6th Oct 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=511 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press The Biden administration on Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to stop using the states federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates. In a letter to Ducey the Treasury Department said the grant programs are not a permissible use of the federal funding. Its the latest attempt by the Biden administration to push back against Republican governors who have opposed mask mandates and otherwise sought to use federal pandemic funding to advance their own agendas. Ducey a Republican created the grant programs in August to put pressure on school districts that have defied the states ban on mask mandates. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-doug-ducey-arizona-health-education-eeef3cfa74d609eecddc71d6cc2cdd3c 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English When Melbourne went into lockdown between March and October last year the citys rough sleepers were considered to be at high risk. Without a secure and isolated place in which to lock down the concern was that they could easily catch and transmit COVID19. The Victorian government responded by providing funding for people experiencing homelessness to access hotel rooms across the city which were empty due to the lack of tourists. Dave Lovelock is an outreach worker at Launch Housing a notforprofit organisation that assists people experiencing homelessness. Launch Housing are one of a number of similar organisations who were involved with the government hotel programme due to their close connections with rough sleepers. Dave Lovelocks job was to scour the streets to find people who were at risk of rough sleeping during the pandemic and offer them a place to stay at one of the designated hotels. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/10/5/how-has-covid-19-affected-australias-homeless 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Wall Street Journal The company asked U.S. regulators for emergencyuse authorization for an antibody drug that earlier this year showed strong efficacy in preventing symptomatic Covid19 offering a potential alternative in evading the disease. https://www.wsj.com/articles/preventive-covid-19-treatment-submitted-for-fda-authorization-11633428799 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

The New York Times England took a highstakes gamble when it sent millions of students back to school last month with neither vaccines nor a requirement to wear face masks even as the coronavirus continued to course through the population. On Tuesday the countrys Education Department issued its latest report card on how the plan is working 186000 students were absent from school on Sept. 30 with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus 78 percent more than the number reported on Sept. 16 and the highest number since the pandemic began. Yet to hear many parents tell it the bigger risk would have been to force the students to keep wearing masks or worse to keep them home. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/world/europe/england-schools-masks-mandate.html 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg A European Union advisory committee will consider starting an accelerated review for Merck Co.s experimental antiviral pill against Covid19 following the companys announcement last week that it will seek emergencyuse authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as soon as possible. The panel will consider starting a rolling review in coming days Marco Cavaleri the head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy at the European Medicines Agency said at a press briefing Tuesday. Thats a procedure where data is evaluated as it becomes available to speed up the process. Mercks new drug molnupiravir has led to optimism about the course of the pandemic after early studies show the drug has the potential to cut the rate of hospitalization and death by around 50 in mild to moderate Covid patients. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-05/eu-panel-may-start-accelerated-review-of-merck-s-covid-pill 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Tel Avivs mayor has a message for cities struggling to reopen Covid booster shots are allowing his city to roar back to life. The mass distribution of third shots in Israel has driven down new cases and hospital admissions allowing restaurants and shops to fill up with customers. New variants of the disease could change the pandemics trajectory again but for now the boosters are working Mayor Ron Huldai said in an interview with Bloomberg News. On the streets of Tel Aviv now its like theres no Covid said Huldai 77 who has run Tel Aviv for more than two decades since he was elected in 1998. He said 99 of city workers are vaccinated. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-05/covid-booster-shots-bring-tel-aviv-back-to-life 5th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Foreign tourists wont be welcomed back to Australia until at least next year the prime minister said Tuesday as he outlined plans for lifting some of the toughest and longest COVID19 travel restrictions imposed by any democracy. The country will instead prioritize the return of skilled migrants and students after it hits Prime Minister Scott Morrisons benchmark for reopening its external borders the full vaccination of 80 of the population aged 16 and older. It is expected to reach that point Tuesday. The news comes just days after Morrison announced plans to allow vaccinated citizens and permanent residents to fly overseas from November for the first time since March 2020. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-business-scott-morrison-travel-0e0dea481cefe0952e19f6315b6955ee 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press Eight days into the school year all five of Amber Cessacs daughters ages 4 to 10 had tested positive for COVID19. Having them all sick at once and worrying about longterm repercussions as other parents at their school and even her own mother downplayed the virus broke something inside of me Cessac said. The anxiety and the stress has sort of been bottled up she said. It just felt so I dont know defeating and made me feel so helpless. Like parents everywhere Cessac has been dealing with pandemic stress for over 18 months now. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-business-stress-education-6d8436b05d64cbd831c69801a1009ce4 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Surging demand for COVID19 tests from U.S. employers has exacerbated a nationwide shortage of rapid tests in recent weeks and is driving up costs for state and local testing programs according to industry executives and state officials. Testmakers including Abbott Laboratories Quidel Corp and LumiraDX Ltd are scaling up production to meet rising demand. But significantly boosting test output will take weeks to months half a dozen industry executives told Reuters making the tests harder to procure in the near term. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rapid-covid-19-tests-increasingly-scarce-pricey-demand-employers-jumps-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

AllAfrica.com Public policy think tank the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute ZDI says a drop in vaccine uptake is threatening the countrys Covid19 December 2021 herd immunity target. According to an Access to Public Health Monitoring Report for September ZDI blamed the drop in vaccine uptake to lack of strategy in terms of information dissemination. The achievement of Covid19 herd immunity in Zimbabwe by December 2021 appears to be facing a challenge of a significant drop in vaccine uptake. Between 26 July 2021 and 26 August there was an increase of 962 036 vaccinations done in Zimbabwe. However during the same period from 26 August 2021 to 26 September 2021 an increase in vaccinations stood at 583 484. This drop in vaccination rate can be attributed to lack of a strategy to break the existing ruralurban divide in terms of information and awareness on Covid19 vaccination and the need to reach a target of herd immunity. https://allafrica.com/stories/202110050906.html 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Washington Post President Bidens planned vaccine requirement faces a number of tests in coming weeks as at least two dozen Republicancontrolled states prepare legal challenges setting up a clash between the federal government and local officials that could ultimately determine the fate of the rule. The Labor Department has moved slowly in designing the rule which White House officials said will require companies with more than 100 employees to institute mandatory vaccination or testing protocols for their staffs. Top administration officials have been working carefully to ensure the proposal is ironclad and some have been heartened to see anecdotal evidence that companies and local governments implementing vaccine requirements have seen largescale cooperation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/05/osha-vaccine-requirement-republicans/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Washington Post After months of backandforth between virusfree life and lockdowns New Zealand will phase out its pursuit of zero covid19 cases and instead rely on vaccines to allow the country to live with the coronavirus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that New Zealand will transition from relying on harsh restrictions instead using vaccines and everyday public health measures to keep residents safe. She added that the change was one we were always going to make over time. But the delta variant Ardern said had accelerated this transition. New Zealands admission that it cannot fully eliminate the virus and must instead learn to live with it marks a dramatic shift from the strategy it had employed throughout the pandemic https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/05/new-zealand-zero-covid-strategy/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Western Australia said that it would require all employees that work with natural resources to have a first COVID19 shot from December to help protect vulnerable Indigenous communities as the country begins opening up. People working in mining oil and gas exploration are required to have their first dose by Dec. 1 and must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1 the government said. The mandate also applies to any workers flying in and out of remote sites and any visitors to these operations it said. The new directions will address the risks posed by movement of resources sector workers... to and from regional and remote locations in WA with many sites and operations located at or near remote Aboriginal communities State Premier Mark McGowan said https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/western-australia-mandates-covid-19-vaccine-miners-natural-gas-workers-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

RTE.ie In Ireland the population seems to have come close to suppressing Covid19 and were in a good place in relation to lifting the remaining restrictions by 22 October NPHETs Prof Philip Nolan has said. The Chair of NPHETs Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group said suppressing the virus is down to very high levels of vaccination and the adherence to public health measures. Speaking on RTs News at One he said Were fortunate with our very high level of vaccinations and frankly the very sensible manner in which each and every one of us is taking the precautions we seem to have come close to suppressing what is a very transmissible virus. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/1005/1250805-coronavirus-ireland/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters The Thai Red Cross Society kicked off a vaccination campaign on Tuesday for migrant workers one of the countrys most vulnerable groups that has been largely left behind in the broader COVID19 inoculation rollout. About 300 workers received their first doses along with a small number of undocumented refugees as part of a campaign due to run until the end of the month that is initially targeting 5000 workers. The more migrant workers were able to vaccinate the better for the Thai people too said Tej Bunnag secretarygeneral of the Thai Red Cross Society. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-red-cross-delivers-covid-19-vaccines-thailands-vulnerable-migrant-workers-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN As Covid19 numbers gradually improve in the U.S. health experts have an urgent message Dont get cocky and relax. We cant get overconfident. Every time we do and we put our guard down ... we get another surge with another variant said Dr. Jorge Rodriguez a viral researcher and internal medicine physician. So yes things are better. But theyre far from over. On average 107312 new cases were reported each day over the past week according to data from Johns Hopkins University the lowest since August 5. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/04/health/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

RTE.ie Australia is to purchase 300000 courses of Merck Cos experimental antiviral pill Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The announcement came as Victoria logged the highest number of daily Covid19 infections of any state in the country since the pandemic began. Molnupiravir which would be the first oral antiviral medication for Covid19 if it gets regulatory approval could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for people most at risk of contracting severe Covid19 according to experts. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/1005/1250764-global-covid/ 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN After weeks of a troubling Covid19 surge across the US infection rates are finally on the decline but experts say theres still work to be done before the tide can be turned especially when cases remain exceptionally high among children. I am worried that we still have some tough days ahead said Dr. Ashish Jha the Dean at Brown University School of Public Health. Even though were doing reasonably well on vaccines weve got to do much better because the Delta variant is very good at finding people who are unvaccinated and infecting them. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/05/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News It is likely to be November before most schools in Northern Ireland begin to vaccinate 12 to 15yearold pupils. Letters and consent forms for the Covid19 vaccine are expected to be sent to parents of eligible children in midtolate October according to the Public Health Agency PHA. The UKs four chief medical officers have recommended healthy 12 to 15yearolds be offered one vaccine dose. Vaccinations for pupils in Scotland and England are already taking place. However the approach being taken by each nation differs. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-58795317 5th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

ITV News In India the vast landscape difficult terrain and remote location of some of its population has presented challenges for the coronavirus vaccine drive. Officials in the vast nation have come up with a unique solution to deliver the vaccine to such areas by drafting in drones. The drones can travel up to 22 miles and could bring the country closer to its target of vaccinating each of its 950 million adults by the end of this year. The system has already been used to transport Covid vaccines from a hospital in north east state of Manipur to a health centre on Karang Island which lies 10 miles away in the middle of a lake. https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-05/india-begins-delivering-covid-19-vaccines-by-drone 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press Gov. Tim Walz called on lawmakers Tuesday to approve a series of new moves to respond to the fourth wave of the COVID19 pandemic including vaccine and testing requirements for teachers school staff and longterm care workers and measures to relieve strained hospital capacity. The Democratic governor detailed his proposal in a letter to lawmakers that he released after meeting privately with legislative leaders. He urged lawmakers to approve the measures during a special session that was originally envisioned for last month to approve a 250 million bonus package for frontline workers who risked their lives in the pandemic. Negotiations on that plan have yet to produce an agreement and missed a Labor Day target for completion. Since then the governor has proposed that the special session also include drought relief for farmers. But Walz has also insisted that Senate Republicans agree not to use the special session to fire Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm as some senators have threatened. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-covid-19-pandemic-health-366fd00b91a66fa8d1911c82d7dc419d 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

ABC News Antivaccine residents of a village in Guatemala seized and held a team of nurses who were trying to administer coronavirus shots Monday authorities said. The team was held for about seven hours in the village of Nahuila in the province of Alta Verapaz north of Guatemala City. The villagers said they didnt want the shots and later blocked a road and let the air out of the nurses tires. A cooler and about 50 doses of vaccine were destroyed. Police and local officials later negotiated their release. Officials said they had previously encountered villages that rejected vaccination teams but Gabriel Sandoval the director of the provincial health department said it was the first time they faced such physical opposition. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/anti-vaccine-villagers-guatemala-hold-coronavirus-team-80407563 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Washington Post The resistance to coronavirus vaccine mandates isnt quite what its been cracked up to be. As businesses hospital systems and governments have moved forward with such mandates many of the earliest test cases have gained compliance numbers well north of 90 percent. As The Posts Philip Bump wrote last week the numbers suggest many supposed nevervaxxers were actually in the Ill get it if required camp. But that doesnt mean vaccine mandates wont hit roadblocks in the months ahead. And one increasing prospect seems most likely to truly test peoples true opposition to the mandates schools requiring them. California Gov. Gavin Newsom D on Friday became the first governor to say that his state would mandate fully approved vaccines for schoolchildren when they are available. The Pfizer vaccine is fully approved only for children 16 and older and authorized for emergency use for children 12 to 15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/04/real-battle-over-vaccine-mandates-might-lie-ahead-schools/ 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Washington Post South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey O. Graham was only midway through his sentence when the crowd began shouting over him. If you havent had the vaccine you ought to think about getting it because if youre my age No attendees at a Republican event held Saturday responded as others booed. Graham was speaking at a country club in Summerville S.C. about 25 miles outside Charleston. Bowing his head and holding up a hand the 66yearold who got his coronavirus vaccine in December responded to the crowd telling them I didnt tell you to get it. You ought to think about it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/05/lindsey-graham-booed-coronavirus-vaccine/ 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Independent Three Vatican Swiss Guards have reportedly resigned after refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine. The guards left on a voluntary basis according to a spokesperson for the corps following the Holy Sees enforcement of new Covid19 measures. Another three unvaccinated members who decided to get the jab have been temporarily suspended until they are fully inoculated Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneva reported. A spokesperson for the Swiss Guards the elite colourfully dressed corps that protects the pope did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-swiss-guards-covid-vaccine-b1932484.html 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail Protesters in New York were seen chanting Save Australia during bizarre rallies. Many were protesting against vaccine mandates for teachers in the US city. They referenced similar mandates in Victoria and neverending lockdowns. White House Press Secretary was questioned on disturbing images in Australia https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10060673/New-York-protesters-chant-save-Australia-following-Covid-19-vaccine-mandates-teachers.html 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Guardian And so with that a confusing 20minute monologue in the Beehive theatrette New Zealands virusbeating elimination strategy is over. As the Delta variants tentacles to borrow the prime ministers description creep past the Auckland border potentially wrapping themselves around parts of the Waikato the government will no longer aim to cut the monster off at its head with tough alert level four restrictions. Instead public health officials will move to a suppression strategy aiming to contain and control the virus while we vaccinate our way out of the pandemic. At its simplest Jacinda Arderns message from the threatrette was vaccinate vaccinate vaccinate. For 18 months New Zealanders were living life as if there were no pandemic. We were gathering outdoors and indoors in the thousands mask mandates were literally a foreign concept and business and public services were operating more or less as normal. https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/oct/05/by-ending-covid-elimination-jacinda-ardern-once-again-fails-to-turn-compassion-into-policy 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press The COVID19 patients health was deteriorating quickly at a Michigan hospital but he was having none of the doctors diagnosis. Despite dangerously low oxygen levels the unvaccinated man didnt think he was that sick and got so irate over a hospital policy forbidding his wife from being at his bedside that he threatened to walk out of the building. Dr. Matthew Trunsky didnt hold back in his response You are welcome to leave but you will be dead before you get to your car he said. Such exchanges have become alltoocommon for medical workers who are growing weary of COVID19 denial and misinformation that have made it exasperating to treat unvaccinated patients during the deltadriven surge. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-misinformation-health-433991ea434e12ccfdf97b5db415310d 5th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera Recent antilockdown protests in Melbourne have exposed the rise of the farright movement over fears stemming from the coronavirus pandemic unemployment and continuing lockdown measures. The most recent and arguably most violent protests were sparked by the state governments decision to suspend work on building sites for two weeks and make vaccination mandatory for construction workers. Construction workers protesting at the trade union offices in Melbourne Australias secondbiggest city were joined by several other groups many from farright backgrounds. The protest soon turned violent with police responding with rubber bullets tear gas and pepper spray. Very quickly we saw freedom marchers join the protests with other rightwing antagonists farright analyst Josh Roose a senior research fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute in Melbourne told Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/5/australias-far-right-gets-covid-19-booster 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Some of the symptoms of socalled longcovid the ailments that can persist for months after a Covid19 infection may be caused by inflammatory molecules trapped inside tiny blood clots a scientist at South Africas Stellenbosch University said. High levels of inflammatory molecules were found in micro clots in blood samples from people with longcovid Resia Pretorius a researcher at the university said in a statement on Monday. The molecules contained fibrinogen a clotting protein and alpha2antiplasmin which prevents the breakdown of blood clots she said. These might be the cause of some of the lingering symptoms experienced by individuals with longcovid the university said in the statement. This provides further evidence that Covid19 and now longcovid have significant cardiovascular and clotting pathologies. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-05/long-covid-symptoms-may-be-caused-by-micro-clots-scientists-say 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The effectiveness of the Pfizer IncBioNTech SE vaccine in preventing infection by the coronavirus dropped to 47 from 88 six months after the second dose according to data published on Monday that U.S. health agencies considered when deciding on the need for booster shots. The data which was published in the Lancet medical journal had been previously released in August ahead of peer review. The analysis showed that the vaccines effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and death remained high at 90 for at least six months even against the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizerbiontech-covid-19-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-after-6-months-study-2021-10-04/ 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Spain on Tuesday approved administering of third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which are based on the same messenger RNA technology for people aged 70 or over the health ministry said. Spain has fully vaccinated around 78 of its population and authorised the booster shot from six months after people receive their second jab the ministry said in a statement. The campaign to administer the boosters will begin at the end of October. The country had already authorised booster shots for cancer patients nursing home residents and other vulnerable groups. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-approves-covid-booster-shot-over-70s-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Washington Post Johnson Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to grant emergency use authorization for a booster dose of its singleshot coronavirus vaccine. The action is part of an effort by Biden administration officials to provide increased protection against covid19 the disease caused by the coronavirus which has claimed more than 700000 lives in the United States. Johnson Johnson is asking the FDA to look at our data and agree with us that we have enough data to support a boost for people 18 and older said Mathai Mammen global head of research and development for the Janssen Pharmaceuticals division of Johnson Johnson. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/05/johnson-johnson-booster-covid-vaccine/ 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmaTimes Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP has issued a positive opinion for the administration of the PfizerBioNTech COVID19 vaccine as a booster shot six months after the second dose. CHMP part of the EMA has approved the use of the booster jab for individuals over the age of 18. Following the CHMP positive opinion the European Commission EC will make a final decision on its update to the vaccines current Conditional Marketing Authorisation in the EU. In the clinical trial data provided by Pfizer and BioNTech the COVID19 vaccine Comirnaty was found to elicit significantly higher neutralising antibody titers against SARSCoV2 and protection from both the Beta and Delta variants of the disease. https://www.pharmatimes.com/news/chmp_positive_option_for_pfizer-biontech_covid-19_vaccine_in_the_eu_1379864 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmTech Merck known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada and Ridgeback Therapeutics announced on Oct. 1st 2021 that their investigational oral antiviral medicine molnupiravir significantly reduced severe outcomes associated with COVID19. According to a planned interim analysis molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50 in nonhospitalized adult COVID19 patients with mildtomoderate symptoms. According to a company press release 7.3 of patients who received molnupiravir 28385 were either hospitalized or died through Day 29 of the study. Conversely 14.1 of patients given placebo 53377 were either hospitalized or died as a result of COVID19 through Day 29. Additionally no patients that were given molnupiravir died whereas eight of those given the placebo did. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/merck-and-ridgeback-biotherapeutics-oral-antiviral-covid-19-treatment-reduces-risk-of-hospitalization-or-death-by-50- 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News AstraZeneca has requested US authorisation for emergency use of its new treatment to prevent COVID19 in people who have a lessened response to vaccines because of a weakened immune system. The drugmaker included data in its filing with the Food and Drug Administration from a latestage trial showing the jab reduced the risk of people developing any coronavirus symptoms by 77. The antibody therapy called AZD7442 could be used to protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to COVID vaccines or as a booster for those such as military personnel AstraZeneca said. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-astrazeneca-requests-emergency-authoritisation-in-us-or-drug-that-reduces-risk-of-developing-coronavirus-symptoms-by-77-12426338 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Two doses of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine are 90 effective against COVID19 hospitalisation for at least six months but only 47 effective against infection after that period according to a new study. The peerreviewed analysis of the coronavirus jab published in The Lancet also found that reductions in the vaccines effectiveness against COVID19 infection was due to this waning over time rather than the Delta variant escaping protection. Researchers analysed the electronic health records of 3426957 people who had received the PfizerBioNTech vaccine as part of the study 5.4 of which 184041 belonged to people who were infected and 6.6 12130 of those which were hospitalised. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-effectiveness-wanes-to-47-against-infection-after-six-months-12426406 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press Johnson Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to allow extra shots of its COVID19 vaccine as the U.S. government moves toward expanding its booster campaign to millions more vaccinated Americans. JJ said it filed a request with the FDA to authorize boosters for people 18 and older who previously received the companys oneshot vaccine. While the company said it submitted data on several different booster intervals ranging from two to six months it did not formally recommend one to regulators. Last month the FDA authorized booster shots of Pfizers vaccine for older Americans and other groups with heightened vulnerability to COVID19. Its part of a sweeping effort by the Biden administration to shore up protection amid the delta variant and potential waning vaccine immunity. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-coronavirus-vaccine-health-8692f5cba58e8f98c97b99a49a7dc535 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press The European Unions drug regulator gave its backing Monday to administering booster shots of the PfizerBioNTech COVID19 vaccine for people 18 and older. The European Medicines Agency said the booster doses may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older. The agencys human medicines committee issued the recommendation after studying data for the Pfizer vaccine that showed a rise in antibody levels following boosters given around 6 months after the second dose in people from 18 to 55 years old. The agency also said it supports giving a third dose of either the PfizerBioNTech or the Moderna vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second shot. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-european-union-europe-coronavirus-vaccine-c045dcf8099d8bbe4144ce61bd8e1a6a 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma What do Mercks eyeopening data recently released for its antiviral molnupiravir on highrisk COVID19 patients mean for manufacturers of vaccines Analysts from the ODDO BHF financial services group see little impact in the short and intermediate term. Even though inoculation rates are low in most lesser developed countries ODDO says its unlikely that countries will shift away from vaccination campaigns to focus primarily on treating highrisk patients with COVID. This is the case despite trial data showing molnupiravir providing a 50 reduction in the hospitalization rate and a 100 reduction in the death rate among patients within five days of symptomatic illness. The impact on vaccine manufacturers such as Moderna should be limited ODDO wrote in a report to investors. We believe that molnupiravir can be complementary to the COVID19 vaccine but not a competitor. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/merck-s-molnupiravir-will-be-complementary-but-not-a-competitor-to-covid-19-vaccines-analyst 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News Few U.S. journalists politicians or public health officials expressed any extraordinary concern when reports of a novel respiratory virus began to emerge out of China in late 2019 and early 2020. After all the U.S. had just ranked number one among 195 countries in the 2019 Global Health Security Index the first major comparative assessment of national capacity to prevent detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Experts believed the wealthiest large nation on earth to be wellprepared to weather whatever might come its way. Now nearly two years since the first documented cases of Covid19 appeared in Wuhan more than 700000 U.S. residents have been killed by a pandemic during which U.S. public health management has been among the worlds worst. Despite American wealth monopolization of the global vaccine supply and unparalleled spending on medical care SARSCoV2 has decimated U.S. communities especially those of color and lower incomes. Repeated policy failures have paved the way for the virus to rapidly replicate mutate and fuel deadly outbreaks not just inside this country but worldwide. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/05/jails-prisons-schools-nursing-homes-america-epidemic-engines/ 5th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News The announcement that a pill from Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics kept Covid patients out of the hospital made headlines and moved stocks late last week. But as is so often true when data are released by press release there are still many questions left unanswered. Doctors are excited about the medicine molnupiravir because a regimen of pills even one that involves taking several pills twice a day for five days should be far easier to deliver to patients than current antiviral Covid19 treatments which must be given intravenously. But its still unclear how widely this treatment will be used. There will also be debate among financial analysts at investment banks regarding exactly how many billions of dollars in sales the new drug will generate. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/04/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-mercks-new-covid-19-pill/ 4th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Japans COVID19 case numbers have plummeted to the lowest in nearly a year just as other parts of Asia are struggling with surging infections leaving health experts perplexed and raising concern of a winter rebound. New daily cases in Tokyo dropped to 87 on Monday the lowest tally since Nov. 2 last year and a precipitous decline from more than 5000 a day in an August wave that hammered the capitals medical infrastructure. The pattern is the same across the country. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-dip-covid-19-cases-baffles-experts-winter-nightmare-still-risk-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Evening Standard The number of children out of school for Covid19 related reasons in England has increased by two thirds in a fortnight Government figures show. The Department for Education DfE estimates that 2.5 of all pupils more than 204000 children were not in class for reasons connected to coronavirus on Thursday last week. This is up from 122300 children or 1.5 of all pupils on September 16 a 67 rise from two weeks ago. The figures come as heads reported a high level of disruption with a school leaders union warning that selfisolation rules are actively contributing to the spread of Covid19 in schools. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/nadhim-zahawi-geoff-barton-department-for-education-government-england-b958904.html 5th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Russia reported 895 new COVID19 deaths on Tuesday the most recorded in a single day since the pandemic began with the Kremlin blaming the slow pace of vaccinations and a more virulent virus. Cases are rising after a third wave over the summer and officials are considering bringing back safety restrictions although they say a Moscow lockdown is not being looked at. The coronavirus task force reported 25110 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The record daily death toll is Russias sixth in recent weeks. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-covid-19-deaths-hit-new-one-day-record-high-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Australia will buy 300000 courses of Merck Cos experimental antiviral pill Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday as Victoria logged the highest number of daily COVID19 infections of any state in the country since the pandemic began. Molnupiravir which would be the first oral antiviral medication for COVID19 if it gets regulatory approval could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for people most at risk of contracting severe COVID19 according to experts. These treatments mean that we are going to be able to live with the virus Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Nine News on Tuesday as Australia aims to reopen its borders next month for fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-buy-300000-doses-mercks-covid-19-antiviral-pill-2021-10-04/ 5th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters UK Hospitals may struggle to cope if there is a significant surge of COVID19 in England this winter even if broad vaccination means that deaths do not approach the same levels as last year one of Britains top epidemiologists told Reuters. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is betting on vaccinating children and giving booster shots to vulnerable adults to avoid a winter COVID19 lockdown this year. Johnson has locked down Englands economy three times to avoid COVID overwhelming the National Health Service. Neil Ferguson director of MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and Jameel Institute Imperial College London said that the coming months were uncertain but could put strain on hospitals https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-hospitals-could-struggle-even-if-covid-deaths-lower-this-winter-2021-10-05/ 5th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

STAT News On the surface theres little about Whitfield Regional Hospital that would make it a safety net for Alabamas sickest Covid19 patients. It has a small ICU with eight beds and no critical care doctors on staff. The rural hospital has spent decades focused on caring for the community surrounding Demopolis population 7000 in the heart of the states Black Belt. But over the summer Whitfield became an unlikely landing pad for critically ill Covid19 patients from across the entire state with the help of a team of telemedicine specialists calling in from more than 100 miles away. As Covid19 swept through unvaccinated communities every ICU bed in the state was full for weeks on end including those at the states largest hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/05/telemedicine-icu-covid19-hospitals/ 5th Oct 2021