31st Aug 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=734 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg China is battling Covid19 in every province despite its use of the worlds strictest measures to keep the virus out. All 31 mainland provinces recorded at least one local Covid case over the past ten days reflecting the broadest exposure to the virus since at least February 2021 when national health authorities began disclosing detailed records on where asymptomatic infections were occurring daily. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-30/china-s-covid-zero-tested-as-broadest-outbreak-hits-all-provinces 31st Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Goldman Sachs Group Inc will lift pandemicera protocols at its offices effective Sept. 6 according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The Wall Street investment bank had already called its employees back to the office full time in June last year although it relaxed those requirements during periods when coronavirus cases surged sources familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines will allow employees to enter the companys Americas offices regardless of vaccination status except in New York City and Lima. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/goldman-sachs-lift-all-covid-protocols-memo-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The U.S. government expects its supply of COVID19 vaccines and antiviral treatments to run out over the next year and is preparing for them to be sold via the commercial market the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday. President Joe Bidens administration expects to run out of federal funding for buying and distributing COVID19 vaccines by January although it has already bought over 170 million doses for a booster campaign later this year according to a blog post written by Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn OConnell. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-plans-move-covid-vaccines-treatments-private-markets-2023-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian In the last few months Dr Jeannina Smith has seen organ transplant recipients who have been very careful throughout the pandemic venture out for one activity contract Covid19 and lose their transplant. Most have thrown their hands up has the US forgotten about Covid I have been at the bedside of a transplant recipient who was very ill and in the hospital and she got Covid the second time in a healthcare setting said Smith medical director of the infectious disease program at University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. She was sobbing because she said Its so hard for me to see that people care so little about my life that wearing a mask is too much for them. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/30/covid-pandemic-immunocompromised-old 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Star Online Article reports that Hong Kong secondary schools will only be allowed to conduct fullday classes on campus if 90 per cent of their students have been triplevaccinated against Covid19 with education authorities tightening the existing twojab requirement. The same threshold also applies to secondary and primary school students from October if they hope to take part in extracurricular and maskoff activities such as music and sports according to a letter from the Education Bureau to the sector on Tuesday. We encourage staff and students to get vaccinated as far as possible to protect themselves and others if they are suitable for vaccination it wrote. We also demand that schools actively reach out to those who have yet to get vaccinated to understand their concerns and difficulties and encourage them to get the jabs. https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2022/08/30/coronavirus-vaccine-90-student-third-jab-rate-needed-for-hong-kong-secondary-schools-to-resume-full-day-in-person-classes 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Article reports that U.S. first lady Jill Biden has tested negative for COVID19 and will return to Washington from Delaware on Aug. 30 a spokeswoman said on Monday. Jill Biden 71 had tested positive in a rebound case of COVID19 after first testing positive on Aug. 16. She had ended her first isolation after a course of Paxlovid an antiviral medication which has proven to be highly effective at preventing serious disease and death among those at highest risk from COVID19. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-first-lady-jill-biden-tests-negative-covid-19-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Thailand aims to generate 400 billion baht 11 billion in tourism revenue in the second half of the year the government said on Tuesday as the tropical holiday destination welcomes back more visitors after pandemicinduced border controls. The Southeast Asian nation has seen a rebound in tourism numbers in the first eight months of 2022 registering more than 4 million tourists government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said. It is aiming for 10 million tourists this year. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-targets-11-bln-tourism-revenue-q2-covid-controls-ease-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal Covid19 cases and hospitalizations are in decline. People are traveling socializing and returning to workplaces in greater numbers. But a group of people are still keeping mostly to themselves and taking other measures to minimize infection risks. Compromised immune systems and the risks of long Covid are among reasons they say they are maintaining caution. Twoandahalf years into the pandemic their relative isolation speaks to divides that remain over how to live with the virus. With imperfect insight into the risks of infection as the virus mutates and immunity shifts people are setting their own boundaries for safe behavior. While about onequarter of 1243 people surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation recently said they had resumed all activities they were pursuing before the pandemic 17 said they were doing very few of those things. https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-some-americans-are-still-isolating-from-covid-19-11661713438 29th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Two of Wall Streets most prominent investment banks are removing some of the final hurdles to fully returning to offices following the Covid19 pandemic. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. which led Wall Streets return to Manhattan towers by pushing employees to resume regular commutes last year and Morgan Stanley both told staff that they will ease some of their remaining Covid19 mitigation efforts after the Labor Day weekend. Goldman will let employees outside New York enter offices regardless of vaccination status with no requirement to participate in regular testing or wear face coverings according to a memo sent to staff. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-30/goldman-morgan-stanley-ease-covid-rules-clearing-path-to-desks 31st Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The United Nationsbacked COVAX vaccine program will send 10 million doses of Pfizer BioNTech COVID19 shots for children to Mexico by the end of September a senior Mexican official announced Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/covax-send-mexico-10-mln-covid-shots-by-sept-30-says-official-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Japan Times The Japanese government is considering a September start for new COVID19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant earlier than the initially planned midOctober rollout sources said Tuesday. With the country now facing its seventh wave of COVID19 infections the government is hoping to introduce more effective vaccines. The improved vaccines developed by U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. are currently being evaluated by Japanese authorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/30/national/science-health/omicron-vaccine-rollout/ 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to block New York City from enforcing its mandate that all municipal workers be vaccinated against COVID19 rebuffing a police detective who challenged the public health policy. The liberal justice denied Detective Anthony Marcianos request for a stay of the vaccination requirement while an appeal over his claims continue in a lower court. A federal judge threw out Marcianos case in March. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-courts-sotomayor-keeps-new-york-city-covid-vaccine-mandate-2022-08-29/ 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Canada The COVAX vaccine program will send 10 million doses of PfizerBioNTech COVID19 shots for children to Mexico by the end of September a senior Mexican official announced Tuesday. The confirmed dates for the shots delivery comes a week after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would complain to the United Nations about the delayed shipment of vaccines the government had requested https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/covax-send-mexico-10-mln-covid-shots-by-sept-30-says-official-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Starting next week Americans will no longer be able to order free athome COVID19 tests from a website set up by the U.S. government due to limited supply arising from a lack of congressional funding. The COVIDTests.gov website set up during the Omicron variant record surge in cases helped U.S. households secure COVID19 tests at no cost. President Joe Biden in January pledged to procure 1 billion free tests for Americans including 500 million available through the website. However ordering through the program will be suspended on Sept. 2. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-govt-suspend-free-covid-19-test-orders-next-week-2022-08-29/ 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Goldman Sachs is getting rid of its Covid19 protocols. The bank said employees can enter most of its offices regardless of vaccination status and arent required to test for Covid19 regularly or wear masks according to a memo sent to Goldman employees Tuesday and viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The new rules are set to take place Sept. 6 the day after Labor Day. With many tools including vaccination improved treatments and testing now available there is significantly less risk of severe illness Goldman said in the memo. The company cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which recently relaxed many pandemic precautions. https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-ditches-covid-19-protocols-cites-significantly-less-risk-of-severe-illness-11661897776 30th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal The federal government plans to hit pause this week on a program that sends free athome rapid Covid19 tests to U.S. households. Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday September 2 because Congress hasnt provided additional funding to replenish the nations stockpile of tests said a post on COVIDTests.gov the federal website where tests can be ordered. White House press secretary Karine JeanPierre told reporters that the administration wants to be prepared for a potential rise in infections in the future. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-government-to-pause-free-at-home-covid-19-tests-11661791266 29th Aug 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Testing discrepancies appear to be increasingly common with Omicron and its subvariants so some common sense comes in handy. If youre living with people with Covid19 and feel symptoms develop youre likely developing Covid19. So even if your tests say otherwise stay home. For rapid antigen tests serial testing is the name of the game. Test every day or every other day for up to a week if you can. Once you get a positive you can be confident in it even if its a faint line. https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-to-trust-your-covid-test-results-and-when-to-question-them-11661701237 29th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

The Conversation Article reports that more than 450 people are dying of COVID19 in the U.S. each day as of late August 2022. When COVID19 vaccines first became available public officials community organizations and policymakers mobilized to get shots into arms. These efforts included significant investments in making vaccines accessible to Black Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native populations. These groups experienced exceptionally high COVID19 death rates early in the pandemic and had low initial vaccine rates. The efforts worked. As of August 2022 vaccination rates for the primary series or required initial doses of COVID19 vaccines for Black and Hispanic people exceeded those of white Americans. https://theconversation.com/low-vaccine-booster-rates-are-now-a-key-factor-in-covid-19-deaths-and-racial-disparities-in-booster-rates-persist-187272 30th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

The Guardian It started in Michigan. On 15 April 2020 thousands of vehicles convoyed to Lansing and clogged the streets surrounding the state capitol for a protest that had been advertised as Operation Gridlock. Drivers leaned on their horns men with guns got out and walked. Signs warned of revolt. Someone waved an upsidedown American flag. Already nine months before 6 January seven months before the election six weeks before a national uprising for police accountability and racial justice there were a lot of them and they were angry. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/28/luke-mogelson-the-storm-is-here-capitol-attack-michigan-book 30th Aug 2022

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a bid by a New York police detective to block the citys requirement that employees be vaccinated against Covid19. Sotomayor made no comment denying the emergency request from Anthony Marciano without asking the city to file a brief in response. Sotomayor is the justice assigned to handle emergency matters from New York. New York in February fired more than 1400 municipal workers for not getting vaccinated. Thousands of other employees have filed for religious or medical accommodations. Marciano said in court papers that the city denied his bid for a religious exemption and that he expects officials to reject his appeal as well. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-29/supreme-court-justice-rejects-nypd-detective-on-vaccine-mandate 30th Aug 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Zhang Meng had a breakdown last December. The 20yearold found herself sobbing on the stairs of her dorm driven to despair by repeated COVID lockdowns of her university campus in Beijing. The lockdowns had meant she was mostly confined to her room and unable to meet up with friends. There were also strict curbs on when she could visit the canteen or take a shower. Describing herself as someone who craves inperson social interaction Zhang said the restrictions had removed the safety net that was holding me up and I felt like my whole being was falling down. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/it-felt-like-my-insides-were-crying-china-covid-curbs-hit-youth-mental-health-2022-08-29/ 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmTech Novavaxs COVID19 vaccine Nuvaxovid can now be given to adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the UK. Novavax announced on Aug. 26 2022 that the companys COVID19 vaccine Nuvaxovid was granted expanded conditional marketing authorization by the UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This authorization allows for the use of the vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17. According to a company press release the authorization is based on data from the Phase III PREVENT19 trial of 2247 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 73 sites in the United States. The trial reached its primary effectiveness endpoint and demonstrated 80 clinical effectiveness. As we start to prepare for a potential fall surge we are pleased to offer the first proteinbased COVID19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 through 17 in the UK said Stanley C. Erck president and CEO Novavax in the release. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/mhra-grants-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-expanded-conditional-marketing-authorization 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Labiotech.eu Safety and efficacy results from phase 1 and 2 clinical trials looking at a Covid19 vaccine made at pointofcare by third party personnel have been published. AIVITA Biomedical Inc. a biotech specializing in cell applications made the announcement today August 29. The results were published in the article in the journal Human Vaccines Immunotherapeutics. https://www.labiotech.eu/trends-news/aivita-biomedical-announces-results-clinical-trials-covid-19-vaccine/ 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Japan Times The health ministry on Tuesday approved a third dose of the Pfizer COVID19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 after an expert panel gave the plan the green light the day before. It is hoped the move will help prevent children in that age group from getting infected with the coronavirus and developing severe symptoms as the nation continues to see high levels of cases driven by the highly infectious BA.5 omicron subvariant. The booster shot will be available to such children five months or more after they have received their second dose. The health ministry said the panel has judged that the booster shot is safe enough for children in the age group. Side effects reported in clinical trials include fatigue and soreness around the site of the shot as well as fever but most people have recovered having had only minor or moderate reactions the ministry said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/30/national/science-health/astrazeneca-evusheld-approval/ 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharm International Novavax announced on Aug. 26 2022 that the companys COVID19 vaccine Nuvaxovid was granted expanded conditional marketing authorization by the UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This authorization allows for the use of the vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17. According to a company press release the authorization is based on data from the Phase III PREVENT19 trial of 2247 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 73 sites in the United States. The trial reached its primary effectiveness endpoint and demonstrated 80 clinical effectiveness. As we start to prepare for a potential fall surge we are pleased to offer the first proteinbased COVID19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 through 17 in the UK said Stanley C. Erck president and CEO Novavax in the release. https://www.biopharminternational.com/view/mhra-grants-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-expanded-conditional-marketing-authorization 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net In a recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology researchers investigated the clinical risk factors associated with adverse outcomes among coronavirus disease 2019 COVID19infected women during pregnancy and postpartum. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220830/Risk-factors-among-pregnant-and-postpartum-women-with-COVID-19.aspx 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharma-Reporter.com AstraZenecas longacting antibody combination Evusheld has been approved in Japan for both prevention preexposure prophylaxis and treatment of symptomatic disease caused by SARSCoV2 infection marking the first global marketing approval of Evusheld as a treatment for COVID19. https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2022/08/30/astrazeneca-gains-first-approval-for-evusheld-as-covid-19-treatment 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Financial Times A Financial Times analysis of data from the UKs NHS one of the worlds richest health data sets showed significant rises in deaths from heart disease since the start of the pandemic in all but the very oldest age groups. In the 4064 age group heart attack deaths increased 15 per cent in 2021 compared with 2019. In February meanwhile an analysis of more than 150000 records from the national healthcare databases at the US Department of Veterans Affairs suggested that even some people who had not been seriously ill with Covid had an increased risk of cardiovascular problems for at least a year afterwards. Researchers found that rates of many conditions such as heart failure and stroke were substantially higher in people who had recovered from Covid than in similar people who had not been infected. A separate analysis of VA data published in March suggested that in the postacute phase of the disease people with Covid exhibit increased risk and burden of diabetes. https://www.ft.com/content/26e0731f-15c4-4f5a-b2dc-fd8591a02aec 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Japans health ministry said on Monday that its panel of experts had agreed to approve manufacturing and sales of AstraZenecas COVID19 preventive treatment Evusheld. Evusheld is designed to protect against COVID infection for at least six months and has been deployed in many countries for people with compromised immune systems who see little or no benefit from vaccines. The panel also gave its consent to using Pfizers COVID19 vaccine for booster shots for children aged five to 11 the ministry said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/japan-panel-approves-astrazenecas-evusheld-covid-treatment-2022-08-29/ 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Monday that it has approved the first bivalent Covid19 booster vaccine in the country. Modernas Spikevax vaccine which contains mRNA against two coronavirus variants is authorized for anyone 18 years or older said Swissmedic. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/swiss-drugs-regulator-approves-first-bivalent-covid-19-booster-2022-08-29/ 30th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Modernas claim that the Covid19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and partner BioNTech used its intellectual property sounds explosive. The sums at stake are potentially huge as the drug giant estimates sales of the vaccine will be 32 billion this year. Its in nobodys interest to kill this golden goose though. The most likely result will simply be lots of legal hissing and at worst for Pfizer a few plucked feathers. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/moderna-patent-fight-about-feathers-not-goose-2022-08-29/ 29th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Chinas CanSino Biologics 6185.HK reported a 69.5 drop in revenue for the first six months versus a year ago joining global and domestic COVID19 vaccine makers affected by waning demand for their shots. The decline from 2.06 billion yuan 299.8 million to 629.8 million yuan was mainly driven by weaker COVID vaccine demand as growth in global uptake slowed and price changes of CanSinoBIOs products the firm said in a company filing published on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/chinas-cansinobio-h1-revenue-drops-weaker-covid-shot-demand-2022-08-29/ 29th Aug 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Huffington Post Early in the pandemic an exposure to COVID meant waiting anxiously for many days to see if you were infected. Now the window is getting smaller and smaller according to a new review published in the journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers analyzed 141 studies to determine how COVIDs incubation period the time from when you get infected to when you start showing symptoms has changed since March 2020. The study which was conducted by scientists in Beijing found that with every new variant COVIDs incubation time has decreased significantly. Omicron which is the current dominant variant in the United States has the shortest time between infection and symptoms. The incubation periods of COVID19 caused by the Alpha Beta Delta and Omicron variants were 5.00 4.50 4.41 and 3.42 days respectively the study stated. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/incubation-sickness-covid-pandemic_l_6307d21de4b0f9a2a79b65d0?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 29th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Khaleej Times The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Tuesday reported 512 cases of the Covid19 coronavirus along with 536 recoveries and no deaths. Total active cases stand at 18818. The new cases were detected through 346725 additional tests. The total number of cases in UAE as on August 30 are 1014899 while total recoveries stand at 993740. The death toll now stands at 2341. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus/coronavirus-uae-reports-512-covid-19-cases-536-recoveries-no-deaths 30th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Wales Online Flu season may be worse than the previous two years health officials have warned amid fears there could be a surge in Covid19 cases. Health leaders need to prepare an agile response to the impending flu season global health officials have said. It has been suggested the flu season may be worse than the previous two years when people were still largely adopting preventative measures to avoid Covid19 and social distancing and mask wearing may have kept many flu cases at bay. The European arm of the World Health Organisation WHO said it is too early to predict whether the UK could face a bad flu season but said health systems need to be ready. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/flu-season-could-worse-previous-24887258 30th Aug 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Japan Times Tokyo reported 14219 new COVID19 cases on Tuesday down by about 7500 the week before the metropolitan government said. Of the reported patients 1537 were age 65 and older while 3106 people were 19 years old and younger. The government said 26 people died from the disease. Japans daily coronavirus tally totaled 95916 cases on Monday falling below 100000 for the first time in six weeks. While numbers for Mondays are typically lower than for other days due to reduced testing on the weekend the last time the nationwide tally was below six digits was on July 19. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/30/national/covid-tracker-20220830/ 30th Aug 2022

New Lockdown

Reuters Several of Chinas biggest cities imposed tougher COVID19 curbs on Tuesday further crimping the activities of tens of millions and sparking fresh concerns for the health of a barely growing economy. Metropolises from the southern tech hub of Shenzhen to southwestern Chengdu and the northeastern port of Dalian ordered measures such as lockdowns in big districts and business closures aimed at stamping out fresh outbreaks https://www.reuters.com/world/china/populous-chinese-cities-including-shenzhen-ramp-up-covid-curbs-2022-08-30/ 30th Aug 2022

New Lockdown

Bloomberg China is enforcing lockdown restrictions in areas around Beijing more intensively and will mass test the nearby port city of Tianjin stepping up its quest to wipe out Covid19 ahead of a key meeting of the Communist Partys top leaders. The moves come even as Chinas latest wave shows signs of easing with 1556 new infections nationwide reported for Sunday down from more than 3000 less than two weeks ago. Despite the high cost to the Chinese economy the country remains focused on eliminating transmission of a virus that most of the world has now accepted as endemic. Shijiazhuang the capital of Hebei province bordering Beijing confined residents of four major downtown districts to their homes for three days from Sunday afternoon saying a mass testing exercise will be undertaken. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-28/chinese-province-bordering-beijing-expands-covid-lockdown?srnd=premium 29th Aug 2022

New Lockdown

Bloomberg China is enforcing lockdown restrictions in areas around Beijing more intensively and will mass test the nearby port city of Tianjin stepping up its quest to wipe out Covid19 ahead of a key meeting of the Communist Partys top leaders. The moves come even as Chinas latest wave shows signs of easing with 1556 new infections nationwide reported for Sunday down from more than 3000 less than two weeks ago. Despite the high cost to the Chinese economy the country remains focused on eliminating transmission of a virus that most of the world has now accepted as endemic. Shijiazhuang the capital of Hebei province bordering Beijing confined residents of four major downtown districts to their homes for three days from Sunday afternoon saying a mass testing exercise will be undertaken https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-28/chinese-province-bordering-beijing-expands-covid-lockdown 29th Aug 2022