(Bloomberg) — European nations dominate the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking for a third month, with Ireland taking the lead after a startling turnaround.
At the same time, a record number of Covid cases was reported in Romania, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the European Union after Bulgaria. French drugmaker Sanofi is ending development of a messenger RNA vaccine against Covid after lagging behind rivals in deploying the technology.
New York City may begin to bar thousands of unvaccinated school personnel from their jobs after a court ruling. Japan will lift a state of emergency this week as infections recede, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisories for Hong Kong and Singapore.
Key Developments:
- Global Virus Tracker: Cases pass 232.4 million; deaths exceed 4.75 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.17 billion shots given
- Europe’s giant job-saving experiment pays off in pandemic
- A rural Arkansas county became a vaccine success story (podcast)
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
Romania Reports Record Cases (7 a.m. NY)
Romania reported a record number of daily infections. More than 11,000 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, data released Tuesday showed. Large cities including Bucharest are approaching infection rates that will lead to new restrictions, including a weekend curfew and online schooling.
The country has the second-lowest rate of vaccination in the European Union after Bulgaria. With the government struggling to boost the number of intensive-care beds available for virus patients, another 208 deaths were also reported since Monday. That brings total fatalities to more than 36,000, with the worst toll coming in the past three months.
ImmunityBio to Trial Second Shot in S. Africa (6 a.m. NY)
ImmunityBio Inc., the U.S. company controlled by biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, plans to conduct a trial for a second Covid-19 shot in South Africa.
The new vaccine will combine the use of both ribonucleic acid, or RNA, and deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, as well as the adenovirus used in a an inoculation that’s already being tested, Soon-Shiong said in an interview late last week.
Ireland Leads Covid Resilience Ranking (5 p.m. HK)
European nations dominate the top rungs of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking for a third month, and Ireland has taken over pole position after a steady recovery from the worst outbreak at the start of 2021. With more than 90% of the adult population fully vaccinated, the country has been scrapping restrictions this month.
Ireland used a strategy common across Europe that’s emerging as a global model of success: largely limiting quarantine-free international travel to the immunized helps hold down serious illness and death even as infections spread; allowing some domestic freedoms only for inoculated people drives up the local vaccination rate.The U.S. dropped three spots to No. 28 in September as unfettered normalization, regardless of vaccination status, drove a surge in cases and deaths. Inoculation has hit a wall, with places that started shots later than the U.S. now overtaking it. Southeast Asian economies continue to populate the Ranking’s bottom rungs in September, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines the last five.
Japan to End Emergency Nationwide This Week (4:50 p.m. HK)
Japan will lift a state of emergency at the end of September as new infections recede. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would end the restrictions Friday for Tokyo and 18 other areas that make up about 75% of Japan’s economy.
His government is looking to roll back curbs gradually that called on places like eateries and pubs to close early and restricted sales of alcohol.
Macau Evacuates Quarantine Hotel (3:40 p.m. HK)
Macau authorities have asked about 150 guests quarantining at Golden Crown China Hotel to move out after three security guards tested positive on Tuesday, according to a government statement.
Airlines Demand Virus-Busting Seats (3:30 p.m. HK)
Demand for airplane seat coverings that repel viruses and bacteria has soared during the pandemic, as carriers look to cut the time and cost of cleaning cabins.
“The stakes are high for airlines,” said Quentin Munier, head of strategy and innovation at the seat division of aircraft-parts giant Safran SA. Tenders for new orders increasingly call for fabrics with virus-killing properties, he said.
Sanofi Won’t Pursue mRNA Shot (3:14 p.m. HK)
Sanofi doesn’t plan to pursue the development of a messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19 because the shot will come too late to market. The French pharmaceutical giant, which has lagged rivals in deploying the technology, made the decision despite positive results at phase one and two trials.
Sanofi instead is focusing on another vaccine based on recombinant protein technology that could be used as a booster. It’s developing that one with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline Plc using a technology already in use in the company’s seasonal flu shots. The product, which suffered months of delays, is now in a late-stage trial and could gain clearance by the end of the year.
Bangladesh Receives Doses From U.S. (1:08 p.m. HK)
Bangladesh received 2.5 million Pfizer vaccine doses from the U.S. on Tuesday under the Covax facility, as the South Asian nation speeds up its inoculation drive.
That brings the total U.S. vaccine donations to 9 million, with “more on the way very soon,” American Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller tweeted.
Bangladesh started a daylong drive Tuesday to vaccinate as many as 7.5 million people to coincide with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.
Philippines to Open Vaccinations to Public (1:02 p.m. HK)
The Philippines will allow the general public to get vaccines starting next month, after initially prioritizing health and essential workers, the elderly and the poor.
The government is also expecting to begin inoculations for minors in October as vaccine supply stabilizes. President Rodrigo Duterte wants to require government employyees to get vaccinated, telling those who don’t want Covid-19 shots to find other jobs, spokesman Harry Roque said.
Hong Kong’s ‘Hands Are Tied’ on Rules (12 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong is stuck between China’s zero-tolerance approach to the coronavirus and the west’s reopening, and it has no clear idea how to satisfy Beijing’s demands so cross-border travel can resume, a top adviser to the city’s leader says.
Officials in the Asian financial hub can’t loosen some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 rules, despite their chilling effect on international business and travel, because the city is prioritizing reopening the border with China, says Bernard Chan, a financier who is also the convenor of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council.
“Our hands are tied,” Chan said. “You have to meet their standards, and the trouble right now is — we’re not so sure,” he added. “Initially, they were suggesting: ‘Oh, you need to have no cases for so many days.’ But now there’s no mention of that anymore.”
South Korea May Relax Rules for Vaccinated (11:34 a.m. HK)
South Korea is considerating easing social distancing rules for fully vaccinated people from the end of October or early November, when 80% of adults and 90% of the elderly complete their vaccinations, according to Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol.
It’s very difficult to maintain current strong social distancing rules, given that small merchants have been hit by Covid-19 and people are growing tired of prolonged distancing rules, the minister said. The country is considering easing rules on private gatherings and use of facilities for fully vaccinated people
Australia Introduces Home Testing (10:34 a.m. HK)
Australia will introduce at-home testing for Covid-19 from Nov. 1, as cases in Victoria surged past those in New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, for the first time since July.
Regulatory agency Therapeutic Goods Administration recommended the at-home testing, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Tuesday. Some 76.7% of Australians have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine, he added.
Thailand’s New Cases Drop Below 10,000 (9:01 a.m. HK)
Thailand reports 9,489 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily tally since July 15, as the government plans to reopen borders and relax curbs on businesses.
The coutry will halve its mandatory quarantine to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors starting next month, and will remove any isolation period for such travelers in 10 key provinces including Bangkok in November to help revive its tourism-dependent economy.
New York School Vaccine Mandate Ban Lifted (8:19 a.m. HK)
In a surprise ruling, a three-judge federal appellate court panel in New York lifted a temporary injunction against a vaccine mandate, paving the way for the city to bar thousands of unvaccinated school personnel from their jobs.
The court gave no reasons for the decision, other than saying the injunction that had been entered Friday was “for administrative purposes.” The practical effect is that the largest school district in the U.S. may now insist that all school employees and contractors be vaccinated.
Younger Children Less Willing to Get Vaccinated (6:30 a.m. HK)
The younger a child is, the less likely they are to want the coronavirus vaccine, according to a new survey of students aged nine-to-18 published in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine.
The OxWell School Survey 2021 found that only 36% of nine-year-olds were willing to take the vaccine compared to 51% of 13-year-olds and 78% of 17-year-olds. Researchers found that those less willing to take the vaccine came from the most socioeconomically-deprived backgrounds, felt less belonging to their school communities and thought they had the virus already.
“Younger children more often defer to their parents, or primary caregivers, for decisions about health care and vaccination, but our data shows how important it is for good quality, accessible information to be provided to better enable our younger populations to understand more about the Covid-19 vaccine and its effects,” said Mina Fazel, an associate professor at the University of Oxford.
U.S. Boosts Travel Warnings for HK, Singapore (3:06 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisories for Hong Kong and Singapore by one notch each. Hong Kong has a moderate level of Covid-19, the agency said, while Singapore’s is high.
Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to Singapore, where all travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading variants, the CDC said.
Biden Gets Booster, Presses for Mandates (1:57 p.m. NY)
Biden received a booster shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and said he would press for more vaccination mandates to improve the inoculation rate.
Americans who have refused to be vaccinated are causing “an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country,” he said at the White House. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That’s why I’m moving forward with vaccination mandates wherever I can.”
Biden, 78, meets federal guidelines that those over age 65 get a third shot. The president received his second in January, putting him well past the six-month threshold for getting another.
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