22nd Jun 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=686 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Health trackers worn on the wrist could be used to spot Covid19 days before any symptoms appear according to researchers. Growing numbers of people worldwide use the devices to monitor changes in skin temperature heart and breathing rates. Now a new study shows that this data could be combined with artificial intelligence AI to diagnose Covid19 even before the first telltale signs of the disease appear. Wearable sensor technology can enable Covid19 detection during the presymptomatic period the researchers concluded. The findings were published in the journal BMJ Open. The discovery could lead to health trackers being adapted with AI to detect Covid19 early simply by spotting basic physiological changes. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/21/wrist-worn-trackers-can-detect-covid-before-symptoms-study-finds 22nd Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

Sky News US pharmaceutical firm Moderna is to establish a global clinical trials base in the UK which it says will endorse the country as a science superpower and futureproof it against emerging health threats. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-brits-to-have-first-access-to-vaccines-and-treatments-when-new-science-super-centre-opens-12638186 22nd Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Moderna Inc. plans to build a research and manufacturing center in the UK in a partnership with the government aimed at providing the country with messenger RNA vaccines against future health threats. The agreement will ensure National Health Service patients gain access to mRNA vaccines targeting a range of diseases including potential shots that can protect against multiple Covid variants the government said in a statement. The UK which expects the first mRNA vaccine to be produced in 2025 declined to disclose the size of the investment or the location of the center. The center will be able to scale up production rapidly in the event of a health emergency significantly boosting the UKs ability to respond to future pandemics according to the statement. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/moderna-to-build-mrna-manufacturing-and-research-center-in-uk 22nd Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Singapore saw a 23 weekonweek increase in Covid19 community infections with the surge in cases mainly driven by newer omicron subvariants. The new variants known as BA.4 and BA.5 account for about 30 of new Covid19 cases in the past week with the rise in related cases likely to continue the countrys Ministry of Health said in a statement Tuesday. Both strains have higher transmissibility though evidence currently shows that the severity of infections linked to these subvariants is similar to that of earlier strains of omicron. The country has not seen a significant increase in the number of severe Covid19 cases in hospitals and cases in the intensive care units remain low the ministry said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-22/singapore-sees-surge-in-covid-cases-linked-to-new-subvariants 22nd Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

Pharmaphorum While proponents argue waiving IP on COVID19 vaccines would better enable low and middleincome countries to inoculate their populations the pharma industry has called the proposals unnecessary and harmful to innovation. Proposals to waive COVID19 product patents have been described as political posturing and an answer to a problem that does not exist. The Quad compromise a World Health Organization plan which would if enacted release members from granting or enforcing COVID19 vaccine patents was discussed at the 12th Ministerial Conference MC12 last week. But the pharmaceutical industry has said the move could undermine innovation and industrys ability to partner invest at risk and respond quickly to future pandemics. https://pharmaphorum.com/market-access-2/ip-is-no-barrier-to-covid-vaccine-access-says-industry/ 21st Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

iNews Older British people and medical workers may be given a new version of the Covid19 vaccine this year which is tailormade to protect against the Omicron variant. Ministers hope that the next generation of jabs made both by Pfizer and Moderna will be ready in time for autumn when a new round of vaccines will be administered to certain groups. Over65s vulnerable people below that age and frontline health and care workers are due to be invited for another vaccination to top up their immunity levels. https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/covid-vaccine-new-protect-omicron-variant-uk-autumn-1696299 21st Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Multiple European countries are experiencing a significant surge in new Covid19 infections as experts warn that with almost all restrictions lifted and booster takeup often low cases could soar throughout the summer leading to more deaths. According to the Our World in Data scientific aggregator the rolling sevenday average of confirmed new cases per million inhabitants is on the rise in countries including Portugal France Germany Italy Spain Greece the Netherlands and Denmark. Portugal has experienced the most dramatic wave with infections per million remaining at a sevenday average of 2043 on Monday the second highest new case rate in the world although down somewhat from an early June high of 2878. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/21/covid-surges-europe-ba4-ba5-cases 21st Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

Forbes Although only between 1 and 4 of individuals carry autoantibodies that neutralize type I IFNs they consistently make up around 20 of Covid19 fatalities across age categories. Other than age presence of type I interferon autoantibodies is the strongest predictor of severe Covid19 more so than sex common comorbidities and most genetic variants. Future research should focus on how and why people develop autoantibodies against type I IFNs and whether or not this is preventable https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2022/06/21/biggest-risk-factor-for-severe-covid-19-other-than-age-autoantibodies/ 21st Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

FiercePharma Now that the World Trade Organization has relaxed intellectual property restrictions on COVID19 vaccines the question is Will any developing countries take advantage to produce their own shots With wealthy nations discarding expired vaccines and poor countries turning down donations because of a lack of demand its hard to imagine manufacturers in countries such as India and South Africa being motivated to produce jabs. Nonetheless South Africa hailed the move which allows vaccines and their ingredients to be produced without authorization from the patent holder over the next five years. The South African government also admitted however to the daunting task of gearing up for the manufacture of shots. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/wtos-patent-waiver-covid-vaccines-political-stunt-phrma-says 21st Jun 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Around a fifth of people aged 75 and over in England have yet to have a fourth Covid jab data suggests leading to calls for a renewed push for vaccination of the vulnerable amid rising infections and hospitalisations. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics ONS in the week ending 11 June an estimated one in 50 people in England had Covid about 1.13 million people a rise from 1 in 70 the week before. Upticks have also been seen in the rest of the UK while hospitalisations are also rising. The resurgence is thought to be down to a rise in Omicron variants including BA.4 and BA.5 although scientists say other factors may also be at play including a return to prepandemic behaviour and waning immunity. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/21/uk-scientists-urge-higher-uptake-of-covid-boosters-among-elderly 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Rising from a muddy field on the outskirts of the small town of Fayette Alabama is a bricksandmortar symbol of the global COVID pandemic A new glove factory. When completed in 2024 the complex owned by Japans SHOWA Glove Co will be able to produce about 3 billion medicalgrade nitrile gloves a year from its dozen massive new fivestoriestall automated assembly lines. That may seem like a lot but is only a small slice of the over 100 billion consumed in the United States annually. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-factories-pop-up-make-medical-gloves-spurred-by-pandemic-2022-06-21/ 22nd Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

The Straits Times Seniors who have taken their vaccine booster shots are three times less likely to die or become severely ill from Covid19 compared with those in the same cohort who had only two shots said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday June 20. Seniors with all three shots have a three in 1000 chance of these negative outcomes while those with two shots have a 10 in 1000 chance of this happening. Those who remain unvaccinated are at the highest risk with a 40 in 1000 chance of death or critical illness requiring intensive care. It makes a difference whether you have taken zero one two or three shots Mr Ong said in a video clip uploaded on TikTok where he urged the elderly to get their shots ahead of the next Covid19 wave. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/seniors-with-covid-19-booster-shots-3-times-less-likely-to-die-or-become-critically-ill-ong-ye-kung 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

KBR The quarantine authorities are considering expanding the fourth Covid19 vaccine shots to all people based on domestic quarantine situations and research results at home and abroad officials said Tuesday. If the immunity level falls quickly a virus resurge can also come quickly. However we could put off the resurge depending on the immunity level said Lim Sookyoung a senior official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters CDCH. I think the strategy for vaccination is very important. In preparation for strains that may become prevalent in the second half of the year the government will respond and prepare by focusing on how to implement vaccination inject therapeutic agents at the right time and develop strategies to strengthen surveillance for new variants Lim added. The authorities confirmed a positive antibody rate of 94.9 percent through a survey but expected the immune effect to decline in the fall making additional vaccination inevitable. http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=13952 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

The Washington Post Eighteen months after a New York nurse received the first U.S. coronavirus vaccination immunizations became available Tuesday for about 19 million children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years the last group of Americans to be afforded that protection. Pediatricians drugstores hospitals and community vaccination centers began to administer first doses of two vaccines to children the PfizerBioNTech product to children ages 6 months through 4 years and the Moderna vaccine to children 6 months through 5 years old. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/21/coronavirus-vaccine-under-5/?itid=ap_lennybernstein 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

CNN Dr. Sarah Schaffer DeRoo described in one word how she felt after getting her 7monthold son vaccinated against Covid19 thrilled. Her active baby boy sat in her lap at a vaccine clinic hosted by Childrens National Hospital in Washington DC while receiving his first dose of Covid19 vaccine. The shot was administered in his thigh. He cried for a few seconds but then his attention turned toward a golden retriever that was on site as a comfort dog provided by the hospital. Im feeling really thrilled that we have this opportunity DeRoo a pediatrician at Childrens National Hospital in Washington DC told CNNs Suzanne Malveaux on Tuesday about her sons vaccination. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/21/health/covid-vaccines-under-5-begin/index.html 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

The Independent Its only been a month since North Korea acknowledged having an COVID19 outbreak after steadfastly denying any cases for more than two years. But already it may be preparing to declare victory. According to state media North Korea has avoided the mass deaths many expected in a nation with one of the worlds worst health care systems little or no access to vaccines and what outsiders see as a long record of ignoring the suffering of its people. Daily updates from official media make it appear inevitable that the nation will completely defeat a virus that has killed more than 6 million people around the world. According to the official tally cases are plummeting and while 18 of the nation of 26 million people reportedly have had symptoms that outsiders strongly suspect were from COVID19 less than 100 have died. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/north-korea-ap-kim-jong-un-south-korea-covid-b2105554.html 21st Jun 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The United States has begun distributing COVID vaccines for children as young as six months around the country and availability of the shots will improve in the coming days according to White House COVID19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. U.S. regulators authorized Moderna Incs MRNA.O twodose vaccine for children aged six months to five years and the Pfizer PFE.NBioNTech 22UAy.DE threeshot regimen for children aged six months to four years late last week. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-covid-vaccine-rollout-young-children-will-pick-up-pace-2022-06-21/ 21st Jun 2022

Partisan Exits

ABC News A man has lost an appeal to the Supreme Court to prevent his daughter being vaccinated by the Department for Child Protection. He also lost a separate application for an injunction against the vaccine being administered earlier this year A mother has also lost a bid to prevent her child in state care being vaccinated https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-21/dcp-parents-lose-cases-against-covid19-vaccine/101170010 21st Jun 2022

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg A network of Twitter accounts pushed messages to boost the share price of a biotech company as it sought approval to run a clinical trial of its Covid19 vaccine according to research provided to Bloomberg News. The tweets promoted stock for Ocugen Inc. which is based in Malvern Pennsylvania at rates well above market value according to research by Alethea Group a startup that tracks disinformation. The companys share price nearly doubled in a little more than a week. The findings suggest a coordinated social media effort to sway interest in an otherwise little known medical technology company according to Lisa Kaplan Alethea Groups founder and chief executive officer. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/twitter-accounts-hyped-company-seeking-covid-vaccine-trials 21st Jun 2022

Partisan Exits

Sky News A trainee police officer tried to fake having COVID19 by drawing red lines on a lateral flow test a tribunal has heard. In a bid to stay home from work Ahmed Anwari told his training officer last December that he could not come in because of a positive lateral flow test result. But his ruse was uncovered when he was asked to send a photograph of the result as proof and it became clear that the test had been manually altered with drawn red lines his disciplinary was told. The Lancashire Constabulary officer was then invited to take a coronavirus test on a Microsoft Teams meeting in which he again falsely claimed the result was positive. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-trainee-police-officer-drew-red-lines-on-lateral-flow-test-in-bid-to-stay-home-from-work-12637462 21st Jun 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters German hotels are still limping towards recovery after the pandemic and lawmakers need to prepare now to be ready for the coming winter said the head of the DEHOGA hospitality body. Despite pentup demand the industry is facing a possible third year of losses in 2022 with 57 of businesses reporting lower sales last month compared with precrisis May 2019 said DEHOGA president Guido Zoellick at a news conference on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/covid-mistakes-cant-be-repeated-this-winter-says-german-hotel-industry-2022-06-21/ 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Healthline COVID19 can cause a variety of different symptoms. However when you think of COVID19 symptoms kidney pain probably isnt one of them. While its possible for COVID19 to cause kidney damage this condition isnt typically associated with kidney pain. Keep reading to discover more about what we know so far about COVID19 and the kidneys. https://www.healthline.com/health/covid-and-kidney-pain 22nd Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The United States has begun distributing COVID vaccines for children as young as six months around the country and availability of the shots will improve in the coming days according to White House COVID19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. U.S. regulators authorized Moderna Incs twodose vaccine for children aged six months to five years and the PfizerBioNTech threeshot regimen for children aged six months to four years late last week. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-covid-vaccine-rollout-young-children-will-pick-up-pace-2022-06-21/ 22nd Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net A recent article published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases assessed the kinetics of antisevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARSCoV2 antibodies derived from mothers among infants in association with the timing of prenatal SARSCoV2 vaccination. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220621/After-maternal-COVID-vaccination-infants-have-persistent-anti-SARS-CoV-2-antibodies-at-3-months.aspx 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg South African biotech company Afrigen Biologics will work with a Belgian partner to develop the first Africanowned Covid19 shot as part of a broader effort to reduce the continents reliance on other regions for vaccines. Afrigen and the Univercells Group aim to build on expertise developed through the World Health Organizations messenger RNA vaccine hub the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Afrigen based in Cape Town said its working to facilitate the production of mRNA vaccines at more than 15 manufacturing sites in low and middleincome nations across the world. Africa which imports about 99 of all the shots it needs was left far behind wealthier nations in securing shots during the pandemic with manufacturing concentrated in just a handful of countries. The partners said theyll seek to develop vaccines that are cheaper to produce and easier to store and distribute in rural and remote locations where few people have been vaccinated. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/biotech-companies-team-up-to-develop-african-covid-vaccine 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press Ainos Inc. a diversified medtech company focused on the development of novel pointofcare testing lowdose interferon therapeutics and synthetic RNAdriven preventative medicine today announced that the Company has begun marketing the Ainos SARSCoV2 Antigen Rapid SelfTest COVID19 Antigen SelfTest Kit or the Test under an Emergency Use Authorization EUA issued by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration TFDA on June 13 2022 to Taiwan Carbon Nano Technology Corporation TCNT the manufacturer and product codeveloper of the Test in conjunction with Ainos. Ainos is the exclusive master sales and marketing agent for the COVID19 Antigen SelfTest Kit. https://apnews.com/press-release/accesswire/covid-technology-politics-health-8f0fa5a2c4133082ee47b4c8b77cd6b9 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmaTimes The joint aim of the companies was to provide vaccines to vulnerable communities Remote Medical International RMI which specialises in protecting the health of workers in diverse areas across the world partnered with healthcare solutions company Acacium Group to provide vaccinations in areas of notable need during 202122. Their joint aim was to deliver mobile vaccination and COVID19 test processing units throughout the Midlands and South East of the UK during the pandemic. The companies delivered mobiletesting with a results turnaround time of less than three hours and throughout the course of their deployment processed in the excess of 200000 tests https://www.pharmatimes.com/news/rmis_covid-19_vaccine_partnership_with_acacium_proves_a_success_1450216 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Hospital Healthcare Europe Paxlovid is of no benefit to patients at a low risk of either being hospitalised or death after infection with COVID19. According to the results of a press release from the manufacturer Pfizer paxlovid does not benefit patients who are either unvaccinated or vaccinated and who are deemed not at a high risk of severe complications such as hospitalisation or death if infected with COVID19. Paxlovid is a protease inhibitor antiviral therapy against COVID19 and was developed to be taken orally at the first sign of infection or at first awareness of an exposure. The early use of the drug could therefore help patients avoid severe illness and which might lead to hospitalisation or death or avoid disease development following contact with an infected individual. https://hospitalhealthcare.com/covid-19/paxlovid-of-no-benefit-to-non-high-risk-patients/ 21st Jun 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters A small Chinese study detailed in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal showed neutralising antibodies against some Omicron subvariants were largely undetectable after two doses of a Sinopharm COVID19 vaccine with a booster shot only partly restoring them. The study comes as China which has approved only locally developed COVID shots including the Sinopharm vaccine strives to improve vaccination rates maintaining a dynamic zero COVID policy aimed at eradicate all outbreaks while many countries have adopted an approach of learning to live with the virus https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/some-omicron-sub-variants-escaping-antibodies-sinopharm-shot-chinese-study-2022-06-21/ 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Bloomberg Indonesia is tightening guidelines around organizing largescale events to minimize the spread of Covid19 virus as new cases increased to a twomonth high. Participants should be fully vaccinated in order to attend events involving 1000 people or more while unvaccinated children are discouraged from joining Covid19 Task Force Spokesman Wiku Adisasmito said in a briefing Tuesday. The new directive takes effect immediately and a regulation detailing all the measures will be issued shortly. The rise in infections is unavoidable as peoples mobility increases regardless of the variants Adisasmito said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/indonesia-tightens-screening-at-large-events-as-covid-cases-rise 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in Mainland China in December 2019. The following table lists the top 50 countries by the number of reported cases. A complete list is available with the above links. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-casualties/factbox-worldwide-coronavirus-cases-cross-537-65-million-death-toll-at-6731188-idUSKBN2O20QQ 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Times The number of patients in English hospitals with Covid19 has increased 24per cent in a week figures reveal. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/covid-19-patients-in-hospital-rise-by-24-dvfr0v7t6 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Stuff The Ministry of Health is reporting 5630 new community cases of Covid19 on Tuesday and 17 further deaths in people who had the virus. Of the 17 deaths reported today one was a child under the age of ten the Ministry of Health said in a statement. There are 362 people in hospital with Covid19 four of whom are in an intensive care or a high dependency care unit the Ministry said. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300618260/covid19-5630-new-community-cases-17-further-deaths-reported-on-tuesday 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

City AM Coronavirus hospitalisations in England have surged by almost 25 per cent in the last week as cases spread like wildfire once more across the globe. New figures released by the NHS this week highlight 5726 beds occupied by Covid patients as of 20 June up from 4602 on the previous Monday. The spike in cases represents a 24 per cent increase in England as the virus once more rears its ahead around the world. There was also a major spike in cases following the Platinum Jubilee half term break and as the weather heats up and Brits enjoy more socialising. https://www.cityam.com/covid-hospitalisations-in-england-up-24-per-cent-from-last-week/ 21st Jun 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

iNews Daily Covid infections will exceed 200000 by the weekend for the first time since late April and carry on rising for another fortnight a leading forecaster predicts. Daily symptomatic cases in the UK have jumped by 70 per cent this month to 193767 according to the latest figures from the ZOE Covid study app. And they will very soon cross the 200000 mark according to Tim Spector the Kings College London professor who runs the app. https://inews.co.uk/news/science/uk-covid-rates-weekend-cases-rise-omicron-zoe-app-1697797 21st Jun 2022

New Lockdown

Reuters A hotel and casino resort in the worlds biggest gambling hub of Macau was locked down by authorities with 700 people inside on Tuesday due to a coronavirus infection outbreak on the property local broadcaster TDM reported. The lockdown comes as the Chinese special administrative region carries out a twoday mass testing of its more than 600000 population after dozens of locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered over the weekend. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/macau-hotel-locked-down-after-covid-case-700-people-be-quarantined-media-2022-06-21/ 21st Jun 2022