WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is working to give additional COVID-19 booster shots to Americans with compromised immune systems as quickly as possible, as cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday. The United States is joining Germany, France and Israel in giving booster shots, ignoring a plea by the World Health Organisation to hold off until more people around the world can get their first shot. U.S. regulators need to fully authorize the COVID-19 vaccines or amend their emergency use authorizations before officials can recommend additional shots, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to make third doses available sooner under certain circumstances, officials said at a July meeting. “It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters and we are now working on that,” Fauci said on a press call, adding that immunocompromised people may not be sufficiently protected by their existing COVID-19 vaccinations. Fauci said rising cases resulting from the spread of the contagious Delta variant in the United States can be turned around with additional vaccinations. The Biden administration has been eager to thaw opposition by some Americans, including those who distrust the government, to taking the vaccine as the highly infectious Delta variant sweeps the country. Seven U.S. states with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates account for half of the country’s new cases and hospitalizations in the last week, the White House said on Thursday. The states are Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, according to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 coordinator, Jeff Zients, who spoke at the press briefing Of those, Florida and Texas account for about a third of new coronavirus cases and an even higher share of hospitalizations in the country. COVID cases are up about 43% over the previous week and daily deaths are up more than 39%, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who also spoke on the call. The United States hit a six-month high for new COVID cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally. Some 864,000 vaccinations have been given in the past 24 hours, the highest since early July, the White House said. Zients said the Biden administration supports U.S. businesses and other institutions requiring that their employees get vaccinated. He added that the White House is considering requiring foreign visitors to be vaccinated as it plans to eventually reopen international travel but said it had made no final decision.
US working on providing booster shots to weakened population
https://youtu.be/_8tDljXSCsE
White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Thursday that the government is working on authorizing a third COVID-19 vaccine shot for immunosuppressed populations in the United States. “It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters, and we are now working on that and we will make that be implemented as quickly as possible… It is a very high priority,” Dr. Fauci stressed.
These vaccinated populations count for only around 2.7% of adult people in the US, however, they represent roughly 44% of hospitalized COVID-19 cases despite being fully inoculated.
According to studies cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, booster shots could help those with weakened immune systems increase resistance to the coronavirus.
Long Lines at Covid-19 Testing Sites Again
Moderna: Coronavirus to stay long-term
The President of the Moderna pharmaceutical company Stephen Hoge said in an interview on Thursday that the research indicates that SARS CoV2 virus is likely to stay long-term and there will be more rounds of the outbreak, potentially even annually. In light of continued infection and emerging variants, Moderna’s leadership sees using “multivalent boosters” as a response. The company is in the last stages of testing before filing for regulatory approval of a booster dose. Hoge noted that booster shots will likely be necessary this fall. Moderna’s booster strategy is pursuing three options: a third dose of original vaccine, a variant-specific shot and a combination of both. The company is also looking to develop a jab against all variants of the COVID-19 virus.
Countries weigh need for booster COVID-19 shots
(Reuters) – Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have asked U.S. and European regulators to approve a booster dose following a two-shot regimen of their COVID-19 vaccine, based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation. Moderna has also filed for full approval for their vaccines in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aiming to give the green light for the Pfizer shots by early September, the New York Times reported. The World Health Organization has, meanwhile, called for a halt to COVID-19 vaccine boosters until at least the end of September to allow for the inoculation of at least 10% of the population of every country. As of yet, there is no consensus among scientists and agencies, including WHO, that a third dose is necessary. The following outlines what options countries and regions are considering on the issue:
UNITED STATES
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on July 8 that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster COVID-19 shot at this time. However, top infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said on July 24 that Americans who are immune compromised may need extra shots as the country faces the more infectious Delta variant.
EUROPEAN UNION
Europe’s drug regulator on July 14 refrained from making any recommendations on mixing schedules of COVID-19 vaccines with doses from different manufacturers, saying it was too early to confirm if and when an additional booster shot would be needed. Recent supply contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have included the potential for the bloc to buy booster shots.
BRITAIN
Britain has begun planning for a booster campaign starting later this year after top vaccine advisers said it might be necessary to give third shots to the elderly and most vulnerable from September. It said it would buy 60 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine ahead of the possible booster programme, bringing its total order of the shot to 100 million doses. According to the Telegraph newspaper, 32 million Britons will be offered extra shots in a campaign set to launch as early as Sept. 6.
BRAZIL
Brazilians should prepare for annual COVID-19 immunisations to reinforce vaccines, the head of public-sector laboratory Butantan said in May.
FINLAND
It has not made a decision on the recommendation of a third dose but is expected to do so in August.
FRANCE
President Emmanuel Macron said France was working on rolling out third COVID-19 vaccine doses to the elderly and vulnerable from September.
GERMANY
Germany will in September start to offer a booster shot to vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with weak immune systems. The shots will be mRNA-vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna regardless of what was used previously.
SWEDEN
The majority of Swedes will be offered a booster shot against COVID in 2022, while high risk groups could get a third shot this autumn, the health authority said on Tuesday.
INDONESIA
Indonesia started giving booster shots produced by Moderna to medical workers in July and is considering extra doses for wider use.
THAILAND
Thailand plans to give booster shots of imported mRNA vaccine to its front-line workers – who were given imported Sinovac before the locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine was available in June.
CAMBODIA
Cambodia will begin offering a booster shot, switching between the AstraZeneca and Chinese COVID-19 vaccines. The third dose will be offered to between 500,000 to one million front-line workers as a priority.
ISRAEL
Israel in July started offering a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to people aged over 60.
RUSSIA
Health clinics in Moscow started offering booster shots this month to people vaccinated six months ago or more, making Russia one of the first countries to begin re-vaccination.
SINGAPORE
Singapore said in May it was making plans for booster shots later this year or early next year, if necessary.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea said in June it plans to secure more mRNA vaccines to use as boosters next year for its entire population of 52 million.
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland has ordered 43 million doses of vaccines, including preparations for potential booster shots in 2022, should they be needed, the Health Ministry said.
GULF STATES
The United Arab Emirates will start providing a booster shot to all fully vaccinated people. The shot will be available to people considered at high risk three months after their second vaccine dose, and six months for others. In June, the UAE and Bahrain made the Pfizer vaccine available as a booster shot to those initially immunised with a vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm.
COMPANIES
Pfizer and Moderna have raised the prices of their COVID-19 vaccines in their latest European Union supply contracts, the Financial Times reported on Aug. 1. Moderna had earlier struck deals with Spain’s Rovi and Switzerland’s Lonza at a Dutch plant that would boost 50-microgram dose production– half the level of its original shots – in Europe to up to 600 million doses annually, with the capacity due to come on line this year. France’s Sanofi has agreed to buy U.S. biotech company Translate Bio in a $3.2 billion deal, as it bets on next-generation mRNA vaccine technology beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan records over 15,000 new COVID cases for first time
TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Newly reported daily COVID-19 cases in Japan exceeded 15,000 for the first time, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, after the Tokyo metropolitan government reported a record-high 5,042 new infection cases in the capital.
U.S. COVID-19 cases hit six-month high at over 100,000
Test at home… save yourself avoid the long line…stay alive
Aug 5 (Reuters) – The United States hit a six-month high for new COVID cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant ravages areas where people did not get vaccinated. The country is reporting over 94,819 cases on a seven-day average, a five-fold increase in less than a month, Reuters data through Wednesday showed. The seven-day average provides the most accurate picture of how fast cases are rising since some states only report infections once or twice a week. In the coming weeks, cases could double to 200,000 per day due to the highly contagious Delta variant, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday. “If another one comes along that has an equally high capability of transmitting but also is much more severe, then we could really be in trouble,” Fauci said in an interview with McClatchy. “People who are not getting vaccinated mistakenly think it’s only about them. But it isn’t. It’s about everybody else, also.” The Delta variant, first detected in India, accounts for 83% of all new cases reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination rates vary widely from a high of 76% of Vermont residents receiving a first dose to a low of 40% in Mississippi, with polls showing Republicans are far less likely than Democrats to get vaccinated. Nick Bite: Get your booster shot! Deaths, a lagging indicator, jumped 33% over the past week, with about 377 deaths per day on average, according to the analysis. Florida, Texas and Louisiana were reporting the highest total number of new cases in the region over the last week, according to a Reuters analysis. Hospitals in Florida and Louisiana are seeing record numbers of COVID patients occupying beds. To try to halt the spread of the virus, New York City will require proof of vaccination at restaurants, gyms and other businesses. Roughly 60% of all New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to city data. But certain areas, largely poor communities and communities of color, have much lower vaccination rates. Some private companies are also mandating vaccines for employees and customers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to give full approval for the Pfizer (PFE.N) COVID vaccine by early September, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, which could prompt more Americans to get the vaccine as it might reduce their fears about the safety of the shot.
Germany to give COVID vaccine boosters joining the UK and Israel
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New York auto show cancelled on Delta variant worries
CANCELLED
Aug 4 (Reuters) – The 2021 New York auto show AT THE LAST MINUTE has been canceled due to the risks posed by the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, its organizers said on Wednesday.
The New York International Auto Show has become a casualty of the fast-spreading coronavirus Delta variant. Show organizers said Wednesday that they’ve decided to cancel it this year. The reasons are the growing spread of the variant and recent restrictions announced by state and local officials to fight it.
“Over the past few weeks, especially within the past few days, circumstances have changed, making it more difficult to create an event at the high standard that we and our clients expect,” Mark Schienberg, the show’s president, said in a statement.
The annual New York auto show is typically the biggest convention gathering in New York City each year, drawing more than 1 million visitors to the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan for the multiday event and generating millions of dollars in revenue for local businesses. Spokesman Chris Sams said.
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