21st Oct 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=522 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal A new report in Politico cast further doubt on the Novavax vaccines effectiveness. Politico said the methods the company uses to test the purity of its vaccine have fallen short of regulators standards with the publication citing multiple people familiar with Novavaxs difficulties. Novavax issued a statement Wednesday saying it expects to complete ongoing regulatory submissions over the next few weeks in the U.K. Europe and Canada. It said it has already filed for authorization in India and for emergency use with the World Health Organization. The company said it plans to file its vaccine for emergencyuse authorization in the U.S. by the end of 2021. https://www.wsj.com/articles/novavax-shares-plunge-on-report-of-covid-19-vaccine-manufacturing-problems-11634732939 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg As Covid19 cases soar again in the U.K. officials could look to a country thats moved past a similar crisis for a possible roadmap. The search for answers in Israel may be useful health experts say because both countries were among the fastest in the world with their vaccination programs yet were similarly quick to lift lockdown restrictions. And just as Israel experienced a spike in cases in June so the U.K. is now having just reported the biggest single daily jump in infections in three months. Israels response to its renewed outbreak was to roll out an aggressive booster program a decision that appears to have quelled the worst of the outbreak within weeks. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/as-u-k-covid-cases-surge-israel-offers-a-lesson-in-boosters 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg The U.K. will not yet be bringing back restrictions to help curb Covid cases Health Secretary Sajid Javid said despite a surge in infections and a rise in hospitalizations and deaths. Javid put the onus on the general public to get vaccinated and behave responsibly such as by wearing masks in crowded spaces to avoid the need for further restrictive measures in the winter. He made the plea as he warned that new daily virus cases could rise to 100000. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/u-k-rules-out-another-lockdown-even-with-cases-on-the-rise?srnd=prognosis 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The Biden administration on Wednesday outlined its plan to vaccinate millions of U.S. children ages 5 to 11 as soon as the COVID19 shot is authorized for them readying doses and preparing locations ahead of the busy holiday season. Unlike the mass vaccination centers used in the initial COVID19 vaccine rollout the White House said it is working to set up clinics in more than 100 childrens hospital systems nationwide as well as doctors offices pharmacies and potentially schools. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-lay-out-plan-vaccinate-kids-ages-5-11-nbc-news-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Canadas House of Commons will require all 338 lawmakers to be fully vaccinated against COVID19 when they return to work next month potentially locking out some members of parliament from the official opposition Conservatives. Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau narrowly won reelection last month saying he would insist on vaccine mandates for federal workers people traveling domestically and his own candidates. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-require-covid-19-vaccinations-federal-lawmakers-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters UK Britains COVID19 infection numbers could rise to 100000 a day but the government will not implement its socalled plan B contingency measures at this time health minister Sajid Javid said on Wednesday. Were looking closely at the data and we wont be implementing our plan B of contingency measures at this point but will be staying vigilant preparing for all eventualities he told a news conference. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-cases-may-hit-100000-day-no-contingency-measures-now-minister-says-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Countries should grant entry to vaccinated travelers regardless of which shot they received to prevent discrimination and facilitate business a top official of the Pan American Health Organization PAHO said on Wednesday. With vaccination rates on the rise countries are facing fresh questions about how to contain the spread of COVID19 while easing pandemic travel restrictions. The United States last week said it would reopen the land border with Mexico the busiest in the world but only allow people who have been inoculated with vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization WHO leaving out two shots heavily used in Mexico Russias Sputnik V and one from Chinas Cansino Biologic https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/41-latam-caribbean-residents-have-been-vaccinated-against-covid-19-paho-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian The Premier League says that 68 of its players are fully vaccinated against Covid19 after concerns over a lack of takeup. Estimates had earlier placed the number of doublejabbed players at less than 50 with a number of managers including Pep Guardiola and Jrgen Klopp calling on topflight players to comply. The Premier League has released official figures for the first time which show 81 have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The league said it would continue to work with clubs to encourage vaccination among players and club staff. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/19/premier-league-68-per-cent-of-players-fully-vaccinated-against-covid 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

U.S. News & World Report Kenya lifted a nationwide curfew on Wednesday that has been in place since March 2020 to curb the spread of the coronavirus President Uhuru Kenyatta announced. The East African nation which has a population of 54 million has recorded 252199 infections since the pandemic erupted and 5233 COVID19 deaths health ministry data shows. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-10-20/kenyas-president-kenyatta-lifts-coronavirus-curfew 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne Australias largest cities eased on Wednesday as Victoria opened its borders to fully vaccinated residents from New South Wales amid a rapid rise in immunisation levels. With cases trending lower in New South Wales including Sydney residents will be allowed quarantinefree entry into Victoria for the first time in more than three months. Travellers from Melbourne who wish to enter Sydney however must undergo a twoweek home quarantine. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/melbourne-welcomes-vaccinated-sydney-residents-without-quarantine-2021-10-19/ 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

AlJazeera Iran is bracing for a sixth major wave of COVID19 infections even as its nationwide vaccination efforts have accelerated in recent weeks. Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said on Tuesday it is certain the worsthit country in the Middle East will face another surge in cases next month. But were fully prepared to fight the disease in the sixth wave and hospitals are now ready in terms of medicine and oxygen equipment so we can fight it he said. The virus has so far killed close to 125000 people while more than 5.8 million cases have been reported in Iran since February 2020 according to health ministry figures. Daily deaths are significantly down from the peak of 709 registered in late August but still more than 150 Iranians are falling victim to the virus as more than 10000 new cases are detected each day. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/20/iran-braces-for-sixth-covid-wave-despite-speedy-vaccine-rollout 20th Oct 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters British hospitals are on the edge and people should wear masks and come forward for vaccines to stop them being overwhelmed by a rising wave of COVID19 cases senior medical figures said on Wednesday as the government resisted calls for new measures. Britain has the eighth biggest death toll globally from COVID19 with nearly 139000 fatalities. But it also had a quick start to its vaccine programme and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lifted almost all COVID19 restrictions in England ending social distancing measures and mask mandates. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/edge-uk-health-service-facing-growing-winter-pressures-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Amid concern that a new twist on the delta variant could be driving the current U.K. coronavirus surge National Health Service chair David Prior said its more likely that schoolaged children are infecting older people whose vaccineinduced immunity is on the wane. Its too early to say but thats what we think is the most likely explanation Prior said Tuesday evening in an interview at a Boston health conference. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted on Sunday that urgent research was needed to determine if the new delta variant AY.4 which represents 8 of recently sequenced cases in the U.K. was more transmissible and better at evading immune defenses. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/nhs-chair-says-young-may-be-infecting-old-in-u-k-covid-surge 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters on MSN.com Swiss drugmaker Roche raised its 2021 sales forecast after posting an 8 rise in ninemonth revenues powered by demand for COVID19 tests and strength in the overall business due to newly launched diagnostics platforms and medicines. Group sales in the nine months to September rose to 46.68 billion Swiss francs 50.54 billion from 43.98 billion Swiss francs a year earlier the Basel company said on Wednesday as diagnostics division sales jumped 39. The demand for coronavirus tests remained high in the third quarter due to the Delta variant Chief Executive Severin Schwan said adding that there have also been signs of recovery in the pharmaceuticals unit since the summer. https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/companies/roche-raises-2021-outlook-as-covid-19-tests-continue-powering-sales/ar-AAPJujh 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Shares of Novavax Inc fell 16 after a report from Politico said the company faces significant hurdles in proving it can manufacture its experimental COVID19 vaccine that meets regulators quality standards resulting in production delays. The methods Novavax used to test the efficacy of its vaccine have fallen short of U.S. regulators standards according to the Politico report citing people familiar with the matter. The production delays are likely to affect deliveries to the COVAX facility which aims to provide equitable access to COVID19 vaccines for low and middleincome countries the report added. Novavax and Indias Serum Institute the worlds largest vaccine producer had together committed to providing more than 1.1 billion doses to COVAX. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novavax-tumbles-after-politico-report-covid-19-vaccine-production-delay-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters As an unprecedented surge in COVID19 fatalities engulfs Romania funeral home owner Sebastian Cocos is struggling to source coffins and keep up with a faster pace of burials. But for him nothing brings home the scale of what is currently the worlds deadliest epidemic more than the mourners who keep returning. There were families who buried up to four people in two weeks and that is not easy he told Reuters. Based in the central city of Ploiesti Cocos is also president of a national funeral home association. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/covid-19-engulfs-romania-funeral-homes-struggle-keep-up-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Russia will shut workplaces for a week Latvia went back into lockdown for a month and Romanian funeral homes are running out of coffins as vaccinesceptic countries across excommunist Eastern Europe face recordsetting disease and deaths. Russia which boasted of developing one of the earliest COVID19 vaccines has been unable to persuade large swathes of the population to take it and is now facing its highest daily death rates of the pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/lockdowns-record-covid-19-deaths-hit-russia-eastern-europe-region-spurns-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN Booster protection could soon expand to a much broader population as a source says the US government likely will soon recommend additional doses to people as young as 40 who received a Moderna or Pfizer Covid19 vaccine. I believe it will happen the source familiar with the plan told CNNs Elizabeth Cohen. There is growing concern within the FDA that US data is beginning to show more hospitalizations among people under age 65 who have been fully vaccinated the source said. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Thousands of unvaccinated workers across the United States are facing potential job losses as a growing number of states cities and private companies start to enforce mandates for inoculation against COVID19. In the latest highprofile example Washington State University WSU fired its head football coach and four of his assistants on Monday for failing to comply with the states vaccine requirement. The coach Nick Rolovich had applied for a religious exemption from the mandate earlier this month. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-workers-face-layoffs-us-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-kick-2021-10-19/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is aiming to ease COVID19 restrictions on bars and restaurants next week as infections continue to decline the Jiji news service said on Wednesday. The easing will be announced as early as Thursday and would apply to businesses that are certified as following antiinfection measures Jiji reported citing informed sources. Representatives for the Tokyo government did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tokyo-aims-lift-covid-19-curbs-restaurants-cases-fall-media-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Daily COVID19 cases in New Zealand fell on Wednesday after a record jump the day before with most infections still in Auckland as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to affect the countrys biggest city. Authorities reported 60 new COVID19 infections on Tuesday of which 56 were in Auckland taking the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 2158. There have been 28 deaths in total since the pandemic began and 43 people are currently hospitalised because of the virus. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealands-daily-covid-19-cases-fall-some-classrooms-reopen-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Daily Mail Mr Hunt would not confirm whether or not Australians will need to prove theyve had a third jab in order to travel internationally. I will follow medical advice on that and I wont speculate on passports. That is very much medical question with the science to flow over the coming months he said. It comes as Australia achieves the key milestone of a 70 per cent double vaccination rate in over 16s. Professor Kelly said he would wait for further scientific advice before deciding the timeframe between second and third doses. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10109719/All-Australians-offered-Covid-19-booster-jabs-nation-reaches-70-double-dose-rate.html 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

CNN The White House on Wednesday unveiled its plans to roll out Covid19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 pending US Food and Drug Administration authorization. The Biden administration has secured enough vaccine supply to vaccinate the 28 million children ages 5 to 11 who would become eligible for vaccination if the vaccine is authorized for that age group and will help equip more than 25000 pediatric and primary care offices hundreds of community health centers and rural health clinics as well as tens of thousands of pharmacies to administer the shots according to the White House. We know millions of parents have been waiting for Covid19 vaccine for kids in this age group. And should the FDA and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorize the vaccine we will be ready to get shots in arms White House Covid19 response director Jeff Zients told reporters at a White House Covid19 briefing on Wednesday. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/politics/white-house-covid-vaccines-for-children-rollout/index.html 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Serbia will make a COVID19 health pass mandatory for access to restaurants cafes and bars in the evenings Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday as the country struggles with persistently high numbers of coronavirus infections. As of Oct. 23 people who want to visit indoor cafes hotels and restaurants after 10 p.m. will need to show a pass a digital or paper certificate showing someone has been vaccinated tested negative or recovered from the virus. Serbia which has a population of 6.7 million is struggling with a daily average of around 6000 cases of COVID19. So far it has reported over 1 million confirmed cases of COVID19 and 9214 deaths. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/serbia-introduces-covid-19-passes-indoor-cafes-restaurants-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News Covid19 visiting restrictions in care homes in Northern Ireland are being eased from Wednesday. Up to four people from no more than two households can now visit with a maximum of four such visits per week allowed. However the easing of restrictions may not fully apply if the care home has an active Covid19 outbreak. The arrangements are set out in the Department of Healths Visiting With Care A Pathway document. More clarity has been provided around visits from clergy and further advice added around how residents can be facilitated to leave their care home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-58973544 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Bulgaria will make a COVID19 Green Certificate mandatory for indoor access to restaurants cinemas gyms and shopping malls the health minister said on Tuesday as the country struggles with a rising number of coronavirus infections. The health pass a digital or paper certificate showing someone has been vaccinated tested negative or recently recovered from the virus was originally conceived to ease travel among European Union states. As of Oct. 21 people who want to visit indoor public spaces including cafes hotels concert halls museums and swimming pools should show such a health pass interim Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov told reporters https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgaria-makes-covid-health-pass-obligatory-leisure-activities-2021-10-19/ 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal In a step to extend the reach of its Covid19 vaccination drive the Biden administration is preparing to distribute shots to children at doctors offices pharmacies and schools should federal regulators clear the inoculations for kids ages 511. The Biden administration said it has procured enough doses to vaccinate the nations children and will begin shipping supplies if and when the shots are cleared for use. Officials aim to have a plan in place as soon as young children are eligible in hopes of getting as many as possible vaccinated quickly. Rates of hospitalization among children are higher than earlier in the pandemic due to the highly transmissible Delta variant and publichealth authorities plan to offer shots in settings more familiar for children than the mass sites used for many adults. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration this month seeking emergency authorization of their vaccine. https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-says-once-covid-19-vaccine-for-children-ages-5-11-is-approved-it-will-be-available-at-pediatric-offices-primary-care-sites-pharmacies-11634735235 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press New York City will require its entire municipal workforce to be vaccinated against COVID19 or be placed on unpaid leave Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday an ultimatum that ensures a fight with some unions representing employees including police officers and firefighters who have refused the shots. The Democrat gave approximately 46000 unvaccinated city employees until Nov. 1 to get their first vaccine dose and he offered an incentive City workers who get a shot by Oct. 29 at a cityrun vaccination site will get an extra 500 in their paycheck. My job as your mayor is to keep this city safe keep this city healthy. And vaccination is the way he said. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-police-new-york-new-york-city-9b0f72ad57fc9264794fcd45eb10dde2 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press Dr. Georgy Arbolishvili doesnt need to see government statistics or hear about the records being broken every day for infections and deaths to know that Russia is struggling through a particularly alarming phase of the coronavirus pandemic. He simply looks around his filledtocapacity intensive care unit at Moscows Hospital No. 52. With only about a third of Russias 146 million people vaccinated against COVID19 the country has hovered near 1000 reported deaths per day for weeks and surpassed it on Saturday a situation that Arbolishvili says causes despair. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-europe-pandemics-moscow-b844be49c2811a454440d4e84d5e5338 20th Oct 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press Federal regulators are expected to authorize the mixing and matching of COVID19 booster doses this week in an effort to provide flexibility as the campaign for extra shots expands. The upcoming announcement by the Food and Drug Administration is likely to come along with authorization for boosters of the Moderna and Johnson Johnson shots and follows the OK for a third dose for the Pfizer vaccine for many Americans last month. The move was previewed Tuesday by a U.S. health official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the announcement. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-4e59c84da515da1b2977e6064512f158 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Thousands of unvaccinated workers across the United States are facing potential job losses as a growing number of states cities and private companies start to enforce mandates for inoculation against COVID19. In the latest highprofile example Washington State University WSU fired its head football coach and four of his assistants on Monday for failing to comply with the states vaccine requirement. The coach Nick Rolovich had applied for a religious exemption from the mandate earlier this month. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-workers-face-layoffs-us-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-kick-2021-10-19/ 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Hundreds of antivaccine protesters joined some political leaders in Sofia on Wednesday to demonstrate against Bulgarias decision to make a COVID19 Green Certificate mandatory for access to restaurants theatres and shopping malls. The interim health ministry announced the move on Tuesday to try to slow a surge in infections and deaths in the European Unions least vaccinated country. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hundreds-protest-against-bulgarias-covid-health-pass-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Poland has seen an explosion of the COVID19 pandemic over the past two days and if the current trend continues drastic steps will be needed the health minister said on Wednesday after the country reported over 5000 daily cases for the first time since May. Over the last two days we have seen an explosion of the pandemic Adam Niedzielski told a news conference adding that next week daily cases could be well above 5000. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-facing-covid-19-explosion-says-health-minister-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

CNN She was a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show an Ivy Leagueeducated OBGYN who often spoke about womens health and holistic medicine. She was a media darling and in 2013 made Readers Digests annual list of 100 most trusted people in America. If you go to Dr. Christiane Northrups Facebook page her posts dispensing advice on health and aging to her 558000 followers seem consistent with that persona of several years ago. But Northrup also uses her Facebook page to direct followers to Telegram where another side of her is apparent. Here on this platform with lax moderation lies a miasma of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Best Explanation Ive Seen About Why the Covid Jabs Are Killer Shots reads one post that she shared. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/us/doctors-covid-vaccine-misinformation-invs/index.html 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

The Independent A draft report by lawmakers in Brazil has recommended that president Jair Bolsonaro be indicted on criminal charges for his handling of the Covid19 pandemic that led to thousand of deaths. More than 600000 people have died due to the coronavirus or related complications in Brazil since the beginning of the pandemic. The country has had the secondhighest death toll in the world second only to the US. The 1200page Senate draft report said that Mr Bolsonaro was principally responsible for the governments errors committed during the Covid19 pandemic and accused him of acting against the advice of the health ministry. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-murder-charge-covid-b1941692.html 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Sky News Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has insisted there will not be another national lockdown after an NHS leader warned the PM that Plan B coronavirus restrictions must be enforced immediately to prevent the UK stumbling into a winter crisis. NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor has urged the government to bring back certain measures including mandatory face coverings in public places telling Sky News The overwhelming evidence is that we do need to act. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-enforce-plan-b-restrictions-immediately-or-uk-risks-stumbling-into-winter-crisis-pm-warned-12438888 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Another COVID lockdown would be completely wrong right now as Britain is learning to live with the novel coronavirus Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Wednesday. I absolutely think that it would be completely wrong for us to go back into a lockdown he told Times Radio. He said the critical indicators were hospitalisations and death rates and that those were much lower. And we are learning I think to live with the virus Kwarteng said. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-covid-lockdown-would-be-wrong-right-now-business-minister-says-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera Brazils Senate formally presented a report calling for President Jair Bolsonaro to be indicted on criminal charges for allegedly mishandling the countrys response to the coronavirus pandemic pushing Brazil into second place in the number of global COVID19 deaths. The nearly 1200page report presented on Wednesday by opposition Senator Renan Calheiros is based on six months of work. It calls for Bolsonaro to be indicted on 10 charges including crimes against humanity. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/20/brazils-bolsonaro-should-face-homicide-charge-over-covid-report 20th Oct 2021

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Singapore will extend its social curbs to contain the spread of COVID19 for around a month in order to ease the pressure on the healthcare system the government said on Wednesday. The citystate in late September reimposed curbs that include limiting social interactions and dining out to two people in order to slow virus transmission. However daily cases have continued to rise and hit a record 3994 on Tuesday. While Singapore has vaccinated more than 80 of its 5.45 million population asymptomatic or mild cases have been rising steadily spreading the virus and mounting pressure on hospitals and medical staff. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-extends-covid-19-curbs-nov-21-health-ministry-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation said on Wednesday it would spend up to 120 million to kickstart development of generic versions of Merck Cos MRK.N oral COVID19 treatment to help ensure lowerincome countries have equal access to the drug. The aim is to reduce the gap between when wealthy countries have access to the antiviral medicine molnupiravir and when the rest of the world can benefit from it. To end this pandemic we need to ensure that everyone no matter where they live in the world has access to lifesaving health products Melinda French Gates cochair of the Gates Foundation said in a statement https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/gates-foundation-allots-120-mln-poor-nations-get-covid-19-drug-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Poland is planning to make third doses of the coronavirus vaccine available to all adults over the next few weeks Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. Those over 18 who had their last dose at least six months ago will be able to get another dose Morawiecki said in a Facebook post. The country reported more than 5000 daily new infections on Thursday for the first time since May amidst a surging fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-make-covid-booster-shots-available-all-adults-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Independent Antiviral drugs that help to cut the risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid could be made available to vulnerable people this winter. Its hoped the pills will be made available to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems who have recently tested positive for the virus or come into contact with an infected individual. Patients would take the drug at home ideally before they fall ill. The antivirals provided by Merck and Pfizer have been secured in a government deal. But they will need to be approved for use by the UKs medicines regulator before they are offered to patients via the NHS. Eddie Gray chair of the antivirals taskforce said the pills would help to support the NHS and the UKs vaccination programme over the coming months with infections and hospitalisations expected to further rise. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/antiviral-drugs-covid-molnupiravir-ritonavir-b1942090.html 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

iNews Waning immunity from vaccines is a key cause of rising infections but it is not the only factor scientists say. The number of new Covid infections recorded in the past week has increased by 16 per cent against a backdrop of falling immunity among those who received their second jab a few months or longer ago. A growing number of studies have found that immunity begins to fall within a few months although jabs continue to provide good protection especially from more severe cases. https://inews.co.uk/news/science/covid-cases-uk-infections-resistance-waning-herd-immunity-myth-zoe-vaccine-1257453 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Independent The South African drug regulator has rejected the Russia made coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V citing some safety concerns the manufacturer wasnt able to answer. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority or SAHPRA said in a statement Tuesday that the request for Sputnik V to be authorized could not be approved at this time referring to past failed HIV vaccines that used a similar technology. A latestage study published in the journal Lancet last year in more than 20000 participants found that Sputnik V was safe and about 91 effective in preventing people from becoming severely ill with COVID19. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hiv-johannesburg-covid-russia-south-african-b1941391.html 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian On Tuesday there were 356 Covid19 patients being treated in intensive care wards throughout Australia. Of those 25 were fully vaccinated. While the data points to the extraordinary efficacy of Covid19 vaccines in preventing people from becoming severely unwell being hospitalised and dying it does raise the question why do a small number of people become seriously ill and in rare cases die despite being fully vaccinated An intensive care unit staff specialist at Nepean hospital in Sydney Dr Nhi Nguyen said those who are fully vaccinated and die tend to have significant underlying health conditions. Being treated in intensive care where people may be on a ventilator and unable to move added to any existing frailty especially in elderly people she said. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/20/deaths-among-the-double-vaccinated-what-is-behind-the-australian-statistics 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian As Covid19 infections surge in England people are increasingly reporting catching SarsCoV2 for a second or even third time. New analysis has suggested that unvaccinated individuals should expect to be reinfected with Covid19 every 16 months on average. With winter approaching scientists are warning that such reinfections could add to the burden on the NHS some calling for the vaccination programme to be extended to all schoolchildren including two doses for teenagers. If youve got highlevel prevalence and frequent exposure to the virus as you have in schools you are going to see more and more people getting reinfected despite having been double vaccinated said Stephen Griffin associate professor of virology at the University of Leeds. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/19/without-covid-19-jab-reinfection-may-occur-every-16-months-say-scientists 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Scientific Viewpoint New clinical trials detail the failure of two COVID19 treatmentsa combination of interferon beta1a and remdesivir and the drug colchicineto reduce death by 28 days length of hospital stay or risk of requiring invasive mechanical ventilation or dying in hospitalized adults. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/10/trials-find-no-benefit-interferon-colchicine-covid-hospital-patients 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News As concern mounts over access to Covid19 remedies the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation is committing up to 120 million to accelerate production of generic versions of an experimental Merck MRK pill to treat Covid19 that would be available to dozens of lowincome countries. But the effort was greeted with mixed reactions by patient advocates. The Gates Foundation plans to provide different types of incentives so that eight generic manufacturers all of which have already signed voluntary licensing deals with Merck will be positioned to produce a sufficient quantity of the drug called molnupiravir as quickly as possible. The goal is to convince the generic companies to ready their facilities rather than wait to gauge demand for the pill which early data suggests could reduce hospitalizations and deaths before ramping up. https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2021/10/20/covid19-merck-gates-pill-patents-who/ 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News In two studies published Tuesday in Science Translational Medicine the Bostonbased research teams found that pregnant and lactating women mount robust antibody responses to both vaccination and infection. The encouraging data also came with some twists that offer intriguing new clues to one of the pandemics enduring mysteries why Covid19 hits male adults children and infants harder than females. Whats striking here is that the mothers who are carrying male babies have much lower levels of antibodies to the coronavirus said Akiko Iwasaki a virologist and immunologist at Yale University who was not involved in the study. Whats interesting about that is it means that the sex of the baby can dictate how the mother responds to a viral infection. https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/19/sex-of-the-fetus-influences-the-mothers-response-to-covid-19-infection-new-research-shows/ 20th Oct 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Once again Britain has one of the highest rates of Covid infection anywhere. The U.K. just reported its biggest single day Covid case increase in three months and a 16 increase in confirmed cases in the week to Oct. 18. The government has warned of a bad winter. Even in the era of vaccines the risks arent trivial. While deaths from Covid are now mercifully low some of those who get infected will end up hospitalized. They will suffer and occupy beds and health service resources that are already overstretched and coping with a gargantuan backlog of cases. Families will step in productivity will be lost. Others will end up with Long Covid whose symptoms last for weeks or months after the virus has cleared. High levels of infection will also increase the risk of new vaccineresistant strains of the virus. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-19/covid-cases-are-soaring-in-britain-again-more-than-in-europe-why 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Wall Street Journal Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered people to stay off work for at least a week while Latvia has introduced a monthlong Covid19 lockdown as deaths climb driving renewed fears of another wave of infections as winter sets in. Mr. Putin signed a decree Wednesday approving a period of nonworking days as the government calls them beginning Oct. 30 and stretching to Nov. 7 to encourage people to stay home and slow the spread of the virus. Regional governments where infection rates are especially virulent can speed up or prolong the measures with employers continuing to pay their staffs as they stay home. Latvia which until recently had outperformed other European countries in containing the virus on Monday announced a slate of strict measures including a nationwide 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and closures of schools and nonessential retail after the sevenday average of deaths in the tiny Baltic state more than doubled last week. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-orders-people-not-to-got-to-work-as-covid-19-deaths-mount-11634750559 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Bloomberg The Kremlins new stayathome order to curb surging cases of Covid19 has raised questions about whether the Bank of Russia will deliver a big interestrate increase at its meeting Friday. There is a new uncertainty with those nonworking days said Oleg Vyugin a former senior central bank official. I used to think they they will raise by 50 basis points but now with the new circumstances I began to have doubts. It could be 25 basis points as well. President Vladimir Putin Wednesday approved a government plan to declare Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 as nonworking days nationally with some hardhit regions starting a week earlier as new cases and deaths reach records. The restrictions would be the most sweeping since at least May and could be extended further. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/new-covid-restrictions-cast-doubt-on-bigger-russia-rate-hike 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

POLITICO Europe Waning immunity provided by coronavirus vaccines combined with the U.K.s early reliance on the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine has contributed to the current spike in cases which are close to reaching the 50000perday mark one of the countys top epidemiologists said Tuesday. The U.K.s speedy rollout of vaccines has meant that those vaccinated early on are now experiencing waning immunity Neil Ferguson director of Imperial College Londons MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis told the BBCs Today program. How early we were means we were a little bit more vulnerable he said. The countrys reliance on the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine that protects slightly less well than Pfizer against infection and transmission is another factor in the increase in cases being seen in the country. https://www.politico.eu/article/expert-blames-reliance-on-astrazeneca-jab-waning-immunity-for-uk-case-coronavirus-rise/ 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

RTE.ie The chair of the National Public Health Emergency Teams Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group has said there has been a very large number of admissions to intensive care. At a NPHET briefing Professor Philip Nolan said 14 people were admitted to ICU in the last day bringing the total number to 86. He said there has been a slow increase in the number in intensive care from 60 four weeks ago to 74 on average over the last week. Case counts have continued to grow with the sevenday moving average increased from around 1100 coming into October to 1889 today. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/1020/1254785-covid-ireland/ 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Senegal recorded zero new COVID19 cases on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic began the health ministry said. The West African country had its worst wave of coronavirus in July when it was recording more than 1000 new cases a day. The health ministry has registered 73875 cases and 1873 deaths since the outbreak began. Sixteen patients are still under treatment the ministry said. Senegal has been seen as a positive example of a country managing COVID19 well despite limited resources. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/senegal-logs-zero-new-covid-19-cases-first-time-since-pandemic-began-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN The UKs attitude towards Covid19 has changed beyond recognition. Virtually all of Englands restrictions were lifted in July with the events and hospitality sectors returning to full capacity as Johnson urged Britons to begin to learn to live with this virus. But the Delta variant more transmissible still than the Alpha strain which wrecked last years festivities has not gone away. The country has quietly endured stubbornly high cases hospitalizations and deaths when compared to the rest of Europe. Britain has registered nearly half a million cases in the past two weeks and almost 50000 on Monday more than France Germany Italy and Spain combined. The UK reported 223 deaths on Tuesday the highest daily figure since early March. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/uk/uk-europe-covid-infections-cmd-gbr-intl/index.html 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent The World Health Organization said there was a 7 rise in new coronavirus cases across Europe last week the only region in the world where cases increased. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic released late Tuesday the U.N. health agency said there were about 2.7 million new COVID19 cases and more than 46000 deaths last week similar to the numbers reported the previous week. Britain Russia and Turkey accounted for the most cases. The biggest drop in COVID19 cases were seen in Africa and the Western Pacific where infections fell by about 18 and 16 respectively. The number of deaths in Africa also declined by about a quarter despite the dire shortage of vaccines on the continent. Other regions including the Americas and the Middle East reported similar numbers to the previous week WHO said. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/covid-europe-who-russia-london-b1941721.html 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

iNews The UK could be heading for another lockdown if ministers keep ignoring Covid and dont put further restrictions in place a Government adviser has warned. Stephen Reicher professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews and a member of the Governments Sage subcommittee advising on behavioural science the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling operational subgroup SPIMO slammed the Governments current policy to fight Covid19 as new daily infections reached 49156 on Monday. He accused the Government of watching Covid rage in the UK as ministers do nothing about it. https://inews.co.uk/news/another-lockdown-possible-if-government-ignores-covid-cases-sage-scientist-warns-1257386 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Poland is facing an explosion of COVID19 cases that may require drastic action the health minister said on Wednesday after more than 5000 daily new infections were reported for the first time since May. Central Europe has suffered a surge in COVID19 cases over recent days fuelling fears that vaccination rates that are lower than in the west of the continent could fan a damaging fresh wave of infections. About 61 of adult Poles are fully vaccinated below an EU average of just over 74. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polands-daily-covid-cases-exceed-5000-first-time-since-may-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters UK Britains health minister Sajid Javid on Wednesday resisted calls from doctors for a return of restrictions to halt a rising wave of COVID19 infections but gave a stark warning they would be brought back if people did not take up vaccination offers. Britain reported 223 new deaths from COVID19 on Tuesday the highest daily figure since March and cases are the highest in Europe with nearly 50000 new infections reported on Wednesday. The governments plan is to rely on vaccines and drugs to limit the impact of the virus this winter instead of bringing in restrictions or any more lockdowns having already shut the economy three times https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/edge-uk-health-service-facing-growing-winter-pressures-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021

New Lockdown

CNN Millions of Russians face strict new Covid19 restrictions from this week after a slow vaccination drive an overwhelmed health care system and widespread mistrust in government combined to plunge the country into its most deadly phase of the pandemic to date. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/20/europe/russia-elderly-stay-home-order-record-deaths-intl/index.html 20th Oct 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday approved a government proposal for a weeklong workplace shutdown at the start of November to combat a sharp rise in COVID19 cases and deaths. Coronavirusrelated deaths across Russia in the past 24 hours hit yet another daily record at 1028 with 34073 new infections. Speaking at a televised meeting with government officials Putin said the nonworking days from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 during which people would continue to receive salaries could begin earlier or be extended for certain regions. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-healthcare-system-feels-strain-daily-covid-19-deaths-break-record-2021-10-20/ 20th Oct 2021