16th Sep 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=496 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Pope Francis said on Wednesday he was puzzled why so many people including some cardinals in Roman Catholic Church hierarchy have refused to get inoculated against COVID19. It is a bit strange because humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines he said aboard the plane returning from Slovakia responding to a question from a reporter about the reasons for vaccine hesitancy. As children we were vaccinated for measles polio. All the children were vaccinated and no one said anything he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pope-urges-covid-inoculations-says-vaccines-are-humanitys-friends-2021-09-15/ 16th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

New York Times Without more immigration businesses wont come close to filling the record number of open job positions. Endemic labor shortages were businesses No. 1 problem before the pandemic. It is even more serious now as many baby boomers have stopped working. Until the pandemic winds down and immigration of both skilled and unskilled workers revives businesses especially in big cities will be unable to get the help they need. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/opinion/delta-covid-economy.html 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters New data from Moderna Incs large COVID19 vaccine trial shows that the protection it offers declines over time supporting the case for booster doses the company said in a news release on Wednesday. Several recent studies have suggested that its vaccine may have an edge over a similar shot from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE in terms of maintaining efficacy over time. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-says-covid-19-vaccine-protection-wanes-makes-case-booster-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters India India is considering resuming exports of COVID19 vaccines soon mainly to Africa as it has partly immunised a majority of its adults and supplies have surged a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. India the worlds biggest maker of vaccines overall stopped vaccine exports in April to focus on inoculating its own population as infections exploded. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-considers-resuming-vaccine-exports-soon-focus-africa-says-source-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters As more adults get their COVID19 vaccines children who are not yet eligible for vaccination in most countries are representing a larger percentage of hospitalizations and even deaths the Pan American Health Organization PAHO warned on Wednesday. Nine months in to this year infections among children and adolescents in the Americas have surpassed 1.9 million cases and they face significant health risks the regional branch of the World Health Organization WHO said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/unvaccinated-children-suffering-covid-impact-americas-health-agency-warns-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Globe and Mail Albertas top health official says the fourth wave of COVID19 that has swamped intensivecare units and forced the widespread cancellations of surgeries was set in motion when the province dropped all publichealth restrictions over the summer. Deena Hinshaw the Chief Medical Officer of Health also said she regretted her announcement in late July that the province would treat COVID19 as an endemic respiratory illness like influenza. She said it wrongly gave some people the impression that the pandemic was over which she added has made it more difficult to make the case for additional publichealth measures. She made the comments in a presentation to family doctors that was recorded Monday evening and then posted to social media. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-albertas-top-doctor-says-covid-19-surge-stems-from-removal-of/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

CNN The United States has reached another grim milestone in its fight against the devastating Covid19 pandemic 1 in 500 Americans have died from coronavirus since the nations first reported infection. As of Tuesday night 663913 people in the US have died of Covid19 according to Johns Hopkins University data. According to the US Census Bureau the US population as of April 2020 was 331.4 million. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The United States is pushing global leaders to endorse what it calls ambitious targets for ending the COVID19 pandemic including ensuring 70 of the worlds population is vaccinated against the virus by the 2022 according to a draft U.S. document viewed by Reuters on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-pushes-world-leaders-embrace-70-global-covid-19-vaccination-target-2021-09-14/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The Dutch government on Tuesday announced they are easing COVID19 restrictions and will introduce a corona pass showing proof of vaccination to go to bars restaurants clubs or cultural events. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said most social distancing requirements will be dropped from Sept. 25. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dutch-pm-rutte-netherlands-ease-covid-19-restrictions-2021-09-14/ 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press The European Unions top official said Wednesday that ramping up COVID19 vaccinations around the world was the blocs No. 1 priority right now and committed another 200 million vaccine doses to Africa and lowincome nations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used her State of the European Union speech on Wednesday to announce the new donation that will be fully delivered by the middle of next year and comes on top of 250 million vaccine doses already pledged. https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-covid-19-pandemic-77ad14e702a28e2d2195bc7ecd19f4a3 15th Sep 2021

Lockdown Exit

AlJazeera A new report from the United Nations on Wednesday highlights divergent economic recoveries between nations and throws fresh urgency behind warnings that richer nations are not doing enough to help poorer countries from falling further behind as the world recovers from COVID19 disruptions. Its really frustrating to see how responses to the pandemic have panned out rather disjointedly said Inu Manak an expert in international political economy at the Cato Institute a libertarian thinktank based in Washington DC in the United States. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/15/as-rich-poor-divide-widens-between-nations-un-urges 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Montanas largest hospital is considering crisis standards of care procedures that grant authority to decide who receives lifesaving treatment the Billings Gazette reported Wednesday. Intensive care unit capacity at Billings Clinic is at 150 as Covid19 rages the newspaper said. If it comes to a point where we have to make those incredibly difficult life or death situations we will have an objective team that will be available to provide council and make those decisions said Laurie Smith chief nursing officer. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/montana-s-largest-hospital-close-to-rationing-life-saving-care 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters The United States has administered 382294795 doses of COVID19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 461117525 doses the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 381453265 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 14 out of 458771465 doses delivered. The agency said 210361099 people had received at least one dose while 179695287 people are fully vaccinated as of 600 a.m. ET on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-administers-3823-mln-doses-covid-19-vaccines-cdc-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

The Washington Post The United States will require new immigrants to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as part of its routine medical examination U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Tuesday. The measure goes into effect on Oct. 1. Most people applying to become a permanent resident in the United States are required to receive the immigration medical examination to show they are free from any conditions that would render them inadmissible under the healthrelated grounds according to USCIS. The announcement comes after the Biden administration last week unveiled a sweeping set of vaccination mandates requiring federal employees to get immunized against the coronavirus and ordering businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccinations or weekly testing https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/09/15/us-immigrants-coronavirus-vaccine/ 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Sky News The health secretary says AE pressures and a rising number of COVID patients could trigger the governments plan B for the winter as experts warned hospital admissions could reach 7000 a day. Sajid Javid added that a new variant of concern would not necessarily be a trigger as he refused to rule out a lockdown. Plan B which includes mandatory face masks a work from home order and vaccine passports was revealed by the government on Tuesday as part of the autumn and winter plan for dealing with the COVID19 pandemic. https://news.sky.com/story/javid-defends-return-to-office-advice-after-experts-warn-of-covid-hospital-admissions-soaring-12408370 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Portugal has fully inoculated 80 of its population against the coronavirus official data showed becoming one of the worlds most vaccinated nations as authorities gradually drop most COVID19 restrictions. According to a Reuters tracker Portugal and the United Arab Emirates have the same rate of complete vaccinations jointly leading the world. The southern European nation which at the start of this year battled what was then the worlds worst coronavirus surge has vaccinated around 8.2 million people out of its population of just over 10 million https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/portugal-fully-vaccinates-80-population-against-covid-19-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters A curfew imposed on more than two million people in the 12 Sydney suburbs hardest hit by the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant will end on Wednesday night authorities said stopping short of easing more lockdown restrictions. Officials said firstdose COVID19 vaccination levels have reached 80 of the New South Wales NSW adult population while the dualdose rate in Sydneys home state stands at 48 now. Thats above the national average of 43 but well below the 70 level that will trigger the easing of other curbs first imposed three months ago. Authorities expect to achieve the 70 rate around the middle of next month and plans to relax more restrictions once it has climbed to 80. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-victoria-state-nears-first-covid-19-vaccination-goal-2021-09-14/ 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden will meet on Wednesday with business leaders as he pushes companies to require workers to be vaccinated amid a surge in COVID19 infections among those without a dose. Participants in the meeting include the chief executives of Walt Disney Microsoft and Walgreens Boots Alliance the White House said. Biden last week announced vaccine mandates for nearly all federal employees federal contractors and larger companies as the number of U.S. infections continued to rise hospital beds in some parts of the country filled up and mask requirements returned. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-meet-executives-microsoft-disney-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-wsj-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News In Northern Ireland schools should not send pupils home as close contacts or ask them to selfisolate according to guidance to principals from the Department of Education DE. It said schools should not identify close contacts unless asked to do so by the Public Health Agency PHA. The PHA took over responsibility for contact tracing in schools on Friday. The move brings Northern Ireland into line with the approach taken in England Scotland and Wales. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-58565658 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

The BMJ Ministers will reintroduce a range of precautionary measures against covid19 this autumn and winter if a further surge in cases threatens to overwhelm the NHS. The governments plan1 published on 14 September sets out what it calls a plan B for England that it will initiate if data suggest the NHS is likely to come under unsustainable pressure during the coming months. Measures would include introducing mandatory vaccine certification in specific settings bringing back the legal requirement to wear face coverings in some settings and advising people to work from home if they are able to. The government said it was committed to taking whatever action is necessary to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed but said stricter economic and social restrictions such as lockdowns would only be considered as a last resort. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2270 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press At most of the largest U.S. public universities students are under no obligation to be vaccinated against COVID19. Some schools do require vaccines but with leniency for those who opt out. Still others have expelled students who do not comply. As a new semester begins amid a resurgence of the coronavirus administrators and faculty nationwide see high vaccination rates as key to bringing some normalcy back to campus. Where mandates face political opposition schools are relying on incentives and outreach to get more students vaccinated. An analysis by The Associated Press shows 26 of the nations 50 largest public university campuses are not requiring vaccination representing roughly 55 of students enrolled at those schools. The AP looked at the largest campuses by 20192020 enrollment that offer oncampus housing and award bachelors degrees https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-only-on-ap-ca10e95511b4940375c037e871f939cd 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press Health care workers in France face suspension from their jobs starting Wednesday if they havent been vaccinated against COVID19. With as many as 300000 workers still not vaccinated some hospitals fear staff shortages will add to their strain. Vaccines are now compulsory for medical care home care and emergency workers in France and Wednesday is the deadline for such staff to have had at least one shot. Failing that they face having pay suspended or not being able to work. But a top court has forbidden staff to be fired outright. https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-health-france-paris-7bf6ca4fac1fd80809eb2af63a2bd6b9 15th Sep 2021

Exit Strategies

AlJazeera The World Health Organization WHO and its partners have said they hope to provide Africa with about 30 percent of the COVID19 vaccines the continent needs by February badly missing the 60 percent vaccination coverage goal that African leaders had once hoped for this year. Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world so far only 2 percent have been in Africa. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/14/who-aims-to-get-africa-30-of-needed-doses-by-february 14th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Raytheon the maker of Tomahawk missiles will require all U.S. employees to have a COVID19 vaccination the company said in a Wednesday statement. The employees need to get shots by midDecember in order to meet a Jan. 1 deadline for immunization a source familiar with policy said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/raytheon-requires-us-workers-get-covid-19-vaccination-statement-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters The U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington and the regional Fed banks will now require all of their nearly 23000 employees be vaccinated against COVID19. The Philadelphia Fed informed its staff of the new mandate in a memo on Wednesday making it the last of the 12 regional Fed banks to make vaccination a requirement of employment. The Fed Board in Washington will also require its employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30 a spokesperson for the U.S. central bank told Reuters on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/fed-regional-banks-mandate-covid-19-shots-employees-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

MSN.com None of the Covid19 vaccines in use in the United States cause reproductive issues Dr Anthony Fauci has said in response to Nicki Minajs recent tweet. The rapper caused controversy after she tweeted the baseless claim that her cousin in Trinidad was not getting vaccinated because his friend took the shot and then allegedly became impotent. When CNN presenter Jake Tapper asked Dr Fauci whether there is any evidence that Pfizer Moderna or Johnson Johnson vaccines pose the health risk Minaj outlined in her controversial tweet the USs top epidemiologist said the answer is a resounding no. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/nicki-minaj-fauci-dismisses-artist-s-claim-about-covid-19-vaccine-with-a-resounding-no/ar-AAOsecE 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

CNN Conservative radio host Pastor Robert Bob Enyart who swore off Covid19 vaccines has died from complications due to the virus his cohost announced on social media. It comes with an extremely heavy heart that my close friend and cohost of Real Science Radio has lost his battle with Covid said cohost Fred Williams on Facebook. In October Enyart won a lawsuit against the state of Colorado over its Covid19 restrictions CNN has reported. In a phone call with CNN following the ruling Enyart said We have a right even an obligation to worship him God and thats without government interference. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/14/media/bob-enyart-death-covid/index.html 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Sky News Professor Chris Whitty says rapper Nicki Minaj should be ashamed after she tweeted an unsubstantiated story about a man who had a COVID vaccine and then allegedly became impotent. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference Englands chief medical officer said There are a number of myths that fly around some of which are just clearly ridiculous and some of which are clearly designed just to scare. That happens to be one of them. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-professor-chris-whitty-says-nicki-minaj-should-be-ashamed-over-vaccine-tweet-as-rapper-hits-back-over-diss-12407987 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

DW (English) A controversial new mandate in the US will require millions of workers to get vaccinated against COVID19. The move by the worlds largest economy raises questions about how much a tight labor market can sustain and about who else might follow suit. Many countries already require certain workers like federal or health care employees to be vaccinated. Starting today millions of French frontline workers face termination should they remain unvaccinated. Germanys government on the other hand has been adamant that it wont require vaccinations a shocking idea for many in a country where even the right for employers to know if their employees are vaccinated has received major pushback. https://www.dw.com/en/will-coronavirus-vaccine-mandates-make-workers-leave-their-jobs/a-59188457 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail A Chinese defector claims he tried to warn top US officials about a deadly new virus in Wuhan five months before the World Health Organisation declared Covid19 a pandemic. Wei Jingsheng revealed in a shocking new documentary that he took his concerns about the unfolding situation to senior figures within the Trump administration but was subsequently ignored. The longtime democracy campaigner who has served time in prison for counterrevolutionary activities said he made the approach in November 2019 as whispers of a new SARS virus began circulating on WeChat and other Chinese social media platforms. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9992471/Chinese-defector-Wei-Jingsheng-claims-warned-Covid-19-months-pandemic-declared.html?fr=operanews 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail While NBA coaches officials and many league staffers are facing a COVID19 vaccine mandate players will not be required to get the injection in order to compete next season unless a compromise can be reached in the coming weeks. With the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association NBPA continuing to negotiate COVID19 protocols ESPN reported that there will be no vaccine mandate for players a position the union considers a nonstarter. A source familiar with the discussions told DailyMail.com that the NBPA has been very reluctant to agree to any mandate but stopped short of conceding that the issue settled. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9990563/NBA-players-union-rejects-COVID-19-vaccine-mandate-2021-22-season.html 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

Sky News In the UK the health secretary has defended members of the cabinet not wearing face coverings during a meeting saying they are not strangers. A photo of yesterdays crowded cabinet meeting with nearly 40 ministers and staff showed none of them were wearing masks just hours before Boris Johnson laying out his winter plan which included guidance that people should wear coverings in crowded spaces. But Health Secretary Sajid Javid claimed ministers actions were perfectly consistent with that messaging. An open window could be seen in the room https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-theyre-not-strangers-javid-defends-maskless-cabinet-meeting-after-pm-advised-their-use-12408341 15th Sep 2021

Partisan Exits

The Wall Street Journal Big trucking companies say a federal vaccination and testing mandate aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid19 virus could push more workers away from their operations and deepen upheaval in U.S. supply chains. Executives say the proposed testing requirements for workers who choose not to get vaccinated could also pose challenges for trucking companies whose fleets haul goods long distances often along irregular routes that send drivers from one corner of the country to another over several days or weeks. https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-truckers-say-vaccine-mandate-could-push-drivers-away-11631657882 14th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a twoday meeting next week to discuss booster shots for Covid19 vaccines. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices posted notice of the meeting which will be held Sept. 2223 on its website on Wednesday. The panel of outside experts advises the CDC on how best to administer new vaccines. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/cdc-advisers-set-meeting-for-next-week-on-covid-booster-shots 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Covid19 cases among children are surging across the world amid deltafueled outbreaks spurring hospitalizations and raising concern about the risk of severe illness and persistent long hauler symptoms. Its also prompted questions about the safety of schools. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/why-the-delta-variant-is-giving-more-children-covid-quicktake 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg A third dose of the Pfizer Inc.BioNTech SE Covid vaccine can dramatically reduce rates of Covidrelated illness in people 60 and older according to data from a shortterm study in Israel. Starting 12 days after the extra dose confirmed infection rates were 11 times lower in the booster group compared with a group that got the standard two doses the analysis released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine found. Rates of severe illness were almost 20 times lower in the booster group. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/booster-dose-slashes-rates-of-covid-infection-in-israeli-study 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Pfizer Inc. said that data from the U.S. and Israel suggest that the efficacy of its Covid19 vaccine wanes over time and that a booster dose was safe and effective at warding off the virus and new variants. The company detailed the data in a presentation it will deliver to a meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday. The panel is expected to make recommendations for whether more Americans should receive booster shots. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/pfizer-says-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-erodes-over-time 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Wall Street Journal The Food and Drug Administration said vaccines cleared in the U.S. currently provide sufficient protection against severe disease and death from Covid19 without additional doses potentially complicating the Biden administrations deliberations over the need for booster shots. The FDA released the findings Wednesday in a report analyzing data submitted by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE as part of their request for authorization for their vaccine to be given as a booster shot in people 16 years and older. An outside panel of scientific advisers will review the FDA report on Friday along with a companion analysis from Pfizer and other information as part of a discussion over who needs booster shots and when. https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-says-covid-19-vaccines-remain-effective-without-boosters-11631726504 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Russias Sputnik V vaccine has demonstrated 97.2 efficacy against COVID19 during the vaccination campaign in Belarus Russias RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/russias-sputnik-v-vaccine-shows-972-covid-19-efficacy-belarus-rdif-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

NDTV The singledose COVID19 vaccine Sputnik Light received approval from the Subject Expert Committee SEC of the Drugs Controller General of India DCGI today to conduct phase 3 bridging trials in India.Last year Hyderabadbased Dr Reddys Laboratories had partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund RDIF to conduct phase 3 trials of the vaccine. After the company submitted safety immunogenicity and efficacy data the SEC granted permission for conducting the trials in India a statement by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation said. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-vaccine-single-dose-sputnik-light-approved-for-phase-3-bridging-trials-in-india-2541459 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharma Dive CureVac the German biotech once seen as a leading mRNA vaccine developer alongside Moderna and Pfizer on Tuesday said it will scale back manufacturing plans for its coronavirus shot in Europe. The company attributed the downsizing to reduced shortterm peak demand for vaccines following the first wave of the pandemic vaccination efforts as well as corresponding changes in the demand of its firstgeneration COVID19 vaccine candidate. As a result manufacturing contracts with Wacker and Celonic will be terminated. Other manufacturing agreements with Rentschler Biopharma and Novartis are not affected. CureVac is still awaiting a decision from the European Medicines Agency on approval of its firstgeneration vaccine. Last month the company reportedly dropped plans to seek a clearance in the U.S. from the Food and Drug Administration. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/curevac-scale-back-coronavirus-vaccine-manufacturing/606546/ 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Eli Lilly and Company said on Wednesday the U.S. government bought 388000 additional doses of its COVID19 antibody therapy as infections surge due to the fastspreading Delta variant. The news comes after Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said late on Tuesday the U.S. government was buying 1.4 million additional doses of its COVID19 antibody cocktail REGENCOV. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-buys-additional-doses-eli-lillys-covid-19-therapy-2021-09-15/ 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ The risk of 1215 year old healthy boys experiencing cardiac adverse events such as myocarditis after their second dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is around four times adolescents risk of being admitted to hospital as a result of infection with SARSCoV2 a preprint study has found. The retrospective study which has not yet been peer reviewed used the US vaccine adverse reporting system VAERS to identify the rate of postvaccination myocarditis among 1215 and 1617 year olds between January and June 2021 after the second dose of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine. The researchers concluded that the rate of cardiac adverse events after the second dose exceeded the expected rate of 120 day covid19 hospital admission at both a moderate August 2021 and a high January 2021 incidence of SARSCoV2 infection. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2251 15th Sep 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Britain will roll out a Covid vaccine booster campaign next week in which the homegrown shot from AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford will hardly feature at all. Instead the U.K. government is relying on shots from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. both based on messenger RNA technology and only offering Astra in cases where people cant have an mRNA vaccine. AstraZenecas vaccine one of the first to be developed has grappled with safety concerns over potential side effects including blood clotting. Though the U.S. has not cleared it for use its been widely employed in Britain and many other countries often to inoculate older adults. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-14/u-k-sidelines-homegrown-astra-vaccine-in-mrna-booster-push 14th Sep 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Pfizer seeking approval to jab kids aged six months to five years by this winter. Timeline will depend on findings of inhouse trials of vaccines on young children. Pfizers jab already being used for over12s in majority of countries in the West. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9993523/American-BABIES-given-low-dose-Pfizers-jab-winter.html 15th Sep 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News The UK has recorded 26628 new COVID cases and 185 more coronavirusrelated deaths in the latest 24hour period according to government data. The figures compare with 30825 infections and 61 fatalities reported yesterday while 37489 cases and 209 deaths were announced this time last week. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-records-26-628-new-cases-and-185-more-coronavirus-related-deaths-daily-figures-show-12407912 15th Sep 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters When the coronavirus pandemic struck Malaysia Shaharul Hisam Baharudin like many others working closely with people soon lost his work as an entertainer who juggled and sometimes dressed up as a clown. But rather than give up the 43yearold from Taiping in western Malaysia found a new way of using his skills disinfecting peoples homes while wearing his clowns outfit. For his new role he adapted the smoke machine he had used at parties to become a disinfection device while providing some extra cheer by entertaining children in his clown outfit completed by a surgical mask with a paintedon red nose and smile. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysias-germ-busting-clown-finds-new-role-pandemic-2021-09-14/ 15th Sep 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press COVID19 deaths and cases in the U.S. have climbed back to levels not seen since last winter erasing months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Bidens argument for his sweeping new vaccination requirements. The cases driven by the delta variant combined with resistance among some Americans to getting the vaccine are concentrated mostly in the South. While onetime hot spots like Florida and Louisiana are improving infection rates are soaring in Kentucky Georgia and Tennessee fueled by children now back in school loose mask restrictions and low vaccination levels. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-texas-coronavirus-pandemic-kentucky-9e89fcef6ef184baa4703a47d2aefab6 14th Sep 2021

New Lockdown

The Independent China tightened lockdowns and increased orders for mass testing in cities along its east coast Wednesday amid the latest surge in COVID19 cases. Checks have been set up in toll stations around the city of Putian in Fujian province with a dozen of them closed entirely. The nearby cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou have also restricted travel as the delta variant spreads through the region. The National Health Commission on Wednesday said an additional 50 cases had been diagnosed in various parts of Fujian most of them in the Putian region. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/china-beijing-fujian-covid-quanzhou-b1920373.html 15th Sep 2021