"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 4th Oct 2021
BioNTech chief predicts need for updated Covid vaccines next year - In an interview with the FT, Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, told the Financial Times the Covid-19 variants currently in circulation, particularly the Delta strain, were more contagious but not different enough to undermine the effectiveness of current vaccines. Booster shots seem able to tackle the main variants, Sahin said. But the virus will eventually develop mutations that can escape the immune response bestowed by the vaccine, he said, necessitating a “tailored” version to specifically target the new strain. “This virus will stay, and the virus will further adapt,” he said. “We have no reason to assume that the next generation virus will be easier to handle for the immune system than the existing generation. This is a continuous evolution, and that evolution has just started.”
Return to Covid restrictions as hundreds of schools told to ‘prepare for bubbles’ - At least two councils have told schools to reintroduce some Covid measures as cases threaten to spiral out of control. Schools in Staffordshire have been issued with new guidance including the reintroduction of classroom bubbles and face coverings in crowded places after infections increased by nearly a third in the past week. Wolverhampton secondary school pupils have also been told to wear masks in communal areas as councils take it upon themselves to tackle the latest outbreaks. All compulsory measures were scrapped by the government for the start of the latest term, with schools able to operate mostly as normal.
In Portugal, There Is Virtually No One Left to Vaccinate - Portugal’s health care system was on the verge of collapse. Hospitals in the capital, Lisbon, were overflowing and the authorities were asking people to treat themselves at home. In the last week of January, nearly 2,000 people died as the virus spread. The country’s vaccine program was in a shambles, so the government turned to Vice Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a former submarine squadron commander, to right the ship. Eight months later, Portugal is among the world’s leaders in vaccinations, with roughly 86 percent of its population of 10.3 million fully vaccinated. About 98 percent of all of those eligible for vaccines — meaning anyone over 12 — have been fully vaccinated, Admiral Gouveia e Melo said.
Get a friend vaccinated and eat out on us, Swiss govt tells citizens - Swiss citizens who persuade their friends to get COVID-19 shots can look forward to a free restaurant meal or cinema outing courtesy of the state, under a scheme aimed at boosting the country's low vaccination rate. Switzerland has witnessed numerous anti-vaxxer protests and 42% of its 8.7 million population are not yet fully vaccinated, relatively high by European standards. Announcing what he admitted was an unusual incentive scheme to bring that number down, Health Minister Alain Berset told a news conference in Bern: 'The immunisation rate ...remains very low and this means we cannot end containment measures.'
Air New Zealand to require COVID-19 vaccination for international travellers - 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.
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.
COVID-19: 'Get the jab or get another job' Sajid Javid warns care workers - Staff in care homes who don't receive both vaccine jabs ahead of a looming deadline should 'get out and get another job', Health Secretary Sajid Javid has warned. His warning comes ahead of the 11 November legal deadline for care home workers to have had both COVID-19 jabs, but some unions and care homes are warning that it could lead to a shortage of staff. Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If you work in a care home you are working with some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and if you cannot be bothered to go and get vaccinated then get out and go and get another job.'
Indonesia’s pandemic-fuelled problem: Mounds of medical waste - The overpowering stench is the first thing that I notice, filling my nose and making my eyes water. Then I see the mountains of rotting waste. This is Burangkeng, one of Indonesia’s largest landfills, in the city of Bekasi some 30km from the capital, Jakarta. On the surface it looks like any other large dumpsite, but among the regular rubbish lies a growing amount of toxic medical waste. From blood-filled drip lines to masks, medical gloves and COVID-19 tests. All hidden in plain sight.
More U.S. parents are willing to vaccinate their children, a survey finds. - A new survey found that more parents were willing to vaccinate their children in mid-September than were willing to do so in July, a shift that coincided with schools reopening in the middle of a wave of hospitalizations and deaths caused by the highly contagious Delta. The latest monthly survey about vaccine attitudes by the Kaiser Family Foundation also found that about one in four U.S. parents reported that a child of theirs had to quarantine at home because of a possible exposure to Covid-19 since the beginning of the school year. That is even as two-thirds of parents say they feel that their school is taking appropriate measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Merck Pill Intended to Be Covid-19’s Tamiflu Succeeds in Key Study - Drug jointly developed by Merck with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics cut risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in early look at progress. Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said their experimental Covid-19 pill helped prevent high-risk people early in the course of the disease in a pivotal study from becoming seriously ill and dying, a big step toward providing the pandemic’s first easy-to-use, at-home treatment. The pill cut the risk of hospitalization or death in study subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 by about 50%, the companies said Friday. The drug, called molnupiravir, was performing so well in its late-stage trial that Merck and Ridgeback said they stopped enrolling subjects after discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
J&J's one-shot COVID vaccine is linked to ANOTHER blood clotting condition by EU regulators - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday found a possible link between. Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine and venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in a leg, arm or groin, and may travel to the lungs causing a blockage of the blood supply. It could cause possible life-threatening consequences, especially to seniors. The agency is recommending that the condition be listed as a rare side effect. It also recommends that immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) be listed as a side effect of the J&J vaccine and AstraZeneca's vaccine. ITP is a bleeding disorder which sees sufferers' bodies mistakenly attack their own platelets
COVID-19 patients 'begging' for vaccines before being put on life support, Melbourne nurses say - A senior intensive care nurse has described Victorian patients 'begging' to be vaccinated before being put on life support. Michelle Spence, the ICU nurse unit manager at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, was visibly emotional as she detailed otherwise fit and healthy people deteriorating after contracting COVID-19. 'One of the saddest things I've seen over the last few weeks is people wanting the vaccination just before we put them on a life support machine,' she said. 'That is the absolute truth. I've seen it myself. They're begging for the vaccination. 'They're very young. And once we get to that, we're about to put them on life support, it is really too late.'
BioNTech chief predicts need for updated Covid vaccines next year
In an interview with the FT, Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, told the Financial Times the Covid-19 variants currently in circulation, particularly the Delta strain, were more contagious but not different enough to undermine the effectiveness of current vaccines. Booster shots seem able to tackle the main variants, Sahin said. But the virus will eventually develop mutations that can escape the immune response bestowed by the vaccine, he said, necessitating a “tailored” version to specifically target the new strain. “This virus will stay, and the virus will further adapt,” he said. “We have no reason to assume that the next generation virus will be easier to handle for the immune system than the existing generation. This is a continuous evolution, and that evolution has just started.”
Britain’s Covid infection rate is one of the worst in the world, data reveals
Britain’s current Covid infection rate is by far the highest in western Europe and is only exceeded by a handful of countries around the world, latest research reveals.
The UK’s average daily reported cases on stood at 52 per 100,000 population on Friday, according to the respected Johns Hopkins University in the US. That puts the country 14th out of more than 200 states in a global list of Covid infection rates – well above the likes of the US, Canada and the whole of western Europe, as well as other former global “hotspots” such as India and Brazil. A total of 191,771 people tested positive for Covid in England in the week to 22 September, a rise of 18 per cent on the week before, it was revealed on Thursday.
In Portugal, There Is Virtually No One Left to Vaccinate
Portugal’s health care system was on the verge of collapse. Hospitals in the capital, Lisbon, were overflowing and the authorities were asking people to treat themselves at home. In the last week of January, nearly 2,000 people died as the virus spread. The country’s vaccine program was in a shambles, so the government turned to Vice Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a former submarine squadron commander, to right the ship. Eight months later, Portugal is among the world’s leaders in vaccinations, with roughly 86 percent of its population of 10.3 million fully vaccinated. About 98 percent of all of those eligible for vaccines — meaning anyone over 12 — have been fully vaccinated, Admiral Gouveia e Melo said.
Return to Covid restrictions as hundreds of schools told to ‘prepare for bubbles’
At least two councils have told schools to reintroduce some Covid measures as cases threaten to spiral out of control. Schools in Staffordshire have been issued with new guidance including the reintroduction of classroom bubbles and face coverings in crowded places after infections increased by nearly a third in the past week. Wolverhampton secondary school pupils have also been told to wear masks in communal areas as councils take it upon themselves to tackle the latest outbreaks. All compulsory measures were scrapped by the government for the start of the latest term, with schools able to operate mostly as normal.
Indonesia Eyes 10000-Strong Event in Test of Life With Virus
As many as 10,000 people attended the opening ceremony of Indonesia’s first major sports event since its worst Covid-19 outbreak -- a test of its strategy of living with the virus. The national sporting week called PON started Saturday at the newly renovated stadium in the eastern city of Jayapura, with the number of spectators meeting the 25% maximum capacity set by the domestic affairs ministry. Spectators have to be tested before entering the venue, wear masks and maintain social distancing, according to the ministry. Normal activities are starting to return in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as its coronavirus cases and deaths are brought under control. That’s a stark contrast to just a month ago, when the country was reporting the world’s highest number of coronavirus deaths each day. The country added 1,414 cases on Saturday and 89 deaths from the virus.
Anti-Vaxxers Aren't Quitting Over Vaccine Mandates
It turns out most of them would rather be inoculated than unemployed.
S.African president Ramaphosa eases COVID-19 restrictions to lowest level
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has eased restrictions aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic to the country's lowest alert level, the second such loosening this month as the country looks to open up its economy ahead of the summer holiday season. In a televised address, Ramaphosa announced the country would move down one level in a five-tier system of restrictions, where five is the highest, to an 'adjusted level 1' as South Africa emerges from its third wave dominated by the Delta variant of the virus.
New Zealand's Auckland logs more Delta cases ahead of key decision on restrictions
New Zealand logged 19 more cases of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant on Friday - all in Auckland, making it highly likely that the country's biggest city will continue to be sealed off even if some restrictions are eased next week. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern enforced what was meant to be a "short and sharp" nationwide lockdown nationwide in mid-August after the Delta outbreak. But while the rest of the country has largely returned to normal life, Auckland's population of 1.7 million has now been in lockdown for about seven weeks.
Fire at Romanian COVID-19 hospital kills seven people
Seven people died on Friday when a fire broke out in a Romanian intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients, officials said, the country's third deadly hospital fire in less than a year. Video footage showed patients jumping out of windows from the hospital's lower levels and firefighters carrying people out. The country's emergency response unit had initially said nine people had died, but Transport Minister Lucian Bode later said there had been a miscommunication between firefighters and hospital staff.
Get a friend vaccinated and eat out on us, Swiss govt tells citizens
Swiss citizens who persuade their friends to get COVID-19 shots can look forward to a free restaurant meal or cinema outing courtesy of the state, under a scheme aimed at boosting the country's low vaccination rate. Switzerland has witnessed numerous anti-vaxxer protests and 42% of its 8.7 million population are not yet fully vaccinated, relatively high by European standards. Announcing what he admitted was an unusual incentive scheme to bring that number down, Health Minister Alain Berset told a news conference in Bern: "The immunisation rate ...remains very low and this means we cannot end containment measures."
Global COVID-19 deaths hit 5 million as Delta variant sweeps the world
Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations. More than half of all global deaths reported on a seven-day average were in the United States, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and India.
Air 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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
COVID-19: 'Get the jab or get another job' Sajid Javid warns care workers
Staff in care homes who don't receive both vaccine jabs ahead of a looming deadline should "get out and get another job", Health Secretary Sajid Javid has warned. His warning comes ahead of the 11 November legal deadline for care home workers to have had both COVID-19 jabs, but some unions and care homes are warning that it could lead to a shortage of staff. Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you work in a care home you are working with some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and if you cannot be bothered to go and get vaccinated then get out and go and get another job."
Indonesia’s pandemic-fuelled problem: Mounds of medical waste
The overpowering stench is the first thing that I notice, filling my nose and making my eyes water. Then I see the mountains of rotting waste. This is Burangkeng, one of Indonesia’s largest landfills, in the city of Bekasi some 30km from the capital, Jakarta. On the surface it looks like any other large dumpsite, but among the regular rubbish lies a growing amount of toxic medical waste. From blood-filled drip lines to masks, medical gloves and COVID-19 tests. All hidden in plain sight.
Why are Nigerians paying for fake COVID test results?
In August, the University of Lagos temporarily closed its doors after positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in hostels on the main campus in Akoka. Twenty-three-year-old Bolu and 24-year-old Veronica were among the thousands of students whose studies were interrupted. The students, who asked Al Jazeera to refer to them by pseudonyms, are both in their final year of medical school. Neither was allowed to return to the classroom until the end of August – and only then if they could furnish the school with a negative COVID-19 test result. COVID-19 tests are free in government-owned hospitals in Nigeria, but students and medical professionals Al Jazeera talked to say that demand for them far outstrips supply, and that results can be delayed for days, inhibiting public health measures to combat the spread of the disease.
India imposes retaliatory COVID restrictions on British nationals
Fully vaccinated British nationals arriving in India will be subjected to a 10-day mandatory quarantine, in response to similar measures imposed on Indian nationals. The move comes after India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla called Britain’s decision not to recognise the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield, “discriminatory”. He had warned of reciprocal measures should London fail to reconsider.
Crunch Time Is Here for Players Who Oppose Covid-19 Vaccinations
Media day for the Brooklyn Nets was billed as a potentially explosive spectacle in which leading scorer Kyrie Irving might set out his reasons for not being vaccinated against Covid-19 and signal whether he was willing to miss every Nets practice, home game and potential playoffs this season in order to maintain that position. In the end, Irving spoke from an undisclosed location on Zoom because the 29-year-old guard wasn’t allowed to enter the Barclays Center. Then he declined to address how or whether he would comply with New York City’s requirement to prove vaccination in order to be in an indoor sports arena. “I just would love to just keep that private, and handle it the right way with my team, and go forward together with a plan,” he said. “Obviously, I’m not able to be present there today. But that doesn’t mean that I’m putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team.”
Australia's NSW state premier resigns over corruption probe amid COVID-19 battle
The premier of Australia's biggest state economy New South Wales (NSW), Gladys Berejiklian, resigned on Friday after a corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether she was involved in conduct that "constituted or involved a breach of public trust". Berejiklian's shock resignation comes as the state, which has an economy larger than Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia, battles the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in the country and is poised to begin ending months-long lockdowns as Australia sets to reopen international borders in November
Studies provide insights into COVID vaccine hesitancy
Two JAMA Network Open studies yesterday that looked at COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in minority groups and opinions around less-preferred vaccines provide clues for how officials might better encourage immunization.
The first study, involving 13 focus groups, reaffirmed a lack of communication and trust among racially and ethnically diverse communities in the United States.
The second study examined the effect of emphasizing different data around the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines: People were more interested in uptake when they were presented with the vaccines' effectiveness against death versus their effectiveness against symptomatic infection.
Japan's Takeda says 'human error' caused contamination of Moderna vaccines
Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Friday that "human error" caused metal contaminants to get into Moderna Inc COVID-19 vaccine doses, leading to a recall. Takeda, which imports and distributes the vaccine in Japan, and Moderna said in a new report that a Spanish manufacturer discovered contaminants in some vials in July, but supplies from the same production were allowed to be shipped to Japan. Japanese authorities in August suspended the use of three batches of Moderna shots containing 1.63 million doses after being notified of the contamination.
Covid-19: Immunosuppressed to be offered booster jab 'shortly'
People who are immunosuppressed in Northern Ireland will be notified shortly about receiving a third dose of the vaccine. The Department of Health told BBC News NI those classed as immunosuppressed have now been identified. "They will be receiving a letter shortly advising them to book online to receive the third dose," it said. "Those identified by GPs will be given a letter advising them to receive a third dose at a community pharmacy." Vaccine experts recommended on 1 September that those affected should be given the extra dose to give them fuller protection.
Merck says experimental pill cuts worst effects of COVID-19
Drugmaker Merck said Friday If cleared, the drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic. All COVID-19 therapies now authorized in the U.
Merck says COVID-19 pill cuts risk of death, hospitalization
In a potential leap forward in the global fight against the pandemic, drugmaker Merck said Friday that its experimental pill for people sick with COVID-19 reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half. If cleared by regulators, it would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, adding a whole new, easy-to-use weapon to an arsenal that already includes the vaccine. The company said it will soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize the pill’s use. A decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could come within weeks after that, and the drug, if it gets the OK, could be distributed quickly soon afterward.
Merck Pill Intended to Be Covid-19’s Tamiflu Succeeds in Key Study
Drug jointly developed by Merck with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics cut risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in early look at progress. Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said their experimental Covid-19 pill helped prevent high-risk people early in the course of the disease in a pivotal study from becoming seriously ill and dying, a big step toward providing the pandemic’s first easy-to-use, at-home treatment. The pill cut the risk of hospitalization or death in study subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 by about 50%, the companies said Friday. The drug, called molnupiravir, was performing so well in its late-stage trial that Merck and Ridgeback said they stopped enrolling subjects after discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
F.D.A. Panel to Weigh Pfizer Shots for Children, Boosters for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Recipients
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday scheduled three days of public meetings with its panel of independent vaccine experts for later this month, as the agency prepares to make high-profile decisions on whether to authorize emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 and booster shots for adult recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The F.D.A. typically issues its decisions within a few days of advisory committee meetings, during which members discuss safety and efficacy data. The timing of the upcoming meetings indicates that the agency intends to move quickly to decide whether to authorize both the booster and children’s shots.
Is the Coronavirus Getting Better at Airborne Transmission?
Newer variants of the coronavirus like Alpha and Delta are highly contagious, infecting far more people than the original virus. Two new studies offer a possible explanation: The virus is evolving to spread more efficiently through air. The realization that the coronavirus is airborne indoors transformed efforts to contain the pandemic last year, igniting fiery debates about masks, social distancing and ventilation in public spaces. Most researchers now agree that the coronavirus is mostly transmitted through large droplets that quickly sink to the floor and through much smaller ones, called aerosols, that can float over longer distances indoors and settle directly into the lungs, where the virus is most harmful.
Flu's Return Will Shape the Pandemic's Impact in Coming Months
Charting the course of the pandemic during the coming months is likely to involve a more traditional winter nuisance: the flu. As countries from Italy to Canada lift restrictions, travel resumes and colder temperatures set in, influenza will probably start circulating as well. That’s after measures to thwart Covid-19 such as masks and ventilation kept the flu at bay for the past year and a half. Efforts have already been under way to lessen the potential strain on health systems dealing with both illnesses. A U.K. study released late Thursday showed that it’s safe for people to get Covid and flu shots at the same time, which might help increase vaccine uptake and cut down on appointments as the country rolls out booster doses.
FDA advisory panel to discuss J&J, Moderna booster shots this month
An advisory panel of experts to the U.S. drug regulator will hold meetings this month to review data on Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine in young children, and whether to clear booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's announcement on Friday comes as health authorities seek to mitigate a potential surge of cases this fall, with schools already open nationwide. FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) panel will hold a meeting on Oct. 14 to discuss a booster dose of Moderna vaccine, and Johnson & Johnson on Oct. 15.
Britain's antiviral chief hints at interest in Merck COVID-19 pill
The chair of Britain's antivirals taskforce declined to comment directly about talks over Merck & Co Inc's (MRK.N) experimental oral COVID-19 drug molnupiravir, but hinted at Britain's interest in buying the potential breakthrough pill. Taskforce chair Eddie Gray was speaking to reporters after interim clinical trial results published on Thursday showed molnupiravir reduced the chance of hospitalisation or death for patients at risk of severe disease by about 50%. "We are involved in looking closely at all of the options available, but we're really not in a position to give out the details around specific conversations at this moment in time," he told a briefing about molnupiravir after the results were published, which was also attended by a Merck representative.
J&J's one-shot COVID vaccine is linked to ANOTHER blood clotting condition by EU regulators
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday found a possible link between. Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine and venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in a leg, arm or groin, and may travel to the lungs causing a blockage of the blood supply. It could cause possible life-threatening consequences, especially to seniors. The agency is recommending that the condition be listed as a rare side effect. It also recommends that immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) be listed as a side effect of the J&J vaccine and AstraZeneca's vaccine. ITP is a bleeding disorder which sees sufferers' bodies mistakenly attack their own platelets
US, UK adults report pandemic-related distress, disruptions
Yesterday in JAMA Network Open, Johns Hopkins University and University of California Los Angeles researchers analyzed self-reported health and psychological status among nationally representative survey respondents worried about eviction or foreclosure in November 2020. Among 1,218 study respondents, 128 (12%) reported that they were behind on rent or mortgage payments or didn't know if they could afford the next payment. Just over half (51%) of all participants were women, 46% were 30 to 54 years old, 45% were 55 and older, 69% were White, and 13% each were Black or Hispanic. Of the 128 housing-insecure respondents, 42 (34%) said they were behind on rent or mortgage payments, 55 (38%) said they had little to no confidence that they could afford the next payment, and 31 (28%) reported both. Of all participants, 46% reported moderate to severe psychological distress, and 18% said they were in fair to poor health. Respondents with unstable housing reported more distress (57% vs 45% in housing-secure participants) and poorer health (30% vs 16%).
Moderna report says 'human error' to blame for contamination found in 3 vaccine lots from Rovi plant
Five weeks after Japan suspended the use of three lots of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the company and its Japanese distributor Takeda have concluded that “human error” caused the presence of metallic particles in vials. The errors occurred at a Rovi manufacturing plant in Spain, which released three vaccine lots after a fourth lot from the same production series failed an inspection. The fourth and fifth lots from the series were held back, Moderna explained in the 16-page report. Rovi made Moderna aware of the foreign matter when it was discovered. But Rovi incorrectly attributed the contamination to a “vial breakage event,” which happened after the first three lots had been completed.
Merck’s antiviral pill reduces hospitalization of Covid patients, a possible game-changer for treatment
An investigational antiviral pill reduced the chances that patients newly diagnosed with Covid-19 would be hospitalized by about 50%, a finding that could give doctors a desperately needed new way to treat the sick, the drug maker Merck announced Friday. A five-day course of molnupiravir, developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, reduced both hospitalization and death compared to a placebo. In the placebo group, 53 patients, or 14.1%, were hospitalized or died. For those who received the drug, 28, or 7.3%, were hospitalized or died. A simple oral medication to help treat Covid-19 has been an elusive goal since the start of the pandemic. Other drugs, including Gilead’s remdesivir, have also been shown to reduce hospitalizations if given early in the course of disease, but must be given intravenously.
More U.S. parents are willing to vaccinate their children, a survey finds.
A new survey found that more parents were willing to vaccinate their children in mid-September than were willing to do so in July, a shift that coincided with schools reopening in the middle of a wave of hospitalizations and deaths caused by the highly contagious Delta. The latest monthly survey about vaccine attitudes by the Kaiser Family Foundation also found that about one in four U.S. parents reported that a child of theirs had to quarantine at home because of a possible exposure to Covid-19 since the beginning of the school year. That is even as two-thirds of parents say they feel that their school is taking appropriate measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
COVID-19 patients 'begging' for vaccines before being put on life support, Melbourne nurses say
A senior intensive care nurse has described Victorian patients "begging" to be vaccinated before being put on life support. Michelle Spence, the ICU nurse unit manager at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, was visibly emotional as she detailed otherwise fit and healthy people deteriorating after contracting COVID-19. "One of the saddest things I've seen over the last few weeks is people wanting the vaccination just before we put them on a life support machine," she said. "That is the absolute truth. I've seen it myself. They're begging for the vaccination. "They're very young. And once we get to that, we're about to put them on life support, it is really too late."
COVID-19: Mother warns coronavirus 'can happen to anybody' after teenage daughter dies on day she was to get vaccine
A mother has warned that anyone can die from COVID-19, even young people, after her teenage daughter died just days after contracting the virus. Jorja Halliday, 15, from Portsmouth, died at the Queen Alexandra Hospital on 28 September after she tested positive for the coronavirus four days earlier. Her mother, Tracy Halliday, 40, said: "Some children are sort of a bit blasé about, the say 'it's not going to happen to me, I'm going to be fine'. I just want people to know that it can happen to anybody, at any age, at any time. Even if you're young and healthy."
Covid cases rise as UK schools return and furlough scheme ends
The number of daily new Covid infections in the UK has risen in the past month after the removal of most pandemic restrictions and as schools and offices reopened, fuelled by the Delta variant. The latest daily figures up to 30 September show that 36,480 people tested positive for Covid-19 across the UK, an increase from the start of the month. The government said a further 137 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, bringing the UK total to 136,662. Almost 49 million people have had a first shot of a coronavirus vaccine, about 90% of the adult population. Almost 45 million – about 83% – have had a second.
Australia reports 2355 new COVID-19 cases as vaccination push continues
Australia reported 2,357 new cases of the Delta coronavirus variant on Saturday, as the push to vaccinate the country's population continues in order to end lockdowns and allow for the reopening of international borders. An 18-month ban on international travel is set to be gradually lifted from next month for some states when 80% of people aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated. Fifty-five percent of Australians were fully inoculated as of Friday, but nearly 80% have received at least one shot.
U.S. Covid Death Toll Nears 700,000 Despite Availability of Vaccines
The United States surpassed 700,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, a milestone that few experts had anticipated months ago when vaccines became widely available to the American public. An overwhelming majority of Americans who have died in recent months, a period in which the country has offered broad access to shots, were unvaccinated. The United States has had one of the highest recent death rates of any country with an ample supply of vaccines. The new and alarming surge of deaths this summer means that the coronavirus pandemic has become the deadliest in American history, overtaking the toll from the influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919, which killed about 675,000 people.
Malaysia posts record monthly COVID-19 deaths as authorities cite backlog
Malaysia recorded 9,671 deaths due to COVID-19 in September, the deadliest month since the pandemic began, government data showed on Friday, though authorities have said the increase was mostly due to the delayed inclusion of fatalities from previous months. The spike has pushed Malaysia's death toll to among the highest per capita in Asia, even as new infections have slowed in recent weeks amid a ramped-up vaccination programme.
Children lead rise in England's COVID-19 prevalence
The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England increased in the week ending Sept 25, Britain's Office for National Statistics said on Friday, led by an increase in infections in school-age children. Schools in England have been open for around a month, and some epidemiologists have highlighted concern about rising cases among children, although it is yet to translate into a sustained increase in infections for the population more broadly. There was an estimated prevalence of 4.58% among secondary school-age children, meaning more than 1 in 25 tested positive for COVID-19, compared to 2.81% of children in the age range testing positive in the previous week.
US COVID-19 death toll hits 700,000
The United States surpassed 700,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, as officials roll out booster doses of vaccines to protect the elderly and people working in high-risk professions. The country has reported an average of more than 2,000 deaths per day over the past week, which represents about 60% of the peak in fatalities in January, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed. The United States still leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, accounting for 19% and 14% of all reported infections and fatalities, according to Reuters tally. Globally, the pandemic is set to surpass 5 million deaths.
US COVID-19 cases drop 15% in past week
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases dropped in the United States by 15% this week, to 106,400 cases per day, according to Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Walensky, during a White House press briefing, said hospitalizations also dropped to 8,300 per day (also a 15% decrease), and deaths remained at 1,476 per day, on average. Yesterday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, the country confirmed 110,060 cases, including 2,718 deaths. "Deaths remain substantially higher in states with low vaccination coverage," Walensky said, urging the 70 million Americans who have yet to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus to do it as soon as possible. The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows that 55.6% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 64.6% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 2.2% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.
New Zealand widens Covid lockdown as Delta spreads outside Auckland
New Zealand’s Delta Covid variant outbreak has spread beyond Auckland, prompting the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, to put additional regions into a snap lockdown. There were 32 new coronavirus cases on Sunday in the country’s largest city, which has been in lockdown since mid-August, and two cases in the Waikato region, some 147km (91 miles) south of Auckland. Ardern announced on Sunday that parts of the region will go into a five-day lockdown. She added that the government will decide on Monday whether Auckland’s 1.7 million residents will remain sealed off from the rest of New Zealand.