22nd Oct 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=524 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The New York Times For the last four months Britain has run a grand epidemiological experiment lifting virtually all coronavirus restrictions even in the face of a high daily rate of infections. Its leaders justified the approach on the grounds that the countrys rapid rollout of vaccines had weakened the link between infection and serious illness. Now with cases hospital admissions and deaths all rising again the effect of vaccines beginning to wear off and winter looming Britains strategy of learning to live with the virus is coming under its stiffest test yet. New cases surpassed 50000 on Thursday an 18 percent increase over the last week and the second time cases have broken that psychological barrier since July. The number of people admitted to hospitals rose 15.4 percent over the same period reaching 959 while 115 people died of Covid19 an increase of almost 11 percent. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/world/europe/britain-virus.html 22nd Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Sky News A health minister has denied there is a plan C to control COVID19 by restricting household gatherings in England at Christmas if hospital admissions get worse. Edward Argar told Sky News it is not something Im aware of after reports claimed Whitehall officials are considering not allowing members of different households to meet in each others homes as was the case most of last year. The plan the reports said would be imposed if COVID19 cases continue to rise towards Christmas and the government would want to minimise the economic impact by keeping shops pubs and restaurants open. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-health-minister-denies-existence-of-plan-c-to-ban-christmas-household-mixing-12439919 21st Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Wales Online The chief executive of the Welsh NHS has laid bare the significant challenges facing the health and social care system this winter. Dr Andrew Goodall who is set to leave his role at the end of October said the coming months could prove to be the most difficult in the careers of many frontline staff. His comments come following the publication of the NHS winter plan which focuses on protecting people against Covid19 and other respiratory viruses while trying to cope with mounting demand for elective and emergency care. We sat down with Dr Goodall at the Welsh Governments offices in Cathays Park to talk about some of the biggest issues facing the Welsh NHS and how the plan will help. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/nhs-wales-chief-executive-covid-21915287 21st Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Millions in Melbourne are readying to come out of the worlds longest COVID19 lockdown later on Thursday even as cases hover near record levels with pubs restaurants and cafes rushing to restock supplies before opening their doors. Since early August residents in Australias secondlargest city have been in lockdown their sixth during the pandemic to quell an outbreak fuelled by the highly infectious Delta strain. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/melbourne-readies-exit-worlds-longest-covid-19-lockdowns-2021-10-20/ 21st Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

STAT News Some 115000 health care workers died from Covid19 from January 2020 to May of this year according to a new World Health Organization estimate as the agency pushed once again for efforts to address vaccine inequity. Globally 2 in 5 health care workers are fully vaccinated WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing Thursday. But he added that average masks huge differences across regions and economic groupings. In most highincome countries more than 80 of health care workers are fully vaccinated Tedros said. But in Africa the rate is less than 1 in 10. The backbone of every health system is its workforce the people who deliver the services on which we rely at some point in our lives Tedros said. The pandemic is a powerful demonstration of just how much we rely on health workers and how vulnerable we all are when the people who protect our health are themselves unprotected. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/21/who-estimate-115000-health-workers-have-died-from-covid-19-as-calls-for-vaccine-access-grow/ 21st Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal The U.K. in an experiment watched by the world lifted most Covid19 restrictions in the summer wagering that immunity from vaccinations and prior infections would keep the virus at bay. Three months later the British experience shows that in the face of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus herd immunity is elusive. Covid19 cases and deaths have risen in recent weeks as winter has begun to close in. The bottom line Reliance on immunity which is imperfect to begin with and wanes over time doesnt guarantee a quick victory over Delta. Lifting restrictions was done on the hope that the vaccinations and natural immunity were going to win pretty quickly said Tim Spector professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London. What its shown is that that alone doesnt work. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-herd-immunity-proves-elusive-in-u-k-11634810364 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Irish Times The chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said that there are no plans to extend the vaccine booster programme to the under40s any time soon but that it will go ahead for vulnerable groups. There was not any evidence about waning immunity for young people and that included healthcare workers he said. The issue would remain under review by the National Immunisation Advisory committee Niac. Speaking on he told RT radios Today show Dr Holohan denied that he was anti antigen tests. Its not the test I dislike its how its applied. Our nearest neighbours the UK are probably the most prolific users of antigen tests and have the greatest challenge in terms of infection that the Western world has seen he said. Dr Holohan said he was particularly concerned about cases where parents were using the tests when they had symptomatic children and when there was a negative result they then sent the children to school. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/pharmacists-call-to-be-involved-in-covid-19-booster-vaccine-rollout-1.4706611 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN India has administered more than 1 billion Covid19 vaccine doses a remarkable feat just months after a second wave of infection killed thousands of people across the country. But as India celebrated passing the milestone on Thursday some experts warned the pandemic threat was not over in a nation of 1.3 billion millions of people are yet to receive any dose at all. So far India has fully vaccinated just 30 of its adult population and given one dose to 74 according to Indias Ministry of Health on October 16. Those statistics dont include children under 18 who make up 41 of Indias population and arent yet eligible for the jab. But even as India races to fully vaccinate its adult population the country is opening up and exporting millions of vaccine doses. On Friday the first foreign tourists arrived in the country after an almost 18month pause and within the country millions are traveling to celebrate various festivals with movement expected to increase in November during Diwali the Hindu festival of lights. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/21/india/india-1-billion-covid-vaccines-intl-hnk-dst/ 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

iNews With Covid19 controls it can feel like dj vu all over again. Covid19 cases are on the rise and the UK now has one of the highest rates in the world. Stress on the NHS is of real concern to many resulting in calls from health chiefs for increased restrictions. The recent news that a subtype of the delta variant appears to be spreading across England is a reminder that evolution may move the goalposts yet again even though this particular subtype does not appear to cause more serious disease and is not at this point considered a variant of concern. Adding to those concerns is considerable uncertainty regarding the possible impact that seasonal influenza and other respiratory infections may have on hospitals. A combination of even moderate levels of Covid19 hospitalisations plus flu could result in a very difficult winter indeed. On the other hand the impact of Covid19 measures themselves means that the demands for a return to normalcy are strong with reimplementation of any measures needing to be considered in light of the difficult tradeoffs. https://inews.co.uk/opinion/covid-vaccine-relying-bring-back-face-masks-cope-difficult-winter-1259578 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Almost three out of five GPs reported managing patient expectations about vaccinations to be one of the most challenging issues of the pandemic with multiple changes to vaccine eligibility requirements leaving many people confused and overwhelmed the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Dr Karen Price said. In her foreword to the colleges Health of the Nation report published on Thursday Price said Unfortunately some of these patients took their frustrations out on general practice staff. Differing eligibility requirements across jurisdictions added to the strain. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/21/three-in-five-australian-gps-say-vaccine-rollout-changes-among-biggest-covid-challenges 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Scotsman In April some 0.3 per cent of vaccine stock was wasted. This figure increased to 2.5 per cent in July and 3.2 per cent in September. In total over 60000 doses have been thrown away since April. This figure does not include wastage at GP surgeries or in vaccine clinical trials. The top reason for doses being discarded in September 46 per cent was excess stock meaning vaccinators coming to the end of a shift or job and having surplus vaccines which cannot be used or returned to storage. The second most common reason was doses expiring 44 per cent. Some vaccine wastage is accepted as inevitable during a largescale vaccine rollout and the programme has so far kept below the Scottish Government target of 5 per cent wastage. https://www.scotsman.com/health/covid-scotland-tenfold-increase-in-vaccine-wastage-rate-3427746 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Only one in seven Covid vaccine doses promised to the worlds poorest countries have been delivered a report reveals. Of 1.8bn doses pledged by wealthy nations just 261m 14 have arrived in lowincome countries according to the analysis by the Peoples Vaccinealliance a coalition of groups that includes Oxfam ActionAid and Amnesty International. Nearly a year after vaccines first became available only 1.3 of people living in the poorest parts of the world are fully vaccinated. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/21/only-14-of-promised-covid-vaccine-doses-reach-poorest-nations 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN The number of people in the US looking to boost their Covid19 vaccinations has surpassed the tally of those looking to begin them as booster doses from more drug makers may soon be available. There are 1.3 times as many boosters administered each day compared with first shots data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. And the number could grow as the CDCs vaccine advisory committee prepares to meet Thursday to discuss booster doses for Moderna and Johnson Johnson as well as mixing and matching boosters and original doses among the drug makers. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/21/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Al Jazeera English India has administered one billion COVID19 vaccine doses an important milestone after a slow start even as a recent drop in inoculations worries the government and healthcare providers. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will launch a song and an audiovisual film at the Mughalera Red Fort in New Delhi on Thursday to celebrate the landmark milestone his ministry said. The country has already injected 998.5 million doses nearly 90 percent of them the AstraZeneca vaccine produced domestically by the Serum Institute of India. I appeal to all unvaccinated Indians to quickly get their shots and contribute to our historic golden vaccination journey Mandaviya said on Twitter. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/21/india-one-billion-covid-vaccine-doses-song-film 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian The coronavirus booster vaccine dose is designed to improve the protection people have received from getting the first two doses of the vaccine and combat any waning efficiency. Data from Public Health England PHE suggests that the protection provided by vaccines against severe illness gradually decreases over time. The introduction of the third jab started on 20 September. On 15 October the NHS said more than 3 million people had received it in the first four weeks. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/21/who-can-get-a-covid-booster-jab-in-england 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters The United States under pressure to share its coronavirus vaccine supply with the rest of the world has now donated 200 million doses to more than 100 countries the White House announced on Thursday. President Joe Biden has faced some criticism from other world leaders for offering vaccine booster shots in the United States at a time when many people around the world have not received their first shot. In recent weeks the United States has stepped up its donations. Biden told Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta last week that the United States will make a onetime donation of the Johnson Johnson vaccine to the African Union. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-coronavirus-vaccine-donations-reach-200-mln-doses-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Xinhua Talha Hashmi a medical practitioner at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi has spent comparatively quiet and peaceful days at his workplace as fears of the fourth wave of the COVID19 pandemic subside in Pakistan with a substantial decrease in the number of new daily infections recently. Hashmi said there were times when he was working extra hours and night shifts in the isolation ward of the hospital reserved for COVID19 patients after the outbreak. It was extremely challenging for us healthcare workers. It was not only the deadly virus we were fighting but also the fear and anxiety surrounding the disease as health experts were not sure how it behaves exactly due to its novelty... and there was no vaccine inciting severe panic among people. Hospitals were overwhelmed with coronavirus patients throughout the country. There was a chaotic situation. At one point my hospital even stopped taking more patients due to the unavailability of beds and shortage of oxygen. Turning down patients who needed urgent medical assistance was the most painful and unforgettable moment of my life Hashmi said. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-10/21/c_1310260558.htm 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian All AFL and AFLW players will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid19 by midFebruary or they will be barred from playing and training. The AFL has released its longawaited vaccination policy with clubs to ultimately determine action on staff who do not receive the jab. If players do not have a medical exemption there will be options to transfer them to the inactive list pay them no less than 25 of their contracted salary or agree to part ways. The AFLs vaccination schedule will be rolled out across three stages but all players will be required to have the jab eventually. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/21/unvaccinated-players-face-being-barred-after-afl-issues-covid-19-jab-mandate 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The New York Times The U.S. economy is in the throes of whats been called the Great Resignation Workers are quitting their jobs at or near the highest levels on record since tracking began in 2001. The attrition is particularly acute in the hospitality sectors but it isnt limited to lowwage industries. As of August more than 10 million jobs sat open causing businesses to reduce their hours and change how they operate. As my colleague David Leonhardt has said what the economy is now experiencing is not a labor shortage so much as it is a shortage of workers who are willing to accept the terms employers are used to offering them. Its like the whole country is in some kind of union renegotiation Betsey Stevenson a University of Michigan economist who was an adviser to President Barack Obama told The Times. I dont know whos going to win in this bargaining thats going on right now but right now it seems like workers have the upper hand. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/opinion/covid-work-strikes-quit-resignation.html 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press India celebrated giving its billionth COVID19 vaccine dose on Thursday a hopeful milestone for the South Asian country where the delta variant fueled a crushing surge earlier this year and missteps initially held back its inoculation campaign. About half of Indias nearly 1.4 billion people have received at least one dose while around 20 are fully immunized according to Our World in Data. Many of those shots have come in just the past couple of months after the rollout languished in the first half of the year amid vaccine shortages and problems with the system for rolling them out. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-asia-india-6946d0dd95d43975e383d28726af3fe4 21st Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

STAT News Sorting all this out will fall to pharmacies immunization programs pediatricians and vaccine administrators many already stretched thin who will also have to track inventory and try to minimize waste. It will be a quick turnaround as well As soon as the CDC checks the final box for boosters with its recommendations people will start demanding them. FDA leadership acknowledged all this will pose challenges. Although it is not simple it also is not utterly hopelessly complex Peter Marks director of FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said Wednesday on a call with reporters after the agency issued the new Moderna and JJ and revised Pfizer emergency authorizations. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/21/half-doses-third-doses-kids-doses-covid-vaccine-delivery-goes-next-level-difficult/ 21st Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Independent A rightwing talk show host and antivaxxer has come up with a conspiracy theory which suggests the government is inserting eggs in people using the Covid19 vaccines that hatch into synthetic parasites and grow inside the human body. In a video on TruNews a farright Christian video streaming platform Rick Wiles called vaccines a global coup detat by the most evil cabal of people to control the world. Mr Wiles added Theyre putting eggs in peoples bodies. If you didnt see yesterdays TruNews you need to watch it. Its an egg that hatches into a synthetic parasite and grows inside your body. This is like scifi nightmare and its happening in front of us. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rick-wiles-vaccine-conspiracy-theory-b1942425.html 21st Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Guardian Instagram has displayed an ad promoting fake vaccination certificates in Australia at a time when New South Wales and Victoria are emerging from Covid lockdowns and requiring people to present proof of vaccination. Vaccination status can be proven at venues in the two states over the next few months using a printed certificate from the Australian Immunisation Register a digital certificate on a persons phone or a record added to QR code checkin apps. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/21/instagram-displays-ad-offering-fake-covid-vaccine-certificates-in-australia 21st Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

HeraldScotland Nicola Sturgeon has a duty to challenge the UK Government over its staggeringly selfish stance on providing coronavirus vaccines to poorer nations campaigners have said. Scottish members of the Peoples Vaccine Alliance made the plea to the First Minister as global leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepare to take part in the G20 summit in Rome. A new report for the organisation claims that of 1.8 billion Covid vaccine doses that have been promised by richer nations only 261 million jabs 14 have actually been delivered. The Dose of Reality report also said the UK Government had taken 500000 doses from the Covax programme a worldwide initiative aimed at ensuring fair access to vaccination. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19662500.covid-nicola-sturgeon-urged-challenge-uk-govs-vaccine-selfishness/ 21st Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera A Brazilian Senate report has recommended pursuing crimes against humanity and other charges against President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the COVID19 pandemic. The 66yearold leader quickly rejected the accusations on Wednesday insisting that he was guilty of nothing. More than 600000 people in Brazil have died from COVID19 the secondhighest death toll in the world after the United States. The decision to proceed with the charges will depend on Brazils prosecutorgeneral a Bolsonaro appointee and ally. Bolsonaro has consistently downplayed the threat of COVID19 and touted misinformation and unproven treatments while ignoring international health guidelines on mask use and public activity. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/21/brazils-bolsonaro-accused-of-crimes-against-humanity-over-covid 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal A third dose of the Covid19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc.and BioNTech SE was found in a large study to be highly protective against symptomatic Covid19 the companies said Thursday. Researchers found 109 cases of symptomatic Covid19 among study subjects who received a placebo shot compared with five cases in people who took the vaccine resulting in 95.6 efficacy the companies said. The additional dose was safe and tolerable and consistent with what was known about the vaccine the companies said. The study was carried out while the highly contagious Delta variant was prevalent the companies said suggesting the booster helps protect against the contagious strain. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-booster-shot-was-95-6-effective-in-large-trial-companies-say-11634823482 22nd Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Jerusalem Post The Pfizer vaccine is highly effective against preventing coronavirus in adolescents a new Israeli study published overnight Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine showed. The research which focused on youth between the ages of 12 and 18 was carried out by Clalit Health Services. It found that the vaccine was 90 effective against warding off infection and 93 effective against stopping symptomatic infection on days seven to 21 after the second dose even against the Delta variant. https://m.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/coronavirus/pfizer-vaccine-90-percent-effective-in-warding-off-covid-in-adolescents-682727 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Nature Pfizers chief executive Albert Bourla made a bold promise in June. Standing next to US President Joe Biden at a press conference in St Ives UK just before the G7 summit meeting Bourla said that should the need arise for a new COVID19 vaccine his company could get one ready within 100 days. The need he was referring to is the possible emergence of an escape variant a dominant strain of SARSCoV2 that evades the fledgling immunity established through vaccines and previous infections. No such strain has yet been identified but Pfizer and other leading COVID19 vaccine makers are gearing up for that scenario. What does it take to be nimble enough to design and test an updated vaccine against an unknown viral strain in record time Nature spoke to three COVID19 vaccine makers Pfizer Moderna and AstraZeneca to find out exactly how they are preparing. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02854-3 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The EU drug regulator is unlikely to decide whether to approve Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine until at least the first quarter of 2022 because some data needed for the review is still missing a source with knowledge of the matter said. An EMA decision by the end of the year is now absolutely impossible the source said referring to the European Medicines Agency. If the required data is received by the end of November then the regulators may well decide in the first quarter of next year he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-eu-decision-russias-sputnik-v-shot-impossible-this-year-source-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Despite Delta being more transmissible than earlier Covid19 variants in Australia few children and adolescents who get the virus have severe symptoms and schools should only be closed under exceptional circumstances a research analysis from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute has found. However the analysis reveals children and adolescents living with some preexisting health conditions including obesity and those living in disadvantage low socioeconomic communities or those with minority ethnic status have an increased risk of severe disease. The analysis also said ventilation is important and mental health surveillance is needed across both primary and secondary schools. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/oct/21/schools-should-stay-open-as-greatest-risk-of-covid-transmission-is-in-households-research-finds 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of the COVID19 vaccines from Moderna and Johnson Johnson and said Americans can choose a different shot from their original inoculation as a booster. That means all three vaccines authorized in the United States can also be given as boosters to some groups. The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID19 disease acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. She noted that data suggests vaccine effectiveness may wane over time in some fully vaccinated people. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-clears-moderna-jj-boosters-backs-mix-and-match-strategy-2021-10-20/ 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Japan Shionogi Co said it had started a Phase IIIII clinical trial for its COVID19 vaccine candidate. The trial for the recombinant proteinbased vaccine will take place in Japan and follows a Phase I trial in the country Shionogi said in a statement. The company will also prepare to conduct multiple trials globally it said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-shionogi-announces-start-phase-iiiii-clinical-trial-new-covid-19-vaccine-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The UK drug regulator added an extremely rare nervedamaging disorder GuillainBarr syndrome GBS as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine updates on the agencys website showed on Thursday. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agencys MHRA decision comes after the European medicines agency added GBS as a possible sideeffect last month https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-adds-nerve-disorder-rare-side-effect-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times In a sweeping victory for the Biden administration the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed booster shots of the Moderna and the Johnson Johnson Covid19 vaccines for tens of millions of Americans. The decision follows an agency endorsement last month of booster shots of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine and opens the door for many Americans to seek out a booster shot as early as Friday. The coronavirus vaccines are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease hospitalization and death even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant Dr. Rochelle Walensky director of the C.D.C. said in a statement on Thursday night. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/health/cdc-mix-match-booster-shot.html 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

AlJazeera Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have said data from a Phase III trial demonstrated high efficacy of a booster dose of their COVID19 vaccine against the coronavirus including the Delta variant. They said a trial of 10000 participants aged 16 or older showed 95.6 percent effectiveness against the disease during a period when the Delta strain was prevalent. The study also found that the booster shot had a favourable safety profile. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/21/pfizer-biontech-report-high-efficacy-of-covid-boosters-in-study 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Fierce Pharma The FDA has authorized a booster dose of Modernas COVID19 vaccine allowing it to play catch up with the PfizerBioNTech shot which scored a booster approval last month. The agency also blessed a second dose of the Johnson Johnson vaccine. That nod applies to adults who have received one JJ shot two months prior. The currently available data suggest waning immunity in some populations of fully vaccinated people FDA acting commissioner Janet Woodcock told reporters on Wednesday night. The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID19. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fda-approves-moderna-johnson-johnson-covid-19-boosters-also-backs-mixing-and-matching 21st Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Fierce Pharma Pfizer is playing a leading role in producing vaccines against COVID19 but new documents released by Public Citizen shine a light on the companys aggressive tactics when negotiating supply deals. In draft and final deals with the U.S. the U.K. Brazil and other countries Pfizer retained rights to silence governments and throttle supply in an effort to maximize profits amid the worlds worst public health crisis in a century Public Citizen concluded. For instance in a deal with Brazil Pfizer restricted the government from making any public announcement concerning the existence subject matter or terms of the Agreement without a signoff from the drugmaker. Brazil also couldnt talk about the countrys relationship with Pfizer without a signoff Public Citizen said. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-strong-armed-governments-covid-19-vaccine-supply-talks-report-says 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Irish News Another four people have died after contracting Covid19 the Department of Health has confirmed. The total number of deaths since the pandemic began now stands at 2639. A further 1051 cases of the virus were recorded in the latest 24hour reporting period. As of this morning there were 357 Covid19 confirmed patients in hospital and 35 in intensive care. Of these 25 are on ventilators. Hospitals in the north are over capacity by 224 beds. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2021/10/21/news/covid-19-four-more-deaths-as-1-051-new-cases-recorded-2485961/ 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters New Zealand reported record daily COVID19 cases for the second time in three days on Thursday as the Delta variant continued to spur a spike in infections in the countrys biggest city Auckland. Authorities reported 102 new COVID19 infections of which 94 were in Auckland taking the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 2260. There have been 28 deaths in total since the pandemic began and 46 people are currently hospitalised because of the virus. New Zealand had stayed largely virusfree for most of the pandemic until the Delta outbreak in midAugust that has spread across Auckland and neighbouring regions prompting tight restrictions on some 1.7 million Aucklanders that were extended further this week. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealands-covid-19-cases-hit-record-second-time-this-week-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN Singapore will extend its Covid19 restrictions for another month after the citystate reported 18 new deaths from the disease on Wednesday its highest number of the pandemic. In a news release Thursday Singapores Ministry of Health said current measures would be extended to November 21 to help contain case numbers which rose by more than 3800 on Wednesday. Unfortunately given the continuing pressures on our healthcare system more time is needed for the situation to stabilise the ministry said in its statement adding hospitals were braced for a sustained heavy patient load. The ministry is doing whatever we can to support and bolster the hospitals the statement said. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/asia/singapore-covid-19-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Belgiums government warned Thursday that the country could well be on the cusp of another major surge in COVID19 cases despite its high vaccination rate. Though the government recently relaxed the mandatory use of facemasks it is again starting to encourage the population to use them to counter a rise in cases reminiscent of the first three surges of the past 1 12 years. We are clearly in a fourth wave Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told the VRT network. We will see a major increase in infections and unfortunately hospital admissions. The government has this month loosened some restrictions including allowing for more indoor events and dropping requirements for customers to wear masks in bars. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/covid-rates-rise-vaccine-belgium-b1942532.html 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Russia has reported isolated cases of COVID19 with a subvariant of the Delta variant that is believed to be even more contagious the state consumer watchdogs senior researcher said on Thursday. The researcher Kamil Khafizov said the AY.4.2 subvariant may be around 10 more infectious than the original Delta which has driven new cases and deaths to a series of record daily highs in Russia and could ultimately replace it. However he said this was likely to be a slow process. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-reports-cases-more-contagious-covid-19-variant-reports-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Guardian John Edmunds a member of Sage and professor in the faculty of epidemiology and population health at the London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine said while the epidemic has looked relatively stable over the past few months this has masked large changes under the surface with rises and falls in levels of immunity in different age groups being generated by different processes levels of immunity are rapidly increasing in children due to skyhigh infection rates whereas immunity is falling in older age groups who were vaccinated earlier in the year.He added How these dynamics play out is very difficult to predict right now but it is clear that speeding up the vaccine rollout in children and boosters in adults will help both in the short and longer term. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/21/deep-within-the-uks-shocking-covid-data-there-may-be-reasons-for-optimism 21st Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press Coronavirus infections and deaths in Ukraine surged to alltime highs Thursday amid a laggard pace of vaccination with overall inoculations among the lowest in Europe. Ukrainian authorities reported 22415 new confirmed infections and 546 deaths in the past 24 hours the highest numbers since the start of the pandemic. Authorities have blamed a spike in infections on a slow pace of vaccination in the nation of 41 million. Ukrainians can choose between Pfizer Moderna AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines but only about 15 of the population is fully vaccinated Europes lowest level after Armenia. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-ukraine-europe-coronavirus-vaccine-5ad7fb543096e0c2278976007ce12860 21st Oct 2021

New Lockdown

The Guardian Latvia has announced a monthlong Covid19 lockdown after an unprecedented surge in infections becoming the first country in Europe to reimpose farreaching restrictions amid a new wave of cases in countries across the continent. The Baltic country has one of the highest rates of new Covid cases relative to population in the world according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention CDC after successfully keeping the virus at bay for months. Our health system is in danger The only way out of this crisis is to get vaccinated the prime minister Krijnis Kari said on Monday evening at an emergency government meeting. He said the countrys low vaccination rate was to blame for the surge in hospital admissions. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/20/latvia-enters-month-long-covid-lockdown-as-fourth-wave-breaks 21st Oct 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters Parts of northern China are bracing for more COVID19 curbs as a wave of cases raises concerns of a broader outbreak with three areas enforcing lockdowns some schools halting classes and an aerospace firm delaying work on a rocket project. China reported 13 new domestically transmitted cases for Oct. 20 bringing the total number since Oct. 16 to 42 data from the National Health Commission NHC showed on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/parts-northern-china-brace-more-covid-19-lockdowns-curbs-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters Moscow will reintroduce lockdown measures from Oct. 28 to combat surging COVID19 cases Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday with all shops bars and restaurants due to close except those selling essential goods such as supermarkets and pharmacies. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday approved a nationwide weeklong workplace shutdown from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 and said regional leaders could introduce other measures at their discretion. Russia reported a record daily high of both coronavirusrelated deaths and new COVID19 infections on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moscow-reintroduce-lockdown-measures-oct-28-combat-covid-19-case-surge-2021-10-21/ 21st Oct 2021

New Lockdown

The Associated Press Restaurants movie theaters and many retail stores in Moscow will be closed for 11 days starting Oct. 28 along with other new restrictions officials said Thursday as Russia recorded the highest numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths since the pandemic began. The government coronavirus task force reported 36339 new infections and 1036 deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russias death toll to 227389 by far the highest in Europe. President Vladimir Putin has voiced consternation about Russians hesitancy to get vaccinated and urged them to get the shots but firmly ruled out making them mandatory. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-russia-europe-vladimir-putin-a9a05379a2f571ee84d68fd3bbc15f41 21st Oct 2021