24th Feb 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=207 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English The World Bank has threatened to suspend financing for coronavirus vaccines in Lebanon over what it said were violations by legislators who were vaccinated inside Parliament. The comments by the international lender on Tuesday came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that the national plan that requires people to get vaccinated at predetermined centres could be riddled with violations and favouritism. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/23/world-bank-threatens-to-suspend-lebanons-vaccination-programme 24th Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg But even as that brings hope for businesses shuttered for months and for economies across the globe that have spent trillions of dollars to support people during lockdowns the Israel experience shows that an emerging new normal that may not look much like the prepandemic world for some time to come. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-23/even-the-world-s-most-vaccinated-economy-faces-a-tough-reopening 24th Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters On Tuesday standing outside Madison Square Garden in the chilly February air Cumello was grateful her longawaited game had finally arrived. Im really excited that we finally got to go because I was really upset when it got canceled said Cumello who plays point guard in her youth league in Fairfield Connecticut. Im excited that we just get to be here and get to watch. Cumello and her mother were among the 2000 fans ready to watch the New York Knicks take on the Warriors as New York City welcomed ticketholders at live sports events for the first time since the pandemic brought sports to a halt nearly a year ago. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-new-york-arenas/closer-to-normality-new-york-city-arenas-open-doors-to-elated-fans-idUSKBN2AO0A7 24th Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Sky News Businesses have started preparing plans to get their employees back to the office although some suggest office culture may look different postpandemic. The governments workfromhome WFH guidance has been in place now for almost a year and under Boris Johnsons roadmap out of lockdown it could remain until summer. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-is-work-from-home-here-to-stay-what-uk-businesses-are-planning-post-lockdown-12226622 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

BBC News Health officials will start inoculating medical staff in hospitals and care homes later this week. The aim is to give some 800000 people the jab over the next month using vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and PfizerBioNTech. In an interview one year since he became the countrys coronavirus figurehead Prime Minister Chung Syekyun defended the later rollout and said it allowed South Korean officials to see how the vaccine had fared elsewhere. You know that Koreans are the master of speed said Mr Chung. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-56156234 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Airlines and travel companies have reported a surge in holiday bookings after the Boris Johnson announced his roadmap out of lockdown. EasyJet Ryanair Tui and Thomas Cook reported a jump in bookings to destinations including Spain and Greece after the prime minister said international trips could potentially resume from 17 May subject to review and assuming there was no resurgence in coronavirus and vaccination programmes went well. The increase bolstered shares in airlines and travel companies on Tuesday. EasyJet and Tui were among the top risers on the FTSE 250 up 7 and 3 respectively. On the FTSE 100 British Airways owner International Airlines Group was up 3.5. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/23/holiday-bookings-uk-lockdown-exit-plans-easyjet-tui 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters New Zealand reported three new locally transmitted cases of coronavirus on Tuesday as the cluster in its biggest city of Auckland expanded just days after authorities were forced to impose fresh curbs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern lifted a brief COVID19 lockdown in Auckland last week saying the measures had helped limit the spread of the infection to a family of three. However a student from Papatoetoe High School in Auckland was reported to have tested positive for COVID19 earlier in the day. Health authorities later said that two siblings of the student were also infected with the virus and have asked everyone linked to the school to get retested. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-newzealand/new-zealand-coronavirus-cluster-grows-with-three-new-cases-idUSL1N2KT0C2 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Associated Press Stircrazy Britons rushed to book overseas vacations after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to slowly ease a national lockdown boosting optimism that travel restrictions will be removed in time for the summer holiday season. TUI the U.K.s largest tour operator said bookings increased sixfold on Monday the companys busiest day in more than a month. Discount airline easyJet said demand for flights more than tripled and package holiday company Thomas Cook said traffic on its website increased 75. International travel has nearly ground to a halt globally so the increases are a sign of hope for the beleaguered industry. https://apnews.com/article/england-unemployment-coronavirus-pandemic-london-boris-johnson-587179b6af3ebf5b5c804f31e1a21140 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Yahoo News Executives with Pfizer and Moderna said the companies are ramping up their supply of coronavirus vaccines with shipments expected to double and possibly triple in the coming weeks in congressional testimony Tuesday. In a prepared statement before a House subcommittee Tuesday John Young Pfizers chief business officer is expected to say the company plans to increase its delivery capacity of 4 million to 5 million doses a week to more than 13 million by midMarch. Richard Nettles the vice president of medical affairs at Johnson Johnson said the company plans to have enough of their singledose Covid19 vaccine for 20 million Americans by the end of March. https://news.yahoo.com/executives-pfizer-moderna-theyre-ramping-044325072.html 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press A giant vaccination center is opening in Houston to administer 126000 coronavirus doses in the next three weeks. Nevada health officials are working overtime to distribute delayed shots. And Rhode Island is rescheduling appointments after a vaccine shipment failed to arrive as scheduled earlier in the week. From coast to coast states were scrambling Tuesday to catch up on vaccinations a week after winter storms battered a large swath of the U.S. and led to clinic closures canceled appointments and shipment backlogs nationwide. But limited supply of the two approved COVID19 vaccines hampered the pace of vaccinations even before extreme weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses. https://apnews.com/article/white-house-coronavirus-vaccine-help-962c913e3186543f10954306a578fb3e 23rd Feb 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters AstraZeneca Plc has told the European Union it expects to deliver less than half the COVID19 vaccines it was contracted to supply in the second quarter an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday. Contacted by Reuters AstraZeneca did not deny what the official said but a statement late in the day said the company was striving to increase productivity to deliver the promised 180 million doses. The expected shortfall which has not previously been reported follows a big reduction in supplies in the first quarter and could hit the EUs ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70 of adults by summer. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-astrazeneca-exc/exclusive-astrazeneca-to-miss-second-quarter-eu-vaccine-supply-target-by-half-eu-official-idUSKBN2AN1ZY 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

The Brussels Times More than 850000 vaccines have been delivered to Belgium as of 22 February Belgiums Federal Agency for Medicine and Health Products FAMHP announced on Tuesday. Most of those vaccines were delivered by Pfizer and BioNTech. A total of 738465 PfizerBioNTech vaccines were distributed https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/health/156499/over-850000-coronavirus-vaccines-delivered-to-belgian-hospitals-pfizer-biontech-moderna-astrazeneca/ 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

POLITICO.eu After spending months under siege from EU capitals and pharma heads over Europes sluggish vaccine rollout Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is seeking to change the narrative via a highprofile jaunt to the Continents drug factories. Mondays stop Puurs a small Belgian town 30 minutes from Brussels home to a Pfizer factory thats the top vaccine producer in Europe. Breton who took the job leading the Commissions Vaccine Task Force less than three weeks ago has made himself the public face of the EUs fight to secure vaccines by visiting the facilities where they are made. He started on February 10 with Thermo Fisher Scientific which has been subcontracted to make AstraZenecas drug substance in Belgium followed by Lonza which is doing that work for Moderna in Switzerland last Friday. https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-thierry-breton-aims-to-reset-eu-vaccine-narrative-coronavirus/ 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Egypt received 300000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group Sinopharm in the early hours of Tuesday the health ministry said in a statement. The new batch from China was the second shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine to Egypt. The country received its first 50000dose shipment in December. The North African country also got 50000 doses of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca earlier in February as part of its programme to vaccinate health workers https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-egypt-int/egypt-receives-second-shipment-of-chinese-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSKBN2AN0HM 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

El País Spain is one of the countries that has administered the highest percentage of the population with the second dose of the Covid19 vaccine 2.4 have received the two jabs meaning they have the full protection offered by the vaccine. According to figures from Our World in Data which is run by Oxford University in the United Kingdom Spain is only behind Israel which is the clear world leader with nearly a third of the population fully vaccinated the United States 4.83 Denmark 2.99 Romania 2.74 and Serbia 2.67. But while this is good news it means that the vaccines are being administered at a good speed as they are delivered there is another side to the coin. Studies indicate that just one dose of the vaccine can provide a high level of protection from Covid19. This means that every second dose administered could be seen as a jab that didnt go toward protecting another person. https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-02-23/spain-among-world-leaders-in-administering-second-covid-19-dose-but-strategy-under-debate.html 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Aberdeen Evening Express The NHS app could be used to display vaccination status or latest coronavirus test results as ministers consider the ethical issues surrounding the possible introduction of vaccine passports. Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he has tasked senior minister Michael Gove with leading a review into the deep and complex issues surrounding Covid status certificates. But it was understood that the proper review will also investigate whether businesses such as pubs and theatres could be prohibited from making access conditional on vaccination alone. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/nhs-app-could-be-used-to-show-coronavirus-vaccine-or-test-result/ 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Financial Times More than 2.7m vaccinations have been administered to Chiles population of 19m so far more than in all of Africa. That has made the country one of the frontrunners in the global scramble for vaccines on a per capita basis lagging behind just a handful of richer countries including Israel the UK and the US. Although the centreright administration of President Sebastin Piera came under pressure after violent protests against inequality erupted in October 2019 its farsighted and pragmatic approach in securing vaccines is poised to boost both Chiles economic recovery and the governments political standing ahead of presidential elections in November. https://www.ft.com/content/c4c97a9b-2b52-4f97-8c33-7f9103171319 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Metro US Ireland will set out a broad and gradual plan to reopen its economy on Tuesday to ensure there is no fourth lockdown a minister said as the more infectious UK COVID19 variant slows suppression of its deadliest wave to date. Ireland has been back in lockdown since late December after a brief reopening led to an enormous spike in infections. Some students will return to school next week but no consideration will be given to reopening the hospitality sector before midsummer Prime Minister Michel Martin said last week https://www.metro.us/no-fourth-lockdown-ireland/ 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Metro US The Netherlands on Tuesday slightly eased COVID19 restrictions allowing schools and hairdressers to reopen as the government seeks to relieve months of lockdown even as infection rates rise again. A controversial nighttime curfew which sparked a string of riots when it was introduced on Jan. 23 will remain in place until at least March 15 Prime Minister Mark Rutte said as health experts warn of a new wave of infections due to the rise of more contagious variants of the virus. New coronavirus cases increased 19 to 29997 in the week through Tuesday the Dutch Institute for Public Health RIVM said as new variants continued to take hold. https://www.metro.us/dutch-expected-to-ease/ 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg U.K. firms may be allowed to demand proof that customers do not have coronavirus under options being considered to help businesses reopen after the pandemic. Ministers are conducting a review of whether socalled vaccine passports and test certificates could enable venues to open without fueling a surge in infections once lockdown rules are lifted. In one potential scenario someone planning to go to an event could be asked to show staff a medical record on their National Health Service smartphone app proving they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid19 a person familiar with the matter said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-23/u-k-mulls-vaccine-passport-options-to-help-businesses-reopen 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News Everybody has to play their part to meet the dates for Englands lockdown to be eased Matt Hancock has said. But it is currently too early to say how long social distancing will be in place the health secretary said. The aim is for measures like masks to become a matter of personal responsibility rather than law in the future. Boris Johnson has outlined a strategy that could see restrictions lifted by 21 June if strict conditions are met. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56164098 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters The German government is reworking its strategy to vaccinate the nation against COVID19 as its campaign which has faltered due to a lack of supply also faces public resistance to the shot from AstraZeneca Plc. As schools and kindergartens start to reopen from a lockdown imposed in November federal and state health ministers on Monday reworked vaccination rules so that teachers will now get priority access to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Children the young and their parents are especially affected by lockdown they said in a document seen by Reuters. Since it can be hard to ensure social distancing with young children teachers must be protected in another way. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany/germanys-merkel-proposes-3-stage-plan-to-lift-virus-curbs-sources-idUSKBN2AM0YA 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Sky News The details of Englands route out of lockdown were revealed this week. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is very optimistic he will be able to remove all coronavirus restrictions by 21 June under his fourstage plan. But how are European countries faring in the second year of the pandemic https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-how-european-nations-are-trying-to-plot-route-out-of-lockdown-12226655 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Ukraine received its first batch of 500000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday allowing it to launch its delayed rollout starting with frontline medical workers and soldiers. One of Europes poorest countries Ukraine has lagged behind its neighbours in securing vaccines for its 41 million people asking European Union member states for help while refusing to buy the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia. We will start vaccination ASAP. We need to fight COVID together President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted. https://cn.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ukraine-vaccine-idUSKBN2AN11M 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Hindu Business Line As a worry of complete lockdown looms large over many Maharashtra cities citizens are asking the government to start vaccination for common people. However Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said the Central government must take a call on the mass vaccination programme. In his recent address to the State Thackeray said the government will have to consider imposing a lockdown if the number of Covid19 cases multiplies in the next 810 days. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/when-will-covid-mass-vaccination-drive-start-asks-maharashtrians-dreading-another-lockdown/article33912742.ece 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

MSN.com The governments roadmap for ending Covid restrictions in England commits it to steps that may increase the rate at which the virus spreads. Some of that is unavoidable. But even as we reopen there is more that we could do to mitigate the risk and get us to the summer and normality without a resurgence. One reason that east Asian countries have done better during the pandemic is that prior experience with Sars has given people the understanding of how respiratory diseases spread and how to avoid them. Japans three Cs guidance avoidance of closed spaces crowded places and conversations helped it avoid a serious epidemic without imposing a national lockdown. But the UKs messaging still prioritises hand washing surface cleaning and 2metre distancing and there has been no public education campaign about ventilation on the scale of last years handwashing campaign. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/easing-lockdown-will-allow-covid-to-spread-heres-how-to-mitigate-the-risks/ar-BB1dVQit 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Belfast Telegraph The UK has laid out its road map for lifting all lockdown restrictions by the end of June but many major economies are taking a different approach. The British Governments strategy is underpinned by the rapid rollout of its vaccine programme with 17.7 million people having received their dose as of Sunday. But other nations were more cautious in approving vaccines and are wary of overpromising while the full risk posed by Covid19 variants are still unknown. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/lockdown-easing-how-are-other-countries-handling-it-40123106.html 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

Sky News Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a review of socalled vaccine passports as eager Britons book holidays excited by Mondays roadmap out of lockdown. Mr Johnson said There are deep and complex issues that we need to explore ethical issues about what the role is for government in mandating all people to have something or indeed banning people from doing such a thing. He said senior minister Michael Gove would lead a review into the issue although he added that some form of vaccine passport is going to come on the international stage whatever for foreign travel as some other countries would insist on it. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-holiday-starved-britons-flock-to-book-a-break-after-lockdown-exit-plans-revealed-12226330 23rd Feb 2021

Exit Strategies

NBC News As millions of people across the U.S. line up for their coronavirus vaccination shots health officials are struggling to meet the surging demand the result of short supplies. Some pharmacists say a simple solution could get thousands more people vaccinated each week but the FDA is standing in the way. Its called pooling and its not a new concept. Pharmacists have been doing it for years with everything from flu vaccines to some chemotherapy medications to antibiotics. It involves taking whats left over in a drug vial and combining it with whats left in another vial to create a full dose. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pharmacists-say-pooling-covid-vaccines-could-save-thousands-doses-n1258149 23rd Feb 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Friday on legislation to provide 1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief Representative Steny Hoyer the chambers No. 2 Democrat said. The American people strongly support this bill and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law Hoyer said on Twitter on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-congress-idUSKBN2AO07E 24th Feb 2021

Partisan Exits

Al Jazeera English The World Bank has threatened to suspend financing for coronavirus vaccines in Lebanon over what it said were violations by legislators who were vaccinated inside Parliament. The comments by the international lender on Tuesday came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that the national plan that requires people to get vaccinated at predetermined centres could be riddled with violations and favouritism. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/23/world-bank-threatens-to-suspend-lebanons-vaccination-programme 24th Feb 2021

Partisan Exits

BBC News Mask wearing on public transport looks likely to be with us for some time. But the most recent figures from Transport for London TfL show there is still a significant minority that do not wear them. Commuters have also complained to me about maskless rail staff who also ignore social distance regulations. TfL said about 90 of its passengers wear masks. Around 137000 maskless people have so far been stopped from using Londons public transport and told to wear a face covering since it was made mandatory on 15 June latest figures show. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56124646 23rd Feb 2021

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Health experts warned that lifting the lockdown too soon could lead to a rise in cases caused by the variant initially discovered in Britain currently responsible for almost half of the countrys cases. Another surge would be catastrophic for a fragile health system. Germany sent on Tuesday a replacement team of military doctors and nurses to take over from the first deployment sent three weeks ago to prop up Lisbons underresourced hospitals. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-portugal/portugals-covid-19-nightmare-eases-but-end-of-lockdown-still-out-of-sight-idUSKBN2AN1PC 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP The first chapter of the ninth edition of ASHPs pharmacy forecast which was released earlier this month is called The Certainty of Uncertainty for a Global Supply Chain. Written by Erin Fox PharmD and Aaron Kesselheim MD JD MPH the section reflects on responses to an ASHP survey from 272 experts in healthsystem pharmacy. Allocation guides a push for domestic supply chains manufacturing quality scrutiny and more were all topics the panelists thought would be highly relevant for the next 5 years and the authors agree. With a global pandemic and continuing uncertainty regarding the stability and quality of the medication supply chain healthsystem pharmacists must be prepared for significant disruptions to normal healthcare delivery including disruption of medication procurement they write. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/drug-supply-chain-issues-arent-going-away-report-says 24th Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmaTimes The new Phase II study will involve 720 volunteers aged 18 years and over and will include equal numbers of adults aged 18 to 59 years and those 60 years and above. The study will test three different antigen doses with a fixed dose of adjuvant in the total study population at sites in the US Honduras and Panama. SanofiGSK said in a statement that results of the Phase II trial will inform the Phase III protocol adding that if data from the new trial is positive a global latestage trial could begin in the second quarter of 2021. Depending on the outcome of the potential Phase III trial regulatory submissions for the vaccine could be expected in the second half of 2021 with the vaccine likely to then be available in Q4 2021 if approved. http://www.pharmatimes.com/news/sanofi_and_gsk_begin_new_study_of_their_covid-19_vaccine_1363891 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmiWeb Sanofi has entered into an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutical NV and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. two of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson under which Sanofi will support manufacturing of Janssens COVID19 vaccine in order to address the COVID19 pandemic and supply needs. Janssen has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA requesting Emergency Use Authorization for its singledose Janssen COVID19 vaccine candidate and an application for conditional marketing authorisation to the European Medicines Agency. https://www.pharmiweb.com/press-release/2021-02-23/sanofi-to-provide-manufacturing-support-to-johnson-johnson-for-their-covid-19-vaccine-to-help-address-global-supply-demands 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharma Dive Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline on Monday announced the start of a Phase 2 study testing a new version of the experimental coronavirus vaccine the two partners have been developing. The 720volunteer midstage study begins roughly two months after the partners disclosed weaker than expected results for their first vaccine candidate. Sanofi and GSK are evaluating a refined antigen formulation in the new trial and could start Phase 3 testing in the second quarter if results are positive they said in a statement. If all goes well Sanofi and GSK hope to bring a vaccine to market by the fourth quarter of 2021. But that outcome would still represent a sixtonine month delay from previous estimates a significant setback for a program that was promised up to 2.1 billion in funding from the U.S. government. Multiple coronavirus vaccines are already available and others could arrive later this year. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/sanofi-gsk-upgraded-coronavirus-vaccine-trial/595457/ 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Mirror Online Dr Mike Tildesley reader in mathematical modelling of infectious diseases at the University of Warwick and member of the Government advisory group SPIM said that he was concerned that the virus might persist particular parts of the country. Asked on BBC Radio 4s Today programme whether Covid19 could remain a disease of the deprived he said This is a real concern actually for me and I know a number of other scientists have raised this that we may end up in a situation where we have the vaccine rich and as it were who are able to access the vaccine who have taken up the vaccine and are at much lower risk. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/covid-19-could-become-disease-23548370 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Business Insider Dr. Anthony Fauci cautions against indoor dining and theatergoing even for those fully vaccinated. The number of coronavirus cases in the US remains high. He said itd be safer to gather indoors again as more people get vaccinated and COVID19 cases drop. https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-vaccinated-people-should-not-indoor-dine-go-to-theaters-2021-2 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ Siren study The Pfizer and BioNTech covid19 vaccine is at least 70 effective against symptomatic and asymptomatic infection 21 days after the first dose and at least 85 seven days after the second dose shows a UK study of healthcare workers. The Siren study previously investigated the effect of prior infection on protection against reinfection but has now been amended to investigate vaccine effectiveness. The first results following this update have looked at the eight weeks after the first PfizerBioNTech vaccine dose. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n528 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Italy allegedly misled the World Health Organization WHO on its readiness to face a pandemic less than three weeks before the countrys first locally transmitted coronavirus case was confirmed. Each year countries bound by the International Health Regulations IHR an international treaty to combat the global spread of disease are required to file a selfassessment report to the WHO on the status of their preparedness for a health emergency. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/22/italy-misled-who-on-pandemic-readiness-weeks-before-covid-outbreak 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Today during a House Committee on Energy Commerce hearing chief executives from Pfizer Moderna Johnson Johnson AstraZeneca and Novovax addressed US lawmakers for the first time since July 2020 on the production of vaccines and when Americans could expect more doses. According to Richard Nettles MD vice president of US medical affairs for Johnson Johnsons Janssen division his company will be able to immediately ship vaccine doses upon a Food and Drug Administration FDA emergency use authorization EUA. An FDA advisory board meets on Feb 26 to consider granting an EUA to Johnson Johnson. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/heads-covid-vaccine-firms-promise-dose-ramp 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Adults older than 40 with Down syndrome are about three times more likely to die of COVID19 than the rest of the population pointing to the need to prioritize coronavirus vaccination to this group a study published yesterday in the Lancets EClinicalMedicine has found. A team led by Emory University researchers conducted the international online survey of the clinicians or caregivers of 1046 patients with Down syndrome diagnosed as having COVID19 from April to November 2020. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/adults-down-syndrome-3-times-more-likely-die-covid-study-finds 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP The World Health Organizations WHOs South East Asia office said on Twitter today that the first batches rolled out from Indias Serum Institute in Pune. The move comes a week after the WHO listed versions of the AstraZenecaOxford vaccine made in India and South Korea for emergency use which paves the way for the vaccine to be distributed by the COVAX program. The vaccines required two separate reviews and approvals because they are made in two different facilities. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/covax-vaccine-begins-shipping-india-facility 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma Pfizer which has been shipping 4 million to 5 million doses per week plans to increase that to 13 million a week by midMarch according to executive testimony planned for Tuesday mornings hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committees oversight arm. JJ which reportedly had just 2 million doses in stock last week should be able to ship 20 million by March 31provided it wins FDA authorization as expected Richard Nettles M.D. vice president of U.S. medical affairs at Janssens infectious diseases and vaccines unit said in his testimony. The shot is up for an FDA panel review later this week. And Moderna which already doubled its monthly deliveries to the feds this year and has so far supplied 45 million doses of its mRNA vaccine aims to double monthly deliveries again by April president Stephen Hoges testimony states. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/pfizer-moderna-and-more-tout-upscaled-covid-19-vaccine-production-u-s-clearing-way 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma Amid the highstakes fight against COVID19 a company at the forefront of the vaccine effort is laying plans to hike prices after the crisis. A top Pfizer exec said the drugmaker aims to charge more after the pandemic pricing environment and an influential analyst says the company could be eying prices 3 to 4 times higher. On an earnings call earlier this month CFO Frank DAmelio said that obviously the company is going to get more on price after the pandemic pricing environment. He was speaking in response to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jason Zemansky who asked the management team about how profit margins for the program could change over time. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-eyes-higher-covid-19-vaccine-prices-after-pandemic-exec-analyst 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma The United States and the United Kingdom are on course to achieve herd immunity against COVID19 by the end of 2021 given the speed of their mass vaccination programmes but key European Union nations are not according to a new report. The German database firm Statista studied the number of COVID19 vaccines that were given on a daily basis using recent data from local health authorities of each country. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/23/us-uk-vaccine-drives-to-deliver-herd-immunity-in-2021-report 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press The doctor slid a miniature camera into the patients right nostril making her whole nose glow red with its bright miniature light. Tickles a bit eh he asked as he rummaged around her nasal passages the discomfort causing tears to well in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. The patient Gabriella Forgione wasnt complaining. The 25yearold pharmacy worker was happy to be prodded and poked at the hospital in Nice in southern France to advance her increasingly pressing quest to recover her sense of smell. Along with her sense of taste it suddenly vanished when she fell ill with COVID19 in November and neither has returned. https://apnews.com/article/post-covid-loss-of-smell-570a3750912c47aa30b94f0be639fbd1 23rd Feb 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press Two U.K. studies released Monday showed that COVID19 vaccination programs are contributing to a sharp drop in hospitalizations boosting hopes that the shots will work as well in the real world as they have in carefully controlled studies. Preliminary results from a study in Scotland found that the PfizerBioNTech vaccine reduced hospital admissions by up to 85 four weeks after the first dose while the OxfordAstraZeneca shot cut admissions by up to 94. In England preliminary data from a study of health care workers showed that the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of catching COVID19 by 70 after one dose a figure that rose to 85 after the second. https://apnews.com/article/uk-covid-19-vaccine-cut-hospitalizations-fd60feb6dc54e45e96089d92e891ead7 22nd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Ukraine on Tuesday received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine raising hopes that authorities can start beating back the virus spread in a country where cases have strained the fragile health care system. A consignment of 500000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was flown to the capital Kyiv from India. Officials said the first tranche of vaccine will be administered to medical workers and military personnel in eastern Ukraine where conflict with Russianbacked separatists has been ongoing since 2014 and to regions of western Ukraine where the rate of infections has been the most severe https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ukraine-gets-first-vaccine-shipment-as-hospitals-struggle-ukraine-country-coronavirus-vaccine-vaccine-hospitals-b1806284.html 23rd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News Nearly 18 million people have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK while another 548 deaths have been reported. It compares to 178 deaths reported yesterday and 799 last Tuesday and takes the total to 121305. There have been 8489 more confirmed COVID cases compared to 10641 yesterday and 10625 last Tuesday. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-reports-another-548-coronavirus-deaths-and-8-489-cases-as-vaccine-count-nears-18m-12226768 23rd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News The number of deaths involving coronavirus is dropping in all regions of England the Office for National Statistics ONS has said. In its latest figures it said that during the week ending 12 February week six every area of the country recorded a weekonweek fall in the number of registered COVID19 deaths. The highest number 974 was recorded in southeast England down 31 from 1415 in the previous week. That was also the biggest decline in the number of fatalities at 441. https://news.sky.com/story/number-of-weekly-deaths-in-england-and-wales-drops-by-nearly-2-000-ons-12226464 23rd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News President Joe Biden has led a minutes silence to honour Americas coronavirus victims after the country became the first to record more than half a million deaths. As 500 lit candles lined the White House steps to commemorate the dead a military band played Amazing Grace and the president made his emotional remarks. Today we mark a truly grim heartbreaking milestone 500071 dead. Thats more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War One World War Two and the Vietnam War combined he said. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-biden-leads-candlelit-ceremony-for-covid-victims-as-us-passes-half-a-million-deaths-12218886 23rd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Washington Post Joe Biden began his presidency by marking a devastating milestone in the coronavirus pandemic. One month later he presided over a somber memorial once again leading the nation in the mourning of 500000 American covid19 deaths. On Monday evening as the official toll neared half a million Biden held a moment of silence and a candlelighting ceremony at the White House accompanied by Vice President Harris. Thats more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth Biden said. But as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America we remember each person and the life they lived. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/22/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/ 23rd Feb 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

FRANCE 24 English French Health Minister Olivier Vran will head to Dunkirk in northern France on Wednesday as the government eyes new measures to limit the spread of Covid19 in the region the prime ministers office said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Jean Castex had discussed the local health situation earlier on Tuesday with the mayor of Dunkirk a coastal city of 92000 near the Belgian border. They agreed that in view of the sharp deterioration in health indicators in recent hours additional measures to limit the epidemic must be taken the statement said. https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210223-france-considers-fresh-measures-to-stem-covid-19-spread-in-dunkirk 23rd Feb 2021

New Lockdown

India.com Though Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned that lockdown would have to be reimposed if daily coronavirus cases continue to rise experts believe that there is no need to take such stringent measure now. Notably Maharashtra has been witnessing a rise in COVID19 cases for the past few days. Earlier on Sunday it had recorded nearly 7000 new Covid19 cases the biggest jump in the last 3 months. https://www.india.com/news/is-lockdown-necessary-in-mumbai-read-what-experts-say-4443802/ 23rd Feb 2021

New Lockdown

Al Jazeera English Kuwait says it will close its land and sea border crossings from Wednesday until further notice as it imposes curbs to control coronavirus infections in the Gulf nation. Citizens and domestic workers accompanying them are however allowed to return through land and sea ports as are citizens firstdegree relatives the cabinet said in its meeting on Monday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/23/kuwait-to-close-land-sea-border-in-latest-virus-restrictions 23rd Feb 2021