(Bloomberg) — China’s northeastern city of Harbin is conducting city-wide Covid-19 tests and suspending schools for a week to control a virus outbreak.
The pandemic may be over by next spring once so-called herd immunity has been achieved, German Health Minister Jens Spahn predicted. South Africa’s daily vaccination rate plunged this week amid criticism of a lack of information about the shots among more remote and impoverished communities.
South Korea is offering Vietnam more than 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses amid a push for closer ties. The Southeast Asian country is also getting 796,000 more shots of the AstraZeneca Plc shot from Italy, whose total donation to the nation will top 1.6 million doses.
The U.S., which has faced criticism over boosters, is planning to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer Inc.’s shot. A booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine provided 100% protection against severe disease when given two months after the first one in a trial.
Key Developments:
- Global Virus Tracker: Cases pass 229.4 million; deaths exceed 4.7 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6 billion doses administered
- FDA is expected to decide on Pfizer booster shots on Wednesday
- China’s weak holiday spending shows impact of Covid controls
- Biden plans donation of 500 million shots, doubling goal
- Why the delta variant is giving more children Covid
Singapore Scaling Up Covid Operations (2:57 p.m. HK)
Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said the country is doing its best to expand its Covid-19 management operations to cope with the growing number of infections.
The group, which administers the process for Covid patients from detection to recovery, have a “very demanding task,” Lee said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, acknowledging strains in the system where authorities have taken a long time to contact people after they test positive.
Lee’s comments come amid a spike in cases in the country, where there have been 1,000 new cases in three out of the past four days.
India to Let Kids Get Shots: Reuters (2:54 p.m. HK)
India will open Covid-19 vaccinations for kids ages 12 and older in October when Cadila Healthcare launches its ZyCov-D product, Reuters reported, citing two unidentified people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The DNA-based vaccine got emergency authorization from Indian regulators last month and is the only one approved for children in the country.
Germany Sees End to Pandemic in Spring 2022 (1:29 p.m. HK)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn predicted that the pandemic will be over by next spring once so-called herd immunity has been achieved.
“As long as no new virus variant emerges against which a vaccination has no effect — which is very unlikely — then we will have overcome the pandemic in the spring and can return to normal,” Spahn said in an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
South Africa’s Daily Vaccination Rate Sinks (1:27 p.m. HK)
South Africa’s daily Covid-19 vaccination rate plunged this week, indicating that the inoculation drive may be losing steam amid criticism of a lack of information about the shots among more remote and impoverished communities.
On Sept. 20 just 159,542 doses were administered, the lowest amount on a week day since Aug. 13, when 147,307 vaccinations were given, according to government statistics. That’s short of the government’s yet-to-be attained target of 300,000 doses a day and also the lowest since 18-to-35 year-olds became eligible for the shots on Sept. 1.
Australia Borders to Be Open by Christmas (12:42 p.m. HK)
Australia plans to open its international border by Christmas at the latest, unwinding one of the world’s strictest controls on overseas travel since the pandemic began.
Australians will be able to travel abroad, with no restrictions on the destination, once the vaccination rate in their respective home state hits 80%, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said at a National Press Club of Australia event Wednesday.
China’s Harbin Finds Five More Cases (12:37 p.m. HK)
Five more Covid-19 cases have been found in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin on Wednesday, bringing the total case count to eight since the first case was found on Tuesday.
The city of 10 million people is rolling out virus testing to all of its residents and will suspend vaccinations for three days. In Bayan county, where most of the cases were found, local authorities have suspended public transportation on Wednesday.Meanwhile, a cluster in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian appears to be easing, with only 13 cases reported on Wednesday, compared with a few dozen in the past few days. More than 400 infections have been found in the province, a manufacturing hub for electronic components, shoes and clothing, and a trade gateway with Taiwan across the strait.
South Korea Offers Vietnam 1 Million Doses (12:21 p.m. HK)
South Korea is offering Vietnam more than 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, with delivery expected in October, news website Zing reported, citing President Moon Jae-In during a New York City meeting with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Moon said South Korea aims for $100 billion bilateral trade between the two countries in 2023 and an increase in cooperation in digital economy, biological products, financial sectors, the newspaper Thanh Nien reported, citing information from the same meeting.
Thailand Cases Rise for First Time in Five Days (11:00 a.m. HK)
Thailand reported 11,252 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the first daily increase since Sept. 17, according to government data Wednesday. The country is set to reopen more of its popular tourist destinations starting next month.
New Zealand Still Aiming for Zero Covid Cases (10:55 a.m. HK)
New Zealand Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the country is “not giving up on getting back down to zero, that is exactly why Auckland is still at Alert Level 3.”
Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Monday that New Zealand may not get back to zero cases of Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean the country has abandoned its elimination strategy. That means trying to stamp out the virus whenever it is found, Bloomfield told Radio New Zealand.
Auckland, the largest city, has been in lockdown for five weeks and won’t exit for at least another two, while social distancing and mask-wearing requirements are in place for the rest of the country. Although a handful of new cases continue to be reported daily, health officials are on top of the current outbreak and are aiming to get the vaccination rate over 90% so that restrictions can be eased, Bloomfield said.
Ho Chi Minh City Releases Safety Rules (10:46 a.m. HK)
Authorities in Vietnam’s commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City issued new Covid-19 safety rules that went into effect Monday requiring workers at plants, supermarkets, stores, traditional markets, offices and customers to at least be partially vaccinated or fully recovered from the virus, according to statements posted on the city’s media center website.
Taiwan Sees 70% Partially Vaccinated by End-October (9:25 a.m. HK)
Taiwan’s government expects to have 70% of the population at least partially vaccinated by the end of October, Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters in Taipei. It sees close to 30% fully vaccinated by then, TVBS reported, citing the Premier’s report to lawmakers.
Melbourne Boosts Security After Protests (9:20 a.m. HK)
Australia’s Victoria state said it would come down hard against further protests after thousands of people demonstrated in Melbourne against Covid-19 restrictions and a shutdown of the construction industry.
Flanked by police officials while addressing the media, Premier Daniel Andrews condemned the “ugly” behavior Tuesday, which culminated in the business district being closed and a raft of arrests. Minister for Police Lisa Neville warned people to avoid entering the city and said she’d ordered police to use any means necessary to stamp out unrest.
China Reports 16 Virus Cases (9:13 a.m. HK)
China reported 16 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, including three found in the northeastern city of Harbin. The rest are from an existing cluster in Fujian, where authorities have detected more than 400 cases since two students were found to have been infected during routine testing earlier this month.
U.S. to Buy 187 Million Rapid Tests (3:30 p.m. NY)
The federal government is spending nearly $1.2 billion to purchase 187 million rapid tests from Abbott Laboratories and Celltrion Inc., according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official.
The deals, which include options to buy more, are part of an investment of about $2 billion announced by the Biden administration earlier this month to make the rapid tests more widely available. The government is also using the Defense Production Act to build out manufacturing capacity.
The products, known as antigen tests, return results in about 15 minutes on-site, without needing to be sent out to a laboratory. Demand for tests, including the rapid products, has surged amid the latest wave in the U.S.
Biden Plans Donation of 500 Million Pfizer Shots (2 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden plans to announce an order of 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SE vaccine Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the president looks to increase donations of shots abroad and ward off criticism about U.S. plans for boosters.
Negotiations between the administration and manufacturers are continuing but a deal is poised to be unveiled at a virtual vaccine summit, said the people, who asked not to be named ahead of the announcement.
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