4th Mar 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=612 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Japans unemployment rate edged up in January as a record wave of Covid19 infections prompted renewed restrictions that are likely to continue slowing progress in the recovery of the labor market in February and March. The jobless rate rose to 2.8 as the number of people working fell by a seasonally adjusted 190000 from December the ministry of internal affairs reported Friday. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to hold steady at 2.7. A separate report offered a slightly more encouraging view of the labor market as job offers outnumbered applicants by a greater margin a leading indicator of the employment trend. There were 120 jobs offered in January for every 100 applicants compared with 116 positions a month earlier. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/japan-s-unemployment-edges-up-in-january-amid-record-covid-wave 4th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Independent France has announced that Covid passport rules will be lifted later this month. Prime Minister Jean Castex said regulations requiring people to show they had been vaccinated to access certain public venues will be relaxed from March 14 as infection numbers are dropping across the country. The health situation is improving Castex told TF1 television on Thursday. The relaxation will come into force about a month before the presidential election. The first round of the French election takes place on April 10. The expected runoff between candidates takes place a fortnight after that. The man who oversaw the pandemic President Emmanuel Macron is the favourite to win again. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-covid-vaccine-passport-end-date-b2027710.html 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The New York Times Almost two years after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for 100000 contact tracers to contain the coronavirus the C.D.C. said this week that it no longer recommends universal case investigation and contact tracing. Instead it encourages health departments to focus those practices on highrisk settings. The turning point comes as the national outlook continues to improve rapidly with new cases hospitalizations and deaths all continuing to fall even as the path out of the pandemic remains complicated. It also reflects the reality that contacttracing programs in about half of U.S. states have been eliminated. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/02/world/covid-19-tests-cases-vaccine 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal What is an endemic and how will we know when Covid19 becomes one WSJs Daniela Hernandez breaks down how publichealth experts assess when a virus like Covid19 enters an endemic stage. https://www.wsj.com/video/series/daniela-hernandez/how-covid-19-could-shift-from-pandemic-to-endemic-phase/82D13B18-39D6-4E13-AFDE-6295F1F20A36 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The New Arab Turkey relaxed its mask mandate on Wednesday and is also scrapping the use of codes assigned to citizens that allowed authorities to track those who have been in contact with infected people. Turkey relaxed its mask mandate on Wednesday allowing people to ditch them in openair spaces and in places with sufficient ventilation and where social distancing can be maintained. In a news conference following a meeting of the countrys Covid19 advisory council Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said people would be required to continue wearing masks in planes buses theatres cinemas hospitals and classrooms. In other steps Turkey will no longer close down classes where two or more students have tested positive for the virus the minister said. https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/turkey-relaxes-mask-mandate-amid-drop-covid-19-cases 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Greece will lift its requirement of maskwearing outdoors from Saturday its health minister said on Wednesday as COVID19 infections are trending lower. The advisory committee of infectious disease experts recommended the lifting and the government accepted the recommendation Health Minister Thanos Plevris said. But it is highly recommended to wear masks outdoors when there is a lot of crowding he said. The move comes after the lifting of curbs that barred standing customers at bars and night entertainment establishments earlier this month and the resumption of school excursions. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greece-lifts-mask-wearing-outdoors-covid-infections-recede-2022-03-02/ 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Russian capital Moscow will no longer require locals to use QR codes to prove they are vaccinated or immune to COVID19 and is dropping all restrictions at entertainment and sport venues Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday. The situation in the city is gradually normalising with fewer infections and hospitalisations reported Sobyanin wrote on his blog. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moscow-drops-qr-codes-other-covid-19-restrictions-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters COVID19 cases in Sweden are falling sharply the countrys health agency said on Thursday even as nearly all pandemicrelated restrictions were lifted less than a month ago. The government removed curbs on restaurant opening hours and attendance limits for indoor venues on Feb. 9 in a move that drew criticism from scientists at the time. The number of cases is difficult to assess in Sweden given reduced testing but the proportion of positive cases and the number of patients requiring hospital care have both declined. There are no indications that the opening increased spread so we asses that it was relevant and correct Health Agency DirectorGeneral Karin Tegmark Wisell told a news conference. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-sees-clear-drop-covid-cases-despite-scrapped-curbs-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

STAT News President Biden made it clear this week he wants to transition toward a new phase of the Covid19 pandemic one where people are moving forward safely back to more normal routines as he said this week. https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/03/formally-ending-the-pandemic-is-going-to-be-a-huge-headache-for-the-entire-health-care-system/ 3rd Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Three children under the age of five have died in Hong Kongs spiraling Covid outbreak a disproportionately large number that has local parents anxious though pediatricians say it could just be a grim coincidence. While the numbers are too low to draw any conclusions according to experts the children aged 11 months 3 and 4 years old make up nearly 0.3 of the 1153 fatalities that have occurred in this wave of infections. None had known underlying health conditions. Their deaths are being investigated by the coroner according to the Hospital Authority. The child deaths are higher than in countries such as Australia and Singapore which originally adhered to the same zerotolerance policy as Hong Kong but are now opening up https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/covid-deaths-among-hong-kong-s-young-children-alarm-parents 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Guardian The White House released a 96page plan on Wednesday to shift the fight against Covid19 and help move America forward safely past a crisis footing to a new normal. Announcement of the plan follows promises made in Joe Bidens State of the Union speech which emphasized rapid rollout of a new test to treat model with free antiviral 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 pandemicera restrictions and with the president urging workers to return to the office inperson. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/white-house-new-covid-strategy-test-to-treat 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Independent Why are COVID19 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 Organizations 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. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/covid-africa-world-health-organization-yemen-syria-b2027424.html 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Bidens 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 Pfizers drug Paxlovid showed close to 90 efficacy at reducing hospitalizations when given to people who test positive for Covid19 within five days of reporting symptoms. But giving away Paxlovid isnt 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 doctors supervision to take the fiveday course of pills safely. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-03-02/biden-s-covid-19-promises-aren-t-all-scientifically-possible-yet 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters 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 COVID19 prevention. Describing Chinas socalled dynamic clearance strategy as a magic weapon Liang said in an interview with Chinas 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 countrys medical resources. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/too-early-china-seek-coexistence-with-covid-govt-expert-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The World Health Organization does not expect any immediate impact on vaccine supply to Africa from Russias invasion of Ukraine senior officials on the continent said on Thursday. Russias Sputnik vaccines are part of an effort by wealthier countries to plug the COVID19 vaccine gap in Africa but so far they remain a minimal component of imports to the continent. Russias invasion entered its second week on Thursday and there are concerns that the focus on the war could interrupt vaccine shipments to Africa. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-sees-little-impact-covid-19-vaccine-supplies-africa-over-war-ukraine-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Rules requiring people to show a COVID19 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. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/covid-vaccine-passport-rules-be-lifted-france-march-14-bfm-tv-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

CIDRAP Members of the Biden COVID19 preparedness team addressed the nation unmasked and from the same room as they spoke about the countrys move to a new normal stage of the pandemic where COVID19 is no longer a national emergency. Echoing statements made during President Joe Bidens State of the Union address Jeff Zients White House COVID response coordinator said We have reached a new moment in the fight against COVID19 because of the significant progress we made as a country and we are moving forward safely. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/test-treat-variant-vaccines-part-new-federal-covid-19-plan 2nd Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

STAT News The threat of the Omicron variant is receding and cities around the country are lifting their mask mandates but the Biden administration isnt ready to declare an end to the Covid19 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 societys 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. https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/02/as-omicron-recedes-white-house-shifts-to-a-more-targeted-covid-strategy/ 2nd Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

The New York Times President Bidens surgeon general on Thursday formally requested that the major tech platforms submit information about the scale of Covid19 misinformation on social networks search engines crowdsourced platforms ecommerce platforms and instant messaging systems. A request for information from the surgeon generals office demanded that tech platforms send data and analysis on the prevalence of Covid19 misinformation on their sites starting with common examples of vaccine misinformation documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The notice asks the companies to submit exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed to instances of Covid19 misinformation as well as aggregate data on demographics that may have been disproportionately exposed to or affected by the misinformation. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/technology/surgeon-general-covid-misinformation.html 3rd Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters The U.S. Department of Health Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General will request input on COVID19 misinformation online as they seek to understand the role it played during the pandemic and its impact on health decisions made by individuals. The agencies will put out a Request For Information RFI on Thursday to collect public comments and data within 60 days from stakeholders such as academic institutions advocacy groups government entities and communitybased organizations. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-healthcare-agencies-request-data-covid-misinformation-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Hong Kongs subway operator bus and ferry companies and one of its biggest supermarket chains are cutting back services due to a worsening COVID19 outbreak that has seen daily infections explode this year. Authorities reported a new daily record of 56827 new infections and 144 deaths in the Chineseruled city on Thursday an exponential rise from around 100 in early February and a clean threemonth streak of zero cases at the end of 2021. The surge in cases and mixed messaging from government officials have triggered an exodus of people from the global financial hub where authorities are clinging to a dynamic zero policy that seeks to eradicate all outbreaks. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-transport-operators-supermarkets-cut-services-covid-cases-surge-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Black New Yorkers were hospitalized at two times the rate of White New Yorkers during the winter omicron surge. Its the widest disparity in hospitalizations seen in two years of the pandemic according to the New York City Health Department. This is a significant inequity and a particularly alarming one so far into the pandemic said Michelle Morse NYC Healths chief medical officer. And it came during a time when the dominant variant had a lower risk of hospitalization than its predecessor delta. Despite the citys relative success in closing racebased vaccination gaps longstanding inequities in the U.S. health care system have proven difficult to overcome. A new report from the department highlights how a swath of social and economic factors contribute to disparate Covid19 outcomes based on race. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/covid-hospitalizations-in-nyc-saw-biggest-racial-gap-during-omicron 4th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Forbes On Valentines Day scientists in Brazil produced a special gift the first Covid19 vaccine doses produced fully within the country. These used active pharmaceutical ingredients from Brazil drew on a technologytransfer agreement with AstraZeneca and were produced in a new vaccine production facility run by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Fiocruz and the Immunobiological Technology Institute Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiolgicos or BioManguinhos. The new lab expects to produce 120 million Covid19 doses by the middle of 2022. This would allow for one dose each for over half of Brazils population https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2022/03/02/brazil-is-now-producing-its-own-covid-19-vaccine-doses/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net Additional doses of covid19 vaccine are recommended for immunocompromised patients especially for organ transplant recipients who are least able to make antibodies to fight off coronavirus say experts in The BMJ today. The findings reinforce the importance of additional doses of covid19 vaccine to protect people with a weakened immune system. It is already known that after vaccination people with a weakened immune system immunocompromised are less able to make antibodies to fight off viruses such as influenza than people with a healthy immune system immunocompetent. But less is known about the response to covid19 vaccines particularly mRNA vaccines. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220303/Additional-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine-recommended-for-immunocompromised-patients.aspx 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical News Today A new study investigates whether receiving two doses of a coronavirus vaccine before a SARSCoV2 infection is associated with reduced long COVID symptoms after 12 weeks. COVID19 vaccines given prior to infection appear effective in resisting long COVID following breakthrough infections or infection after two doses. These findings have relevance for United Kingdom public health initiatives aimed at reducing the prevalence of long Covid in the U.K. population especially in disadvantaged communities where prevalence is higher. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/vaccinated-less-likely-to-develop-long-covid 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Adult COVID19 patients who had an inhospital cardiac arrest IHCA were 35 less likely to receive potentially lifesaving defibrillation without delay and survive to hospital release according to a study today in JAMA Network Open. University of Iowa at Iowa City researchers led the study of 24915 patients with IHCA from 286 US hospitals of whom 5916 23.7 had COVID19 from March to December 2020. The research team analyzed data from the American Heart Associations Get With the Guidelines Registry GWTGR which compiles information on patients who have IHCA at participating US hospitals. Among the 24915 patients with IHCA average age was 64.7years 39.5 were women 24.8 were Black 61.1 were White 3.8 were of other races and 10.3 were of unknown race. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/survival-after-hospital-cardiac-arrest-35-lower-covid-19-patients 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical News Today Researchers from the University of Oregon measured the amount of virus particles that 11 students with COVID19 released during certain activities. The research team found higher ventilation filtration and humidity levels decreased the amount of virus particles in the air. Scientists believe their findings can assist building operators with creating safer indoor environments. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-ventilation-filtration-and-humidity-may-prevent-coronavirus-transmission 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

New Scientist A World Health Organization WHO briefing suggests that depression and anxiety have risen substantially during the coronavirus pandemic with women and young people among the worst affected. Based on a review of existing evidence into covid19s impact on mental health the briefing largely attributes the rise to the unprecedented stress of social isolation as well as grieving loved ones financial worries and fear of infection. Most of the countries surveyed 90 per cent have included mental health support in their covid19 recovery plans however the WHO has stressed there are still gaps in care. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-who-reports-25-per-cent-rise-in-depression-and-anxiety/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Washington Post on MSN.com The Biden administration will share U.S. governmentdevised coronavirus technologies with the World Health Organization a policy shift intended to allow other countries to replicate some American scientific breakthroughs and better fight the pandemic abroad federal officials said Thursday. Under the plan some technologies now being developed by the National Institutes of Health will be licensed to the WHOs COVID19 Technology Access Pool senior NIH official Anthony S. Fauci told reporters. The technologies will also be sublicensed to the United Nationsbacked Medicines Patent Pool. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-to-share-some-coronavirus-technologies-with-world-health-organization/ar-AAUysME 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Seeking Alpha Pfizer PFE is expected to provide about 10M courses its COVID19 therapyPaxlovid to low andmiddleincome nations in 2022 Reuters reported https://seekingalpha.com/news/3808852-pfizer-to-supply-10m-courses-of-covid-drug-paxlovid-to-developing-nations-in-2022-reuters 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc on Wednesday failed to persuade a federal judge in New York to throw out a lawsuit over its alleged misuse of a patented protein to test its breakthrough COVID19 treatment. U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern said during an oral argument that he could not grant Regenerons request at an early stage of the case to find it immune from Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Incs infringement claims. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/regeneron-must-face-patent-lawsuit-over-covid-19-treatment-2022-03-02/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters A World Health Organization WHO panel on Wednesday backed the use of Merck Co Incs COVID19 antiviral pill for highrisk patients. The expert panel conditionally recommended the pill molnupiravir for patients with nonsevere disease who are at high risk of hospitalisation such as the immunocompromised the unvaccinated older people and those with chronic diseases. The recommendation was based on new data from six clinical trials involving 4796 patients. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-recommends-mercks-covid-pill-high-risk-patients-2022-03-02/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The Pan American Health Organization PAHO on Wednesday said that across the Americas the COVID19 pandemic has placed the most vulnerable at greater risk and in a region rife with inequality women have been disproportionately affected. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/paho-says-women-disproportionately-affected-by-covid-19-pandemic-2022-03-02/ 3rd Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Eli Lilly Co. and Incyte Corp.s rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib reduced the risk of death from Covid19 in a large U.K. study bolstering evidence that the class of inflammationfighting medicines can help infected patients. Adding baricitinib to standard treatments lowered the risk of death among hospitalized Covid patients by 13 according to results from the U.K. trial called Recovery in 8156 people with the disease. Most of the patients also received steroids and about onequarter also got a different type of arthritis drug Roche Holding AGs Actemra. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/lilly-incyte-arthritis-drug-reduced-deaths-from-covid-in-study 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Thirtysix Scots have died with coronavirus in the past 24 hours figures have revealed as another 9491 cases were reported. There were 1272 people in hospital on Wednesday with a recently confirmed case of Covid19 Scottish Government statistics showed with 16 in intensive care. Ten of these had been in intensive care for longer than 28 days. The latest figures showed 36 people had died within the past day with the virus bringing the total number who have tested positive and then died since the start of the outbreak to 10824. Statisticians said from March 1 the national case definition had been updated to include reinfections. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/scotland-scottish-government-covid-b2027774.html 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The New York Times For much of the past two years Covid19 was a phantom presence in New Zealand a plague experienced mostly through news reports from faraway lands. Now suddenly it has become a highly personal threat. New Zealand is being walloped by a major outbreak of the Omicron variant with the virus spreading at what may be the fastest rate in the world. On Thursday the country reported 23194 new cases a once unthinkable number in a small island nation of about five million people where the record daily case count before the current wave was in the low hundreds. The explosion in cases has come as the government under political pressure loosened its strict regulations meant to prevent the spread of the virus and as the highly transmissible Omicron reduced the effectiveness of the controls that remained. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/world/australia/new-zealand-covid-omicron.html 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters South Korean Prime Minister Kim Bookyum tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday his office said as daily infections hit unprecedented levels this week driven by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Kim has steered antivirus efforts holding regular meetings with officials and experts and visiting medical and educational facilities to check quarantine work and promote vaccination. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korean-pm-tests-positive-covid-infections-surge-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Mexico reported 304 more fatalities from COVID19 on Wednesday bringing the total death toll since the pandemic began to 318835 according to health ministry data. The country also reported 12342 new confirmed cases of the virus bringing the total to 5534086. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/mexico-reports-304-more-covid-19-deaths-12342-new-cases-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Hong Kong reported a record daily high of 56827 new COVID19 infections on Thursday and 144 deaths as a worsening outbreak overwhelms healthcare facilities and sees authorities scramble to contain cases in the Asian financial centre. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-reports-56827-covid-19-cases-new-record-daily-high-2022-03-03/ 3rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

CIDRAP Overall cases declined 16 last week compared to the week before reflecting a 4week downward trend. Meanwhile deaths dropped by 10. Of the more than 10 million cases reported to the WHO last week the countries that reported the most were Germany South Korea Russia Turkey and Brazil. Of the roughly 60000 new deaths that were reported the United States had the most with more than 13000 fatalities. The Western Pacific region was the only part of the world in which cases are climbing. The region is home to several of the current hot spots which include Hong Kong New Zealand and South Korea. All are experiencing later Omicron surges. Hong Kongs cases today reached a new daily record with 55353 cases. Health officials have said they dont expect COVID19 to peak in Hong Kong until later this month. New Zealand today reported 24106 cases also a new daily record as police removed an encampment of people protesting the countrys COVID19 measures. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/global-covid-cases-deaths-drop-except-key-hot-spots 2nd Mar 2022