13th Apr 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=636 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Forbes A zero tolerance Covid19 policy in China has caused chaos fear panic and dread. Shanghai one of the largest cities in the world with around 26 million residents is under strict lockdown due to draconian government orders. Its somewhat surprising as Shanghai is a relatively wealthy area financial hub and home to large global corporations including Tesla and Apple. For weeks people have been locked up in their homes and apartments. Many are unable to secure food and supplies. They are forbidden to leave. Disturbing videos are floating around TikTok and Twitter showing a dystopian surreal atmosphere. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/04/12/a-zero-tolerance-covid-19-policy-in-china-leads-to-a-dystopian-nightmare-for-26-million-residents/ 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English Shanghai has eased a punishing citywide lockdown that it imposed to break a surge in cases that is the biggest test of Chinas twoyear strategy to stamp out the disease wherever it appears. Authorities in Shanghai introduced the threetier disease control system on Monday allowing residents in areas where no cases have been reported for 14 days to leave their homes so long as they follow health protocols and remain in their subdistrict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/12/shanghai-tweaks-lockdown-rules-amid-covid-19-surge 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal As Shanghai battles the countrys worst Covid19 outbreak in two years people across the rest of China are stockpiling necessities as they brace for the prospect of similar lockdowns. In Beijing where some residential districts have been closed in recent weeks as infections have been discovered supermarket shelves in some parts of the city have been picked clean of toilet paper canned foods instant noodles and rice in recent days. In Suzhou an industrial hub roughly two hours drive west of Shanghai residents swarmed supermarkets to fill their grocery baskets with instant noodles and other food on Tuesday morning hours after local officials said they would conduct districtwide testing in one section of the city. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-stockpile-food-as-covid-19-concerns-ripple-out-from-shanghai-11649771421 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Swiss drugmaker Novartis will cut thousands of jobs worldwide as it combines its pharma and oncology businesses in a reorganisation announced last week Swiss newspaper TagesAnzeiger reported on Tuesday citing unnamed company sources. More than 100 jobs could also disappear at Novartiss Swiss sites in Rotkreuz and Basel the paper reported. Contacted by Reuters a Novartis spokesperson said efficiencies would come through leaner structures and would inevitably lead to roles being impacted but it was too early to give specific numbers. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novartis-cut-thousands-jobs-global-revamp-paper-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Malta Independent The Maltese government has donated 200000 vaccine doses to Ivory Coast while it continues to show solidarity with countries in need in particular to SubSaharan Africa. It is the largest ever Covid19 vaccination donation by the government thus far with national carrier Air Malta facilitating the donation. As part of the humanitarian aid Malta is offering throughout the pandemic AirMalta conducted its second longest direct flight to the SubSaharan country of Ivory Coast. The flight occurred at the beginning of April and took five hours 45 minutes to reach the destination. This was a conjoined effort by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Health. So far Malta has donated and delivered more than 710000 vaccines to countries in need. These countries included Libya Egypt Ghana and Rwanda. https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-04-11/local-news/200-000-Covid-19-vaccines-donated-to-Ivory-Coast-6736242134 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Kyodo News Plus Japan and the United States are set to exclude Russian COVID19 vaccines from a list of items subject to financial assistance when manufactured in developing countries sources familiar with the plan said Tuesday. The move which comes as Western nations step up sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine is especially aimed at dissuading India from fulfilling an agreement to produce Russian vaccines under the funding support scheme the sources said. India has built close relations with Russia including cooperation in the fields of energy and military technology. Japan and the United States are planning to gain Indias understanding and make necessary arrangements ahead of a summit of the Quad nations also involving Australia according to the sources. Japan will host the summit possibly in May. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/04/1f0b27fe7439-japan-us-to-exclude-russian-covid-vaccines-over-ukraine-invasion.html 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Thailand is rushing to vaccinate its elderly citizens and other vulnerable groups ahead of the local New Year celebrations as the festivities are seen fueling a surge in Covid cases and deaths potentially derailing a tentative economic and tourism recovery. Millions of Thais will travel to their hometowns this week from cities such as Bangkok to join families in celebrating Songkran the first time they can do so without any travel curbs since the outbreak of the pandemic. Thats prompted the Health Ministry to warn new daily cases could jump to as high as 100000 a day from almost 20000 on Tuesday. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-12/thailand-ramps-up-vaccinations-as-festival-seen-fueling-covid 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal Many countries have lost substantial ground in providing routine immunizations preventive services and chronic disease management notes a recent report by Duke University and the Covid Collaborative. Clinics that normally provide childhood immunizations and treatments for other infectious diseases have been administering Covid vaccines instead. The logistics of vaccine distribution have also diverted critical resources from things like HIV prevention testing and treatment. While the U.S. has donated hundreds of millions of mRNA vaccines to lowincome countries these must be stored at frigid temperatures and usually administered within hours once vials are opened. Many doses have been thrown out or simply cant be distributed. https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-wide-covid-vaccination-africa-cholera-hiv-aids-diseases-global-world-health-organization-covax-mrna-distribution-variant-mutation-funding-biden-11649707620 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC on Monday eased its COVID19 travel ratings for Saudi Arabia Myanmar and Haiti. The CDC said it had changed its COVID19 travel recommendation for the three countries to Level 1 Low from Level 4 Very High which urges Americans to avoid travel to those locations. In recent weeks the CDC has been easing ratings on a number of countries around the world as the COVID19 pandemic recedes. The CDC also on Monday lowered to Level 1 ratings for Bangladesh Philippines and Saint Kitts and Nevis from Level 2 Moderate. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cdc-eases-covid-travel-assessment-saudi-arabia-myanmar-haiti-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Schools across America are racing to make up for time they lost during the pandemic by budgeting billions of dollars for tutoring summer camps and longer school days and trying to untangle which students need help most urgently after two years of disruptions. Many schools saw large numbers of students fall under the radar when learning went online for the pandemic. Many skipped class tests and homework. Record numbers of families opted out of annual standardized tests leaving some districts with little evidence of how students were doing in reading and math. Now districts are trying to address that lack of information by adding new tests training teachers to spot learning gaps and exploring new ways to identify students who need help. In many districts the findings are being used to guide the spending of billions of dollars in federal relief thats meant to address learning loss and can be used in myriad ways. https://apnews.com/article/covid-entertainment-science-health-education-f09b1bf94ee9259e61056dc768295edd 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press New research released Tuesday showed a particularly large jump in overdose deaths among 14 to 18yearolds. Adolescent overdose death counts were fairly constant for most of the last decade at around 500 a year according to the paper published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. They almost doubled in 2020 to 954 and the researchers estimated that the total hit nearly 1150 last year. Joseph Friedman a UCLA researcher who was the papers lead author called the spike unprecedented. Those teen overdose deaths were only around 1 of the U.S. total. But adolescents experienced a greater relative increase than the overall population even though surveys suggest drug use among teens is down. https://apnews.com/ff2f01e401abce778bea8ac2e9c6e53e 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal More factories in and around Shanghai including two run by an Apple Inc.supplier are halting production because of extended Covid19 lockdowns in the region adding to pressure on the global supply chain. Analysts said Shanghaiarea manufacturers were having more trouble getting parts delivered because Chinas restrictions on movement are making it difficult for trucks to enter the region. That means some factories cant operate normally even if they manage to keep workers on the job. Pegatron Corp. a major assembler of Apple products said Tuesday it has temporarily suspended production at factories in Shanghai and nearby Jiangsu province in compliance with local government requirements. https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-assembler-pegatron-suspends-production-at-shanghai-jiangsu-factories-11649755451?mod=article_inline 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as full or partial lockdowns Chinas leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its zeroCOVID strategy but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/shanghai-lets-some-residents-leave-home-cautiously-eases-covid-curbs-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Medical Xpress The U.N. official spearheading global vaccination efforts against the coronavirus said Monday the number of countries where 10 or less of the population has been vaccinated dropped from 34 to 18 since January and called for accelerated progress to end the pandemic. Assistant SecretaryGeneral Ted Chaiban told the U.N. Security Council that with over 6 million lives lost to COVID19 and just over 1 million new coronavirus infections reported to the World Health Organization in the last 24 hours it is urgent to increase vaccinations in countries where it wasnt possible to boost rates in 2021. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-urges-coronavirus-vaccinations.html 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Conversation Until recently the UK government limited a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems over the age of 16. But following a resurgence of COVID cases in the UK the government has followed some other countries such as Israel Germany and Sweden and expanded the eligibility for a second booster shot. People aged 12 and over who have a weakened immune system care home residents and people aged 75 and over are now eligible. But if youre young and healthy you may be wondering whether you are going to be offered a fourth dose and indeed if a fourth dose is necessary for you. Lets take a look at what we know so far https://theconversation.com/covid-vaccines-why-second-boosters-are-being-offered-to-vulnerable-people-in-the-uk-but-not-young-and-healthy-people-yet-180215 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Britain will expand access to Pfizers PFE.N oral antiviral COVID19 treatment to thousands more people by adding it to a trial to assess how best to use the drug in its highly vaccinated population the health ministry said on Tuesday. Paxlovid a combination of Pfizers new pill with an older antiviral ritonavir was made available to thousands of people with compromised immune systems in Britain in February. Now Paxlovid is being added to the Panoramic national study in England which is making antivirals available to a wide number of patients while collecting data on how the drugs should best be used in a vaccinated adult population. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/britain-widens-access-pfizers-covid-antiviral-drug-through-trial-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as full or partial lockdowns Chinas leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its zeroCOVID strategy but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/shanghai-lets-some-residents-leave-home-cautiously-eases-covid-curbs-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections with the citys top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed COVID19 cases have risen more than 50 in 10 days the threshold at which the citys guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors said Dr. Cheryl Bettigole the health commissioner. Health officials believe the recent spike is being driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of omicron which has spread rapidly throughout Europe and Asia and has become dominant in the U.S. in recent weeks. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-philadelphia-d7f5dacf0ae4ac004e5b15dd58362360 12th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Philstar.com Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has encouraged citizens to get their needed booster shots against COVID19 so as not to waste vaccines already available for use. Concepcion earlier revealed that 27M doses of COVID vaccines are set to expire by July. These vaccines which are a combination of procured vaccines and donations are part of a total of around 80 million doses of COVID19 vaccines in storage.The 80 million doses of various brands of COVID19 vaccines with an estimated worth of P40 billion are currently stored in the Department of Healths 3rd party logistics warehouses regional warehouses and Zuelligs warehouse. We call on fellow Filipinos to think about their safety and the safety of their families as well and get their booster shots immediately. As citizens we also have a responsibility to help our government in its efforts to control the pandemic and ensure our safety while keeping the economy open Concepcion said. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/04/12/2174099/filipinos-urged-get-booster-shots-save-80-million-doses-covid-19-vaccines 10th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press Many residents in the city of 26 million have been confined to their homes for up to three weeks as China maintains its zeroCOVID strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing. But people living under the restrictions have described an increasingly desperate situation with families unable to leave their homes or obtain food and daily necessities while people who test positive for the coronavirus have been forced into mass quarantine centers where conditions at times have been called crowded and unsanitary. Authorities on Tuesday said another 23342 people in Shanghai tested positive for the virus over the previous day just 994 of whom displayed symptoms. Total infections have topped more than 200000 in the latest wave although no additional deaths have been reported. https://apnews.com/55d6a352e9d97fdd2a1cbd83d87f6685 12th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters Britains Queen Elizabeth said COVID19 had left one very tired and exhausted as she talked to health workers and a former patient about her own experience of this horrible pandemic. Britains 95yearold monarch tested positive for COVID in February and was described as having had mild coldlike symptoms. She later returned to light duties. The queen who is patron of the Royal London Hospital spoke on a video call to National Health Service workers at the hospital who had helped to build and run a 155bed unit to cope with a surge in patients needing help with their breathing. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/queen-elizabeth-says-covid-left-one-very-tired-exhausted-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters A prominent Thai politician faces up to 20 years in prison following his indictment on Monday for insulting the king and violating a cyber law after he criticised the government for overreliance on a royalowned firm to supply COVID19 vaccines. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit the 43yearold leader of the disbanded Future Forward Party is accused of lese majeste and breaking cyber laws in a January 2021 Facebook Live stream during which he said the government had mishandled its vaccine campaign and unfairly favoured Siam Bioscience a firm owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-politician-indicted-royal-insult-over-vaccine-speech-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

News-Medical.Net As an assistant teaching professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing Stefanie Birk knows there are nursing students unsure of how to talk with people hesitant about getting a COVID19 vaccine. Being a public health nurse herself Birk has been in similar situations and is passionate about equipping the next generation of nurses with the knowledge and confidence they need to have conversations that ultimately promote public health. To help increase knowledge and confidence about the COVID19 vaccine among nurses and the communities they serve Birk and an interdisciplinary team of educators and researchers at the University of Missouri have earned a grant from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing AACN with funding through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC. We want to prepare our nursing students as they get ready to graduate and go on to become nurses serving our communities said Birk who teaches public health classes to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. By incorporating these lessons into their current curriculum they will be better prepared going forward to have effective conversations with people who may be feeling hesitant about the COVID19 vaccine. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220411/MU-researchers-receive-grant-to-increase-confidence-about-COVID-19-vaccine-among-nurses.aspx 12th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak will be fined for breaking Britains strict coronavirus lockdown rules his office said on Tuesday provoking anger and calls for them both to resign. Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnsons Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcoholfuelled parties that were not permitted. Johnson said he had attended some of the events held when social mixing was all but banned by laws his government brought in to curb the spread of COVID19 but he has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-issues-more-than-50-fines-downing-st-lockdown-parties-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press Connecticut lawmakers have decided to extend four of Democratic Gov. Ned Lamonts remaining pandemicrelated executive orders despite concerns raised by Republicans that its time to end the practice and get back to normal governing. The Senate voted 1913 on Tuesday to prolong orders until June 30 that deal with physical distancing in certain congregate settings making the patient vaccination database available to medical providers using temporary nurses aides to help alleviate staffing shortages and providing more time to send out rental assistance payments to people facing eviction whove already applied to the states UniteCT program. The emergency bill now awaits approval by the House of Representatives. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-congress-ned-lamont-connecticut-7cc33cdc41044674f3f94b4488d7de35 12th Apr 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered nonemergency U.S. government workers to leave the consulate in Shanghai due to a surge in COVID19 cases and Chinas measures to control the virus. On Friday the State Department announced that nonemergency personnel could voluntarily leave the consulate. It is not clear why the departure of those workers has become mandatory. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-orders-some-personnel-leave-shanghai-consulate-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Shanghai residents have turned online for grassroots help on medical treatment as the citys tough COVID19 curbs limit access to healthcare and fuel frustration and anxiety. While the city of 25 million has used lockdowns and extensive testing to fight the disease those suffering from other medical conditions are posting requests for help in mutualhelp platforms and social media chat groups. One woman said she sought help online as her worry grew over the risk of infection to her paralysed mother from a urinary catheter used for about a month. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-patients-crowdsource-medical-help-during-covid-lockdown-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Science Daily A study released today indicates that SARSCoV2 the virus that causes COVID19 spreads extensively in households with children being a significant source of that spread. Approximately 50 of household members were infected from the firstinfected individual during the study period. Although kids were less likely to spread the virus compared to adults children and adults were equally likely to become infected from the firstinfected individual. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412140946.htm 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ In a recent interview with The BMJ Paul Nurse said that covid19 PCR testing in the UK in 2020 was a shambles.1 I respond as someone who volunteered to help set up the Milton Keynes Lighthouse testing laboratory. I agree with Nurse that in 2020 the government should have used academic laboratories to ramp up covid PCR testing capacity https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o916 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

EurekAlert! The commentary by bioethicist Nir Eyal and epidemiologists Tobias Gerhard and Brian Strom the latter is chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety examines how this parallel approach to vaccine trials can lead to faster and more accurate vaccine assessment and more effective pandemic response. The researchers say that further vaccine testing could help settle remaining questions about how effective the shots are at blocking infection against old and new virus strains. It could also reveal the most effective dosing and timing between shots the level of protection compared to natural immunity and how well vaccines work in groups that were underrepresented in initial trials. While some researchers proposed at the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic that challenge trials take place others argued that too little was known about the virus and that conducting the trials would be too dangerous. They were not used for the studies that led to approval of the major COVID19 vaccines but are now being used in testing. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/949484 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology The Thailand Food and Drug Administration Thai FDA has granted emergency use authorization EUA to Novavax and Serum Institute of India for a proteinbased Covid19 vaccine NVXCoV2373. Created from the genetic sequence of the initial SARSCoV2 virus strain the vaccine is formulated with Novavaxs saponinbased MatrixM adjuvant. The vaccine is authorised for active immunisation for preventing Covid19 in adults aged 18 years and above. SII will produce and supply the vaccine under the brand name Covovax. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/thai-fda-eua-novavax/ 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Euronews The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Experimental pill shows promise against Omicron An experimental drug being developed by RedHill Biopharma Ltd that improved outcomes in a randomized trial involving severely ill COVID19 patients infected with earlier versions of the coronavirus is showing promise against the Omicron variant in test tube experiments researchers said. https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/04/11/us-health-coronavirus-science 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net As of April 11 2022 SARSCoV2 infection has caused over 6.2 million deaths. In response to the outbreak of SARSCoV2 many vaccines were rolled out at unprecedented speed. However the continued emergence of highly transmissible immune escape variants has limited efforts to reduce the spread of SARSCoV2 and end the current pandemic. Largescale administration of the most effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 COVID19 has been challenging due to the ultracold storage conditions required for nucleic acid vaccines at 20 oC to 70 oC as well as their short shelf life. Nanocells are about 400 nanometers nm in diameter lack chromosomes and are called EnGeneIC Dream Vector EDVTM. EDV is a derivative of a mutant bacterium of the species Salmonella typhimurium that is developed through budding caused by the mutation. Earlier EDVs are currently being investigated in early clinical trials for their ability to deliver anticancer therapy to solid cancers. These trials have elicited promising results including the arrest of cancer growth increased survival and low or no toxicity. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220411/Nanocell-COVID-19-vaccine-elicits-potent-neutralizing-response.aspx 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Heart inflammation after a Covid jab is not only rare but no more common than after other types of vaccinations researchers have found. As Covid vaccination programmes began around the world it emerged that some people particularly young men subsequently developed myocarditis a type of inflammation of the heart muscle or pericarditis inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. While cases were rare the findings caused concern with risk of such heart inflammation among the reasons cited by experts in the UK for the delay in expanding the vaccination programme to children. Now research suggests that myopericarditis an umbrella term that encompasses myocarditis and pericarditis is not only uncommon after Covid jabs but the risk of developing it is no greater than that posed by other types of inoculations such as flu vaccinations. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/11/heart-inflammation-after-covid-vaccine-no-more-common-than-after-other-jabs 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times About half of the 52 trial participants given a placebo or dummy pill along with regular care died within 60 days an indicator of how very sick they were. But the death rate was 20 percent among the 98 participants who received sabizabulin who were just as ill. The drug was given once a day for up to 21 days. Sabizabulin is the first drug to demonstrate a clinically and statistically meaningful reduction in deaths in hospitalized patients Dr. Mitchell Steiner chief executive of Veru said. This represents a big step forward. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/health/covid-sabizabulin-veru.html 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press What do we know about stealth omicron so far Its an extracontagious version of the omicron variant but it doesnt seem to cause more severe disease. Since it was first identified in November BA.2 has been spreading around the globe driving new surges in parts of Asia and Europe. Its now the dominant coronavirus version in the U.S. and more than five dozen other countries. It was given the stealth nickname because it looks like the earlier delta variant on certain PCR tests says Kristen Coleman at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. The original omicron by contrast is easy to differentiate from delta because of a genetic quirk. In rare cases early research indicates BA.2 can infect people even if theyve already had an omicron infection. COVID19 vaccines appear just as effective against both kinds of omicron offering strong protection against severe illness and death. https://apnews.com/article/stealth-omicron-what-we-know-ba500eee4616f55e5f3174ee81b0a5c5 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma Pfizers COVID19 vaccine and antiviral show little sign of slowing down in the pandemics third year. Now the companys oral therapy is getting a boost across the Atlantic. Thousands more people in the U.K. will gain access to Pfizers Paxlovid thanks to its inclusion in the national Panoramic study which is looking at how best to use the pill among Britains highly vaccinated population the countrys Department of Health and Social Care said Tuesday. Paxlovid is the second antiviral to enter the Panoramic fray behind Merck Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics molnupiravir Britains health ministry pointed out. The drug has been shown to slash the risk of hospitalization or death by 88 in clinical studies and its already available in the U.K. for patients with https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizers-covid-pill-paxlovid-gets-big-boost-britain-thanks-spot-national-trial 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma The specter of particulates has forced another recallthis time on Modernas massively successful COVID19 vaccine Spikevaxand the latest pull isnt contract manufacturer Rovis first brush with contamination either. Moderna on Friday said it was recalling one Spikevax lot in Europe. The batch contains 764900 doses made by CDMO Rovi that were deployed across Norway Poland Portugal Spain and Sweden between Jan. 13 and Jan. 14. Moderna yanked the shots because of a foreign body found in one vial of the batch made at Rovis site in Spain the partners said in a release. The suspect vial was punctured but not administered the companies added. Moderna and Rovi learned about the contamination issue from a vaccination center in Mlaga Spain. The tainted vial was returned for forensic assessment and investigation the companies noted. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/moderna-recalls-covid-19-vaccine-batch-over-foreign-body-found-cdmo-made-vial-again 12th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical News Today A new nationwide study conducted in Sweden reports that individuals with COVID19 were at greater risk of developing a blood clot at least up to 3 months after the infection. Although individuals hospitalized with severe COVID19 were at the highest risk of developing blood clots even those with mild COVID19 were at increased risk of blood clots. The study highlights the importance of treatments to reduce blood clots especially in high risk COVID19 patients and vaccination against COVID19. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/even-mild-covid-19-raises-the-risk-of-blood-clots 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Manchester Evening News A number of cases of Omicron XJ the newest variant were detected in Finland at the end of March. Now a case has been identified in Italy and validated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanit. At the same time a case has been detected in Thailand. The countrys Medical Sciences Department has found the XJ genetic code in a delivery driver diagnosed with Covid in Bangkok. The man had been vaccinated. The departments director Supakit Kirilak said It is highly likely to be the XJ recombinant. He met many people due to the nature of his job. That made him vulnerable to infection. Supakit said the variant detected is definitely not the XE strain which was first detected in the United Kingdom in January. As of 22 March 2022 there were 763 XE cases in the UK. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-covid-variant-could-evade-23664755 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The United States Supreme Court said on Monday it will stop allowing the public to attend courtroom sessions in person during the month of April as coronavirus cases rise in the District of Columbia. Despite infections remaining relatively flat nationwide a number of highprofile political figures in Washington D.C. have tested positive for COVID19 recently including members of President Joe Bidens Cabinet and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-stop-public-access-april-covid-cases-rise-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Ontario is in the sixth wave of the COVID19 pandemic driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus and hospitalizations are likely to rise over the coming weeks the most populous Canadian provinces top doctor said on Monday. In the last few weeks we have seen an increase in the percent positivity and upward trend in wastewater surveillance and a rise in hospitalizations. These trends are likely to continue for the next several weeks Ontarios chief medical officer Kieran Moore said at a briefing. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-ontario-sixth-covid-wave-hospitalizations-likely-rise-official-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters French health authorities said on Monday the number of patients hospitalised for COVID19 over the past 24 hours jumped by 579 to 24205 the highest level since March 1 as new cases are picking up again. On a weekonweek basis daily COVID19 infections have been rising again in the last three days after declining during the six previous days prompting Health Minister Olivier Veran to say last week the current pandemic wave was past its peak. Most of the countrys COVID19 restrictions were lifted in early March. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-covid-19-hospitalisations-peak-since-early-march-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters New Zealand business confidence and demand worsened in the first quarter of this year due to the ongoing damage the COVID19 outbreak is having on the economy a private think tank said on Tuesday. A net 40 of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to deteriorate compared with 28 pessimism in the previous quarter the New Zealand Institute of Economic Researchs NZIER quarterly survey of business opinion QSBO showed. On a seasonally adjusted basis 33 expected business conditions to worsen versus 35 pessimism recorded in the previous period. The surveys measure of capacity utilisation rose to 97.1 from the previous quarters 92.7. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-business-confidence-worsens-covid-continues-impact-2022-04-11/ 12th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Taiwan expects daily domestic COVID19 infections to top 1000 a day by the end of the month Health Minister Chen Shihchung said on Tuesday calling on people not to panic about a wave that is causing few serious cases. Taiwan has been a model for how to control the pandemic. It moved early and effectively with such measures as largely closing its borders and implementing highly efficient contact tracing. But since the beginning of this year the island of 23 million people has recorded some 4000 domestic infections driven by the more infectious Omicron variant though more than 99 of those have involved only minor symptoms or none at all. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-sees-1000-daily-local-covid-cases-by-end-month-2022-04-12/ 12th Apr 2022