizer vials leaving its borders, Mr Zahawi, the vaccines minister, said: “No, I'm confident that the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered.
26th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Lockdown UK: Schools to find out when they can reopen 'within days'
Schools are to find out when they can reopen ‘within days,’ Education Minister Nick Gibb said. He told MPs: ‘The Government recognises that headteachers, teachers, support staff and parents and carers need time to prepare for reopening. ‘That’s why (Education Secretary Gavin Williamson) made it clear we will give two weeks’ notice to schools colleges and universities so they can prepare for a return to face to face education. ‘We want to give notice so parents can get notice for the care of their children, and we will be making an announcement in the next few days.’
26th Jan 2021 - Metro.co.uk
How quarantine hotels could work for travellers arriving in the UK
Boris Johnson is considering making all travellers arriving in the UK – including Brits returning home – quarantine in hotels. International travel is banned during England’s lockdown, with exceptions for essential circumstances. The UK has already scrapped travel corridors, meaning anyone arriving from abroad – with the exception of Ireland – must self-isolate for 10 days.
26th Jan 2021 - iNews
Germany backs EU export restrictions on vaccine after supply cuts
Germany’s health minister supported European Union proposals to introduce restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday as tensions grew with AstraZeneca and Pfizer over sudden supply cuts just a month after the bloc started vaccinating citizens. The EU has proposed setting up a register of vaccine exports, amid frustration over delays in deliveries of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot and other supply problems. “I can understand that there are production problems but then it must affect everyone in the same way,” Health Minister Jens Spahn told ZDF television. “This is not about Europe first but about Europe’s fair share,” he said, adding it therefore made sense to have export limits on vaccines.
26th Jan 2021 - Reuters
U.S. will have enough Covid-19 vaccines for 300 million Americans by end of summer, Biden says
President Biden plans to purchase another 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which should give the U.S. enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer 2021, the administration announced in a press release Tuesday. The Biden administration will also increase the number of vaccines being shipped weekly to states from 8.6 million to 10 million. The move comes less than a week after the Biden administration released a sweeping national plan to revamp the coronavirus vaccine effort. That plan foreshadowed a number of the changes announced Tuesday, including purchasing more vaccines from vaccine manufacturers.
26th Jan 2021 - Stat News
UK health minister says new COVID variant makes it harder to lift lockdown
Britain’s health minister Matt Hancock said on Monday a new more infectious coronavirus variant means the government needs to be more cautious in lifting lockdown restrictions. The government said on Friday that the new variant may be 30% more deadly than the original strain. “There is no question the new variant made this fight a whole lot tougher,” Hancock told a press conference. “The critical message is we must be cautious. For all of us, our response must be extra careful.”
26th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 26th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Passengers may be required to pay for stay in quarantine
Passengers required to quarantine after arriving in Ireland may be asked to contribute towards the costs under new measures being discussed by the Cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19. The details of the measure are expected to be discussed later on Monday.
26th Jan 2021 - The Irish Times
Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon reveals almost half of over 80s have been vaccinated against Covid-19
Speaking at her daily press briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said 46 per cent of all over 80s had been given a jab since the start of the vaccine rollout. At the same time, she revealed that the Scottish Government would publish more detailed data on its immunization effort, including breakdowns of the number of people who have been vaccinated in each age and risk category.
25th Jan 2021 - The Scotsman
German health minister calls for coronavirus vaccine exports to be authorized by EU
The export of coronavirus vaccines should be authorized at the EU level before leaving the bloc, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday. “As the EU, we must be able to know whether and which vaccines are being exported from the EU,” said Spahn in a statement. “This is the only way we can understand whether our EU contracts with manufacturers are being served fairly.” The EU will be taking up the call for registration of exports, according to Reuters, quoting an official who stated that a transparency register would be created and come into force in the coming days.
25th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
COVID-19: Almost four in five of over-80s have received first dose of coronavirus vaccine but supply is 'tight', says Matt Hancock
Almost four in five of those aged over 80 have received a first dose of a COVID vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Mr Hancock said the government was "on track" to meet its deadline of offering a first dose of a coronavirus jab to 15 million of the most vulnerable by 15 February. He said more than one in nine of the UK's adult population had now received a jab, including 78.7% of all over-80s. Over the last week, 2.5 million got a vaccine at a rate of more than 250 people per minute, the health secretary added.
25th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: Why the US hasn't hit vaccine targets so far
President Joe Biden has pledged to boost the rollout of Covid vaccines in the US, and has criticised the speed of the operation under the previous administration. It's been "a dismal failure thus far," the president said, and he's committed to overseeing 100 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days. So how slowly has the rollout gone?
25th Jan 2021 - BBC News
California to reportedly lift Covid stay-at-home orders on Monday
California lifted its stay-at-home order statewide Monday after four-week projections showed intensive care unit capacity to be above 15% in beleaguered regions for the first time in weeks. “Today we can lay claim to starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel as it relates to case numbers,” said the California governor Gavin Newsom during a press briefing on Monday. Monday’s change moves counties back to a tiered system of reopening, with most regions across the state expected to move into the most restrictive tier. It lifts an evening curfew and, in many areas, will allow restaurants and churches to resume outdoor operations and hair and nail salons to reopen. Local officials still could choose to impose stricter rules.
25th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Difficult to put timeline on lockdown easing- UK minister
It is difficult to put a timelime on easing lockdown measures, Britain’s health minister said on Monday, adding that the government will look at the death rate, the number of hospitalisations, variants and the success of the vaccine rollout. “It is difficult to put a timeline on it because it is a matter of monitoring the data and the facts,” Matt Hancock told a press conference.
25th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Hancock says vaccine roll-out ‘on track’ as 4/5 of over-80s now jabbed
Nearly four in five over-80s in the UK have now received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, the Health Secretary has said. Matt Hancock revealed the latest figures at a Downing Street press conference and said the roll-out was “on track” to hit its target of vaccinating 15 million vulnerable people by February 15. Meanwhile, Tory MPs have warned that England’s school children have become the “forgotten victims” of the coronavirus pandemic, mounting pressure on Boris Johnson to get kids back into the classroom after the February half-term.
25th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
Bulgaria will have all travellers entering the country take Covid-19 test
On Monday, the health minister of Bulgaria announced that they will make all the travellers coming in the country, take a Covid-19 test in order to curb the spread of the new strain of coronavirus. Bulgaria will make everyone coming into the country take Covid-19 tests to stop the spread of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, health minister Kostandin Angelov said on Monday. Bulgarian health authorities say they have so far recorded eight cases of the new variant that was first identified in Britain. "Today we will undertake actions to make PCR tests compulsory for all travellers that want to enter the country, including from the European Union," Angelov told a government meeting. The country has seen a significant drop in new infections in recent weeks and is planning to ease some restrictions and reopen secondary schools, shopping malls and gyms from February 4.
25th Jan 2021 - Hindustan Times
Medical-grade masks now mandatory in Austria
Medical-grade FFP2 face masks are now mandatory in Austria for people aged over 14 on public transport, shops and businesses, pharmacies, as well as hospitals or medical practices. Austria is among the first European countries to make FFP2 masks mandatory. The measure has largely been accepted without complaint, despite controversy over other measures, such as the closing of schools while ski lifts remain open. Though often sold for more than €5 each just a few weeks ago, the masks, which block 94% of aerosols, can now be found at all grocery stores for 59 cent each.
25th Jan 2021 - RTE.ie
UK could face three-month ‘halfway house’ lockdown while over-50s get jabs
Under plans being considered, ministers could kick start the economy in April but a full easing of lockdown rules will be delayed to allow more people to get the vaccine.
25th Jan 2021 - Metro
Britain still a long way from easing virus lockdown, minister says
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday the country was still a long way from being able to relax a national lockdown despite evidence that the restrictions were bringing down the rate of COVID-19 infections. “There is early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down. But we’re a long, long, long way from that from being low enough because the case rate was incredibly high and you can see the pressure on the NHS (National Health Service),” he said during an interview on Sky News.
25th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 25th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullAstraZeneca warns EU countries it will cut deliveries of Covid-19 vaccine by 60% in first quarter
AstraZeneca has warned EU countries it will cut deliveries of its Covid-19 vaccine by 60 per cent to 31 million doses in the first quarter due to production problems.
The decrease deals another blow to Europe's Covid-19 vaccination drive after Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE slowed supplies of their vaccine to the bloc this week, saying the move was needed because of work to ramp up production. AstraZeneca was expected to deliver about 80 million doses to the 27 EU countries by the end of March, a senior official who was involved in the talks said. The official said AstraZeneca planned to begin deliveries to the EU from February 15, in line with original plans.
23rd Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Italy to take legal action on COVID vaccine delays to get doses
Italy will take legal action and step up pressure in Brussels against Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca over delays in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines with a view to securing agreed supplies, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday. The aim was to get the companies to meet the vaccine volumes they had promised and not to seek compensation, Di Maio said on RAI state television. “This is a European contract that Pfizer and AstraZeneca are not respecting and so for this reason we will take legal action... We are working so our vaccine plan programme does not change,” he said.
24th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Help With Vaccination Push Comes From Unexpected Businesses
Amazon wrote to President Biden on Thursday offering to assist with communication and technology. Microsoft is opening up its largely empty office campus as a vaccination center as part of a broader partnership with the State of Washington. Starbucks is assigning workers from its operations and analytics departments to help design vaccination sites, donating the labor to the same state while continuing to pay employees. While some retailers and pharmacy chains have been directly involved in the rollout of coronavirus vaccinations, more surprising is the number of companies that have offered help despite having little to do with health care. What these companies do have are vast national footprints, significant manpower, huge distribution warehouses and, in some cases, empty office buildings. And they have the money to spare for a public service effort that could boost both their public image and their bottom line.
23rd Jan 2021 - The New York Times
Behind Africa's Delayed Coronavirus Vaccine Access
NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and co-chair of a WHO review panel, on what could be a years-long COVID-19 delay in Africa.
23rd Jan 2021 - NPR
Coronavirus vaccine delays halt Pfizer jabs in parts of Europe
Vaccinations in parts of Europe are being held up and in some cases halted because of a cut in deliveries of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine. Germany's most populous state and several regions in Italy have suspended first jabs, while vaccinations for medics in Madrid have been stopped too. The US pharmaceutical firm has had to cut deliveries temporarily while cases in many European countries surge. Germany has reached 50,000 Covid deaths and Spain has seen record infections. Italy and Poland have threatened to take legal action in response to the reduction in vaccines. Pfizer said last week it was delaying shipments for the next few weeks because of work to increase capacity at its Belgian processing plant. The EU has ordered 600 million doses from Pfizer and has also authorised the Moderna vaccine.
23rd Jan 2021 - BBC News
Germany expects AstraZeneca to deliver 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in February
AstraZeneca informed European Union officials on Friday it would cut deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to the bloc by 60% to 31 million doses in the first quarter of the year due to production problems, a senior official told Reuters. The decrease deals another blow to Europe's COVID-19 vaccination drive after Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech slowed supplies of their vaccine to the bloc this week, saying the move was needed because of work to ramp up production.
"The good news is that if the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved at the end of January, we expect at least 3 million vaccine doses for Germany in February," Spahn told Bild am Sonntag in an interview.
23rd Jan 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
COVID-19: Three hospitals criticised for not vaccinating vulnerable inpatients
Vulnerable inpatients who are eligible for a COVID-19 jab are not being vaccinated in at least three hospitals in England. Sky News has seen evidence of hospitals telling the families of elderly non-COVID patients that they are only vaccinating outpatients, and not those staying overnight. Some 17.5% of COVID-19 patients caught the virus in hospital, according to analysis from the Daily Telegraph. Maria Thompson's 80-year-old mother has been in Merseyside's Whiston Hospital with an autoimmune disease for more than a week.
23rd Jan 2021 - Sky News
German minister warns against relaxing COVID-19 measures too soon
Germany’s coronavirus infection numbers are encouraging but remain too high, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday, dampening expectations that restrictions to curb the spread of the virus could be lifted. Spahn told a news conference that new, more transmissible strains of the virus made it imperative to reduce case numbers further. “It’s like an antibiotic: if you stop too early, stop too soon, resistance can develop,” he said. “We don’t want to be accused of having relaxed too soon.” Germany, in lockdown since early November, reported over 800 deaths and almost 18,000 new infections on Friday. The 7-day incidence fell to 115 cases per 100,000, its lowest since Nov. 1.
23rd Jan 2021 - Reuters
Greece lifts more lockdown curbs, to open highschools on Feb. 1
Greece will loosen some lockdown restrictions on Feb. 1, letting high schools reopen for the first time in more than two months after signs that the spread of COVID-19 infections has stabilised, officials said on Friday. The country, in lockdown since early November due to a spike in infections, has seen pressure on its public health system ease with infections receding. It reopened primary schools and kindergartens earlier this month.
23rd Jan 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Crowds at Heathrow Airport spark social distancing concerns
Crowds at Heathrow Airport have sparked "super spreader" concerns after pictures emerged of a packed departures hall with limited social distancing. Former British ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott posted a photo of Terminal 2 on Friday with the caption: "T2 Heathrow Friday afternoon. No ventilation. Long delays. Super spreading." Pictures and videos of huge queues for passport control have appeared on social media in recent days, despite international travel being largely banned. Britons are only allowed to go abroad for a small number of "legally permitted reasons" during lockdown, with arrivals requiring a negative coronavirus test from the past 72 hours before they are allowed entry.
23rd Jan 2021 - Sky News
South Africa paying more than double EU price for Oxford vaccine
South Africa will have to buy doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine at a price nearly 2.5 times higher than most European countries, the country’s health ministry has said. The African continent’s worst virus-hit country has ordered at least 1.5m shots of the vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), expected in January and February. A senior health official on Thursday told AFP those doses would cost $5.25 (€4.32) each – nearly two and a half times the amount paid by most European countries. European Union members will pay $2.16 (€1.78) for AstraZeneca’s shots, according to information leaked by a Belgian minister on Twitter.
23rd Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Canada considering quarantining travellers in hotels
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Friday his government could impose stricter restrictions on travellers at any moment in response to new, likely more contagious variants of the coronavirus – possibly making it mandatory to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada. Trudeau said at a news conference that such measures could be imposed suddenly and bluntly warned against nonessential trips abroad. “No one should be taking a vacation abroad right now. If you’ve still got one planned, cancel it. And don’t book a trip for spring break,” Trudeau said. Canada already required those entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days and to present a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days before arrival. The suggested measure would require isolating at a hotel rather than at home.
22nd Jan 2021 - Al Jazeera English
Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine unit struggles to add new hires as holiday nears
A Beijing unit of Sinovac Biotech manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine said it is facing difficulties in finding staff to expand production because of surging local infections and the imminent Lunar New Year holiday. Eleven people living in the Daxing district of the capital, Beijing, where Sinovac Life Science is based, were confirmed as COVID-19 patients between Sunday and Wednesday, forcing authorities to seal up some residential compounds and launch a mass testing scheme. “Many people dare not go to Daxing district to apply for jobs, nor do people outside Beijing dare to come to the city to work,” said Ma Hongbo, recruitment manager of Sinovac Life Science, in an article published by the Beijing Talent Market News, backed by the city’s human resources authority.
22nd Jan 2021 - Reuters
Europe’s growing mask ask: Ditch the cloth ones for medical-grade coverings
Faced with new, more contagious, strains of the coronavirus and a winter surge in cases, European nations have begun to tighten mask regulations in the hope that they can slow the spread of the virus. Germany on Tuesday night made it mandatory for people riding on public transport or in supermarkets to wear medical style masks: either N95s, the Chinese or European equivalent KN95 or FFP2s, or a surgical mask.
It follows a stricter regulation from the German state of Bavaria this week that required N95 equivalents in stores and on public transport. Austria will introduce the same measures from Monday.
20th Jan 2021 - Washington Post
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Jan 2021
View this newsletter in full11,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive in Estonia next week
Based on the data of the Ministry of Social Affairs, in total 10,950 doses of both Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna vaccines, should arrive in Estonia next week. Ministry of Social Affairs' media advisor Eva Lehtla told ERR that on Monday (January 25), 9,750 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive in Estonia and 1,200 doses of Moderna vaccine. Lehtla said the first Moderna doses arrived last week and there were also 1,200 of them. While AstraZeneca's vaccine had not been approved yet, Lehtla said, according to the current information, the European Medicines Agency should give its evaluation of the vaccine by January 29.
21st Jan 2021 - ERR News
Social care chief nurse urges workforce to take up Covid-19 vaccine
The chief nurse for adult social care has urged nursing staff in the sector to take up the offer of a Covid-19 vaccine “as soon as it comes”. Professor Deborah Sturdy’s appeal to the workforce comes as vaccines are rolled out to a wider group of social care professionals. While the first priority had been staff working in care homes for older adults, the vaccination programme has now been extended to other frontline social care workers as well as NHS staff who fall under priority group two.
21st Jan 2021 - Nursing Times
All overweight D.C. residents will get priority for the coronavirus vaccine. Experts are skeptical.
The District plans to give priority for coronavirus vaccines to the broadest possible swath of people with preexisting health conditions — a decision that will make hundreds of thousands eligible for scarce doses of the vaccine and that some public health experts say might not make medical sense. The plan, the details of which were confirmed by vaccine director Ankoor Shah, would offer vaccines to people whose weight and medical history would not qualify them for early access to the vaccine in almost any state in the country. D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt told members of the D.C. Council last week that she decided to open up vaccine access, possibly as soon as February, to such a large group in the hope of quickly vaccinating anyone who might suffer the worst outcomes if they contract the virus.
21st Jan 2021 - Washington Post
Scotland considers streamlining Covid-19 vaccine delivery for GPs
Calls from Scottish GPs for the coronavirus vaccine distribution process to be streamlined are to be considered by ministers, amid fears supplies are not getting to surgeries quickly enough. The British Medical Association (BMA) is pressing the Scottish Government to allow GPs to order their supplies directly, claiming the current system is too bureaucratic. It has asked Professor Alison Strath, the interim Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, to consider reforming the process so doctors can bypass health boards when ordering vaccines.
21st Jan 2021 - iNews
Where Are Our Coronavirus Vaccines? South Africans Ask
South Africa’s government, lauded for its swift lockdown in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus, is now being pilloried for being slow off the mark to secure vaccines. While developing nation peers such as Indonesia and Argentina are among more than 50 already administering shots, South Africa’s inoculation program has yet to get off the ground. In December, it pinned down sufficient doses to cover just 10% of the population from Covax, a facility that aims to distribute vaccines equitably around the world. But those are only due to start arriving next month and the authorities have been scrambling to source additional supplies.
21st Jan 2021 - Bloomberg
Spain’s Covid immunization drive dogged by line-jumping politicians and other irregularities
Concern is rising in Spain over the number of individuals who have jumped the line to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The list includes several mayors, a regional health chief and family members of medical workers. In these cases, the vaccine was administered even though the person did not belong to the first priority group of the ongoing campaign: residents and staff of care homes, other healthcare workers and people with serious disabilities. In some instances, this was due to a misunderstanding, and in others, the individuals jumped the line “to build confidence” in the vaccine or because there were “leftover doses.”
21st Jan 2021 - EL PAÍS in English
US to join global coronavirus vaccine program
Dr. Anthony Fauci says U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday will order the United States to support projects to deploy COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics to people in need around the world. Fauci also says the United States will cease reducing U.S. staff counts at the World Health Organization and will pay its financial obligations to it. Fauci, Biden’s top medical adviser on the pandemic, told the WHO’s executive board that the president will issue a directive Thursday that shows the United States’ intent to join the COVAX Facility, a project to deploy COVID-19 vaccines to people in need around the world — whether in rich or poor countries. Fauci also said the United States would support the “ACT Accelerator” — an umbrella effort including COVAX that also focuses on distributing diagnostic tools and therapeutics for the coronavirus to countries around the world.
21st Jan 2021 - The Independent
Coronavirus vaccine tracker: How many Canadians are vaccinated against COVID-19?
Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, Canada has launched the largest mass vaccination program in its history. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised that every Canadian — nearly 40 million people across 10 provinces and three territories — who wants to be inoculated against COVID-19 will be able to do so by September 2021. To keep track of it all, Global News has launched this project to keep track of:
How many Canadians have been vaccinated each day
How many people in each province have been vaccinated
How Canada’s vaccination efforts compare with the rest of the world
21st Jan 2021 - Global News
Biden inheriting nonexistent coronavirus vaccine distribution plan and must start 'from scratch,' sources say
Newly sworn in President Joe Biden and his advisers are inheriting no coronavirus vaccine distribution plan to speak of from the Trump administration, sources tell CNN, posing a significant challenge for the new White House. The Biden administration has promised to try to turn the Covid-19 pandemic around and drastically speed up the pace of vaccinating Americans against the virus. But in the immediate hours following Biden being sworn into office on Wednesday, sources with direct knowledge of the new administration's Covid-related work told CNN one of the biggest shocks that the Biden team had to digest during the transition period was what they saw as a complete lack of a vaccine distribution strategy under former President Donald Trump, even weeks after multiple vaccines were approved for use in the United States. "There is nothing for us to rework. We are going to have to build everything from scratch," one source said.
21st Jan 2021 - CNN
Fed-Up Executives Plot a Faster Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout
Executives from an industrial conglomerate, a health system and a professional sports ownership group met up this month in their Charlotte, N.C., neighborhood to walk and vent. The national rollout of Covid-19 vaccine doses, they agreed, wasn’t going fast enough. By the end of the stroll, they had sketched the outline of a plan to speed things up: Combine the logistics technology of Honeywell International Inc., the expertise of health system Atrium Health, and the real estate of Tepper Sports & Entertainment to inoculate thousands more people a day than the average North Carolina vaccination site currently does. “It’s the last mile,” Honeywell Chief Executive Darius Adamczyk said of the problems that have plagued the vaccine rollout. Mr. Adamczyk is part of the North Carolina trio, along with Atrium CEO Eugene Woods and Tepper President Tom Glick. “We dramatically need to pick up the pace.”
21st Jan 2021 - Wall Street Journal
Jumping Covid-19 vaccine queue is 'morally reprehensible' says top NHS doctor
It is "morally reprehensible" to try to jump the queue for the Covid-19 vaccine, a senior NHS director has said. Brits have reportedly been securing appointments for coronavirus vaccinations through links to the NHS booking system shared on WhatsApp and social media. The Evening Standard found people had secured jabs through the loophole which should go to the elderly and vulnerable. And today Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England regional medical director for London said they were denying vulnerable people a "life-saving vaccine". He told a Downing Street press conference: "People are being called in priority order so that we can vaccinate those most at risk of serious illness first. “That is why I was horrified to hear reports that some unscrupulous people have used links shared with them to try and falsely book a vaccination appointment.
21st Jan 2021 - The Mirror
Another 65 pharmacies join COVID-19 vaccination programme
A further 65 pharmacy-led sites will begin administering COVID-19 vaccinations over the coming days, but “many more” pharmacies are keen to offer their service, sector leaders say. The 65 additional sites – which include pharmacy teams operating from a mosque, pop-up Odeon and Village Hotel sites operated by Pharmacy2U and the Manchester Whalley Range Tennis and Cricket Club, run by Wilbraham Pharmacy – join the initial six pharmacies that went live last week (January 14).
21st Jan 2021 - Chemist+Druggist
Coronavirus: Emmanuel Macron promises more support for students in France
French university students have protested against the financial and psychological effects of the lockdown. The French president has promised to allow a very limited return to campus. French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pledged more support for students affected by university closures. Students had protested on Wednesday against campus closures as part of coronavirus restrictions, calling for a resumption of in-person teaching. They rallied against the financial and psychological effects of the lockdown.
21st Jan 2021 - Deutsche Welle on MSN.com
France may follow Germany in making clinical masks mandatory
Medical-grade face masks rather than cloth coverings could become mandatory in a number of European countries to help contain the rapid spread of highly contagious Covid variants first identified in the UK and South Africa. Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states agreed on Tuesday that either single-use surgical FFP1 masks or more protective FFP2 filtering facepiece respirators should be worn in the workplace, on public transport and in shops.
21st Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Mandatory travel quarantine should be introduced by Ireland, experts urge
Many countries across Europe including Ireland are concluding that the only way to curb Covid-19 “is to bring this virus sharply under control” with tighter measures on isolation and mandatory quarantine, according to public health specialist Prof Anthony Staines. Speaking at a webinar on the case for an international travel quarantine, the Dublin City University academic predicted that if Ireland was not the first country in the European Union to pursue this course, Germany would be. “Each country has to decide for itself what it wants to do. I have a sense across Europe that many are facing the same challenge that we’re facing and moving to the same conclusions. We need to bring this virus sharply under control. But they’re looking for someone to go first,” Prof Staines said at the event hosted by the Independent Scientific Advocacy Group (ISAG) for Covid in Ireland.
21st Jan 2021 - The Irish Times
Covid-19: Two weeks' notice for England's school return and warning over infection levels
Parents will know a fortnight in advance when their children will return to schools in England, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says. Telling BBC Breakfast he wants pupils back in classrooms at "the earliest possible opportunity", he says he's "not able to exactly say" when schools will reopen but the "key criteria" will be whether pressure on the NHS was lifting
21st Jan 2021 - BBC News
Schools will be first to open when lockdown relaxed, Gavin Williamson says
Schools will “very much be the first to open” when lockdown is eased, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said today. He stressed that teachers, parents and pupils would be given two weeks notice for the return to class and that he “certainly hoped” that would be by Easter. The Cabinet minister explained that this would not happen before the pressure on the NHS, with many hospitals struggling to cope with a surge in Covid patients, started to ease. “What we will be wanting to do is give schools as much notice as possible so teachers can get ready, children can prepare and parents know in order to be able to manage their lives,” he told Sky News.
21st Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
Coronavirus: Hungary first in EU to approve Russian vaccine
Hungary has become the first country in the European Union to give preliminary approval to the Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. On Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff confirmed both the Russian jab and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been given the green light by the health authorities. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is travelling to Moscow for further talks, where he is expected to discuss a shipment and distribution deal. Early results from trials of the Sputnik vaccine have shown promising results. Hungarian health officials are also in Beijing for talks with the Chinese authorities over the approval and immediate delivery of one million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which is already being used in neighbouring Serbia.
21st Jan 2021 - BBC News
Hungary gives initial approval for AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines
Hungary’s drug regulator has given initial approval for use of Britain’s AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday, confirming media reports. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was travelling to Moscow for talks about the Sputnik V vaccine later on Thursday, Gergely Gulyas told a briefing. If he secures a shipment deal with Russia, Hungary would be the first European Union member to receive the Sputnik V shot, underlining Budapest’s rush to lift coronavirus lockdown measures in order to boost the economy, even though the EU’s medicines regulator has yet to green-light the Russian vaccine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also not approved the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in Britain but a decision is expected on Jan. 29.
21st Jan 2021 - Reuters
Don't ease Covid lockdown too soon, expert warns
A public health expert has warned that the Government cannot “take the foot off the brake” on Covid restrictions “any time soon.” Dr Gabriel Scally told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that moving from Level 5 to Level 3 restrictions in December had not been a sensible decision. While the recent slow reduction in the number of cases was good, but there was still a long way to go. “It will take a long time to get the numbers really down.” There were serious questions about “how to take things forward” to keep the country safe for the rest of the year. Dr Scally said he supported a “zero Covid” policy, but that it would require a lot of planning now. “You can’t tell what decisions politicians will take.”
21st Jan 2021 - BreakingNews.ie
Covid-19 vaccine supply is running low. Here’s how Biden hopes to fix that
The Biden administration is willing to consider almost anything to boost the nation’s dwindling supply of Covid-19 vaccines. A new strategy document released Thursday, totaling nearly 200 pages, offers the first clear list of the options President Biden has before him, though it doesn’t specifically say he’ll actually take all of the steps. On the list are some controversial ideas, like cutting the amount of vaccine being administered to each American. He’s also made it clear he wants to utilize the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of key supplies, and some more straightforward options like buying more doses.
21st Jan 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullPH to receive COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX Facility within 1st quarter of this year
The country is set to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility within the first quarter of this year, government officials said on Wednesday night. This was announced by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
20th Jan 2021 - Manila Bulletin
Distributing the COVID-19 vaccine ... the just way
A look at COVID-19 vaccine distribution and how the developing world will almost certainly be left behind in the vaccination process.
20th Jan 2021 - Deutsche Welle
AstraZeneca and Pfizer supplies blamed for UK Covid vaccine slowdown
Mounting concerns about slowdown in vaccine rollout after three consecutive days saw falling numbers. Boris Johnson said 'on track' to hit mid-February target despite 37% dip on Monday compared to Friday. The PM admitted that 'constraints in supply' from Pfizer and AstraZeneca were making the situation harder. With possible exception of schools, unlikely to be any relaxation at first formal 'review point' in mid-February. Reports yesterday claimed that Boris Johnson was targeting Good Friday on April 2 as the earliest date. But several sources told the Mail that even this date could look optimistic, warning of restrictions into June. Britain recorded most deaths since the pandemic started yesterday, 30 per cent rise on same day last week. It comes amid alarm at the rising death toll in care homes, with fatalities doubling last week to 1,260
20th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Fury as coronavirus vaccine IT loophole 'allows people to jump the queue
Links to Swiftqueue website meant to allow over-70s and NHS staff book jabs
But they have reportedly been shared on social media and Whatsapp
People using them not asked for proof of eligibility when making appointments
20th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Coronavirus vaccine passports will leave bosses on shaky legal ground
With more than four million people in Britain having received a first dose of the Covid vaccine and another ten million or more expected to do so over the next month, there is a clamour for those protected from the virus to be allowed to go about their normal lives. Many businesses, particularly in the transport and travel industries, believe that vaccine passports could offer a way out of restrictions and governments are reviewing the feasibility of such schemes.
20th Jan 2021 - The Times
Saga requires all cruise customers to have Covid vaccine
Saga, the travel group targeting the over-50s, has become the first holiday business to insist that all of its customers must be vaccinated against coronavirus before they embark on its cruises. The company, whose customers are primarily in the UK, said on Wednesday that it had told holidaymakers they must be fully inoculated against the virus at least 14 days before travelling and take a pre-departure Covid-19 test. The requirement means customers must have had two doses of vaccine.
20th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Seoul to procure enough COVID-19 vaccines for North, South Korea
South Korea is preparing to secure more COVID-19 vaccines via technology transfer from U.S. manufacturers Novavax Inc. and Moderna, allowing the country to produce local doses and enough potential vaccines for North and South Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday during a visit to a SK Bioscience Co. plant in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, that Novavax vaccines will be produced in Korea and that enough vaccines to inoculate 10 million people will be secured through this supply agreement, Hankook Ilbo an and Yonhap reported.
20th Jan 2021 - UPI.com
COVID-19: Plans for daily testing in schools put on hold over worries about accuracy
Plans for daily tests in schools are being halted amid warnings about the accuracy of lateral flow tests. The rapid turnaround tests were due to be used to keep pupils and staff in school if they had come into contact with a positive case.
20th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19 vaccines diverted to areas lagging behind as overall numbers of vaccinations fall
Vaccine doses are to be diverted into areas falling behind with the coronavirus inoculation drive amid concerns over differing levels of vaccination across England.
As the Government fended off accusations of a “postcode lottery” in the programme, new vaccination figures suggested it was falling behind its pledge to supply the jabs to 14.6 million people in the most vulnerable groups by 15 February.
20th Jan 2021 - iNews
UK 'nowhere near' easing lockdown and vaccine 'may not give us full herd immunity'
The UK is "nowhere near" easing its various lockdown measures, the Chief Scientific Advisor warned today. Sir Patrick Vallance sounded the grim alert after reports suggested England's restrictions will only start easing significantly in April.
Boris Johnson previously claimed he wanted to lift restrictions from February 22, once the most vulnerable have a first vaccine dose. But the date appears to be slipping, with The Sun reporting he is now working on a plan to allow outdoor mingling at Easter. Sir Patrick today warned vaccines are not doing enough "heavy lifting" at the moment and case rates need to drop further.
20th Jan 2021 - Mirror Online
Covid lockdown cannot be eased while NHS looks like ‘war zone’, warns chief scientific adviser
Parts of the NHS are such “a war zone” that the UK cannot afford to relax its lockdown, the government’s’ chief scientific adviser has warned. Despite the vaccination of more than 4 million people against coronavirus, Sir Patrick Vallance warned that the country remains in “a difficult, dangerous situation”. Vaccines alone are not yet doing enough “heavy lifting” to allow lockdown restrictions to be eased, and when relaxation does come it will be slow and gradual, he said.
20th Jan 2021 - The Independent on MSN.com
London Schools Could Re-Open First After UK Lockdown, Official Says
The U.K. reported its highest daily death toll since the Covid-19 pandemic began, as data suggested one in eight people in England have had the disease. A further 1,610 people in the U.K. died within 28 days of a positive test, according to government figures released Tuesday -- taking the total number of deaths to more than 90,000. Covid-19 related deaths will “continue for some time throughout this second wave,” Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, said in a statement. “Whilst there are some early signs that show our sacrifices are working, we must continue to strictly abide by the measures in place.”
20th Jan 2021 - Bloomberg
As COVID-19 vaccination drives expand globally, many in India opt out of getting priority doses
Countries around the world stepped up their coronavirus vaccine campaigns Monday, with Russia offering jabs to all citizens, while an independent probe found fault with the early response to the pandemic. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Beijing could have acted faster when COVID-19 first surfaced in China a year ago, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response concluded in a report. It added that countries where the virus was likely to spread should have put containment measures in place immediately. With the global death toll now past two million, many governments are betting on mass vaccination to throttle the pandemic, while tightening lockdown measures at the same time. Nationwide rollouts from Brazil to Azerbaijan were getting underway Monday, while Britain and France were widening inoculations to all elderly people.
20th Jan 2021 - Firstpost
S.Korea may secure additional COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax, Moon says
South Korea may secure additional coronavirus vaccines for 20 million people from U.S. drugmaker Novavax Inc, President Moon Jae-in said, according to a statement from the presidential office on Wednesday. Novavax entered into a development and supply agreement for its vaccine with South Korea's SK bioscience Co last year, according to a statement in August. Moon visited SK bioscience's work site on Wednesday and said that the agreement between Novavax and SK bioscience "raised the possibility of securing vaccines for an additional 20 million people," the statement said. That is in addition to the vaccines that the South Korean government has secured so far. The country has secured 106 million doses to allow for coverage of 56 million people, more than the 52 million residents of the country, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong said earlier this month.
20th Jan 2021 - The Peninsula
South Africa's Ramaphosa scrambles for enough Covid-19 vaccines
The scramble by South Africa for Covid-19 vaccines is intensifying pressure on the government to square its plans for immunizing the country with reality. President Cyril Ramaphosa has sketched out a program to acquire and administer enough vaccines to immunize two-thirds of South African’s population of 58 million by the end of this year with the goal of achieving so-called herd immunity. But the plan suffers from a shortage of specifics and a surfeit of ambition, say some in the public health community, who have counseled the government to rethink its target and up its transparency.
20th Jan 2021 - Quartz
UK still in COVID-19 peril so too early to talk about lifting lockdown, minister says
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls for an inquiry into his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday as the country’s death toll neared 100,000 and his chief scientist said hospitals were looking like war zones. Johnson has been accused of reacting too slowly to the crisis, failing to supply sufficient protective equipment and bungling the testing system, although the United Kingdom has been swift to roll out a vaccine. The official death toll is 93,290 - Europe’s worst figure and the world’s fifth worst, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico. Deaths rose by another record daily number on Wednesday.
20th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Coronavirus: Vaccinators could lose their licences for giving second doses prematurely
Hospitals say they have been told they could lose their licence to deliver coronavirus vaccines if they give second doses to anyone before 12 weeks have passed since their first jab. In a message sent to vaccinators at the University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust and seen by The Independent, staff were told the hospital’s chief executive had been given a “crystal clear” instruction that no second doses should be given to anyone before 12-week mark. There is mounting criticism of the delays in giving frontline NHS staff a second dose of the vaccine amid concerns that these could leave them more at risk. Emerging data from Israel suggested on Wednesday that the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could be as low as 33 per cent after only the first dose.
20th Jan 2021 - The Independent
New York City reschedules 23,000 vaccination appointments due to supply issues
Tens of thousands of New Yorkers had their coronavirus vaccine appointments rescheduled this week due to a lack of supply, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Wednesday. According to the mayor, a delay in the delivery of Moderna's vaccine contributed to the supply issues, which puts the city's goal of 1 million vaccinations by the end of the month in jeopardy. "We've had to tell 23,000 New Yorkers who had an appointment this week that they will not be able to get that appointment for lack of supply," de Blasio said during a news conference.
20th Jan 2021 - The Hill
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 20th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullIreland’s first Covid-19 vaccine recipient receives second dose
The first person in Ireland to receive the Covid-19 vaccine has been given her second dose today. Dublin woman Annie Lynch (79) received the first round of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in St James’s Hospital on December 29, making her the first person in the country to be given the Covid-19 jab outside of clinical trials. The mother of three, who has 10 grandchildren, returned to St James Hospital to receive her second round of the vaccine.
19th Jan 2021 - Independent.ie
Coronavirus: India to provide vaccines to six countries from Wednesday
India will provide coronavirus vaccines made in the country to six nations - Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles - from Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Vaccines will be sent to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius as well, once necessary regulatory clearances are received, the ministry added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was a matter of honour and that vaccines will be sent to more countries. “India is deeply honoured to be a long-trusted partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community,” he tweeted. “Supplies of Covid vaccines to several countries will commence tomorrow, and more will follow in the days ahead.”
19th Jan 2021 - Scroll
More than 45,000 people in Florida are overdue for their second coronavirus vaccine dose
Of the 1.03 million people in Florida who have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine, 45,056 are overdue for their second dose. Florida's Department of Health has refused to answer questions about whether officials are concerned and reasons for why people have missed their second jab. Health experts say some might be worried about the side effects of getting the second dose, which is known to be stronger than the first. In a statement on Thursday, Gov Ron DeSantis urged Floridians being vaccinated to not forego their second shot
19th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Covid in Scotland: Concerns about vaccine supply amid GP frustration
Opposition parties have voiced concerns about vaccine supplies after "frustrated" GPs said they were still waiting for deliveries. At Holyrood on Tuesday, the first minister was pressed on why the rollout was going "so slowly" and on whether there was a problem with distribution. Dr Andrew Buist, of BMA Scotland, told the BBC that patients were getting anxious and practices could not plan. Nicola Sturgeon said there were ongoing challenges but targets would be met. Dr Buist claimed that as of Monday, the Scottish government had taken receipt of more than 700,000 vaccines - but only used 264,991.
19th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid vaccine: New York to run out of doses by Thursday, warns mayor
New York City could run out of Covid-19 vaccine doses by Thursday, warned Mayor Bill de Blasio, which could force the city to cancel vaccination appointments. “We will have literally nothing left to give as of Friday,” Mr de Blasio said. “What does that mean? It means that if we do not get more vaccine quickly, a new supply of vaccine, we will have to cancel appointments and no longer give shots after Thursday for the reminder of the week at a lot of our sites.” The warning came during the mayor’s coronavirus press briefing on Tuesday morning.
19th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Many health care workers are refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine
A significant percentage of doctors, nurses, EMS workers, support staff and other health care employees said they turned down the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines over concerns they may not be safe or effective, according to a recent survey by Surgo Ventures, a non-profit group focused on solving health and social problems. Others in the health field worried the development of the vaccine had been rushed. "We have a lot more work to do to get health care workers to take the vaccine. Simply making it available is not enough — we have to take a more precise, targeted approach to reach different segments of population to overcome hesitancy," Hannah Kemp, director of programs for Surgo Ventures, told CBS MoneyWatch.
19th Jan 2021 - CBS News
COVID-19: 'Vast majority' of over-80s should be vaccinated before jabs offered to over-70s, minister says
The "vast majority" of over-80s and care home residents should be vaccinated before local areas move on to giving jabs to lower priority groups, a cabinet minister has told Sky News. From this week, those aged over 70 and those listed as clinically extremely vulnerable will be invited to receive coronavirus vaccinations.
19th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Outcry in Italy at call for more vaccines for rich regions
The idea that richer areas should get a bigger share of coronavirus vaccines sparked an outcry on Tuesday (19 January) in Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. The proposal came from Letizia Moratti, the aristocrat wife of a late oil baron, who this month was appointed health chief of the northern Lombardy region, which includes Milan. Writing to the government coronavirus crisis commissioner, she said vaccines should be allocated to regions based not only on population density, but also on gross domestic product (GDP), local impact of the pandemic and levels of mobility. “It is not about giving more vaccines to richer regions… but in helping Lombardy’s recovery you would automatically help the recovery of the whole country,” she said in the letter, parts of which media published.
19th Jan 2021 - EURACTIV
Spain to extend COVID furlough scheme until May, PM says
Spain will extend its scheme supporting hundreds of thousands of workers furloughed due to COVID-19 until May, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday after the government, unions and business groups reached an agreement on the issue. The ERTE furlough scheme, which has benefitted millions of workers since the beginning of the pandemic, had been due to expire on Jan. 31 under a previous such agreement. As most of business restrictions were lifted during the past months following a nationwide lockdown, many furloughed workers returned to work though 755,000 were still on the state-supported furlough scheme in December.
19th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Japan scrambles to roll out vaccine, but how many people will get the shot?
The government is scrambling to begin the rollout of coronavirus vaccinations as early as the end of February. But in a nation where many people are skeptical about vaccines in general, Japan may face a daunting challenge in trying to convince people to get the shots even when they are available. There is a scientific consensus worldwide that the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and that they will help achieve herd immunity — a light at the end of the tunnel. Polls have shown recently that nearly 70% of Japanese are willing to get a coronavirus vaccine. But still, skepticism against vaccines is deeply rooted in the country. In a 2016 EBioMedicine study of 67 countries, 31% of Japanese were skeptical of vaccine safety, ranking third-highest following France (45.2%) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (38.3%). The global average was 13%.
19th Jan 2021 - The Japan Times
COVID-19: Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England, suggests Dr Jenny Harries
Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England as lockdown restrictions are eased, MPs have been told. Dr Jenny Harries, one of England's deputy chief medical officers, said there was "likely" to be regional differences in COVID measures once the national shutdown ends.
19th Jan 2021 - Sky News
UK still looking at mid-Feb for COVID lockdown review: minister
Britain’s government is still aiming to review COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in mid-February, Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis said on Tuesday. “When we put these current restrictions in place we said we would do a review in mid-February ... and that’s still the case,” Lewis told Sky News.
19th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Africa's fears over Covid-19 vaccine shortage
One of Africa's top public health officials, virologist Dr John Nkengasong has spoken of his concern that countries in the continent will not be getting the vaccines they need. The director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention told BBC World News: "We are truly headed towards a moral catastrophe if this situation isn't addressed." When the pandemic first hit the world it was agreed everyone needed equitable and timely access to vaccines, Dr Nkengasong said. Now that the vaccines are here it was time to translate those words into action he said, explaining that the second wave of the virus in the continent was much more aggressive and devastating.
19th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Most Americans want vaccine as nation tops 400,000 COVID deaths
One day before Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, a new poll from Washington Post-ABC News shows that 52% of Americans think the coronavirus outbreak is out of control, and 62% say trying to control the pandemic is more important than restarting the economy. The numbers come as a national vaccine campaign has rolled out in fits and starts across the country. Though the new poll still shows a political divide, most Americans said they will (40%) or probably will (23%) get a COVID-19 vaccine when one is made available to them. Half of Democrats polled said they would definitely get a vaccine, while only 25% of Republicans said the same.
19th Jan 2021 - CIDRAP
Coronavirus: Why South Africa has yet to roll out vaccines
More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa and numbers are surging with the emergence of a new variant of the virus. But unlike some other badly hit countries in the world, South Africa is yet to start its vaccination programme.
19th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 19th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullThese Over-90s Are Still Waiting For The Vaccine. Here's Why
On Monday, the British government announced people aged over 70 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable will begin receiving invitations for coronavirus vaccinations from this week. It came as officials announced more than 4m people in the UK have received the first dose of a vaccine. But HuffPost UK spoke to several people who said their elderly parents, all of whom were over the age of 90, had received no news regarding their vaccine appointments. One said hearing the latest announcement had only made things “even more frustrating” for their Lincolnshire-based mother, who is 94 and diabetic.
18th Jan 2021 - Huffington Post UK
Governors express anger as Covid vaccine stockpile vanishes
In the US, several governors expressed exasperation at the Trump administration after being assured that the federal government had enough vaccine stockpiled to speed up or expand state rollouts only to be later told those reserves don't exist. Among them are Wisconsin's Democratic governor, Tony Evers who has been taking heat from the state's Republican-led Legislature over the slow pace of vaccinations. Several other governors including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, were left scrambling to alter plans to expand the rollouts in their states, including to senior citizens.
18th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Second Covid vaccine doses in doubt amid call for study into single jab
In England, the foreign secretary cast doubt on whether all people would be given a second dose of coronavirus vaccine as leading academics said the government had a duty to run trials into giving it as a single injection. Dominic Raab repeatedly declined to guarantee that all people who had received a first dose would get a second within 12 weeks. He instead said that the government was “aiming for” everyone to get a second jab. Sheila Bird, former programme leader at the Medical Research Council’s biostatistics unit, has written to Matt Hancock, the health secretary, calling for a study to begin immediately to investigate the effect of extending the gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.
18th Jan 2021 - The Times
More than 4 million Britons receive first COVID-19 vaccine dose
More than 4 million people have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, according to official data on Monday which showed there had been a further 37,535 cases reported and 599 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. A total of 4,062,501 people have received their first shot Public Health England said as the government ramps up the vaccination programme.
18th Jan 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19: 24-hour vaccination sites to be piloted in London before end of January
Twenty-four hour vaccination sites will be piloted in London before the end of January, the vaccines minister has said. Speaking to Sky News, Nadhim Zahawi said the NHS will be "targeting forensically who we want to protect" to ensure the most vulnerable people can be vaccinated first. He said that as there is "limited supply" of the vaccine, "it needs to get into the arms of the most vulnerable" such as those who are elderly or clinically extremely vulnerable. Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director for England, told Sky News the 24/7 pilot would be starting "within the next week or two". The current 8am to 8pm vaccination times have been working for the over-80s, and some areas of the UK have managed to give out first jabs to the majority of this age group.
18th Jan 2021 - Sky News
UK coronavirus: Mutations mean lockdowns needed as vaccine rolls out
Dr Christina Pagel said Britain should still be going for 'suppression' of Covid
Said she 'can't think of anything worse' than jabs being outdated in 6 months
NHS vaccinated nearly a million people across the UK last week in fast roll-out
Coronavirus mutations have become serious concern in recent months
Approval and roll-out of vaccines means scientists want virus to stay the same
18th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
England extends Covid vaccines to over-70s
People aged over 70 will start receiving invitations for their first Covid-19 vaccination from Monday, along with the clinically extremely vulnerable, as the programme enters a new phase. The NHS has concentrated over the past month on giving jabs to its highest priority categories — the over-80s, frontline health staff and care home residents and workers. But with 3.8m vaccinations administered, ministers have given sites approval to offer injections to the next two “cohorts” of over-70s and “clinically extremely vulnerable” people with conditions such as cancer, Down’s syndrome, cystic fibrosis or severe asthma.
18th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Indian companies prepare to buy vaccines for employees
Several Indian companies are considering buying COVID-19 vaccines for their employees, once they become available commercially, just days after the government began a huge vaccination drive. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched what his government has described as the “world’s largest vaccination programme”. It aims to inoculate around 300 million people to curb the pandemic in India, which has reported the second highest number of coronavirus cases after the United States. India vaccinated 148,266 people on Monday, taking the total to 381,305, the health ministry said.
18th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Covid UK: Travellers into the UK face Australia-style 'hotel quarantine'
Travellers into the UK face being forced to quarantine in hotels from 4am
Ministers have asked officials to prepare for creation of quarantine hotels
Arrivals would be required to self-isolate before being allowed out
18th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Germany plans more tests, sequencing to deal with new coronavirus strains
Top German politicians on Monday called for new measures to slow the spread of new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus, including more health checks for cross-border commuters and intensified gene sequencing of virus samples. In future, health labs will have to sequence 5% of the samples they collect when screening for the coronavirus to check if they match more virulent variants first identified in Britain and South Africa, or if new mutations were emerging in Germany. National and regional leaders are due to meet on Tuesday to decide on new measures. “We still have a big risk ... that is the risk of mutation,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference, calling for a joint European response. An outbreak of a mutated variant of the coronavirus at a clinic in the southern German alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which appeared not to be one of the known variants, fanned the concerns.
18th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Brazil vaccinations start as country faces vaccine ingredient shortfall
Brazil kicked off a nationwide COVID-19 immunization program on Monday by distributing doses of a vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech following an emergency use authorization, although the pace of vaccination will depend on delayed imports. After weeks of setbacks, many Brazilians cheered the first wave of inoculations, from bustling clinics in Sao Paulo to a spectacular shot planned at the foot of the Christ Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The Health Ministry gave states the green light to start immunizing at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT). Although some began administering shots before that, the majority of Brazil’s 26 states had yet to receive vaccine shipments as of Monday evening, delaying the start of vaccinations for the elderly and frontline health workers.
18th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Independent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays
An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO’s top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week “very soon”. “What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January,” the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.
18th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 18th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullGPs ‘forced to bin leftover vaccines’ amid struggle to book exact number of Covid vaccine recipients
In the UK, GPs are being forced to bin leftover vaccines rather than give patients second doses or use them on staff, according to reports. Local NHS leaders are said to have issued the vaccine disposal instructions to doctors organising clinics. The revelation comes as Pfizer said there would be a short delay to UK orders of its vaccine. GPs are struggling to book the exact number of appointments to match the doses of the vaccine which needs to kept at -70c, which adds another layer of difficulty.
17th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
UK ‘on home straight’ as Covid vaccine rollout increases
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the UK is "nearly on the home straight" out of the pandemic as the vaccine rollout gathers pace. More than 324,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in the space of 24 hours, new Government statistics showed , with 3.5 million people in the UK now receiving their first dose of a vaccine, with new vaccination centres opening from tomorrow. But Government sources have “dismissed as speculation” reports that every adult in Britain could be vaccinated by the end of June. Other reports state the government is looking at relaxing lockdown restrictions in March.
17th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
COVID-19: More than half of over-80s have received vaccine as 140 jabs given a minute
More than half of over-80s in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, as the government has revealed that 140 jabs are being given out a minute. Sharing the news on Twitter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I'm delighted that over half of all over-80s have been vaccinated. "Each jab brings us one step closer to normal."
17th Jan 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19: Some restrictions could go by March and vaccine should be offered to every adult by September
All UK adults should be offered the first dose of a COVID vaccine by September - with the hope some restrictions can be lifted by March, Dominic Raab has told Sky News. The foreign secretary said: "Our target is that by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose, if we can do it faster than that great but that's the roadmap." The target is more specific than the government's COVID-19 vaccine delivery plan, published a week ago, which said that level of protection should be provided "by the autumn".
17th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: England delivering 140 jabs a minute, says NHS chief executive
People in England are being vaccinated four times faster than new cases of the virus are being detected, NHS England's chief executive has said. Sir Simon Stevens told the BBC that 140 people a minute were now being given the jab, usually the first dose of two. But he said the NHS had never been in a more precarious position, with 75% more Covid patients than at the April peak. It comes as a further 298,087 people received their first dose of the vaccine on Saturday. There were also 671 more deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test, and another 38,598 positive tests. Sir Simon said some hospitals would open for vaccinations 24 hours a day, seven days a week on a trial basis in the next 10 days.
17th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Lifting lockdown in February would be ‘disaster’ for NHS, top scientist warns
It would be a ‘disaster’ to remove coronavirus restrictions at the end of February, even if the vaccine target is met, according to a leading expert. Epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds – who sits on the Government’s Sage committee of scientific advisors – warned against lifting lockdown too soon because of the ‘enormous pressure’ it would place on the NHS. He also said it was ‘likely’ both variants of Covid first detected in Brazil have already made it to the UK before new travel restrictions were introduced.
17th Jan 2021 - Metro
Greece starts COVID-19 vaccinations among the elderly
Greece kicked off COVID-19 vaccinations among the elderly on Saturday, after first inoculating tens of thousands of frontline workers to fight the spread of the coronavirus. More than 75,000 healthcare workers and nursing home residents and carers have received the shot of the vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech since Greece rolled out the plan along with other EU countries last month.
17th Jan 2021 - Reuters
German minister says COVID curbs should be eased for vaccinated people
People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be allowed to go to restaurants and cinemas earlier than others, a German minister said, contradicting other cabinet members who have so far opposed special freedoms for those inoculated. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the state had massively restricted people’s basic rights in order to contain infections and avoid overwhelming hospitals. “It has not yet been conclusively clarified to what extent vaccinated people can infect others,” Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. “What is clear, however, is that a vaccinated person no longer takes a ventilator away from anyone. This removes at least one central reason for restricting fundamental rights.”
17th Jan 2021 - Reuters
UK hopes to ease lockdown from March: minister
Britain’s government hopes to ease some lockdown restrictions in March as it presses ahead with Europe’s fastest rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday. The country, which also has Europe’s highest COVID-19 death toll, has been under national lockdown since Jan. 5, with schools closed for most pupils, non-essential businesses shut and people ordered to work from home where possible. “What we want to do is get out of this national lockdown as soon as possible,” Raab told Sky News television.
17th Jan 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Second variant from Brazil 'likely' already in the UK, SAGE scientist says
The second of two new coronavirus variants from Brazil is likely to already be in the UK despite the government imposing a travel ban, a leading epidemiologist has warned. Eight cases of the first variant, which has a small number of mutations, have been identified in the UK. The second, which has been detected in the Brazilian city of Manaus and in travellers arriving in Japan, has not been detected in the UK so far.
17th Jan 2021 - Sky News
From hard lockdown to tactful reopening: How China bounced back from Covid
The smell, salty and pungent, wafts through the freshly paved streets near the gleaming new factory. The factory is owned by a company called Laoganma, which makes a piquant chili-and-soybean sauce famous across China for its power to set mouths watering. In a time of global pandemic, when the jobs of working people around the world hang in the balance, the factory’s scents signal opportunity. Since it opened in March, when China was still in the grip of Covid-19, the factory has struggled to find enough machinery operators or quality control technicians. Now workers are flocking to Changmingzhen, a once-quiet farming town ringed with green mountains and rice paddies, from which young people once fled for better jobs elsewhere.
17th Jan 2021 - Business Standard
India Kicks Off A Massive COVID-19 Vaccination Drive
Cheers erupted in hospital wards across India on Saturday as a first group of nurses and sanitation workers rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated against COVID-19, at the start of what's likely to become the biggest national vaccination campaign in history. India aims to vaccinate 300 million people by July, though it could take an additional two or more years to inoculate all nearly 1.4 billion Indians. The shots are voluntary. Hospitals and clinics have been setting up and rehearsing for weeks. "A proud moment indeed! This is what we've been waiting for," Dr. R. Jayanthi, dean of the Omandurar Medical College in the southern city of Chennai, told local media moments after receiving her shot. "I'm truly a very privileged beneficiary today, and I'm feeling absolutely fine."
17th Jan 2021 - NPR
Coronavirus: EU anger over delayed Pfizer vaccine deliveries
Several EU countries are receiving significantly fewer doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine than expected, after the US firm slowed shipments. Six nations called the situation "unacceptable" and warned it "decreases the credibility of the vaccination process". Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia urged the EU to apply pressure on Pfizer-BioNTech. Pfizer said the reduced deliveries were a temporary issue. In a statement on Friday, the drugmaker said shipments were being affected by changes to its manufacturing processes designed to boost production. "Although this will temporarily impact shipments in late January to early February, it will provide a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March," Pfizer said.
16th Jan 2021 - BBC New
Care boss' frustration over coronavirus vaccine no-shows in Gwent
A care boss has been left frustrated by people in Gwent not turning up for coronavirus vaccines. Mary Wimbury, the chief executive of Care Forum Wales which represents nearly 500 independent providers, said it was particularly galling when many vulnerable care home residents in the Aneurin Bevan health board area are desperate to have them. There has been a significant number of no-shows across Wales at a time when vaccine supplies are limited. It was now, said Ms Wimbury, a race against time to get all 23,000 care home residents as well as the 12,000 staff in Wales vaccinated, with the Welsh Government promising that all of them will be given the jab before the end of January.
16th Jan 2021 - South Wales Argus
Biden details 5-step COVID vaccine plan, names new lead for vaccines
President-elect Joe Biden revealed details of his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, which includes an emergency vaccination and relief package to help see America through the COVID-19 pandemic, and today the former vice president presented a 5-point plan aimed at quickly ramping up vaccinations. "We're sparing no effort in getting Americans vaccinated," Biden said. "We remain in a very dark winter, the infection rate is up 34%, we see 3 or 4,000 deaths per day. Things will get worse before they get better." Biden named a new head for Operation Warp Speed, which promoted rapid vaccine development under President Donald Trump, though the Biden team will rename the effort. Biden said the Trump administration's efforts to roll out two approved COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer and one from Moderna, was a dismal failure. He said he wanted to turn frustration into motivation and meet his goal of 100 million shots during his first 100 days in office.
15th Jan 2021 - CIDRAP
Biden will mobilize FEMA, the National Guard, and pharmacies to ramp up vaccine distribution
President-elect Biden’s newly released vaccine distribution plan promises to dramatically increase the number of vaccination sites in America by mobilizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard, relying on low-income community health centers, and pharmacies around the country. Biden unveiled the plan in a Friday afternoon speech in which he doubled down on his long-stated goal: Administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office. “Some wonder if we’re reaching too far for that goal,” Biden said. “Is it achievable? It’s a legitimate question to ask. Let me be clear. I’m convinced we can get it done.”
15th Jan 2021 - STAT News
EU countries decry ‘very short notice’ of delay in delivery of Pfizer vaccine
EU governments struggling with the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines have hit out at plans by Pfizer to delay supplies to European countries, including the UK, from next week. Germany’s health ministry said on Friday that it regretted the “unexpected and . . . very short notice” announcement, especially as the US pharmaceuticals company had promised “binding delivery dates” until the middle of next month. Health ministers from six Nordic and Baltic states also expressed “severe concern about the sustainability and credibility of the Covid-19 vaccination process” following the US company’s decision.
15th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
The Covid-19 Death Toll Is Even Worse Than It Looks
The recorded death count from the Covid-19 pandemic as of Thursday is nearing 2 million. The true extent is far worse. More than 2.8 million people have lost their lives due to the pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from 59 countries and jurisdictions. This tally offers the most comprehensive view yet of the pandemic’s global impact. Deaths in these places last year surged more than 12% above average levels. Less than two-thirds of that surge has been attributed directly to Covid-19. Public-health experts believe that many, if not most, of the additional deaths were directly linked to the disease, particularly early in the pandemic when testing was sparse. Some of those excess deaths came from indirect fallout, from health-care disruptions, people avoiding the hospital and other issues.
14th Jan 2021 - The Wall Street Journal
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 15th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullThe future of the Covid vaccine: Inside New York City’s pop-up clinics
On a normal weekday, Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, would be filled with students congregating in the hallways and attending classes. But the school has instead faced a pandemic transformation, becoming one of the latest vaccination pop-ups to open up across New York City. When eligible residents arrive on the site, which officially opened on Sunday, they are asked to confirm their online appointment with a staff member before they are guided along a stickered path through the hallways of the high school.
14th Jan 2021 - The Independent
COVID-19: Success of vaccine rollout will remain a mystery so long as government keeps key data under wraps
The COVID vaccine rollout is the biggest in the history of the NHS, but we're not being given the information to judge how well it's going. Yes, we know how many people are getting their first dose, so we can track progress towards the government's target of protecting the 15 million people most vulnerable disease.
But the rollout isn't happening anywhere near fast enough.
14th Jan 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19: Disruption to vaccine rollout as people trek for miles in snow for jabs - and others told to stay at home
Heavy snow has battered parts of the country, with people trekking for miles in freezing conditions to receive COVID jabs and others told to rebook and avoid the poor weather. GPs in Leeds have been "frantically" trying to fill cancelled vaccination appointments - but elderly people due to receive a jab in Newcastle today were told to rebook and stay at home. The disruption to the vaccine rollout comes after parts of the North saw snowfall overnight and today. Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said there was "no need to risk travelling in the bad weather".
14th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Pope Francis, 84, receives his first dose of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine
Vatican began vaccinating its population of 800 against Covid on Wednesday
Pope Francis, 84 and with only one lung, was among the first to get a shot
Pope Emeritus Benedict, 93, received his jab early on Thursday, Vatican said
Francis told Catholics it is their 'moral duty' to be vaccinated against the virus
14th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Fourth coronavirus vaccine to be trialled in Birmingham as UK orders 60 million
A fourth Covid vaccine is undergoing a trial in the UK as the government orders 60 million doses. The Valneva coronavirus vaccine is being developed in West Lothian and will initially be tested on 150 volunteers at four National Institute for Health Research sites across the UK. Trials are set to begin within months at sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Southampton. Alok Sharma said: “Today we have more welcome news that life-saving clinical trials will begin across the country to test the safety and effectiveness of Valneva’s coronavirus vaccine, which is being clinically developed right here in the UK.
14th Jan 2021 - Birmingham Live
Mayor: Chicago opening 6 mass COVID-19 vaccination sites
The city of Chicago is opening six mass COVID-19 vaccination sites that’ll be able to deliver roughly 25,000 weekly shots once operational, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday. Lightfoot visited one of two new sites that opened Thursday but said Chicago needs many more first doses to protect all Chicagoans quickly. The last three sites are expected to open in the next week. Most are at City Colleges of Chicago campuses. “We are frustrated by the federal government's response to COVID-19 overall, but particularly the vaccine rollout which is not delivering on its promises of the quantities that we've seen," Lightfoot said after touring a Richard J. Daley College site.
14th Jan 2021 - Associated Press on MSN.com
Quebec says some regions running out of COVID-19 vaccine, but new shipments coming
Quebec will wait up to 90 days before giving a COVID-19 vaccine booster to people who have received a first shot, Health Minister Christian Dube said Thursday. That delay goes far beyond the recommendation of vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna, which propose intervals of 21 and 28 days, respectively, and is more than double the 42-day maximum delay proposed by Canada’s national vaccine advisory committee. Dube told a news conference that the decision was made in order to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible and to reduce the pressure on the health system. “In our context, this is the best strategy, because we have to contend with (having) very few vaccines, and we’re in a race against the clock,” Dube told a news conference.
14th Jan 2021 - The Star
Covid-19: High Street chemists start vaccinations in England
Some High Street pharmacies in England will start vaccinating people from priority groups on Thursday, with 200 providing jabs in the next two weeks. Six chemists in Halifax, Macclesfield, Widnes, Guildford, Edgware and Telford are the first to offer appointments to those invited by letter. But pharmacists say many more sites should be allowed to give the jab, not just the largest ones. More than 2.6 million people in the UK have now received their first dose. Across the UK, the target is to vaccinate 15 million people in the top four priority groups - care home residents and workers, NHS frontline staff, the over-70s and the extremely clinically vulnerable - by mid-February.
14th Jan 2021 - BBC News
No need to extend lockdown in Ukraine - deputy minister
Ukraine's health ministry expects the country's strict lockdown will end as scheduled on Jan 25, Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted the deputy minister as saying on Thursday. Ukraine closed schools, restaurants and gyms last week. Viktor Lyashko said the ministry expected to exit the lockdown on Jan. 25 and not have to introduce any further strict measures in the future. The number of new COVID cases dropped in early January to less than 10,000 a day from record levels in mid-December. The country has registered more than 1.1 million coronavirus cases with 20,376 deaths as of Jan. 14.
14th Jan 2021 - Reuters on MSN.com
Airlines face more turbulence before vaccine relief
For a year expected to mark a turning point for pandemic-stricken European airlines, 2021 is off to a rough start. A resurgence of COVID-19 lockdowns has killed off a fragile bookings upturn, executives and analysts said, as insolvent Norwegian Air finally axed its long-haul operations on Thursday. The setbacks deal a blow to airline hopes that the promise of vaccines would put the worst of the crisis behind them, and set the stage for a summer rebound. New outbreaks and travel restrictions - some designed to curb the spread of a highly infectious virus variant detected in Britain - have hit forward bookings that are usually relied upon to bring in vital cash during the thin winter months. Global airline industry body IATA believes a return to positive cash flow “might not arrive before the end of the year,” Chief Economist Brian Pearce said.
14th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Australian scientists suggest delaying AstraZeneca vaccine as infections fall
Some Australian scientists have proposed delaying mass inoculation using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine with a view to considering a different shot instead. Questions surrounding the vaccine in Australia, which recorded just one new local case of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, have cast a cloud over its immunisation plans, with 53 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine already on order. Experts cited data showing the AstraZeneca shot, co-developed with Oxford University, had 62% efficacy compared with more than 90% for a vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. "The question is really whether it (AstraZeneca) is able to provide herd immunity. We are playing a long game here. We don't know how long that will take," said Professor Stephen Turner, president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI).
14th Jan 2021 - Yahoo News
Outrage as people in Coventry offered Covid jab over 100 miles away
People in Coventry are being invited to travel more than 100 miles for their first Covid-19 jab, prompting politicians and GPs in the city to criticise the government’s national programme of vaccinations. Residents aged over 80 received letters over the weekend saying they could travel to Manchester to get the jab, despite government policy that patients should not have to drive more than 45 minutes to a centre. The Coventry North MP, Taiwo Owatemi, said: “I was ecstatic that Coventry was the first in the world to administer the vaccine but it has been wholly disappointing that progress has stunted since. “I am outraged that patients in the high-risk category are having to choose between putting themselves at risk and travelling over 100 miles to Manchester or delay their receipt of the vaccine.”
14th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
GPs in England say inconsistent supply of Covid vaccine causing roll-out issues
Inconsistent vaccine supply is making it difficult for GPs in England to book patient appointments more than a few days in advance, experts have warned, as the prime minister admitted there were significant disparities in local immunisation rates. Doctors, NHS specialists and MPs told the Guardian that batches of the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine frequently arrived with only a couple of days’ notice, requiring last-minute planning and creating uncertainty for patients. Insiders said the distribution system was operating on a “push model” meaning that doctors could not order the vaccine but simply had to be ready to be receive batches whenever the NHS was able to deliver them.
14th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Boots and Superdrug start dishing out Covid vaccines as six high street pharmacies are recruited and No10 says it's on track to do 3m jabs a week — but independent chemists fear UK will fail to hit target unless it uses 'many more, much sooner'
MailOnline revealed this week Boots in Halifax and Superdrug branch in Guildford would join vaccine effort. Chains are among six high street pharmacies across England to be converted into Covid hubs this morning. Calls for ministers to go further and use England's 11,500 pharmacies to deliver round-the-clock vaccinations
14th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Vaccination drive against coronavirus begins with health care workers in Turkey
Turkey moved on to a new chapter in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as health care workers started taking jabs of CoronaVac, developed by China’s Sinovac, in an inoculation drive that began Thursday. The country’s Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TITCK) on Wednesday approved the emergency use of the vaccine. The approval came after a 14-day testing period, which began when the first shipment of the vaccine, containing 3 million doses, arrived in the country on Dec. 30. "Following scientific inspections and evaluations, the vaccine has been authorized for emergency use," the TITCK said in a statement. The samples of the vaccine were tested in accordance with the routine quality control processes applied all over the world, the Ministry of Health previously said in a statement. Analyses were conducted to check the expected quality, effectiveness and reliability of the vaccine when it is stored and applied under conditions defined by the company throughout its shelf life.
14th Jan 2021 - Daily Sabbah
With Covid-19 approvals, ‘vaccine nationalism’ is a worrisome trend
Just after New Year’s Day, regulators in India granted authorization for restricted use to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, adding another Covid-19 vaccine to the list of those that have been approved for use in various countries around the world. New vaccines against Covid-19 are sorely needed worldwide, especially in low-income countries, which are being left behind as high-income countries adopt “vaccine nationalism” and snatch up doses at the expense of those with less means. The Covaxin rollout, however, illustrates another worrisome trend. Regulators in India gave the vaccine the go-ahead before data from large-scale clinical trials are available, just as Russian and Chinese regulators did for their own homegrown vaccine candidates.
14th Jan 2021 - Stat News
Amid last minute changes and funding shortfalls, Biden adviser predicts a slow start to the ‘100 million vaccines in 100 days’ goal
President-elect Joe Biden is promising to administer 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in his first 100 days — but some of his top advisers are already warning that the early days of that effort are going to be rocky. The 100-day goal, which would require the Biden team to administer 1 million doses a day, each day, for his first 100 days, would represent a significant ramp-up from the pace set by the Trump administration, which has vaccinated roughly 10.2 million Americans over the course of 30 days. “The first days of that 100 days may be substantially slower than it will be towards the end,” said Michael Osterholm, a member of Biden’s Covid-19 task force who called the goal “aspirational … but doable.’’ “It’s not going to occur quickly … you’re going to see the ramp-up occurring only when the resources really begin to flow.”
14th Jan 2021 - Stat News
Warp Speed chief Slaoui resigns at Biden's request as COVID-19 shots are unleashed: report
Despite the slower-than-promised rollout of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the tenure of Moncef Slaoui, Ph.D., as co-leader of the government’s Operation Warp Speed effort has largely been deemed a success. Slaoui, after all, is credited with fostering a speedy R&D process so the companies could get their mRNA vaccines on the market so quickly. But now, Slaoui has one foot out the door as the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden draws near. Slaoui submitted his resignation at Biden’s request, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. Slaoui appeared on CNBC this morning and confirmed the report. Slaoui said it is time for him to "move on and go back to my private life and private business." He added that he plans to stay for 30 days to ease the transition.
13th Jan 2021 - FiercePharma
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 14th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullU.S. Vaccine Shift Stirs New Unease as 128 Million Join Line
The U.S. government wants states to offer vaccines to millions more Americans as Covid-19 infections continue to soar, in a bid to bolster an immunization campaign that’s off to a rocky start. In recommending that states start immunizing all residents 65 and older, along with all those between 16 and 64 with medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to serious disease, U.S. health officials are clearing a path for about 128 million more Americans to be vaccinated.
13th Jan 2021 - Bloomberg
Joan Bakewell threatens legal action over delays to second Covid vaccine dose
The journalist and Labour peer Joan Bakewell is threatening the government with legal action over its policy to delay the second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid vaccine. Lady Bakewell, 87, said there were grounds to show the decision taken by ministers to widen the gap between doses – from the three weeks recommended by the manufacturer to up to 12 weeks – was unlawful. She has instructed the law firm Leigh Day to start proceedings in response to the new dosing strategy, and names the respondent as the health secretary, Matt Hancock.
13th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Second shots of Covid vaccine could be delayed further in England
Second shots of coronavirus vaccine could be delayed even further amid growing evidence that spacing out the doses improves their effectiveness. The NHS vaccination programme aims to immunise about 14 million people at greatest risk of Covid by mid-February, with second doses to be given up to 12 weeks later. But Public Health England’s head of immunisation, Mary Ramsay, told MPs on Wednesday that if infection data showed vulnerable groups, such as the over-80s, were well protected by their first shot, then second doses could be delayed to get a first jab to younger people as well.
13th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Less than half of people who have developed Covid-19 symptoms have requested a test - and over-60s are the worst at getting checked out
Just 43 per cent of people who develop Covid-19 symptoms are getting a test, according to shock new data. An ongoing UCL study has been tracking the social aspect of the pandemic and how the general public has been behaving and adhering to the ever-changing rules and guidance. It started in mid-March 2020 and regularly quizzes more than 70,000 Britons about their life in lockdown. Data shows a third of people requested a test every time they developed symptoms, one in ten got a test only on some of the occasions when they had symptoms and 57 per cent never requested a test despite having symptoms
13th Jan 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19: Care homes asked to take coronavirus patients straight from hospitals without recent test
Care homes are being asked to take COVID patients straight from hospitals without a recent test under new guidance. In a document seen by Sky News, the NHS is now advising that patients can be moved from a hospital directly to a care home within 90 days of a positive COVID test or the onset of symptoms. Patients will not be required to have a further COVID-19 test in the 48 hours prior to their discharge. But they will have to have completed a 14-day isolation period and have shown no new coronavirus symptoms or had any no new COVID-19 exposure
13th Jan 2021 - Sky News
US requires negative Covid-19 tests from all international travelers
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced it will start requiring all international travelers coming into the US to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the country. Global testing requirements would be an expansion on a Trump administration policy barring UK travelers without a negative test from entry, which was announced on December 24. The new rule, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will apply to Americans returning home from abroad, as well as visitors.
13th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Spain aims for all care home residents to get first COVID-19 vaccine dose by weekend
Spain aims for all its nursing home residents to have received a first dose of vaccine against the coronavirus by the end of the week, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting. Since kicking off its vaccination campaign at the end of December and with new infections on the rise, Spain has focused its efforts on inoculating elderly nursing-home residents who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
13th Jan 2021 - Reuters
EasyJet cabin crew to help with UK vaccination programme
British airline easyJet said the National Health Service (NHS) would train hundreds of its cabin crew to administer COVID-19 vaccines under a fast-track scheme designed to help boost the country’s vaccination efforts. The government plans to vaccinate the elderly, the vulnerable and frontline workers - around 15 million people - by mid-February and is opening up centres and recruiting volunteers to help it meet its target. With travel at very low levels due to the lockdown, many of easyJet’s 3,000 cabin crew are not working but are both first aid trained and security cleared, making them attractive candidates to the NHS to help with the programme.
13th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 13th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullPope Francis will receive Covid-19 jab this week and declares 'without a vaccine you are playing with life'
Pope Francis will receive his Covid-19 vaccine this week, days after his personal doctor died from complications with the virus. The pontiff said it was an 'ethical duty' for everyone to get inoculated as Vatican City prepares for its rollout of the jabs. He told Italian news outlet TG5: 'Everyone should get the vaccine. Without a vaccine, you are playing with health, life, but also with the health of others.'
12th Jan 2021 - MSN.com
COVID-19 vaccine tourism? Florida could be hot spot as governor discourages outsiders
While thousands of seniors in Florida are bleary eyed and angry after spending weeks trying unsuccessfully to get an appointment for a coronavirus vaccine, the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner told a national television audience on Friday that it was a breeze. Richard Parsons, who is also a former chairman of Citigroup, said he left his home of New York to travel to Florida specifically because the Sunshine State made it so easy. While there is no evidence that Parsons pulled any strings; seniors who have experienced just how difficult it is to get an appointment said they worry that the business giant’s words will encourage others
12th Jan 2021 - Indianapolis Star
Trump will reverse plan to hold back second COVID-19 vaccine doses and urge states to give jabs to all over-65s in an effort to speed up rollout that has seen fewer than 3% of ...
US will ship previously withheld second doses to states, reversing its policy.
Manufacturing has ramped up such that having too few doses to give booster shots to everyone who got a first shot is not a concern, HHS Secretary said. Just 9.27 million Americans have received a first dose and 29 million doses have been distributed. Doses went first to health care workers, many of whom refused the shots. Trump administration is now urging states to vaccinate anyone 65 or older
Dr Anthony Fauci criticized original roll-out plans for being 'too rigid,' delaying the vaccination process. Mass vaccination sites are now opening up across the nation, including at Disneyland and Dodger Stadium in California and in New York
12th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Brussels probes member states’ compliance with EU Covid vaccine strategy
Brussels is to probe EU governments’ compliance with its centralised buying of coronavirus vaccines, as concerns grow that member states will seek to make their own deals to avoid possible supply shortages. The European Commission is to write to the bloc’s 27 countries to ask them to provide “all the necessary transparency” over any dealings with drug companies with which it has done deals or held talks. Tensions have grown over whether the commission has secured sufficient quantities of the vaccines made by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna, the only two so far to have won approval from the EU medical regulator. Germany has already reportedly placed several bilateral orders, including 30m doses with BioNTech/Pfizer and 20m doses with CureVac, which — like BioNTech — is a German company. Cyprus has asked for extra jab supplies from its Mediterranean neighbour Israel, which has the highest vaccination rate in the world.
12th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
CDC to recommend states give Covid vaccine to anyone 65 and older
States should expand access to Covid-19 vaccines to everyone 65 and older, as well as any adult with an underlying health condition that might raise the risk for complications of Covid-19, members of Operation Warp Speed recommended Tuesday. The guidelines are intended to prompt faster distribution of the vaccines by making more people immediately eligible for vaccination, as well as expanding the potential locations where people can receive it. Of the more than 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine that have been delivered nationwide, just under 9 million shots had been put into Americans' arms as of Tuesday
12th Jan 2021 - NBC News
COVID-19: Government 'to look at' prioritising shop workers for vaccine, says Matt Hancock
In England, the government will look "very carefully" at prioritising shop workers - as well as teachers and police officers - for COVID vaccines, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs. The government and NHS are currently aiming to offer the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine to 15 million of the most vulnerable people by 15 February.
12th Jan 2021 - Sky News
EU’s Covid vaccine chief defends procurement scheme
The head of the EU’s multibillion-euro coronavirus vaccine-procurement scheme has denied the wrong products have been bought and that the programme risks falling apart as member states seek to secure their own supplies. Sandra Gallina, who is leading the European Commission’s programme to order more than 2bn doses of seven inoculations, said Brussels had built a portfolio that would yield sufficient quantities and timely delivery. Her defence, in an appearance before MEPs on the European Parliament’s environment and public health committee on Tuesday, is a riposte to critics, notably in Germany, who say the bloc has not purchased sufficient quantities of the leading vaccines approved by the European medical regulator, made by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna.
12th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
Sir David Attenborough receives Covid-19 vaccine
Sir David Attenborough has become the latest well-known name to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, his representative has confirmed. The news about the 94-year-old natural historian comes a few days after it was revealed the Queen had been vaccinated. It's not known which vaccine Sir David has been given or exactly when he had it. The Perfect Planet host is one of several stars to receive the first of two doses of the vaccine. They include The Great British Bake Off's Prue Leith, actor Sir Ian McKellen, choreographer Lionel Blair, actor Brian Blessed and actress Dame Joan Collins.
12th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19: All doctors should be offered first vaccine dose by mid-February, government says
The UK government has promised that every adult in the UK will be offered a covid-19 vaccination by the autumn as it set out plans to rapidly scale up its mass vaccination programme. The UK covid-19 vaccines delivery plan,1 published on Monday 11 January to coincide with the opening of seven new regional vaccination centres, said England will have capacity to vaccinate at least two million people per week by the end of January. This will be delivered across 206 hospital sites, 50 vaccination centres, and 1200 local vaccination sites run by primary and community care teams, it says. The expansion of capacity means that everyone will live within 10 miles of a vaccination centre, or, in the case of a small number of highly rural areas, have access to a mobile unit delivering vaccinations, the plan says.
12th Jan 2021 - The BMJ
Asia Today: India starts shipping COVID-19 vaccine to cities
India has started shipping COVID-19 vaccines to multiple cities, four days ahead of a nationwide inoculation drive. The first consignment of vaccines developed by the Serum Institute of India left the city of Pune on Tuesday. The vaccines rolled out from Serum Institute of India’s facility in temperature-controlled trucks to the city’s airport, from where they were loaded into private air carriers for distribution all over the country. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri called the shipping of vaccines a “momentous mission.”
12th Jan 2021 - ABC News
India delivers COVID jabs for ‘world’s biggest vaccination drive’
Indian airlines have started delivering batches of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, getting ready for the launch of a campaign to offer shots to 1.3 billion people in what officials call the “world’s biggest vaccination drive”. The vaccines rolled out from the Serum Institute of India’s facility on Tuesday in temperature-controlled trucks to the city’s airport from where they were loaded into private air carriers for distribution all over the country.
12th Jan 2021 - AlJazeera
Malaysia's Pharmaniaga buys 14 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID vaccine
Malaysia Pharmaniaga Bhd has signed an agreement with China’s Sinovac to purchase 14 million doses of ready-to-fill COVID-19 vaccines and later to manufacture the vaccine domestically, it said on Tuesday. Pharmaniaga said in a bourse filing that the company will carry out a fill-and-finish process of the vaccine in Malaysia, and will subsequently enter into local manufacturing, under license from Sinovac for its technology and know-how. Group Managing Director Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the company has a monthly fill-and-finish capacity of two million doses and that Sinovac’s vaccine will be the first to be manufactured in Malaysia.
12th Jan 2021 - Reuters
US COVID-19 vaccine strategy pivots to target those 65 and up
Operation Warp Speed announced today a major pivot in the US COVID-19 vaccine strategy, one that will see the release of all current vaccines in the national stockpile and a new effort to vaccinate all those 65 and up as quickly as possible.
The changes bring the total number of doses that have been made available for use in the United States to roughly 38 million. "We are now at an important juncture in the vaccine program where we're ready for a transition," said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar during an Operation Warp Speed press conference today.
12th Jan 2021 - CIDRAP
U.S. plan to expand access to Covid-19 vaccine likely sets up new debacles
As health authorities across the country struggle to get Covid-19 vaccination programs up and running, outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar threw a new wrench into the works on Tuesday, telling states to expand priority access to tens of millions of additional people immediately. But it will be several months before there is enough vaccine available to meet that kind of demand. The move all but ensures the current narrative around the vaccine rollout — it’s too slow — will shift, but not in a positive direction: The incoming Biden administration will likely face a groundswell of complaints about long lines, failed efforts to find vaccine supplies, and an inequitable distribution system as it tries to live up to its promise of seeing 100 million vaccine doses administered in the new president’s first 100 days in office.
12th Jan 2021 - STAT News
ICE must provide Covid-19 vaccines to all detained migrants
After months of public health and political debates on vaccine prioritization for incarcerated populations, Covid-19 vaccination has begun in prisons and jails across the United States. Yet little is known about vaccination programs in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. Some states have said they will vaccinate incarcerated populations in Phase 1b or 2 of the vaccines rollout, either alongside correctional officers or after they have been vaccinated. The Federal Bureau of Prisons first planned to prioritize correctional officers, in line with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. But after pushback from public health experts highlighted the growing rates of Covid-19 among inmates, the Bureau of Prisons began vaccinating staff members and selected prisoners simultaneously.
12th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 12th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCovid vaccine: Medics are being drafted in to counter public complacency as vaccine programme is rolled out
It was no accident that Downing Street drafted in England’s chief medical officer for the round of broadcast interviews usually faced by ministers. Chris Whitty used his appearances to hammer home a bleak warning that Britain has reached the worst moment in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic with one in 50 of the population believed to be infected. And he delivered a fresh plea for the public to stick to the latest lockdown restrictions and social distancing rules to prevent the super-infectious strain of the disease advancing further. Prof Whitty has become a familiar face alongside ministers at Downing Street press conferences, but is being promoted to the forefront of efforts to jolt the public out of any sense of complacency.
11th Jan 2021 - iNews
Most Australians will get the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, but priority groups will receive the Pfizer drug. What's the difference?
As Australians navigate lockdowns, border closures, hotel quarantine and COVID-19 testing queues, the wait for the vaccines that will protect the population is slowly shortening. But before the largest vaccination program in the country's history can kick off next month, many of the details have to be decided, implemented and communicated to the public. Last week, the Federal Government outlined its plan to administer the Pfizer vaccine to "first-priority groups" because Australia will get that drug first, but only in a limited supply. Over the weekend, Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said most Australians would receive the AstraZeneca drug as part of the Government's strategy because "we are making it here".
11th Jan 2021 - Australian Broadcasting Corporation on MSN.com
Covid in Scotland: All over-80s to be vaccinated by February
Everyone aged 80 or over in Scotland will be given the Covid vaccine by February, the health secretary has said. Jeane Freeman also said care home staff and residents, as well as front-line health and social care staff would be vaccinated in the next few weeks. As of Sunday, 163,377 Scots had been given a first dose of vaccine. Ms Freeman told BBC Scotland that just under 560,000 people will have been vaccinated by the end of the month. The Oxford vaccine will be available at more than 1,100 locations from Monday. Scotland has been given an initial allocation of more than 500,000 doses to use in January.
11th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid vaccine: Wales has delivered 70,000 of 275,000 doses
Wales has received 275,000 doses of the two Covid-19 vaccines to deal with the pandemic. About 70,000 people received a first dose after the first month of the vaccine rollout. The Welsh Government confirmed it has had more than 250,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 25,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. The health minister promised a "really significant step-up" in the roll-out after opponents criticised its speed. The Pfizer jabs were first administered in early December at seven sites across Wales as part of the UK-wide immunisation programme.
11th Jan 2021 - BBC News
France rejects criticism of EU coronavirus vaccine procurement
Delegating coronavirus vaccine procurement to the European Commission was the right approach, even if there are kinks to work out, according to French Europe Minister Clément Beaune. In an interview with POLITICO setting out France's EU priorities for the year ahead, Beaune said the vaccination effort would dominate the first six months of 2021. The Commission and its president Ursula von der Leyen have been accused by critics in recent days of not buying enough doses, not buying enough of the right vaccine and not getting the doses fast enough. The criticism has included unusually blunt attacks on the EU from some German politicians and media outlets as the controversy has become caught up in the contest to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor.
11th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
Hundreds of over-80s queue as Covid-19 mass vaccination centres open
They travelled many miles for their chance at immunity against a virus which isolated from friends and family for months.Hundreds of over-80s, some with the aid of their children and carers, flocked
11th Jan 2021 - The Times
Two million receive Covid-19 vaccination as Boris Johnson urges ‘maximum vigilance’
Almost two million people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus but the epidemic has never been so dangerous, according to England’s chief medical officer. Professor Chris Whitty warned people that there was a “very high chance” that someone with whom they have had unnecessary contact had Covid-19, adding: “This is the most dangerous time.” Boris Johnson has begged people to follow rules, particularly in supermarkets and at takeaway venues as part of a drive to counter faltering compliance and lockdown fatigue.
11th Jan 2021 - The Times
Travel body rejects compulsory COVID-19 shots, experts say herd immunity distant
The head of a global travel organisation on Monday opposed making COVID-19 vaccinations a requirement for travellers in the fight against the pandemic, despite scepticism about reaching herd immunity this year.
11th Jan 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: 2.6 million jabs given to 2.3 million people - but UK warned vaccine 'not a free pass' to ignore rules
Some 2.6 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been given to 2.3 million people, the health secretary has said, as an NHS boss warned the jab is "not a free pass" to ignore national guidance.
11th Jan 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19: Army to help ensure vaccines reach health authorities in Spain after worst snowfall in decades
Convoys containing food and the coronavirus vaccine are being sent by the Spanish government to reach areas cut off by record snowfall. Army emergency brigades have focused on clearing access to Madrid's main fresh food distribution centre and to hospitals as COVID-19 infections rise across Spain. Interior minister Fernando Grande-Markaska said the government will take extra steps to ensure that the country's weekly shipment of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, arriving on Monday, can be distributed to regional health authorities via police-escorted convoys.
11th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Covid-19: Birmingham mass vaccination centre opens
Health workers have been among the first to receive a Covid-19 jab at a mass vaccination centre. The site at Birmingham's Millennium Point is one of seven across England and will offer about 2,500 vaccinations a day when it is fully operational. It comes as England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warns the coming weeks will be "the most dangerous time" of the pandemic. One of the first patients said she had been "so excited" to get the vaccine. Olga Leach-Walters is an endoscopy nurse at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
11th Jan 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: Boris Johnson says 40% of 80-year-olds vaccinated as 2.4 million coronavirus jabs given out in UK
Some 2.4 million coronavirus jabs have been administered across the UK, the prime minister has said. Speaking from a vaccination centre in Bristol, Boris Johnson said: "Today, I think I can confirm that we've done roughly 40% of the 80-year-olds in this country already. "We've done about 23% of the elderly residents of care homes." Seven new mass vaccination sites in England have been opened today, joining hundreds more GP sites and a small number of new pharmacy-led centres opening this week. Officials are racing to vaccinate as many people as possible while COVID-19 cases continue to rise and hospitals come under extreme pressure.
11th Jan 2021 - Sky News
COVID-19: Israel urges world to follow its rapid vaccine rollout, but Palestinians are left waiting
Israel's health minister has urged countries simply to "get out there" if they want to replicate his country's vaccination success. Speaking to Sky News, Yuli Edelstein said that expert logistics, early procurement, close co-operation with the manufacturer and Israeli innovation had all been combined to make the country a clear leader in the global vaccination race. "The faster we get the vaccine into their arms, the less cases we'll see in our hospitals and, God forbid, deaths," Mr Edelstein said.
11th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Third of over 80s vaccinated as government to unveil COVID-19 vaccine deployment plan
Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC on Sunday that around 2m doses of vaccine had now been delivered and that around a third of over 80s had received at least one dose. His comments came as the government prepared to set out its full COVID-19 vaccine deployment plan on 11 January, which Mr Hancock said would be the 'keystone of our exit out of the pandemic'. The government has already said it hopes to deliver 13.9m doses of COVID-19 vaccine UK-wide by mid February, covering the first four priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
11th Jan 2021 - GP online
Here's when the new lockdown measures in England could end, and how they'll be reviewed
England has entered a third period of national lockdown restrictions to replace the four-tier system as Covid cases continue to rise at an alarming rate. The rules were announced by Boris Johnson on Monday 6 January, and were enshrined in law two days later ahead of a retrospective Commons vote. Under the measures people are only allowed to leave their homes for certain specific reasons, with schools closed to the majority of pupils and all non-essential businesses closed in an attempt to ease pressure on the embattled NHS. While the legislation on the new restrictions lasts until 31 March, the speed that the measures can be eased depends on how quickly the UK can continue its roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination.
11th Jan 2021 - iNews
Chicago Is Reopening Schools Against Fierce Resistance From Teachers
Across the country, many big cities like New York have struggled to resume even limited in-person instruction, while a number, including Los Angeles, have simply given up on the idea, choosing to stick with all-remote education into the spring.
Few places have seen as much acrimony over the issue as Chicago, whose public school system is the nation’s third-largest. Now, with 6,000 prekindergarten and special education students preparing to return to the city’s public school buildings on Monday for the first time since March, a question looms: How many of their teachers will be there to greet them?
11th Jan 2021 - The New York Times
UK on course for COVID-19 vaccination target as shots reach 200000 a day - Hancock
Britain is on course to have immunised its most vulnerable people against COVID-19 by mid-February and offering a shot to every adult by autumn, with some 2 million people having already received a first dose, its health secretary said on Sunday. “Over the last week we’ve vaccinated more people than in the entirety of December, so we’re accelerating the roll-out,” Matt Hancock told BBC TV. Britain is battling surging infections but is pinning its hopes on rapid immunisation to enable life to start returning to some degree of normality by the spring. Hancock said around 2 million people had already received a first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
11th Jan 2021 - Reuters
COVID-19: Teachers to be considered for next vaccination wave
Teachers could be next in line for the second wave of COVID-19 jabs, a member of the group advising on the vaccine rollout has suggested. Professor Adam Finn told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that while no decisions had been taken on future prioritisation of the coronavirus injections, the "critical role" played by the profession would "figure in the discussions" of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol said committee members had been instructed to come up with a plan by the middle of February to determine the priority order of who should be vaccinated against COVID-19 next.
10th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 11th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullRapid Covid testing across England will help identify symptomless carriers
Rapid testing to find symptomless carriers of Covid-19 is to be launched in England this week. The aim of the programme is to identify some of the tens of thousands of infected people who are unwittingly spreading the virus across the country. The dramatic escalation of the programme – which uses detectors known as lateral flow devices – comes as Covid death rates have continued to soar and hospitals have reported alarming numbers of patients needing intensive care.
10th Jan 2021 - The Guardian
Coronavirus: UK has “no clear strategy” to alleviate Covid pressure on hospitals beyond lockdowns says expert
The UK has “no clear strategy” to alleviate pressure on hospitals battling coronavirus beyond “reactive lockdowns”, a public health expert has said. The country has seen some form of restrictions placed on the population for almost a year, said Professor Devi Sridhar, adding that it is “unrealistic” to expect people to adhere to rules for months on end. The chairwoman of public health at Edinburgh University told Times Radio: “I think the larger issue here is the UK has no clear strategy beyond reactive lockdowns whenever hospitals are under pressure.
10th Jan 2021 - Herald Scotland
Biden Plans Coronavirus Vaccination Blitz After Inauguration
In a sharp break with the Trump administration, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. intends to release nearly all available doses of the coronavirus vaccine soon after he is inaugurated, rather than hold back millions of vials to guarantee second doses will be available. The decision is part of an aggressive effort to “to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible,” the Biden transition team said on Friday. The vaccination plan, to be formally unveiled next week, also will include federally run vaccination sites in places like high school gyms and sports stadiums, and mobile units to reach high-risk populations.
9th Jan 2021 - The New York Times
Nurse catches Covid three weeks after getting Pfizer vaccine
A nurse in Wales caught Covid three weeks after getting the vaccine, prompting warnings from experts that it takes time for immunity to build up. The nurse, who has been working for the Hywel Dda University Health Board area, said that she contracted the virus while waiting for the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech jab. Deputy Chief Executive of Hywel Dda health board, Dr Philip Kloer, said that while a Covid vaccine ‘reduces your chance of suffering’ from the virus, no vaccine is ever 100% effective.
9th Jan 2021 - Metro.co.uk
Second doses of first coronavirus vaccine happening now
As states try to broaden the reach of their coronavirus vaccination campaigns and navigate uncertain supply chains, many of the first people to receive their shots are just now completing the final act of immunity, the second dose, which boosts the efficacy of both available US vaccines to about 95 percent. Many health care workers and others at high risk who had the Pfizer shots in mid December lined up for their "booster" shot this week, due to be given 21 days after the initial dose.
9th Jan 2021 - NPR
Coronavirus: Company's apology after £5,000 vaccine offer
In England, a property investment company has offered GP surgeries £5,000 for unused coronavirus vaccine doses. The Hacking Trust's medical division approached surgeries in Bristol and Worthing offering to pay the money to charity "or the staff member directly". Robyn Clark, from the Institute of General Practice Management, said it was "just appalling". The company, based in London, has apologised, saying its "good intentions" were "misinterpreted". NHS England said people "will rightly take a dim view of anyone who tries to jump the queue".
9th Jan 2021 - BBC News
COVID-19: UK approves use of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine and orders 10 million more doses
The Moderna vaccine has become the third coronavirus jab to be approved for use in the UK - with an additional 10 million doses ordered. The US-based company's vaccine was shown to have 94% efficacy against COVID-19 in final trials. Seven million doses had already been ordered by the UK government with a further 10 million expected to follow - but it will likely not become available until March.
9th Jan 2021 - Sky News
WHO director calls for easing of vaccine hurdles for developing nations
The World Health Organization's (WHO's) director-general today called on vaccine makers and countries to take steps to ensure that low- and middle-income countries aren't shut out of receiving vaccine supply. The move comes amid news of a European Union deal with Pfizer, announced by the European Commission today, that would give countries in the region nearly half of the company's COVID-19 vaccine output for 2021. At a WHO briefing, Tedros Adhanom Gheybreyesus, PhD, the agency's director-general, said the WHO-led COVAX initiative has contracts to secure 2 billion doses and the right of first refusal for 1 billion more.
8th Jan 2021 - CIDRAP
Queen and Prince Philip get Covid vaccine at Windsor Castle
In England, the Queen and Prince Philip have both received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccinations, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The royal couple were given the jab by a doctor from the Royal Household at Windsor Castle, where they are both isolating. The Queen, 94, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, both meet the Government age guidelines for those who should be given the vaccine. Some 1.3 million people in the UK have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the government.
9th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
NHS England plans to vaccinate all frontline staff against COVID-19 in next few weeks
NHS England said on Friday it had made plans to vaccinate all frontline staff against COVID-19 in the next few weeks following the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Nikita Kanani, the Nation Health Service medical director for primary care, said the vaccine will be administered to “all health and social care staff” by mid-February.
9th Jan 2021 - Reuters
What the US can do to speed up vaccine distribution
The US set a new daily record for Covid-19 deaths on Jan. 6, reporting the loss of 3,963 lives. So where are the vaccines? Thus far, the rollout of doses from Pfizer and Moderna has been underwhelming. The US set a goal of vaccinating 20 million people in December 2020, but by Jan. 7 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that only 5.3 million first doses had been injected, and only about 17 million doses have been sent to states. The slow pace means it will take longer to bring the pandemic under control, increasing both the human and economic toll of this crisis. The problem appears to be government dysfunction—specifically, an unfulfilled need for support from the federal government to the state agencies and local healthcare providers tasked with distributing the vaccine. To reach safe levels of immunity in the US by May would require providing 1.8 million doses every single day after Jan. 15, according to a letter (pdf) the American Hospital Association (AHA) sent to Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar today.
9th Jan 2021 - Quartz
Over 9 million COVID-19 vaccine shots given in China, health officials say
China has administered over 9 million shots of COVID-19 vaccine since Dec 15 to people deemed at high risk of contracting the disease, senior health officials said on Saturday. As vaccine production ramps up,
9th Jan 2021 - China Daily
DGCA issues guidelines for Airlines to transport COVID-19 vaccines
India's civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has issued guidelines to airlines and other aircraft operators for transportation of Covid-19 vaccines. "All scheduled operators who have been currently authorized to carry dangerous goods may carry COVID19 vaccine packed in dry ice, meeting the regulatory requirements," DGCA said in a circular. "Non-scheduled operators, including aircraft engaged in general aviation, that are required to participate in the carriage of COVID 19 vaccines packed in dry ice shall seek specific approval before commencing such operations," it added. Covid-19 vaccination in India is expected to start in the next few days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said yesterday, adding that the union government has requested the stakeholders in the process to help in its smooth rollout.
9th Jan 2021 - DD News
Israel's Covid vaccine rollout is the fastest in the world — here are some lessons for the rest of us
While the U.S. and Europe attempt to ramp up their own Covid vaccination drives, Israel is outpacing them all. Israel’s vaccination drive began on Dec. 19, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the first person to be vaccinated in the country.
Priority has been given to people aged over 60, health care workers and anyone clinically vulnerable — reported to make up around a quarter of its 9 million population.
9th Jan 2021 - CNBC
First Minister advises people to be 'cautious' even after having Covid vaccine
The coronavirus vaccine roll-out is well under way right across the UK which offers a ‘brighter futuer’ for 2021. However the UK finds itself under lockdown rules, with First Minister Mark Drakeford extending restrictions in Wales for a further three-weeks. At the Welsh Government press conference on January 8, he told the nation that the vaccine roll-out is under way and he ‘shares’ the Prime Ministers ambitions of vaccinating the top four priority groups by mid-February. However stressed this is dependant on the programme and vaccine supplies.
9th Jan 2021 - LeaderLive
Some school staff will be prioritised for coronavirus vaccine
Special school staff, an those working in colleges providing intimate care, as well as at risk staff will be prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine along with care workers. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises UK health departments on immunisation, agreed certain special school staff should be classed as care workers and that at risk school and college staff should also be prioritised. Headteachers, including Chris Britten, head of Ysgol y Deri special school in Penarth, have been pressing for school staff to be prioritised after health workers and vulnerable groups.
9th Jan 2021 - Wales Online
Biden’s plan to end policy of keeping Covid vaccine doses in reserve is the first step in a difficult journey
The transition team of President-elect Biden has taken its first step to reexamine the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines put in place by the Trump administration. Instead of keeping half the doses in reserve to make sure that every person who received their first dose can receive their second dose, the transition said Friday that it would release the vast majority of available doses of authorized vaccines at once. It’s a great start. But it is also only a start. The argument to hold back the second dose was not without merit at a time of limited supply of the vaccines, developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, as well as Moderna. The fear has been that, without sufficient doses in reserve, there would be mayhem, with some sites keeping doses in reserve themselves and recipients becoming upset if their second dose was not available.
8th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 8th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in full15,000 Covid-19 vaccines administered in Ireland
More than 15,000 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in Ireland to date. The country’s health chief said a total of 35,000 people will have received the Pfizer BioNTech jab by the end of the week. Paul Reid described the State’s coronavirus vaccination programme as the “great light” and “great hope” as the country faces the weeks ahead. A total of 15,314 people have been given vaccinated since December 29. “It has given a great lift to the country and it has given a great inspirational lift to our healthcare workers,” he said.
7th Jan 2021 - Belfast Telegraph
Most vulnerable to get vaccine by mid-Feb as Covid deaths soar
The UK has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus deaths overnight for the second day in a row while hospital admissions have risen above the peak of the first wave, new figures show. Some 3,600 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital in the UK on January 3, the first time it has been higher than the peak of 3,565 recorded on April 1. It comes as London’s hospitals are on the verge of being overwhelmed as health bosses scramble to find more beds to deal with a surge in infections across the country. The sobering figures were published as Boris Johnson admitted that the UK roll-out of Covid vaccines is a “challenge on a scale like nothing we’ve seen before”.
7th Jan 2021 - Evening Standard
GPs struggling with Covid vaccine delivery timing uncertainties
GPs are having to do a ‘huge amount’ of cancellations and rebooking of Covid vaccine appointments amid last-minute changes to vaccine delivery times, regional GP leaders have claimed. LMC leaders said this was giving practices ‘a headache’ and called for some ‘assurance’ about ‘when vaccine will be supplied’. This week, GP sites in wave five of the rollout were expecting their first vaccine deliveries between Wednesday and Friday, while sites in wave six will be told today (Thursday 7 January) whether they have passed their ‘readiness assessment’ to commence vaccinations next week. Slides presented in an NHS England webinar for GPs on Tuesday evening said ‘site-specific delivery dates have been confirmed’.
7th Jan 2021 - Pulse
Belgian government under fire over slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations
All over Europe, governments are feeling the heat over botched vaccination strategies — as is the European Commission. Belgium, which started its coronavirus vaccination plan in earnest on Tuesday, is no exception. After an earful from opposition lawmakers on Tuesday, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke asked the country's vaccination task force to speed up and readjust its strategy. It's set to meet on Thursday, with an announcement expected on Friday morning. The move comes after health workers asked Vandenbroucke to be prioritized for the jab in an open letter dated Tuesday. About 700 residents and staff of care homes have gotten their first shot as of January 2, when the government provided its latest update on the tally. In Germany, by contrast, roughly 317,000 doses have been administered, and about 182,000 in Italy.
7th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
Nicola Sturgeon confirms covid vaccine to be rolled out to all over 80s in next four weeks
All over-80s in Scotland will receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the next four weeks, Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Speaking at today's daily briefing, the First Minister confirmed that 113,459 people have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, with the Oxford/AstraZeneca inoculation being first used on Monday. She said: "I can confirm that this shows that by Sunday, the 30th of January, 113,459 individuals had received their first tools of the Pfizer Covid vaccine.
7th Jan 2021 - Glasgow Live
Covid-19: PM sets out Covid vaccine rollout plan
PM says he has "no doubt" there is enough supply to vaccinate the first four priority groups by 15 February. NHS CEO Sir Simon Stevens says there will be a "huge acceleration" in the vaccination programme over the coming weeks. Army logistics expert Brigadier Phil Prosser says his mission is to get vaccines "in arms not on shelves." A further 1,162 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being rolled out to hundreds of GP-run vaccination centres in England. Nearly 1.5 million people across the UK have now had their first dose, Boris Johnson says. A weekly doorstep round of applause returns at 20:00 GMT - under the new name of Clap for Heroes
7th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Hancock: 'We're working with Pfizer and AstraZeneca to increase Covid-19 vaccine supply'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock visited a GP surgery in London to promote the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. Mr Hancock said they were working with the Pfizer and AstraZeneca to increase the supply.
7th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid-19: PM says jab rollout needs 'unprecedented effort' as two more life-saving drugs found
The vaccine rollout is a national challenge requiring an unprecedented effort involving the armed forces, Boris Johnson has said. At a Downing Street press briefing, the PM confirmed almost 1.5 million people in the UK have now received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. More than 1,000 GP-led sites in England will be able to offer a total of "hundreds of thousands" of jabs each day by 15 January, he said. The Army will use "battle preparation techniques" to help achieve that goal. It comes as GPs in England began receiving doses of the Oxford Covid jab.
7th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Boris Johnson says 1.5million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered and says everyone should get one within 10 miles
Nearly 1.5million coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the UK, Boris Johnson announced on Thursday as he said he was “throwing everything” at the roll-out of the national jabs programme.
7th Jan 2021 - London Evening Standard on MSN.com
Covid-19: Vaccine rollout widens as hospital pressure rises
GPs in England are receiving doses of the Oxford Covid jab as medics warn about overstretched hospitals. The rollout of the Oxford vaccine is part of the NHS's biggest-ever effort and aims to offer jabs to 13 million by mid-February - including all over-80s. But Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted vaccine supply was a "rate-limiting" factor. Birmingham's NHS said there are enough supplies with more to come as politicians warned doses may run out. Some hospitals in England are at risk of becoming Covid-only sites, with rising admissions for the virus forcing trusts to cut back on other services.
7th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Matt Hancock says third lockdown will be England's last because of coronavirus vaccines
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs that people may need to have a coronavirus vaccine every six months. But he said he believed this would be the last lockdown that was required, because of the coronavirus vaccines. "There is absolutely no doubt that vaccines and testing will still be a feature next year," he told the Health and Social Care Committee. "We will need both the surveillance testing to be able to understand where the virus is and we will need testing for people who have symptoms, in the same way that you get tested for all sorts of other things." On vaccines, Mr Hancock said: "I anticipate we will probably need to revaccinate because we don't know the longevity of the protection from these vaccines.
7th Jan 2021 - Birmingham Live
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 7th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullAround 50,000 receive first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Northern Ireland
Around 50,000 people have received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine in Northern Ireland, Health Minister Robin Swann said. Nine in 10 care home residents have been inoculated. By January 18, more supplies are expected to be received from manufacturer AstraZeneca. Mr Swann urged the public to stay at home while the programme gathers steam. "This is a time to hunker down and weather the crisis," he said.
6th Jan 2021 - ITV News
South African medical schemes to fund COVID-19 vaccines for 30% of adults
Millions of South Africans will have their COVID-19 vaccinations subsidised by medical schemes that pool health insurance premiums through an agreement with the government, a top medical scheme administrator said. Under the arrangement, medical schemes will pay above cost for doses for their members - roughly 7 million adults over the age of 15 - subsidising procurement for another 7 million adults who are without private medical cover, Ryan Noach, chief executive of the country’s largest medical scheme administrator, Discovery Health, said. In all, vaccines for around 30% of the country’s adult population would be financed by the agreement.
6th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Mafia on the hunt for coronavirus vaccines, say Italian police
The mafia will be trying to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, Italian police have warned. Giving vaccines to millions of people is proving problematic for most governments and now law enforcement authorities are bracing for an additional challenge — criminals targeting vaccine distribution. “Their interest in vaccines is due to the high demand and the low initial supply,” the Italian police body monitoring mafia infiltration of the economy said in an internal report, extracts of which were released on Wednesday.
6th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
Israel expects to receive first Moderna coronavirus vaccines on Thursday
Israel expects to receive its first shipment of Moderna Inc coronavirus vaccines on Thursday and will administer them to people confined to homes or otherwise unable to go to clinics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. His statement, issued late on Wednesday, did not detail the size of the shipment. Moderna said on Monday that Israel had approved the vaccine, securing 6 million doses. Israel has since Dec. 19 been administering Pfizer Inc’s coronavirus vaccine, with the Health Ministry saying on Wednesday that some 16% of citizens had received a first shot.
6th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Coronavirus: Dutch shocked to be EU vaccination stragglers
The Dutch army is cleared to help hospitals, intensive care units borrow beds from other wards, patients are sent to Germany for treatment, routine operations are postponed, a nationwide lockdown is in place - and still no vaccinations. In a proudly well-organised country, with a well-funded health service, the first Dutch nationals will receive their coronavirus jabs on Wednesday - ten days after their European neighbours and nearly a month after the UK. The Dutch government has come in for stinging criticism. One former public health director, Roel Coutinho, warned the country's "shameful" vaccination strategy was "going to cost lives". During an emergency debate in parliament, opposition politicians called the approach "chaotic and confusing".
6th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Serbia praises Russian COVID vaccine as first shots administered
Top Serbian politicians urged greater international acceptance of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday as they joined the front of their country’s queue for shots, days after Moscow delivered the first consignment. The first batch of 2,400 doses of Sputnik V vaccine arrived on Dec. 30, and Russian sovereign fund RDIF said it had agreed to supply more up to a total of 2 million. Serbia started inoculations with the two-stage drug on Wednesday, including a shot for parliament speaker Ivica Dacic, who urged the World Health Organization to register it.
6th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Merkel ‘open’ to producing Russian coronavirus vaccine in the EU
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that she is "open to the idea" of using European manufacturing capacities to increase the production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, a German government spokesperson said on Wednesday. News of a Merkel-Putin call on Tuesday to discuss cooperation on vaccine production was first made public by the Kremlin that same day. Speaking at a German government press briefing Wednesday, deputy spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said that Merkel had told Putin "that she is open to the idea of bilateral cooperation for the purpose of tapping European production capacities [for the Russian vaccine]." Demmer added that this would only happen if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gives its approval to the Sputnik V vaccine.
6th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
As cases spike, Europe mulls delaying 2nd coronavirus vaccine shot
Faced with surging coronavirus cases, some European countries are considering whether to change tack and join the U.K. in vaccinating as many people as possible with just one dose rather than the two administered during clinical trials so far. This issue has been live since December 30, when the U.K. announced its decision to delay second doses by up to 12 weeks when it approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use. The switch also applied to the BioNTech/Pfizer jab. Just this week, Denmark announced its decision to delay the second dose of both the Pfizer and forthcoming Moderna jabs by up to six weeks. The German health ministry has also confirmed looking into widening vaccination coverage by similar delays between doses.
6th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
COVID-19: Britons must take coronavirus test before travelling to Ireland
Visitors to Ireland will have to produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours, as the country's government brings in a raft of tough new restrictions.
6th Jan 2021 - Sky News
Azar: states should not let prioritization slow COVID-19 vaccinations
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Wednesday that states should not let recommendations to prioritize certain groups like essential workers slow the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations. “Those are simply recommendations, and they should never stand in the way of getting shots in arms,” Azar said at a press conference for the Operation Warp Speed vaccination program, If states are struggling to distribute the vaccine “then by all means you want to be opening up to people 70 and over or 65 and over,” he said.
6th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Covid-19: Johnson warns England's lockdown won't end 'with a bang'
The end of England's lockdown will not happen with a "big bang" but will instead be a "gradual unwrapping", Boris Johnson has told MPs. The prime minister made the comments in the Commons ahead of a retrospective vote later on the lockdown measures. He said the legislation runs until 31 March to allow a "controlled" easing of restrictions back into local tiers. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government's decisions "have led us to the position we're now in". Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there were now 30,074 patients with coronavirus in UK hospitals. All of the UK is now under strict virus curbs, with Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland also in lockdown.
6th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Covid Vaccine Rollouts in Europe Are Off to a Shaky Start
With a more contagious variant of the coronavirus forcing England to impose a strict new national lockdown and European nations extending restrictions in the face of rising cases, political leaders have promised that mass vaccinations will bring an end to the suffering. But in the race to beat the virus, the virus is still way out in front. There are shortages of needles in Italy, Greece and other countries. Spain has not trained enough nurses. France has only managed to vaccinate around 7,000 people. Poland’s program was rocked by scandal after it was revealed that celebrities were given preferential treatment. There are calls in Germany to take control over vaccine purchases from European Union authorities. Nearly every country in Europe has complained about burdensome paperwork.
6th Jan 2021 - The New York Times
Balkans feel abandoned as vaccinations kick off in Europe
When thousands of people across the European Union began rolling up their sleeves last month to get a coronavirus vaccination shot, one corner of the continent was left behind, feeling isolated and abandoned: the Balkans. Balkan nations have struggled to get access to COVID-19 vaccines from multiple companies and programs, but most of the nations on Europe’s southeastern periphery are still waiting for their first vaccines to arrive, with no firm timeline for the start of their national inoculation drives. What is already clear is that Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — home to some 20 million people — will lag far behind the EU’s 27 nations and Britain in efforts to reach herd immunity by quickly vaccinating a large number of their people.
6th Jan 2021 - The Associated Press
British PM Johnson says England's lockdown will be slowly unwrapped
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won parliament’s backing for England’s latest lockdown on Wednesday after telling lawmakers that schools would be the first to reopen when he can start a “gradual unwrapping” of the strict measures. Faced with criticism over the timing of the lockdown and the abrupt closure of all schools, Johnson defended his decision by saying the new, more contagious, coronavirus variant and the threat it posed to the health service offered little choice. Johnson justified his decision on schools, which some lawmakers said threatened to hurt the opportunities of millions of children, by saying he did “everything in our power to keep them open” until “every other option had been closed off”.
6th Jan 2021 - Reuters
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 6th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullWhat do we know about the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out in Scotland?
Vaccination of the public and vulnerable people from Covid-19 in Scotland is well underway, but information on when the Scottish Government expects vaccines to reach all of the population remains thin on the ground.
5th Jan 2021 - The Scotsman
Back-of-the-pack Dutch under fire for slow coronavirus vaccine rollout
The Dutch government's vaccine strategy has been flawed, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday as he admitted watching on with frustration as other countries' citizens were given a jab against the coronavirus. “Because the government's approach was not ...
5th Jan 2021 - POLITICO
Almost 14 million people to get a Covid vaccine jab by mid-February, vows minister
Almost 14 million people could receive a Covid vaccine by the middle of February, it has been announced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tonight that officials were hoping for all people in the top four priority groups to have received a jab in the coming weeks. And speaking afterwards, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said the NHS “family will come together” to get 13.9 million doses administered by the middle of February. In a tweet tonight, he said: "We can do this. The NHS family will come together and we will do this." Speaking from Downing Street, Mr Johnson outlined the NHS’s “realistic expectations” for the vaccination programme in the weeks ahead. He said: “By the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails, we expect to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.”
5th Jan 2021 - Wales Online
Exclusive: Teachers Could Get Covid Vaccine From Mid-February, MPs Told
Deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries suggests frontline key workers could begin getting jabs once 13m most vulnerable are inoculated. In a briefing with MPs on Tuesday, England’s deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries suggested teachers and other frontline key workers could be included in the next stage of vaccinations, which will cover the next five priority groups including over 50s and those with risky underlying health conditions. Any decision to inoculate teachers and key workers that early in the vaccination programme would mark a significant acceleration.
5th Jan 2021 - HuffPost UK
The EU’s coronavirus vaccine blame game. Why so slow?
When it comes to getting people vaccinated, the EU is trailing behind the U.K., the U.S. and Israel — and a growing number of critics blames the European Commission. Over the weekend, Markus Söder, leader of Germany's Christian Social Union, and BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin criticized the Commission for not purchasing enough of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by European regulators. The Commission fired back Monday, saying it had secured more than 2 billion doses of vaccines from seven producers with member states’ participation throughout the process.
5th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
Coronavirus vaccine: China slams West's 'elderly first' policy
Hu Xijin of The Global Times praised China for prioritising people aged 18 to 59
He lauded Beijing for having a 'responsible attitude' in tackling the coronavirus
The state-run paper warned the West against pinning its hope on the vaccines
A commentary urged the West to learn from China and adopt a national system
Comes as Beijing steps up its effort in shaping the narrative about the pandemic
5th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
Coronavirus: India to export Covid vaccines 'within weeks'
India will begin exporting locally-made coronavirus vaccines within a fortnight of their launch, a foreign ministry official has told the BBC. The official dismissed reports that India would ban exports of vaccines it is producing to meet local demand. India makes about 60% of vaccines globally and many countries are eagerly waiting for it to begin shipping doses. It has formally approved the emergency use of two vaccines as it prepares to begin giving jabs in January.
5th Jan 2021 - BBC News
Baker says 70,000 staff members at Mass. hospitals have received COVID-19 vaccine
Governor Charlie Baker said Tuesday that more than 70,000 “COVID-facing” staff members at Massachusetts hospitals have received the COVID-19 vaccine amid the ongoing distribution program that’s slated to expand to first responders on Jan.
5th Jan 2021 - The Boston Globe
India says it hasn't banned the export of COVID-19 vaccines
India s government had not banned the export of any vaccines for COVID-19 the health ministry said Tuesday, days after the head of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer said it got emergency authorization to produce the shots as long as it didn't send them overseas. Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of Serum Institute of India, told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that the company got the green light for its version of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine on the condition that it not export shots to ensure that vulnerable populations in India are protected. AstraZeneca contracted Serum Institute of India to manufacture 1 billion doses for developing nations. That vaccine and another developed by Indian company Bharat Biotech were granted licenses for emergency use by Indian regulators Sunday.
5th Jan 2021 - The Independent
A COVID-19 shot for $150? Online scams surge as slow vaccine rollout frustrates
As millions of people await their turn to get a COVID-19 vaccine that could be months away, scammers online, in emails and on messaging apps are luring victims with claims they can deliver shots within days for as little as $150. COVID-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, according to European and U.S. government officials who are warning the public of fraudsters out for money and personal data. A Reuters search online, in dark web forums and on messaging app Telegram found seven different offers for alleged COVID-19 vaccines.
5th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Elderly residents who waited overnight for Covid vaccine are turned away as Florida centre hits capacity
Distribution has stalled in places across the United States due to the limited number of coronavirus doses currently available, and it caused one Florida vaccine centre to close its doors once it reached capacity. On Monday, a vaccination centre at Daytona Stadium, in Daytona Beach, Florida, reached capacity for distributing the Moderna vaccine. It was announced that the centre would be open Monday, 4 July, and Tuesday, 5 July, on a first come, first serve basis to administer the coronavirus vaccine to those who qualified. About 2,000 doses were available.
5th Jan 2021 - The Independent
New York nurse is first in US to be fully vaccinated after receiving second shot
New York nurse Sandra Lindsay on Monday became the first person in the United States to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. Ms Lindsay received her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, where she is the director of critical care nursing. “My message is still that of hope. You know the initial study was done using two doses of the vaccine. So, I feel like I have completed a kind of a marathon and closed the loop,” she said, after receiving both jabs, administered 21 days apart.
5th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Covid: Can we really jab our way out of lockdown?
With the country in lockdown and a new faster-spreading variant of coronavirus rampant, it's clear the UK is in a race to vaccinate. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants all the over-70s, the most clinically vulnerable and front-line health and care workers to be offered a jab by mid-February, to allow the restrictions to be eased.
That requires about 13 million people to be given the opportunity to be vaccinated - but so far only one million have been. And ensuring a quick rollout to the rest is fraught with difficulties. There is enough vaccine in the country, BBC News has learned, but getting it into people's arms could be hampered by: a global shortage of glass vials to package up the vaccines long waits for safety checks the process of ensuring there are enough vaccinators
5th Jan 2021 - BBC News
France cranks up vaccine rollout to deliver shots faster
France is stepping up its COVID-19 vaccine rollout by widening further its first target group to include more health workers and simplifying a cumbersome process to deliver jabs more quickly, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday. France’s inoculation campaign got off to a slow start, hampered in part by red tape and President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to tread warily in one of the most vaccine-sceptical countries in the world. But France has fallen behind neighbours such as Britain and Germany, and the president is now demanding the vaccination programme be expedited.
5th Jan 2021 - Reuters
France's go-slow coronavirus vaccination strategy backfires
France’s cautious approach to rolling out a coronavirus vaccination program appears to have backfired, leaving barely 500 people inoculated in the first week and rekindling anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic. Amid public outcry, the health minister vowed Monday to step up the pace, and made a belated public plea on behalf of the vaccine, saying it offers a “chance” for France and the world to vanquish a pandemic that has killed more than 1.8 million people. President Emmanuel Macron was holding a special meeting with top government officials Monday to address the vaccine strategy and other virus developments. The slow rollout of the vaccine made by Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech was blamed on mismanagement, staffing shortages during holiday vacations and a complex French consent policy designed to accommodate unusually broad vaccine skepticism among the French public.
5th Jan 2021 - The Associated Press
Messonnier: The slow vaccine rollout should speed up ‘pretty massively’ in coming weeks
Nancy Messonnier, a top federal health official involved in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, predicted on Tuesday that delays in the administration of the shots would improve soon, even as public health experts have piled up complaints about the slow rollout and about the gap between the number of doses distributed versus those actually going into people’s arms. “I really expect the pace of administration to go up pretty massively in the next couple weeks,” Messonnier, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a conversation with STAT infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell.
5th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Decades of basic research paved the way for today’s ‘warp speed’ Covid-19 vaccines
The emergency use authorizations of mRNA vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the likely gradual rollout of multiple others is our collective best hope for curtailing the Covid-19 pandemic. The speed at which these vaccines has been developed is remarkable, both in absolute terms and compared to the multiyear time frame it normally takes to create and approve new vaccines. Great credit is due to the pharmaceutical industry and the university and government scientists who have worked directly and diligently on Covid-19 vaccine programs in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. They deserve accolades for their skillful hard work. But the Covid-19 vaccines did not come from nowhere. Decades of research by tens of thousands of scientists worldwide put in place the essential knowledge and methods that underpinned their rapid development.
5th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 5th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullNew York to fine hospitals that fail to deploy COVID-19 vaccine within a week -governor
New York state will begin fining hospitals that do not administer allotted COVID-19 vaccines within a week of receiving their supplies and will decline to provide them with further doses, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference on Monday.
The U.S. federal government has distributed more than 13 million vaccine doses to states and territories around the country, but only around 4 million have actually been administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last updated on Saturday. New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker notified hospitals of the potential actions in a letter on Sunday, Cuomo told reporters.
4th Jan 2021 - Reuters
First NHS staff in the region receive the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Frontline NHS staff in South Tyneside and Sunderland are among the first in the region to receive the newly approved Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. Tracy Barnett from the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s Community Stroke Team was the very first to be vaccinated at South Tyneside District Hospital today.
4th Jan 2021 - ITV News
China giving COVID-19 vaccine to 50 million in a month, Israel vaccinating so fast it's running out of vaccine
China is aiming to administer the first dose of the vaccine to 50 million people before Jan. 15 and the second shot by Feb. 5. Lunar New Years festivities begin on Feb. 11. Health officials in Israel are working to secure more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as the country has inoculated a higher proportion of its population than any other country and is running low on supply.
4th Jan 2021 - The Hill
Coronavirus vaccine: Delaying second booster jabs is the right move
Mixed news on the Covid front this week. On the upside, the first doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine have finally arrived and the additional supply will give a much-needed boost to the UK immunisation programme. On the downside, cases of infection continue to rise at an alarming rate, a last-minute change to the vaccine schedule delaying second doses has caused widespread concern, and many people in the top-priority groups have yet to hear when they will be vaccinated.
4th Jan 2021 - The Times
BMA 'will support' GPs who honour existing appointments for second dose of Covid vaccine
The BMA has said it will support GPs who honour appointments already made to administer the second dose of the Covid vaccine within three weeks of the first dose. The Government said that GPs should cancel appointments they had already made to administer the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine within three weeks because it wanted more people to receive the first dose sooner. But doctors’ groups have warned of the problem of cancelling second appointments for patients over 80, with the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) warned there was ‘chaos ensuing’. It comes as NHS England has made an additional £1,000 available to the first wave primary care networks to support with administrative costs in rescheduling appointments. Pfizer initially stated that its vaccine must be taken in two doses, three weeks apart.
4th Jan 2021 - Pulse
GP warns UK faces 'disastrous waste' of Covid vaccine this week after dosing U-turn
A top GP has warned the UK faces a disastrous waste of vaccine doses after the Government's decision to U-turn on its original inoculation plan. Downing Street has opted to delay the vital second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for the elderly from 21 days to three months. But the timing of the move was "wrong", according to Dame Clare Gerada. The ex-chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and a practising GP, said one million people in their 80s and older would now have to be contacted in order to arrange new appointments. The re-think comes days before they were due to be vaccinated later this week, which members of the Doctors' Association have already called a "gamble".
4th Jan 2021 - Mirror Online
UK's decision to delay second Covid vaccine shot reluctantly endorsed by advisers
The U.K.’s independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said in a statement published Sunday that it was a “very difficult and finely balanced decision” but it endorsed the U.K. government’s move to pursue coverage of as high a proportion of the population as possible. However, it said the change of policy must be accompanied by several other measures. Germany’s health ministry on Monday sought the advice of an independent vaccination commission on whether to follow in the U.K.’s footsteps.
4th Jan 2021 - CNBC
Germany mulls delaying second COVID-19 vaccine shot, Denmark approves delay
Germany was weighing on Monday whether to allow a delay in administering a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer to make scarce supplies go further, after a similar move by Britain last week. Separately, Denmark approved on Monday a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second shots of the vaccine. In Berlin, the health ministry was seeking the view of an independent vaccination commission on whether to delay a second shot beyond a current 42-day maximum limit, according to a one-page document seen by Reuters on Monday.
4th Jan 2021 - Reuters
‘Scandal!’ Fury in France at slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccine programme
President Emmanuel Macron is under intense pressure to accelerate vaccine-sceptical France’s inoculation campaign, whose tortuously slow start has been denounced as a “fiasco” and “bureaucratic sabotage”. Only a few thousand French people had received the Covid-19 vaccine by Monday, compared with 200,000 in Germany, after an EU-wide programme kicked off a week ago. “This is the biggest fiasco we have ever seen in the health field,” said epidemiologist and public health expert Martin Blachier. “A logistics fiasco and a communication fiasco,” he told LCI news channel
4th Jan 2021 - The Independent
Houston's free COVID-19 vaccination clinic sees overwhelming public response
Houston's free COVID-19 vaccination clinic was met with overwhelming response. At least 1,000 people received the much-anticipated Moderna vaccine at Houston's first free public COVID-19 vaccination clinic,
4th Jan 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle
NYC is only handing out COVID-19 vaccine shots during 'business hours'
Cuomo said on Monday that his state has administered almost 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses - or about 46 percent of its allocation - in the last three weeks
The latest CDC data, however, shows that New York state has administered 236,941 of its 774,075 distributed doses. In New York City, 110,241 of 443,000 vaccine doses have been administered since vaccinations started three weeks ago
Gov Andrew Cuomo on Monday said hospitals will be fined $100,000 if they fail to use up their dose allocations by the end of the week. Facilities now also must use up their vaccine allocations within seven days going forward or risk being allowed to receive any future doses. NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio said he expects the city to administer 400,000 doses per week by the end of the month with 250 new vaccine sites set to open. NYC Councilman Mark Levine has slammed the current rate of vaccine distribution, saying shots need to be handed out 24/7
4th Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
US coronavirus news: One American dies from Covid-19 every 33 seconds as the vaccine rollout hits snags
While hopes of vaccinating 20 million people by New Year's Day sputtered out, the US now faces staggering new challenges in the fight against Covid-19. Over the past week, the US has averaged 2,637 coronavirus deaths every day, according to Johns Hopkins University. That's an average of one Covid-19 death every 33 seconds. December was actually the deadliest month yet of this pandemic, with 77,572 lives lost. And deaths are likely to accelerate as new infections and hospitalizations rise.
4th Jan 2021 - CNN on MSN.com
US may cut Covid vaccine doses by half to speed up rollout
The federal government of US is thinking about reducing Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine dosages to half to some people in order to speed up the vaccine rollout amid concerns intensifying that the distribution drive is slower than expected. Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, an initiative to accelerate coronavirus vaccine efforts, said Moderna vaccine’s single shot to people between the age group 18-55 gives “identical immune response” to the recommended two injections dose. He said that the officials are in discussion with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration.
4th Jan 2021 - The Independent
First Oxford vaccine administered amid UK lockdown calls
Britain administered the first dose of its newly-approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday amid calls for the country to enter a third nationwide lockdown.
Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old man from the vaccine's birthplace Oxford, was the first to be given the new vaccine, which is being rolled out as the U.K. grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases. “Didn't feel it, how strange,” Pinker said after receiving the injection. “I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year.” The vaccine is the second to be approved for use in the U.K. after the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was given the thumbs-up by regulators at the end of 2020. It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces mounting calls to introduce tougher restrictions across England, with opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer demanding the replacement of its current tiered system of restrictions with a more stringent national lockdown. The U.K. has registered more than 50,000 new daily cases for six days in a row, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC's Today program the total number of people in hospital in England was now “higher than the first peak” last spring.
4th Jan 2021 - POLITICO.eu
France ramps up Covid-19 vaccination programme as slow start sparks anger
France is overhauling its Covid-19 immunisation campaign after a cautious, phased strategy aimed at placating the world’s most vaccine-sceptical population fell flat in its first week. The country has only vaccinated some 350 people to date — compared with the UK’s 1m and Germany’s 238,000 — although the government has received 500,000 doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine and will get a similar amount each week in January. The situation is piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and risks sparking another political fight over how the government has managed the pandemic. Opposition politicians have criticised the government over how it bungled mask supplies and struggled to roll out mass testing last year.
4th Jan 2021 - Financial Times
India’s COVID-19 vaccine drive will be a ‘work in progress’, with no final plan in a highly fluid situation
Since both the Indian vaccines – Covaxin and Covishield – have now been officially approved for emergency use, the focus is on its distribution and prioritization, which are still being worked out as a ‘work in progress’ due to many inherent difficulties in India’s vaccine drive against COVID-19, monitoring the recipients of the vaccines, and also the future uncertainties relating to the pandemic itself. The known and unknown administrative issues may also crop up during the implementation of the drive requiring great alertness and quick response. The Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, formally cleared by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has enabled the country to launch the vaccination drive simultaneously in most states that were part of ‘Dry Run’ of January 2, to test the preparedness of our system to effectively furnish the task in
4th Jan 2021 - National Herald
Covid, lockdown disrupted travel sector but people, vaccination to drive revival of tourism in India in 2021
Travel during Covid pandemic in India: In a glimmer of hope for the travel and tourism industry, the winter holiday season witnessed a favourable growth as more and more people gathered the courage to step out braving the ongoing Covid pandemic. The year 2020 was nothing short of a nightmare for us and travel and tourism sector bore the brunt of Covid Pandemic and lockdown. However, in a ray of hope, the undaunting spirit and indelible essence of people for the travel keep the tourism sector afloat against a high tide of losses. Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi government has taken an array of initiatives to provide thrust to the rich culture of tourism in India.
4th Jan 2021 - The Financial Express
Australia's largest state reports zero COVID cases, urges thousands to get tested
Australia’s most populous state New South Wales (NSW) on Monday reported zero local coronavirus cases for the first time in nearly three weeks, as Sydney battled multiple outbreaks and authorities urged tens of thousands of people to get tested. NSW daily testing numbers have dropped to around 20,000 in the last two days from a peak of about 70,000 recorded on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. The overwhelming majority of tests are in the state capital Sydney. “The numbers are far too low... if we’re going to succeed in staying ahead of the COVID pandemic, testing is crucial in large numbers so we can be confident of the data when we’re making decisions,” NSW Acting Premier John Barilaro told reporters.
4th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
'No other lockdowns': NSW says current restrictions enough to deal with clusters
NSW will not lock down Sydney suburbs involved in a new, growing coronavirus cluster, but restrictions will remain in place on the northern beaches and there will be a new cap on the number of people allowed at the Sydney Test. Despite two new cases on the northern beaches in four days, the NSW government said there was "no option" to lift restrictions for those living north of Narrabeen Bridge before the weekend. Victoria also indicated on Monday its strict hard border with NSW would remain for the rest of January, potentially leaving thousands of people stranded in NSW for another three weeks.
4th Jan 2021 - Sydney Morning Herald
Cambodia reopens schools and museums as others lock down
Cambodia has started reopening schools and museums as it relaxes a six-week lockdown following a coronavirus outbreak late last year, marking a contrast with some neighbouring countries that are facing new restrictions due to rising COVID-19 cases. The Southeast Asian country of just over 16 million people, one of the least impacted by the novel coronavirus with just 382 infections and no deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, saw a rare cluster of cases in November. On Monday, students wearing masks lined up for temperature checks and hand washing before being allowed to enter the Sovannaphumi primary school in the capital Phnom Penh.
4th Jan 2021 - Reuters
UK rolls out AstraZeneca vaccine, hails lead in fight against coronavirus
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered England into a new national lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass. The announcement came just hours after the government hailed Britain’s success in becoming the first country to begin rolling out the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against COVID-19. Johnson said a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom and now present in many other countries was spreading at great speed and immediate action was needed to slow it down. “As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic,” Johnson said in a televised address to the country.
4th Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Feds consider half-doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to stretch supplies, as U.K. spaces out Pfizer, AstraZeneca shots
Initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are obviously limited, even as drugmakers ramp up production, so governments are looking for ways to stretch their stocks. For Moderna’s mRNA-1273, that could mean reducing the dosing strength. The U.S. government is considering halving the dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, Operation Warp Speed chief Moncef Slaoui told CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday. The vaccine task force is in talks with Moderna and the FDA about implementing the idea, he said. “We know that, for the Moderna vaccine, giving half of the dose to people between the ages of 18 and 55, two doses [at] half the dose … we know it induces identical immune response” to the currently authorized dose, Slaoui added. Moderna declined to comment on potential ongoing regulatory discussions.
4th Jan 2021 - Fierce Pharma
‘Still waiting for my turn’: Primary care doctors are being left behind in the vaccine rollout
Only 23% of primary care clinicians know where they’ll get a vaccine from, according to a survey of more than 1,400 such doctors from Dec. 11 to 15 by the Larry A. Green Center with the Primary Care Collaborative. “More than three quarters don’t even know where they’re getting the vaccine,” said Ann Greiner, chief executive of the Primary Care Collaborative. These doctors should be vaccinated to fully support patients, she added: “We really want to keep patients out of the emergency room, for obvious reasons.” So far, a “stark minority” of the primary care physicians that Maxson works with at Aledade have received their vaccine; most doctors are still waiting, she said. Federal guidance is subject to interpretation from states, the majority of which are distributing vaccines via major hospitals. And, without any clear state or federal government directive on when primary care doctors should be vaccinated, many independent physicians must rely on the goodwill of hospitals to receive their doses.
4th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Britain takes a gamble with Covid-19 vaccines, upping the stakes for the rest of us
In an extraordinary time, British health authorities are taking extraordinary measures to beat back Covid-19. But some experts say that, in doing so, they are also taking a serious gamble. In recent days, the British have said they will stretch out the interval between the administration of the two doses required for Covid-19 vaccines already in use — potentially to as long as three months, instead of the recommended three or four weeks. And they have said they will permit the first dose and second dose for any one person to be from different vaccine manufacturers, if the matching vaccine is not available. The moves are borne of a desire to begin vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible, particularly with Britain facing high levels of transmission of an apparently more infectious form of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
4th Jan 2021 - STAT News
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 4th Jan 2021
View this newsletter in fullCoronavirus: Medics complain of 'bureaucracy' in bid to join Covid vaccine effort
When dentist Andy Bates offered to help administer the coronavirus vaccine, he hadn't bargained for the "overload of bureaucracy" he says came his way. Dr Bates, from North Yorkshire, is one of a number of health staff to criticise the paperwork needed to gain NHS approval to give the jabs. Some medics have been asked for proof they are trained in areas such as preventing radicalisation. The PM said the health secretary would be "taking steps" to address the issue. Asked about reports potential volunteers were being deterred by the additional training and forms about "de-radicalisation measures" and "fire drills", Mr Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday: "I think it's absurd and I know that the health secretary is taking steps to get rid of that pointless bureaucracy."
3rd Jan 2021 - BBC News
Britain targets tens of millions of vaccinations in next three months
Britain will have 530,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready to administer on Monday and hopes to provide “tens of millions” of vaccinations over the next three months, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday. “We do hope that ... we’ll be able to do tens of millions in the course of the next three months,” he told the BBC.
3rd Jan 2021 - Reuters UK
Vaccine passports, travel bubbles, pricey flights: the future of Asian tourism?
The coronavirus has changed the industry, forcing companies and countries alike to pivot from their existing models in a region where tourism is a huge economic driver. But catering to local travellers cannot fully make up for the downturn, experts say, while changing appetites and abundant concerns mean the future is anything but certain
2nd Jan 2021 - South China Morning Post
Thailand bans food and magazines on domestic flights in bid to stop spread of coronavirus
Thailand has banned food and drink services and magazines on domestic flights. Airlines who do not follow the new regulations face a penalty from the regulator. It marks the second time the ban has come into force during the pandemic
2nd Jan 2021 - Daily Mail
India tests vaccine delivery system with nationwide trial
India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a nationwide trial on Saturday as it prepares to roll out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic. The trial included data entry into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry said in a statement. The massive exercise came a day after a government-appointed panel of experts held a meeting to review the applications of potential vaccine candidates, including front-runner Covishield, developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca. India’s vaccination drive is expected to start in a few days once the country's regulator approves a vaccine.
2nd Jan 2021 - The Independent
Coronavirus: UK sets up more than 20 Covid test sites for France-bound hauliers
More than 20 new coronavirus testing centres for hauliers driving to France are being set up in the next few days, the transport secretary has announced. Grant Shapps said that 10 sites opened on Saturday, with a further 10 to come on Sunday, and more to be added in the week. The government is also offering help to firms that wish to set up testing centres on their own premises. Free testing kits will be available to companies as part of the scheme. The move comes after France shut its border to UK arrivals - including freight drivers - last month, amid concern over a new fast-spreading variant of coronavirus identified in the UK. It led to thousands of lorry drivers being stuck in Kent as they waited to cross the English Channel, with some clashing with police after spending days in their cabs.
2nd Jan 2021 - BBC News
LA begins issuing digital vaccine verification for Apple Wallet
LA will begin offering the digital receipts for vaccination starting this week. Plan is being carried out in partnership with tech company Healthvana. It's initially aimed at ensuring people get the correct second dose of vaccine. But critics fear a looming system of 'vaccine passports' required for travel. Raises questions about civil rights and people with immunity after infection
31st Dec 2020 - Daily Mail
Nearly 100,000 Scots receive first covid vaccine shot as new jab to be rolled out on Monday
Nearly 100,000 people in Scotland have received their first shot of a coronavirus vaccine. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed the number as she confirmed a second vaccine, which could be the key to restoring relative normality to people's lives, will be rolled out from Monday. Sturgeon said a change in the process would result in "more people" getting vaccinated "more quickly". Regulators recently approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is administered in two doses weeks apart. It was also confirmed today that the separate Oxford/Astra Zeneca product has been approved.
31st Dec 2020 - Daily Record
Covid: 'NHS staff need vaccine first' as pressures mount
Healthcare workers should be given the Covid vaccine before elderly people to ease pressure on hospitals and surgeries, a GP has said. Dr Phil White, who is chairman of the Welsh GPs Committee, said the new coronavirus variant had led to a rise in staff sickness and isolating. Public Health Wales has warned the NHS is under unprecedented pressure and the British Medical Association (BMA) described the situation as "dire". About 30,000 people have had the jab. It comes as figures put Wales behind other nations for the number of people being vaccinated. The Welsh Government said front-line NHS staff were among the very first groups to receive the vaccine.
31st Dec 2020 - BBC News
Covid Vaccine: NHS Staff Struggle To Get Jab In Echo Of PPE Shambles
Vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca are being rolled out – but health workers are still being left at risk.
31st Dec 2020 - Huffington Post UK
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine rollout plan changed following approval
Millions of people across the UK at risk from Covid will be offered a single first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, with a booster jab within three months, in a bid to return the country to some normality by the spring, the prime minister has said.
Rollout of the Oxford vaccine will begin on 4 January following its approval for emergency use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). The government hopes the vaccine, of which it has ordered 100m doses, will transform prospects in the UK and check the spread of the rampaging coronavirus variant which has caused cases to surge. Pharmacies as well as GPs will be able to give the jabs to those at risk.
30th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 30th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullMinisters push to speed up Covid vaccine so that rules can be lifted after first 15m people get the jab
In England, the Government is pushing to speed up the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines as the best chance for ending restrictions on everday life in the coming months. Ministers are reportedly targeting the goal of vaccinating 15 million people in the UK before it is possible to lift the rules designed to slow the spread of coronavirus. Matt Hancock has previously said that the restrictions would be removed once those who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19 have been protected. Rishi Sunak described the vaccination programme as “light at the end of the tunnel”.
29th Dec 2020 - iNews
Hungary receives 6000 doses of Russia's coronavirus vaccine
Hungary said it received 6,000 doses of Russia’s controversial coronavirus vaccine on Monday (28 December), in a new display of Budapest’s maverick vaccine policy. “6,000 doses of Russian vaccine crossed Hungary’s border with Slovakia,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a Facebook video message. The consignment was taken to Budapest for a decision by Hungarian experts on how to use it, he said, without providing details on the vaccine’s potential rollout. The announcement comes after Hungary started vaccinations on Saturday ahead of most European Union countries after receiving its first delivery of the Belgian-made Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus jabs.
29th Dec 2020 - Euractiv
79-year-old grandmother first in Ireland to receive coronavirus vaccine
A 79-year-old grandmother from Dublin has become the first person in the Republic to receive a coronavirus vaccination. Annie Lynch received the vaccine at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. It was the first Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 jab to be administered at four hospitals across the country: St James’s and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway. Mrs Lynch said: “I feel very privileged to be the first person in Ireland to receive the vaccine.
29th Dec 2020 - Belfast Telegraph
22 million vulnerable people to get Covid vaccine by spring
All vulnerable Brits, including everyone over the age of 50, could receive a coronavirus vaccine by the spring, the chief executive of the NHS has said. Sir Simon Stevens said 22 million people being vaccinated so soon was a ‘fresh chink of hope’, after a grim end to the year saw hospitalisations in England surpassing April’s peak. Roughly 200,000 people are being vaccinated every week at the moment, but this is set to rise to one million by mid-January, the Daily Telegraph reports. But a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warns this must be doubled to two million if the UK is to avoid a third wave.
29th Dec 2020 - Metro.co.uk
Covid vaccine uptake high despite concerns over hesitancy
Uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine has been high among those offered it, doctors say, despite fears that vaccine hesitancy could undermine efforts to control the pandemic. Experts have feared mass uptake of the jab could be jeopardised by widespread misinformation, concerns among the public about the speed at which the vaccine has been developed and approved, and lack of trust in vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies and governments calling for it. But for now, at least, it seems few are shying away from vaccination. “We’ve had reports from our members that despite inevitable teething problems – to be expected when delivering a completely new and complicated vaccine at scale and speed – the programme seems to be running well overall with very positive take-up rates, so far,” said Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs and a practising GP in east London.
29th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Harris receives COVID-19 shot in bid to boost U.S. vaccine confidence
U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received a COVID-19 vaccination live on television on Tuesday, as the incoming Biden administration seeks to boost confidence in the inoculation even while warning it will be months before it is available to all. Senator Harris, who is Black and Asian-American, will become the second high-profile person from an ethnic minority background to receive the vaccine after Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Dec. 18. Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he will make the fight against the coronavirus, which has infected more than 19 million Americans and killed over 334,000, his top priority.
29th Dec 2020 - Reuters
Kamala Harris receives Covid-19 vaccine dose
Vice president-elect Kamala Harris has received her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at United Medical Center in Washington DC. The centre’s registered nurse Patricia Cummings administered a shot of the Moderna vaccine into the incoming vice president’s left arm on Tuesday. “That was easy," she said, laughing. “I barely felt it.” President-elect Joe Biden received a first dose of the vaccine on 21 December at ChristianaCare's Christiana Hospital in Delaware.
29th Dec 2020 - The Independent
The UK and the US need to learn from countries that better handled Covid-19
In October 2019, in those halcyon pre-Covid-19 days, a chart was published that ranked 195 countries according to their capacity to deal with outbreaks of infectious disease. Drawn up by the Washington DC-based Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, Maryland, the 2019 Global Health Security Index (GHSI) placed the US and UK first and second, respectively. South Korea came ninth, New Zealand 35th and China 51st, while a number of African countries brought up the rear.
29th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Covid-19: First vaccine patient has her second jab
The first person in the world to be given the Pfizer Covid-19 jab as part of a mass vaccination programme has received a second dose. Margaret Keenan was given the follow-up vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry earlier - three weeks after the first. The hospital's chief executive Andy Hardy said the hospital was "delighted" to welcome Margaret back. Two doses of the vaccine are required to achieve full immunity. The grandmother, who is originally from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, received a first injection on 8 December, a week before her 91st birthday, and described it as the "best early birthday present".
29th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Covid: Military back-up for pupil testing as heads urge delay to start of term
Members of the armed forces are to give remote support to secondary schools and colleges in England setting up mass Covid testing as the new term begins. Military personnel will hold webinars and give phone support to school staff. But head teachers say they need support on the ground and more time to make the plan workable. They are calling for a delay to the start of term. The government wants pupils to go back in the first two weeks of January, but is keeping the situation under review.
29th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Pressure grows on Government to keep schools closed despite plans for military to help coronavirus testing of pupils
Military personnel will be drafted in to support coronavirus testing of school and college students in England if the Government withstands the growing pressure to delay the reopening of secondaries.
29th Dec 2020 - Evening Standard on MSN.com
E.U. Starts Effort to Vaccinate 450 Million
From nursing homes in France to hospitals in Poland, older Europeans and the workers who care for them rolled up their sleeves on Sunday to receive coronavirus vaccine shots in a campaign to inoculate more than 450 million people across the European Union. The inoculations offered a rare respite as the continent struggles with one of its most precarious moments since the pandemic began. Despite national lockdowns, restrictions on movement, shuttering of restaurants and cancellations of Christmas gatherings, the virus has stalked Europe into the dark winter months. The spread of a more contagious variant of the virus in Britain has raised such alarm that much of continental Europe rushed to close its borders to travelers coming from the country, effectively plunging the nation as a whole into quarantine.
29th Dec 2020 - The New York Times
German Town Finds a Blueprint for Lowering Covid-19 Deaths
At the peak of the first wave in April, the town had 70 Covid-19 patients in its biggest hospital—out of 89,000 inhabitants—including 33 in intensive care, forcing doctors to cancel elective surgery. Now, at the height of the far more devastating current surge, patients number just 35, many transferred from other regions. Fifteen of them are in intensive care, of whom fewer than half are Tübingen residents. The hospital hasn’t canceled non-urgent surgery. Local authorities say such numbers are no accident. The town, they point out, started earlier than most German municipalities in carrying out frequent Covid-19 tests on care-home staff, residents and visitors. It subsidizes taxi rides for those over age 65 so they don’t have to use public transit. Younger residents are discouraged from shopping between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. so as to avoid seniors having to mingle with people who are more likely to carry the virus without symptoms.
29th Dec 2020 - The Wall Street Journal
Michael Gove: We can ease Covid restrictions early if Oxford vaccine roll-out works
Michael Gove has backed Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s suggestion that tough coronavirus restrictions could be lifted if the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is rolled out in the new year. Over the weekend the Chancellor hailed vaccination efforts as the key to unlocking the tier system, which was toughened days before Christmas following the emergence of a new infectious strain of Covid-19.
29th Dec 2020 - Evening Standard
French Retailers Seek Aid as Sales Fail to Recover From Lockdown
French retailers called for government support after sales failed to rebound fully from a second lockdown, suggesting measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic are changing consumer patterns. Despite a good pick-up in spending thanks to Black Friday discounts and year-end purchases, many clothing, shoe, jewelry, beauty-product and perfume retailers face a drop in revenue of more than 20% in 2020, the French Council of Commerce, a group of about 30 business federations, said in a statement on Monday. “Many shopkeepers could decide to put up the shutters for good to avoid racking up further losses and dragging out an insurmountable economic situation,” said William Koeberle, chairman of the trade group.
29th Dec 2020 - Bloomberg
Belarus first country after Russia to start Sputnik-V vaccination
Belarus has become the first country after Russia to begin vaccination of people with Sputnik-V against Covid-19, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Tuesday. "Belarus becomes the first country in the world after Russia to start vaccination of its people against COVID-19 with #SputnikV vaccine," a tweet from the official handle of Sputnik-V stated. The Sputnik-V vaccine has been developed and produced by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
29th Dec 2020 - Business Standard
Staggered school return to go ahead as planned in January despite new Covid strain fears - Michael Gove
The staggered reopening of schools in January is expected to go ahead as planned, Michael Gove said on Monday. The Cabinet Office minister confirmed that secondary school pupils in Years 11 and 13, as well as children of key workers, will return on January 4. All primary school children will also resume classes while other pupils will return a week later. Mr Gove told Sky News: "We always keep things under review but teachers and head teachers have been working incredibly hard over the Christmas period since schools broke up in order to prepare for a new testing regime — community testing — in order to make sure that children and all of us are safer.
29th Dec 2020 - Evening Standard
Frustration over vaccine rollout builds, as new variant reported in U.S. for first time
As frustration over the pace of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout continues to build, health officials in Colorado on Tuesday reported the first known U.S. case of the variant of Covid-19 discovered in the U.K. The U.K. variant appears to be more transmissible than other variants of the virus seen to date, and has been detected in a number of countries worldwide. The Colorado case, who is currently in isolation, is a man in his 20s who has not left the country. The lack of a travel history means he contracted the virus in the U.S., suggesting undetected transmission of the new variant here. The discovery will only add to the urgency of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign currently underway, which some public health experts have criticized as going too slowly.
29th Dec 2020 - STAT News
Biden criticizes slow vaccine rollout, Colorado confirms nation's first UK variant case
Pledging a more aggressive effort once he's in office, President-elect Joe Biden today took aim at the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, which reported its first confirmed United Kingdom variant case today. The two developments come as the nation braces for a post-holiday surge, alongside fears that the more transmissible UK variant could make matters worse
28th Dec 2020 - CIDRAP
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 29th Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullElite Boarding Schools Offer Students a Unique Covid-19 Bubble
Many high schools are struggling with whether to allow students to learn in the classroom as Covid-19 infections surge across the U.S. But not the nation’s boarding schools. These schools have been mostly able to offer in-person learning with relatively few incidents, using a variety of intensive virus-mitigation strategies, according to Peter Upham, executive director of The Association of Boarding Schools. About a third of the nation’s more than 260 academic boarding schools have had Covid-19 cases, Upham said, but very few schools have seen outbreaks of more than just a couple students.
28th Dec 2020 - Bloomberg
Philippines troops, ministers get COVID-19 vaccine before approval
Some Philippine soldiers and cabinet ministers have already received COVID-19 vaccine injections, officials said on Monday, despite an absence of regulatory approval that the country's health ministry said was vital to ensure safety.
28th Dec 2020 - Reuters
Donald Trump relents and signs massive $900 billion Covid-19 relief package
Donald Trump has signed off a US$900 billion (£664bn) coronavirus relief package to end days of stand-off over the the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown. The massive bill includes US$1.4 trillion (£1.03 trillion) to fund government agencies through to September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems and an increase in food stamp benefits. Mr Trump announced the signing in a statement that spoke of his frustrations with the Covid-19 relief for including only $600 (£443) cheques to most Americans instead of the $2,000 (£1,476) that his fellow Republicans rejected.
28th Dec 2020 - Evening Standard
Covid-19 vaccination rolls out across Europe, but anger remains over late start
Until 8 November, terminal C of Tegel airport used to be where Berliners took off for weekend breaks across the Schengen area. From Sunday, the disused runway hopes to see the start of a journey towards a more permanent destination: herd immunity to Covid-19 by mass vaccination. Departure: delayed. Arrival time: unclear. From 8.30am, Tegel will serve as a control centre for 60 minivans filled with four-person mobile “vaccination teams” who will pick up Berlin’s first 18,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from a secret location, then administer them to vulnerable people in care homes across the city, initially prioritising dementia sufferers who struggle to adhere to social distancing. The starting gun will be fired in several European countries at the same time: the 12.5 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will arrive in EU countries before the end of this year are part of a 300-million dose bulk order signed by the European Commission.
28th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Covid-19: Gove 'confident' schools can reopen in England
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said he is "confident" the staggered return to secondary schools in England can go ahead as planned. But Mr Gove said the issue was still being reviewed, amid concern over the spread of the new coronavirus variant. Wales and Scotland have delayed or revised the start of the new term. Northern Ireland schools are due back next week. Ministers have said exam year pupils in England would return as normal. But the majority of secondary school pupils in England are due to begin the term studying remotely, to give head teachers time to implement a coronavirus testing programme for students and staff.
28th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Europe rolls out 'new weapon' vaccines in bid to slay COVID
Europe launches a cross-border vaccination programme of unprecedented scale on Sunday as part of efforts to end a COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives around the world. The region of 450 million people has secured contracts with a range of suppliers for over two billion vaccine doses and has set a goal for all adults to be inoculated during 2021.
28th Dec 2020 - Reuters
Three volunteers receive first shots of Vietnam's very own Covid-19 vaccine
Three first volunteers received the first shot of a dose of 50mcg of Nanocovax Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday (Dec 26). Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Viet Nam Military Medical University, Nanocovax is Vietnam's first Covid-19 candidate vaccine to reach the human trial stage. A total of 60 volunteers, aged 18-50, were selected for the first phase of the clinical trials. They are divided into three groups for receiving three doses of 25 mcg, 50 mcg and 75 mcg, respectively. The vaccination consists of two injections 28 days apart.
27th Dec 2020 - The Star
“Believe in science:” EU kicks off COVID-19 vaccine campaign
Doctors, nurses and the elderly rolled up their sleeves across the European Union to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Sunday in a symbolic show of unity and moment of hope for a continent confronting its worst health care crisis in a century. Weeks after the U.S., Canada and Britain began inoculations with the same vaccine, the 27-nation bloc staged a coordinated rollout aimed at projecting a unified message that the shot was safe and Europe’s best chance to emerge from the pandemic. For health care workers who have been battling the virus with only masks and shields to protect themselves, the vaccines represented an emotional relief as the virus continues to kill. But it was also a public chance for them to urge Europe’s 450 million people to get the shots amid continued vaccine and virus skepticism.
27th Dec 2020 - Associated Press
Czech Republic starts coronavirus vaccine rollout
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis became the first person in the country to be given a vaccine against the new coronavirus on Sunday, as European Union member states begin a pushback against the pandemic which is surging across the continent. Hungary and Slovakia stole a march on their fellow EU nations as they began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Saturday. Germany officially launches its inoculation campaign on Sunday, along with coutries such as France and Italy. Babis received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the Central Military Hospital in Prague, just before other hospitals in the capital and second-largest city Brno started to distribute the 9,750 doses the country has received so far.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters UK
NY health network faces criminal investigation over COVID-19 vaccine
New York State Health officials said on Saturday they are investigating a Brooklyn-based healthcare provider on suspicion it violated state guidelines for distribution of COVID-19 vaccine. ParCare Community Health Network “may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine, transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state in violation of state guidelines and diverted it to members of the public - contrary to the state’s plan to administer it first to frontline healthcare workers, as well as nursing home residents and staffers,” state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in a statement.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters
Singapore panel recommends maximum level of COVID-19 vaccine coverage
An expert committee convened by Singapore's health ministry has recommended all residents medically eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to take shots as they become available, although it said vaccination should remain a voluntary option. The recommendation comes as Singapore's success in controlling the virus makes some question whether they should take the jabs. The city-state has been reporting almost zero new local cases daily over the last few weeks.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters on MSN.com
Thai hospital banned from offer to sell COVID-19 vaccine
A private Thai hospital was ordered on Sunday to stop advertising COVID-19 vaccinations for sale in advance on the grounds that no vaccine is yet approved in Thailand. Vibhavadi Hospital told Reuters its online offer for 1,000 initial reservations for the two-dose Moderna vaccine had been the result of a misunderstanding. With reservations priced at 4,000 baht, the total cost of getting vaccinated would have been 10,000 baht ($330). As the first governments begin vaccine rollouts around the world, questions have been raised over how the limited supplies are prioritised and whether people will be able to pay to jump the queue.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters
Millions face eviction, poverty as unemployment benefits expire with COVID-19 relief bill in limbo
Jo Marie Hernandez doesn’t know how she and her 4-year-old daughter will survive after her unemployment aid lapsed this weekend. Hernandez, who lives in Olean, New York, is on the brink of losing her home in days after she lost her job as a customer service associate at a gas station in the spring. Enduring prolonged unemployment, she's struggled to make ends meet and has nothing left in savings to keep her afloat. “I only have $100 left to my name. My whole world is shattered,” says Hernandez, 32, who was forced to put her car up for sale. “We can’t wait a few weeks for help. We’re starving and will be out on the street soon.”
27th Dec 2020 - USA TODAY
Slovakia starts vaccinations against COVID-19
Slovakia on Saturday started to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus as the country joined a coordinated push by the European Union against the global pandemic. Vladimir Krcmery, a member of the government’s Pandemic Commission, was the first person in the country inoculated by the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BionTech. Hungary also began vaccinating its people on Saturday, a day ahead of rollouts in several other countries including France, Germany and Spain.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters UK
Covid: EU launches mass vaccination in 'touching moment of unity'
The EU has begun a co-ordinated vaccine rollout to fight Covid-19, in what the bloc's top official says is a "touching moment of unity". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been delivered to all 27 member states. Some countries started administering the jabs on Saturday, saying they were not prepared to wait another day. The EU has so far reported more than 335,000 Covid-related deaths.
27th Dec 2020 - BBC News
'The beginning of the end': Europe rolls out vaccines to see off pandemic
Europe launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday with pensioners and medics lining up to get the first shots to see off a pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives worldwide. “Thank God,” 96-year-old Araceli Hidalgo said as she became the first person in Spain to have a vaccine at her care home in Guadalajara, near the capital Madrid. “Let’s see if we can make this virus go away.” In Italy, the first country in Europe to record significant numbers of infections, 29-year-old nurse Claudia Alivernini was one of three medical staff at the head of the queue for the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
27th Dec 2020 - Reuters UK
Old and vulnerable people 'aren't getting their Covid jabs' with spare vaccines offered to healthy volunteers
Concerns are growing that some older and vulnerable people are not taking up the Pfizer vaccine. At one health centre in South London, The Mail on Sunday has learned that 75 doses of the vaccine were left over as uptake had been so low. Managers were left scrambling to find other patients to vaccinate and even offered a jab to healthy volunteers working there. Experts suggested that elderly people may be struggling with transport or are nervous about venturing outdoors.
26th Dec 2020 - Daily Mail
Wealthy Britons 'offering private doctors £2,000 to jump Covid vaccine queue and get jabs early'
Rich people are offering huge sums of money to skip the queue for the coronavirus vaccines. The jabs can currently only be obtained through the NHS, but several private British doctors say they have been bombarded with requests from wealthy individuals offering to pay to have theirs ahead of time. Dr Roshan Ravindran, owner of Klnik, a private clinic in Wilmslow, Cheshire, claimed some clients had offered £2,000 for injections.
26th Dec 2020 - Daily Mail
Rouhani defends COVID vaccine efforts amid US pressure
President Hassan Rouhani has defended his administration’s efforts to purchase a COVID-19 vaccine, reassuring Iranians that the country will succeed despite United States pressure. Iran has reported more than one million coronavirus cases, including at least 54,000 deaths, since February.
26th Dec 2020 - Al Jazeera English
Taoiseach hails “day of great hope” as first coronavirus vaccines arrive in Ireland
The Taoiseach has hailed “a day of great hope” as the first coronavirus vaccine arrived in Ireland on St Stephen’s Day. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the first to be approved for use in Ireland by the European Medicines Agency. The initial batch of 10,000 doses will begin to be administered on Wednesday.
26th Dec 2020 - Belfast Telegraph
Turkey Signs Accord With BioNTech for Coronavirus Vaccine
Turkey signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc. partner BioNTech SE for 4.5 million of doses their coronavirus vaccine, with an option to raise it to 30 million. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Friday that an initial 550,000 doses will arrive by the year end or in early January, state news agency Anadolu reported.
26th Dec 2020 - Bloomberg
In Christmas message curbed by Covid, pope calls on nations to share vaccines
Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Friday said political and business leaders must not allow market forces and patent laws to take priority over making Covid 19 vaccines available to all, condemning nationalism and “the virus of radical individualism”.
25th Dec 2020 - Reuters
U.S. will require negative COVID-19 tests for all UK passengers - CDC
The U.S. government will require all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure starting Monday amid concerns about a new coronavirus variant that may be more transmissible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Thursday that all airline passengers arriving from the UK must test negative in order to fly to the United States. The decision was a turnaround after the Trump administration told U.S. airlines on Tuesday it was not planning to require any testing for arriving UK passengers. The CDC said an order would be signed on Friday and is effective Monday.
25th Dec 2020 - Reuters UK
COVID-19: Pope Francis urges nations to share coronavirus vaccine in Christmas message
The Pope has used his Christmas message to urge countries to share COVID-19 vaccines, saying nationalism should not be a factor in granting access to the new treatments. His traditional Urbi et Orbi message was dominated by the social and economic impacts of the crisis. "At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters," he said.
25th Dec 2020 - Sky News
Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Begins Arriving at Strained Hospitals Across the U.S.
Just one week after the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine were administered in the United States, a new batch of vaccines fanned out across the country on Monday, an urgently needed expansion of a vaccination effort that is expected to reach vulnerable populations and rural areas where hospitals are strained as soon as this week. The vaccine, from Moderna, comes as the virus continues to spread virtually unabated: hospitalizations are over 115,000 for the first time, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Parts of California are down to their last I.C.U. beds and almost one-fifth of U.S. hospitals with intensive care units reported that at least 95 percent of their I.C.U. beds were full in the week ending Dec. 17. Nationwide, 78 percent of I.C.U. beds were full on average.
25th Dec 2020 - The New York Times
COVID-19: Major UK testing lab suffers coronavirus outbreak after claims of safety breaches
The UK's biggest testing lab has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus after what one worker claimed were repeated breaches of COVID safety rules, Sky News has learned. Positive cases have been reported in three of the four scientific teams at the Milton Keynes Lighthouse Laboratory, as well as among administrative and warehouse staff at the site. It is not known how many people have been affected by the outbreak, but around 20 people in one 70-person lab team are currently isolating, according to a worker at the laboratory who asked to remain anonymous.
24th Dec 2020 - Sky News
First batch of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Mexico, Latin America
Latin America received its first shipment of formally approved COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, as Mexico's foreign secretary called the arrival "the beginning of the end of that pandemic." The vaccine was brought in by a DHL flight at Mexico City's international airport. Crews began to unload batches of the same Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that had begun to be administered to Americans last week, The Associated Press reported. Officials did not disclose how many batches were part of the relatively small shipment, which is slated to be used to test vaccine logistics procedures once Mexico and other Latin American countries begin receiving larger quantities.
23rd Dec 2020 - The Hill
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 22nd Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullCovid-19: Qatar and Oman to receive vaccine this week
Qatar's health ministry granted emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and is due to receive the first shipment on Monday, state media reported. A ministry statement said people aged 16 years and above would be eligible. Qatar has also signed an agreement with drugmaker Moderna Inc to buy its vaccine. Fellow Gulf Arab state Oman will receive its first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipment on Wednesday, a health ministry official said in remarks carried on a government Twitter account on Monday, adding the initial phase would cover 20 percent of the population.
21st Dec 2020 - Middle East Eye
Singapore gets first batch of COVID-19 vaccines - DHL
Singapore received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, said logistics firm DHL, which is involved in the transportation of the shots to the city-state from Belgium. DHL in a statement did not specify the size of the batch or name the vaccines being delivered, but Singapore last week said it had approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, becoming the first Asian country to do so.
21st Dec 2020 - Reuters
Covid UK: Give NHS staff the vaccine to open up abandoned Nightingales, say health chiefs
NHS staff must start receiving the coronavirus vaccine urgently because so many are off sick, hospital bosses in England have claimed amid fears there are not enough nurses and doctors to open the Nightingale sites. The temporary purpose-built hospitals constructed for £220million to help fight the Covid-19 crisis were hailed at the start of the pandemic as a solution to the growing crisis in hospital capacity across the country. But many are lying empty as doctors and nurses plead with their hospitals to vaccinate them after being told they must wait until early next year because they are a lower priority than the over-80s and those in care homes
21st Dec 2020 - Daily Mail
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets Covid vaccine live on Instagram
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, sharing the process live with her 8.2 million followers on Instagram. “The Covid vaccine became available to members of Congress last night and we are urged to take it as part of a continuity of governance plan so I’m heading on my way there (sic),” Ms Ocasio-Cortez, 31, said, as she opened the conversation allowing the followers to send in their questions related to the vaccination process. “Just like wearing a mask, I’d never advise you to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself,” she wrote in the post. The New York lawmaker shared a photo of the medical history questionnaire she was asked to fill out beforehand, then a video showing the injection into her upper arm
21st Dec 2020 - The Independent
Biden to receive coronavirus vaccine as U.S. inoculation effort mounts
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden received his first injected dose of the COVID-19 vaccine live on television on Monday in an effort to boost confidence in its safety ahead of its wide distribution next year. Biden has said he would make the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 315,000 Americans and infected more than 17.5 million, his top priority when he takes office on Jan. 20. At age 78, he is in the high-risk group for the highly contagious respiratory disease.
21st Dec 2020 - Reuters UK
Why Australia isn't budging on its Covid vaccination plans
The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Sydney has forced parts of the city into lockdown and prevented thousands of people crossing state borders in the days before Christmas. As the US and UK begin to vaccinate their populations, the fresh restrictions imposed in Australia have raised questions about whether its more measured approach to vaccination should be accelerated, even though case numbers remain tiny relative to the US and most of Europe.
21st Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Covid: Vaccine clinics operating up to Christmas Eve
In Northern Ireland, vaccination clinics for health and social care workers in priority groups will be operating up to Christmas Eve. The chief medical officer urged those eligible to take up the vaccine offer. About 14,000 people have received the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine in Northern Ireland, including vaccinators, care home residents and care home staff. More vaccine doses arrived in recent days, but Dr Michael McBride said supplies were limited and people would be prioritised in the next few weeks. Staff have been instructed to wait until they are called.
21st Dec 2020 - BBC News
US healthcare workers protest chaos in hospitals' vaccine rollout
Frontline healthcare workers saw their hopes dashed last week when a botched algorithm, crashing scheduling platforms and other logistical mishaps thwarted their efforts to be among the first in the US to receive a long-awaited coronavirus vaccine. Amid a surge in infections overwhelming hospitals around the US, doctors were incensed by administrative failures that denied access to the potentially life-saving shots, even as they volunteered to work in intensive care units or looked after the critically ill.
21st Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Fifty million people in U.S. to have first COVID-19 shot by end January - Azar
About 50 million people in the United States will have had the first of two COVID-19 shots needed for immunization by the end of January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday. Azar was speaking at a press conference on the first day of shots of Moderna Inc.’s vaccine and the roll out of the Pfizer Inc-BioNTech SE vaccine to nursing homes.
21st Dec 2020 - Reuters
'Help is on the way': Covid relief bill deal agreed, says Mitch McConnell
Top congressional leaders have announced agreement on a $900bn coronavirus aid package after late-night discussions on Sunday. “We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: more help is on the way,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. “Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and House finalised an agreement for another major rescue package for the American people.” McConnell said lawmakers needed to “promptly finalize text” and avoid any last-minute obstacles.
21st Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Exit Strategies - COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis - 21st Dec 2020
View this newsletter in fullEgypt receives second batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine
Egypt has received its second shipment totaling 50,000 doses of anti-coronavirus vaccines developed by Chinese company Sinopharm, local magazine Egypt Today reported. The delivery brings the country's total inventory of the jab to 100,000, enough to have 50,000 people vaccinated. Each individual will need two doses of the vaccine, with an interval of 21 days in between. Unnamed sources at Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population told Egypt Today that the country aims to provide 10 million doses of the Chinese vaccine to its people, with the nation expected to receive more doses in Dec.
20th Dec 2020 - China Daily
Moderna vaccine shipments begin as US reels under Covid surge
Asked if the US could soon see “up to 5,000 deaths a day”, Trump administration vaccine adviser Dr Moncef Slaoui told CNN’s State of the Union: “I think, unfortunately, it will get worse, because we still are experiencing the outcome of the Thanksgiving holidays and the gatherings and unfortunately there may be more over the Christmas holidays, there will be a continuing surge.” The Transportation Security Administration duly reported that about 1.07 million people passed through security checkpoints at US airports on Friday and Saturday.
20th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
Israeli PM joins world leaders getting COVID-19 vaccine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was vaccinated against the coronavirus on live television Saturday, becoming the first Israeli and one of the world’s leaders to be inoculated. Israel is set to begin vaccinating its health workers and nursing home residents beginning Sunday. Netanyahu said he wanted to be the country’s first recipient to set a personal example and to encourage Israelis to get the shot. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated Friday in a similar attempt to boost public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. “I believe in this vaccine,” he said before receiving the injection of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Netanyahu rolled up the right sleeve of his black, short-sleeve shirt and waited for several minutes before receiving the injection. He called it an “exciting moment” that would put Israel on the path to returning to its normal routines.
19th Dec 2020 - Associated Press
Rich Americans are trying to cut the line for Covid vaccine, doctors say
Rich Americans in California are offering to buy their way to the front of the coronavirus vaccine line as the state continues to see a surge in infections and deaths, reports have said. Speaking to CNN, a number of concierge doctors in the area say have received a number of requests for early access to the new vaccine in return for premium payments or donations. Dr Jeff Toll, whose boutique internal medicine practice has admitting privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his high-profile clients have offered large sums in turn for prioritisation. The doctor told outlets that one of his clientele, which includes chief executives and entertainment figures, offered to donate $25,000 to the hospital for early access to the shot.
19th Dec 2020 - The Independent
Black Americans wary of Covid vaccine effort
Only 42 per cent of black Americans said they would take a Covid-19 vaccine, compared with 61 per cent of white Americans, according to a Pew Research Center opinion poll published earlier this month. That finding was consistent with black people’s lower uptake of the vaccine developed for the last pandemic, the H1N1 flu virus in 2009 — not to mention the annual flu shot.
19th Dec 2020 - Financial Times
The U.S. says employers can require workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Employers can require workers to get a Covid-19 vaccine and bar them from the workplace if they refuse, the federal government said in guidelines issued this week. Public health experts see employers as playing an important role in vaccinating enough people to reach herd immunity and get a handle on a pandemic that has killed more than 300,
19th Dec 2020 - New York Times
Covid-19: 'Constructive' North-South meeting on Covid-19
Discussions at Friday's North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meeting have been "constructive", Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin has said. Writing after the meeting, Mr Martin said the response to Covid-19 had been "high on the agenda", along with "the implications of Brexit". The meeting between representatives from both sides of the border was held virtually. The first and deputy first ministers took part in the meeting. They were joined by Irish government leaders. The NSMC is the main body for cross-border co-operation between the governments of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
19th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Covid: Austrians who pass antigen test to be exempt from lockdown
Austria is to enter a third lockdown from Boxing Day but will stage mass coronavirus tests in mid-January to determine who will be exempt from certain restrictions, the government announced on Friday. Italy is preparing to outline new measures that could lead to a complete lockdown over the Christmas and new year period, while the Spanish government has warned of a possible “third wave” of infections. Austria’s latest lockdown, which comes into effect on 26 December, will include daytime curfews, the closure of non-essential shops, and schools switching to remote learning from 7 to 15 January. Mass antigen tests being offered on the weekend of 16 and 17 January will give people the opportunity to “test themselves free” of restrictions, according to the interior minister, Karl Nehammer.
19th Dec 2020 - The Guardian
World looks to spring for pandemic relief as vaccinations start
The developed world could start to emerge from the deadly grip of the pandemic by late spring if the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines are deployed effectively, scientists say. Even so, infection rates are likely to remain high for some time. More than 1.1 million people have been vaccinated in the U.S., U.K., China and Russia, according to Bloomberg data, with the European Union expected to approve its first shot this coming week. As many as three vaccines could be available in the West by year-end, leaving governments and scientists hopeful the pandemic could start to turn a corner in the first half of 2021. “The one big victory we had about this outbreak was the extraordinary performance of getting vaccines available in less than a year,” Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview.
19th Dec 2020 - The Japan Times
Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine supply will continue into early 2021 after Jeremy Hunt suggested they will run out within weeks
Pfizer has responded to reports that its Covid-19 vaccine could run out after former health secretary Jeremy Hunt suggested they would run dry by February. The pharmaceutical giant said deliveries were “on track”. In a statement, Pfizer said: "The deliveries are on track and progressing according to our agreed schedule. "We can confirm, in accordance with the schedule, that there will be continued deliveries into the UK in early 2021, with shipments scheduled to arrive before March.” The statement came after Mr Hunt suggested the UK’s stocks were set to run out within weeks with no more supplies likely to arrive before March.
19th Dec 2020 - Evening Standard
Covid vaccine: More than 130,000 vaccinated in UK in first week
More than 130,000 people have been vaccinated in the first week of the UK's vaccination programme. Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who is in charge of vaccine rollout, tweeted 137,897 people had been given their first doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech jab between 8 and 15 December. He described it as a "really good start" for the programme. The figure only captures the start of the community vaccination programme run by GPs which launched on Monday. About 200 of these local vaccination clinics are expected to be up and running by the end of the week.
19th Dec 2020 - BBC News
Give NHS staff Covid vaccine now or face growing winter crisis, say hospital bosses
Hospital bosses in England want NHS staff to start getting the Covid vaccine urgently because soaring rates of sickness among frontline personnel are threatening to intensify the service’s growing winter crisis. Doctors and nurses are asking their hospitals to vaccinate them, but are being told they will have to wait until early 2021 because the over-80s and care home staff are the top priority. Hospital trust chief executives say staff believe their wait to have the jab is unfair, and that they feel let down and exposed to danger because they are dealing with a sharp increase in the number of Covid patients.
19th Dec 2020 - The Guardian