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"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 7th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit
China Covid News: Shanghai Cases Rise, Fueling Lockdown Fears
Shanghai reported the most virus infections since late May, fueling concerns China’s financial hub may look to ramp up restrictions to curb transmission. The city announced 54 local Covid infections for Wednesday, including two that were found outside of quarantine, with the latter raising concerns that the virus could be quietly spreading through communities. Shanghai has already increased its mass testing, with with 10 districts and parts of two others -- out of the financial hub’s total of 16 -- conducting two PCR tests over a three-day period. Elsewhere, Beijing announced four cases. Authorities said Wednesday that they had detected the highly infectious BA.5.2 subvariant in the capital.
How to book covid booster vaccine as Scotland records highest infection rate
Scotland is experiencing a high rate of Covid-19 infections as experts warn we are seeing the highest amount since April. On top of this, summer brings with it holidays, social events and mass events, all of which is opportunity for the new sub-variants of Omicron, B.A.4 and B.A.5 to spread. Scotland reported that one in 18 people had the virus last week with 288,200 people infected. Some European countries such as Spain are also preparing for a spike in cases and it haven't relaxed all covid restrictions yet. To be considered fully vaccinated if travelling from the UK to Spain, you must have a booster vaccine if it's been over 270 days since your second dose.
Canada Plans To Throw Out 13.6 Million Doses Of Coronavirus Vaccine
Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine because it couldn’t find any takers for it either at home or abroad. Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021.
Australia removes final Covid-19 travel restrictions
Two years, three months and 25 days since the World Health Organisation first declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, Australia is removing its final coronavirus-related travel restrictions. From Wednesday, visitors no longer need to show proof of vaccination when flying Down Under. The last of the Covid-19 restrictions for inbound visitors have been dropped following Australia's removal of other rules put in place during the pandemic, including PCR tests for holidaymakers and mandatory quarantine periods. “As more and more of us travel internationally and we get more confident in managing our risk of Covid, our airports are getting busier,” Clare O’Neil, Minister for Home Affairs, said.
Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Once in High Demand, Now Thrown Away
Governments, drugmakers and vaccination sites are discarding tens of millions of unused Covid-19 vaccine doses amid sagging demand, a sharp reversal from the early days of the mass-vaccination campaign, when doses were scarce. Vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc. recently discarded about 30 million doses of its Covid-19 shot after failing to find takers, while pharmacies and clinics have had to throw out unused doses from multi-dose vials from Moderna and Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE that have a short shelf life once they are opened. Germany’s health officials have disposed of about 3.9 million Covid-19 vaccine doses that were sitting in a federal central warehouse and expired at the end of June.
Beijing city mandates COVID vaccinations, relaxes curbs on domestic travellers
China's capital on Wednesday mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for most people to enter crowded venues such as libraries, cinemas and gyms, the first such move by Beijing which it coupled with a slight easing of domestic travel curbs. From July 11, people wanting to enter certain public would need to be vaccinated unless they have issues that render them unsuitable for shots, a city official told a news briefing. Restaurants and public transportation are exempt from the rule.
CDC: Mask-wearing recommended in growing number of counties
People in 24 Oregon counties — including the county around Portland — and 15 counties in Washington state should resume mask-wearing indoors in public and on public transportation, according to recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data from the CDC shows the counties are considered high risk for COVID-19 infection, KPTV reported. The Oregon counties include: Clatsop, Tillamook, Lincoln, Lane, Douglas, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, Wasco, Sherman, Hood River, Clackamas, Washington, Multnomah, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker, and Malheur counties. In Washington, the counties at high risk include: Clallam, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Thurston, Pierce, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Walla Walla, Columbia, Asotin, Lincoln, Ferry and Spokane. That’s an increase from six Washington counties at high risk as of June 23.
Cyprus brings back indoor mask wearing amid COVID-19 surge
Cyprus is bringing back compulsory mask-wearing in indoor areas for everyone age 12 and over amid a surge of COVID-19 infections. The government said Wednesday the infection spike is in line with a global trend that’s mainly owed to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the coronavirus. According to Health Ministry figures, 19,503 people tested positive from a total of 147,623 samples between June 25 to July 5 out of a population of approximately 916,000. The numbers don’t include the approximately 250,000 people in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the ethically divided island nation. The measures take effect on Friday. The government said mask wearing isn’t compulsory at home, for family members inside a vehicle, during meals, athletes, cooks during grilling and for people with ailments and deformities that make it difficult for them to wear a face mask.
U.S. FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer's COVID-19 pill
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it had authorized state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 pill to eligible patients to help improve access to the treatment. The antiviral drug, Paxlovid, has been cleared for use and available for free in the United States since December, but fewer than half of the nearly 4 million courses distributed to pharmacies by the government so far have been administered.
Europe Is at Center of New Wave of Covid Infections, WHO Says
Europe is at the center of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections as more people mix at large-scale events and travel, according to the World Health Organization. “We are seeing a much more intense wave of the disease passing through Europe again,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said at a media briefing Wednesday. “And we will see it happen elsewhere -- we are already seeing it in South East Asia and in the eastern Mediterranean region as well.”
Beijing Rolls Out China's First Ever Covid Vaccine Mandate
Beijing residents wanting to enter a raft of public places will need to show proof of vaccination from Monday, the first time China has deployed a vaccine mandate, as the city rushes to quash a new outbreak caused by a more infectious subvariant. The city will require live performances, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, museums and gyms, as well as training and tutoring locations, to restrict entry to people who are vaccinated, Li Ang, deputy director at the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday.
Exit Strategies
More 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Partisan Exits
Goodbye Shanghai: After 16 years, COVID curbs send American family packing
American Heather Kaye and her family, including cat Mochi, are part of a wave of residents departing Shanghai, leaving behind their homes and memories, driven out by two years of strict COVID-19 curbs, including a crushing two-month lockdown. Heather and husband George arrived in Shanghai from New York in 2006 for a one-year adventure, but 16 years later their two-bedroom apartment in Shanghai’s historic former French Concession is the only home their children have ever known.
Scientific Viewpoint
Study: COVID would have killed 58% more Americans without vaccines
A new study estimates that COVID-19 vaccinations averted 58% of U.S. deaths that could have occurred in a hypothetical scenario in which no inoculations existed. Published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, the modeling study concludes that COVID-19 vaccinations prevented 27 million infections, 1.6 million hospitalizations and 235,000 deaths among U.S. adults from December 2020 to September 2021. However, the study cautions that it relied on “incomplete national data” from multiple health records due to the lack of a national database and the “limitations of current methods” for measuring vaccine effectiveness.
EC approves Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine CMA expansion for adolescents
The European Commission (EC) has granted approval for the expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373), in the European Union (EU) for adolescents of the age 12 to 17 years. A protein-based vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 is made from the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ first strain. The latest development comes after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency granted a positive recommendation in June this year.
COVID in California: Reinfection heightens risk of other health problems, study finds
A new type of vaccine protects against a variety of betacoronaviruses including the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID’s variants, in mice and monkeys, a Caltech study found. Betacoronaviruses are a subset of coronaviruses that infect humans and animals. The study, published in the journal Science on Tuesday, from researchers in the laboratory of Caltech’s Pamela Bjorkman, professor of biology and bioengineering, found that the new vaccine is broadly protective. It works by presenting the immune system with spike protein pieces from SARS-CoV-2 and seven other SARS-like betacoronaviruses, attached to a protein nanoparticle structure, to induce production of cross-reactive antibodies, Caltech said.
COVID-19 vaccination activates antibodies targeting parts of virus spike protein shared between coronaviruses
"Our theory is that there is actually memory from previous common cold coronavirus encounters, and when you get the vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the vaccine reawakens some of those memories. Then you see this early response which is basically just a rapid memory response to what you've already seen," Altin said. "With time, the immune system can reshape those responses more in the direction of the pandemic virus."
Research highlights importance of designing effective COVID vaccine allocation strategies
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* pre-print server, researchers at the University of Melbourne used a modified Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, and Recovered (SEIR) mathematical model to examine the impact of different vaccine mechanisms and disease characteristics on a population comprised of individuals at high and low risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study highlighted the significance of devising effective coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine allocation strategies before the onset of the pandemic or the beginning of viral transmission at the community level.
Two or 3 vaccine doses may cut risk of long COVID
An observational study of Italian healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 who didn't require hospitalization suggests a link between two or three doses of vaccine and a lower prevalence of long COVID. In the modeling study, published late last week in JAMA, researchers in Milan studied 2,560 workers at nine healthcare facilities from March 2020 to April 2022. All healthcare workers were mandated to receive three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. And all were screened for COVID-19 once a week or every 2 weeks and when they developed symptoms or were exposed to the virus.
Estimates of long Covid are startlingly high. Here’s how to understand them
It’s important to remember that long Covid is an evolving umbrella term for an array of symptoms that vary in both number and degree. Some housebound people are assailed by brain fog that completely robs them of concentration, while others find memory aids help them get through their workdays. Some former athletes can’t complete a 6-minute walk test, while others can gradually return to activity if they monitor their heart rate. Long Covid clinics that adapt techniques from rehabilitation medicine see people eventually get better. In a world transitioning away from bustling downtowns to hybrid work-from-home status, we may not see who’s missing.
Pharmacists Can Prescribe Pfizer's Covid Pill Under FDA Order
Pharmacists will be permitted to prescribe Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid under a move by US regulators aimed at providing prompt access to the widely used Covid treatment. State-licensed pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid to eligible patients, subject to certain limitations to assure appropriate treatment, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday in a statement. “Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment for some patients,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, director for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in the statement.
Coronavirus Resurgence
Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Once in High Demand, Now Thrown Away
Governments, drugmakers and vaccination sites are discarding tens of millions of unused Covid-19 vaccine doses amid sagging demand, a sharp reversal from the early days of the mass-vaccination campaign, when doses were scarce. Vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc. recently discarded about 30 million doses of its Covid-19 shot after failing to find takers, while pharmacies and clinics have had to throw out unused doses from multi-dose vials from Moderna and from Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE that have a short shelf life once they are opened.
Covid-19: 10290 new community cases reported
New community case numbers remain high with the Ministry of Health reporting 10,290 new cases on Wednesday. There are 522 people in hospital and 12 people with the virus have died since July 1, the ministry said. On Tuesday, case numbers soared by more than 3000 in a single day, rising from 6498 on Monday to 9629 on Tuesday. The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers on Tuesday was 7246 – a rise of about 32% on the same time last year. The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers on Wednesday was 7591.
BA.4/5 COVID-19 variants now dominant in all US regions
Combined, the two subvariants make up more than 70% of recently sequenced samples, up sharply from 52.3% the previous week. Of the variants CDC is tracking, BA.5 now makes up 53.6%, and BA.4 makes up 16.5%. The proportion of BA.2.12.1—first detected in New York—continues to decline. South-central states were the first to see BA.4 and BA.5 become dominant. The two subvariants are more transmissible and have mutations linked to immune escape.
Beijing city reports three new local COVID cases
China's capital on Wednesday mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for most people to enter crowded venues such as libraries, cinemas and gyms, the first such move by Beijing which it coupled with a slight easing of domestic travel curbs. From July 11, people wanting to enter certain public would need to be vaccinated unless they have issues that render them unsuitable for shots, a city official told a news briefing. Restaurants and public transportation are exempt from the rule.
Romania COVID cases nearly double in a week
The number of new COVID-19 infections in Romania nearly doubled over the last week, with a peak of 10,000 daily cases expected in mid-August, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Monday. Romania is the European Union's second-least vaccinated state, with just over 42% of the population fully inoculated amid distrust of state institutions and poor vaccine education. The number of new infections approached 8,000 over the last week, compared with 3,974 new cases in the previous week, data showed, but the number of hospitalisations and deaths remained low.
Italy daily COVID cases exceed 100000 for first time since February
Italy reported 132,274 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, health ministry official figures showed, surpassing 100,000 for the first time since Feb. 8. Italy, whose death tally since the beginning of the pandemic is the eight-highest in the world, also reported 94 deaths on Tuesday.
China battles karaoke COVID cluster in Shanghai among other outbreaks
China is fighting nascent COVID-19 flare-ups across the country with mass testing and fresh restrictions, including in weary Shanghai where new cases have been linked to a building which houses a karaoke lounge that was operating illegally.
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.
China reports 409 new COVID cases for July 6 vs 427 day earlier
Mainland China reported 409 new coronavirus cases for July 6, of which 124 were symptomatic and 285 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Thursday. That compared with 427 new cases a day earlier - 141 symptomatic and 286 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. There were zero new deaths, same as a day earlier, keeping the nation's fatalities at 5,226. As of Wednesday, mainland China had confirmed 226,300 cases with symptoms.