(Bloomberg) — Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said a pair of laboratory studies confirmed that three doses of their Covid-19 vaccine produce antibodies that can neutralize the omicron variant.
Beijing eased a testing requirement for the Winter Olympics even as a growing number of cases associated with the games are being found. In the Chinese city of Xi’an, a month-long lockdown was ended after a virus outbreak was stamped out.
The U.K. will stop requiring vaccinated travelers to take a Covid-19 test after arriving in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Meanwhile, an Israeli study found that a fourth vaccine dose for older adults leaves them better protected against coronavirus infection.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 351.4 million; deaths pass 5.5 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.92 billion shots administered
- Bars and gyms are bustling as Americans learn to live with Covid
- Beijing tests shoppers to root out Covid cases
- Living with Covid proving tough for a gridlocked world economy
- Is Covid becoming endemic? What would that mean?: QuickTake
U.K. to End Tests for Vaccinated Travelers (7:55 a.m. NY)
The U.K. will stop requiring vaccinated travelers to take a Covid-19 test after arriving in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
The new rules are part of a general easing of Covid-19 restrictions as the U.K. starts to treat the virus as endemic.
“So what we’re doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travelers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated,” Johnson told broadcasters Monday in a pooled interview.
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said in statement that the airline is looking ahead to what it believes “will be a strong summer.”
Pfizer, BioNTech: 3 Doses Neutralize Omicron (7:29 a.m. NY)
Pfizer and BioNTech said a pair of laboratory studies confirmed that three doses of their Covid-19 vaccine produce antibodies that can neutralize the omicron variant.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, the studies also indicate that immunity provided by T-cells after two shots of the vaccine may still protect against severe disease.
A third study published on the pre-print server bioRxiv without peer review also showed restoration of antibodies, but indicated that their ability to neutralize omicron decreases by as much as two times over four months.
The partners said they’re now planning human trials of an additional dose of the original shot as well as a vaccine express-designed for the omicron variant.
WHO Needs More Funds, Director Says (7:07 a.m. NY)
The World Health Organization can’t do its job if member states and donors don’t agree to a proposed funding increase giving the international health body more autonomy to fight pandemics, its chief said.
“If the current funding model continues, the WHO is being set up to fail,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told delegates in Geneva Monday.
The organization is asking for an additional $480 million.
Iran Cases Surge Most Since Nov. (6:43 a.m. NY)
Iran on Monday reported its highest daily coronavirus infections since Nov. 10, with 7,691 cases that brought the country’s total tally to over 6.2 million.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran have been on the rise since the start of the new year, after the health ministry confirmed the first case of the omicron variant in December.
HK Hotel Quarantine Criticized After Outbreak (5:00 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong’s onerous system of hotel quarantine may have seeded an omicron outbreak that’s led to thousands of people being locked down, prompting calls for reform of the controversial setup.
An outbreak of over 200 at a public housing estate was confirmed, and the preliminarily positive cases on Monday were traced to a traveler who caught omicron while undergoing 21 days of isolation at a hotel in Kowloon. While she entered the hotel Covid-free, the pathogen was transmitted to her from an infected person staying at the same hotel.
Czech Cases Touch Pandemic Sunday High (4:46 p.m. HK)
The Czech Republic had 12,889 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours through Sunday, the highest number for a Sunday since the beginning of pandemic.
As the highly infectious Omicron variant rages through the nation of 10.7 million, 1,448 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus, according to the health ministry data.
Beijing Eases Olympics Tests to Cap Disruption (4:23 p.m. HK)
Beijing eased a Winter Olympics testing requirement even as a growing number of cases associated with the games are being found, underscoring China’s challenge in trying to keep the omicron variant at bay while minimizing disruption to the massive sporting event.
With less than two weeks to go before the opening ceremony, about 78 cases among Olympics participants — including “stakeholders” such as marketing and other support staff — have been reported since Jan. 4.
Olympics officials said that they would amend the rules to lower the threshold for participants to be considered virus-free, and cut in half the number of days to seven that someone is designated a close contact.
Fourth Shot Gives Infection Protection, Israel Says (4:09 p.m. HK)
A fourth vaccine dose for older adults leaves them better protected against coronavirus infection than peers who received three shots, a study released by Israel’s health ministry found.
The preliminary analysis compares data from about 400,000 people aged 60 and over who received a fourth dose in January and some 600,000 people in the same age group who got only three doses — with the third shot administered four months or more previously.
The researchers found that those who had the fourth dose had twice the protection from infection as the others, and at least three times the protection from severe illness. The great majority of people in Israel have received the Pfizer Inc. vaccine.
Singapore Vaccine Demand for Kids Rises (3:26 p.m. HK)
About 70% of Singapore’s primary school students have signed up to be vaccinated, with more than 60% having had their first vaccines, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post.
Overall 160,000 aged 5-11 have had first dose, 13,000 have had their second dose, according to the ministry.
India Wave May Have Peaked (2:20 p.m. HK)
India’s current wave of infections may have peaked on Jan. 23 after surging more than 40-fold within a month, according to a note by Cambridge University’s India Covid-19 tracker. The country added 306,064 new cases Monday, taking total infections since the start of the pandemic to 39.5 million.
India has stepped up screening for all omicron lineages and threat levels remain high in view of increasing hospitalizations and patients needing intensive care, the government said Sunday. Reported deaths rose 439 to a total of 489,848 since the pandemic started.
China Lifts Xi’an Lockdown (12:50 p.m. HK)
The Chinese city of Xi’an lifted a monthlong lockdown after a Covid outbreak was stamped out. Capacity limits will still apply at restaurants, tourism sites and theaters, and family dinners will be capped at 10 people. The city of 13 million people was plunged into lockdown last month as China adheres to a strict Covid-Zero policy.
But even as the delta flareup in Xi’an eases, Chinese authorities are now having to turn their attention to containing the highly transmissible omicron variant. The strain has been reported in seven out of 31 provinces and all of China’s biggest cities including Beijing and Shanghai. China reported 18 local confirmed Covid-19 cases on Jan. 23, with six in Beijing, three in Hebei and three in Yunnan, the National Health Commissions said in a statement.
Thailand Rolls Out Fourth Shots (11:25 a.m. HK)
Thailand is ramping up the rollout of fourth vaccination shots to residents in tourism-dependent regions as the nation prepares to reopen its borders next month.
Authorities are offering AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and seven other provinces to people who received their third dose at least three months ago. Starting on Feb. 1, Thailand will resume its quarantine-free tourism program that helped bring in some 350,000 visitors in two months, before the plan was temporarily suspended due to concerns over the spread of the omicron variant.
Cathay Cash Burn Accelerates (9:55 a.m. HK)
Cathay Pacific said its monthly cash burn will widen to as much as HK$1.5 billion ($193 million) from February as Hong Kong’s tighter restrictions on aircrew and travel throttle capacity.
The airline is operating about 2% of its pre-pandemic capacity on passenger flights and 20% for cargo, a side of the business that helped it generate money in the second half of last year thanks to strong demand for airfreight. Cathay expects to report a loss of between HK$5.6 billion to HK$6.1 billion in 2021, compared with a deficit of HK$7.5 billion in the first half last year.
Hong Kong reported 140 confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest number in about a year.
U.S. Vaccinations Slow (7:18 a.m. HK)
The U.S. reported on Sunday 694,000 vaccine new doses administered, the lowest number since October, amid a general decline in vaccinations despite near-record high infections and hospitalizations.
Vaccinations peaked last April at more than 4.5 million daily shots, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, and have largely been on the decline since. The availability of booster shots, the expansion to younger age groups and vaccine mandates briefly boosted numbers that are now dropping toward the lowest points since vaccinations were rolled out in December 2020.
Of the eligible populations, 67.4% of Americans are fully vaccinated and 43% have received booster shots, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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