First Edition: April 19, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Snag A Vaccine Appointment, Then Face The Next Hurdle: How To Get There?
The airport says a lot about Cortez, Colorado: The single-engine planes that fly into its one-room airport seat nine passengers at most. The city of about 9,000 is known largely as a gateway to beautiful places like Mesa Verde National Park and the Four Corners Monument. But covid vaccines have made Cortez a destination in its own right. “We had a couple fly in to get their vaccine from Denver that couldn’t get it in the Denver metro area,” said Marc Meyer, director of pharmacy services and infection control for Southwest Health System, which includes clinics and a community hospital in Cortez. Others have come from neighboring states and as far away as California, Florida and the Carolinas. “They all come back for their second dose,” he said. “Because it’s so hard to get in the cities.” (Bichell, 4/19)
KHN:
The Shock And Reality Of Catching Covid After Being Vaccinated
Robin Hauser, a pediatrician in Tampa, Fla., got covid in February. What separates her from the vast majority of the tens of millions of other Americans who have come down with the virus is this: She got sick seven weeks after her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. “I was shocked,” said Hauser. “I thought: ‘What the heck? How did that happen?’ I now tell everyone, including my colleagues, not to let their guard down after the vaccine.” As more Americans every day are inoculated, a tiny but growing number are contending with the disturbing experience of getting covid despite having had one shot, or even two. (Findlay, 4/16)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Pause And Effect On Covid Vaccines
The effort to vaccinate Americans against covid-19 took a hit [last] week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration jointly called for a pause in use of the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson while experts try to figure out whether it is responsible for a small number of serious blood clots, mostly in women of childbearing age. (4/16)
KHN:
Journalists Unpack Patchwork Vaccine Rollout, Rapid Covid Tests And More
California Healthline correspondent Rachel Bluth unpacked California’s newly expanded vaccine eligibility rules and the state’s vaccine appointment website on KALW’s “Your Call” on Thursday. ... California Healthline correspondent Angela Hart discussed California cities’ experiment with city-managed homeless camps on KQED’s “Forum” on Thursday. ... Midwest editor and correspondent Laura Ungar joined a covid-19 reporter’s roundtable on Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st Show” on Wednesday. Ungar also discussed gender-based vaccine disparities with KCBS on Tuesday. (4/17)
NPR:
Global COVID-19 Deaths Top 3 Million
Global deaths from COVID-19 has surpassed 3 million, according to the latest data from John Hopkins University. Leading in those deaths are the United States, with more than 566,000, and Brazil, with more than 368,000. They are followed by Mexico, India and the United Kingdom. The global death toll reached 1 million in September 2020 and 2 million in January. (Muhammad, 4/17)
AP:
Half Of US Adults Have Received At Least One COVID-19 Shot
The U.S. cleared the 50% mark just a day after the reported global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million, according to totals compiled by Johns Hopkins University, though the actual number is believed to be significantly higher. (Yen and Mattise, 4/18)
CBS News:
Fauci Expects Decision On Whether To Resume Johnson & Johnson Vaccine By Friday
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Sunday he believes there will be a decision over whether to end the pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine by Friday. "A decision almost certainly will be made by Friday," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview on "Face the Nation." "I don't really anticipate that they're going to want to stretch it out a bit longer, in one way or the other, make a decision about J&J. I don't know what that's going to be, but thinking about what the possibilities are, one of the possibilities would be to bring them back, but to do it with some form of restriction or some form of warning. But I believe by Friday we're going to know the answer to that." (Quinn, 4/18)
Politico:
'I Doubt Very Seriously If They Just Cancel' Paused J&J Vaccine, Fauci Says
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, predicted Sunday that the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine will continue to be used "in some form," though it could come with a warning or restriction. Asked in interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" whether it's more likely the vaccine will still be used with some restriction or not used at all, Fauci stressed that "everything is on the table" but estimated the vaccine won't just be shelved after federal agencies called for a pause in its use last week. (O'Brien, 4/18)
Roll Call:
CDC To Ramp Up COVID-19 Variant Sequencing
The Biden administration will direct $1.7 billion to sequence the emerging variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, the White House announced Friday. New variants of the coronavirus make up about half of the current COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The emergence of variants underscores the critical need for rapid and ongoing genomic surveillance,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters in a press briefing. (McIntire, 4/16)
The New York Times:
Biden Administration Ends Limit On Fetal Tissue Research
The Biden administration on Friday lifted restrictions on the use of fetal tissue for medical research, reversing rules imposed in 2019 by President Donald J. Trump. The new rules, disclosed by the National Institutes of Health, allow scientists to use tissue derived from elective abortions to study and develop treatments for diseases including diabetes, cancer, AIDS and Covid-19. (Mandavilli, 4/17)
NPR:
Biden Administration Reverses Trump Fetal Tissue Research Rules
Fetal tissue is uniquely valuable to medical researchers - useful for developing treatments and better understanding diseases like HIV, Parkinson's, and COVID-19. But many anti-abortion rights groups oppose it on moral or religious grounds. Now, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says he's reversing several restrictions on fetal tissue research put in place during the Trump administration. (McCammon, 4/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Biden Admin Throws Out Texas Medicaid Waiver
The Biden administration on Friday unwound a 10-year extension of Texas' Medicaid waiver, arguing that the Trump administration should not have approved its more than $100 billion request without going through the usual notice and comment period. Texas asked CMS to fast-track an extension of its Medicaid waiver, which mostly covers uncompensated care costs, in November. At the time, the state said it needed an exemption from the usual public comment period to ensure financial stability for providers and the state's Medicaid program during the COVID-19 public health emergency. (Brady, 4/16)
Houston Chronicle:
Biden Administration Rescinds Billions In Medicaid Funding For Texas
A federal waiver granting Texas billions of dollars over the next decade to help cover emergency care for the uninsured was abruptly rescinded Friday, a move that could upend the state’s health care safety net and adds pressure on Republican leaders hesitant to expand Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter that it had incorrectly allowed Texas to forgo the normal comment period when applying for an extension of its 1115 waiver, which reimburses hospitals in the state for uncompensated care. (Blackman, 4/16)
Fox News:
Fauci Ties Gun Violence To A Public Health Issue
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top disease expert in the U.S., tied gun violence to public health in the country during an interview Sunday after a recent spate of mass shootings. Fauci was a guest on CNN’s "State of the Union," and the host, Dana Bash asked him his opinion on gun violence, which she described as "another epidemic" in the U.S. "When you see people getting killed, I mean, in this last month, it’s just been horrifying what’s happened. How can you say that’s not a public health issue?" (DeMarche, 4/18)
The Hill:
Trump Looms Over Senate's Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Battle
Ninety-two senators voted last week to advance an Asian American hate crimes bill. But its passage likely depends on Democrats agreeing to soften language that Republicans say ties hate crimes too narrowly to the characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus.” Even Republicans who voted to advance the hate crimes legislation sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) see it as a jab at President Trump. The bill links his characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts. (Boton, 4/18)
Houston Chronicle:
Feds Abruptly Decide To Move Migrant Children From Emergency Shelter In Houston
Federal authorities on Saturday abruptly emptied an emergency shelter for unaccompanied migrant children, loading the 450 girls on buses and sending them to other facilities or placements with sponsors. Authorities gave few reasons for the sudden move, but it came just days after the Houston Chronicle reported that immigrant advocates were raising concerns about crowding and other conditions at the shelter, which was operating in a warehouse near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Compounding the chaos was the sudden death Friday night of an adult staffer from the Department of Health and Human Services working at the shelter. (Serrano and de Luna, 4/17)
CNBC:
U.S. CPSC Tells Consumers To Stop Using Peloton's Tread+ Treadmill
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Saturday said consumers should stop using the Tread+ treadmill from exercise equipment maker Peloton if small children or pets are around. The announcement came one month after Peloton itself disclosed an accident involving the treadmill that resulted in the death of a child. (Novet, 4/17)
The Washington Post:
Peloton Fights With CPSC Over Recalling Its Treadmills After Child Deaths, Injuries
One month after revealing that one child died and others were injured in accidents on Peloton treadmills, the at-home exercise company is fighting a federal safety agency’s request that the company recall the products and has delayed the agency’s investigation into potential safety problems, according to officials familiar with the incident. The Consumer Product Safety Commission this week took the unusual step of issuing an administrative subpoena to require Peloton to disclose the name of the child who died and the family’s contact information so regulators can continue an inquiry into what went wrong, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. (Frankel, 4/17)
AP:
Celebrities Make A Stand For COVID Vaccines On TV Special
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and a slew of celebrities including Billy Crystal, Jennifer Hudson and Lin-Manuel Miranda are part of a special aimed at boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Roll Up Your Sleeves,” airing at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday on NBC, will feature Matthew McConaughey interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci to help separate “fact from fiction” about the vaccines, the network said. (4/16)
CIDRAP:
Scientists Tie Platelet Factor 4 To AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine-Related Clots
UK researchers have uncovered the novel mechanism behind rare abnormal blood clotting seen in some AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine recipients, according to a study today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study involved clinical and lab evaluation of 23 previously healthy patients who experienced blood clots and thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) 6 to 24 days after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most clots were cerebral venous thrombosis, while some were arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolisms such as pulmonary embolisms. (4/16)
The New York Times:
‘We Were Flying Blind’: A Dr.’s Account Of A Woman’s J.&J. Vaccine-Related Blood Clot Case
An 18-year-old woman was stricken with severe headaches, vomiting, seizures, confusion and weakness in one arm early this month, strokelike symptoms that doctors at a Nevada hospital were shocked to see in someone so young. Scans found several large blood clots blocking veins that drain blood from the brain, a condition that can disable or kill a patient. Doctors performed a procedure to suction huge clots from her brain, only to find that new ones had formed. (Grady, 4/16)
The Atlantic:
The Danger Of A ‘Dudes Only’ Vaccine
The Johnson & Johnson shot is teetering on the precipice of becoming America’s “dudes only” vaccine. On Tuesday, the CDC and FDA advised halting the vaccine’s nationwide rollout to investigate six cases of a rare blood-clotting disorder that’s occurred in people within about two weeks of receiving the vaccine—all of them women under the age of 50. In an emergency meeting convened Wednesday by the CDC, experts raised the possibility of limiting its future use to males, reserving Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, as some have unfortunately put it, for johnsons alone. (Wu, 4/16)
CNBC:
13-Year-Old In Pfizer Covid Vaccine Trial Who Wants To Be An Epidemiologist: ‘I Like To Learn Everything I Can’
Epidemiology is not high on your average teen’s list of hobbies. But it is for Andrew Brandt, a 13-year-old who lives in New Orleans and is enrolled in Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine trial for children. “When the pandemic started, it was sad because I did want to help people and I just kind of felt like I really couldn’t do that,” Andrew tells CNBC Make It. Finding the Pfizer trial for his age group felt like a tangible way to pitch in, and also fit his interest in science and medicine. (Stieg, 4/17)
CNBC:
Covid: More Young People Hospitalized As More Contagious Variants Spread
Dr. Paul Offit, a physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said he is now seeing more patients with a rare inflammatory condition, a complication of Covid-19, than he has ever witnessed since the pandemic began. In Texas, Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine, said he and his colleagues are noticing a rise in admissions of young people with Covid-19, though he did not have hard data yet to back up the anecdotal evidence. (Lovelace Jr., 4/16)
CIDRAP:
Study Notes 10% Of Marines Who Had COVID-19 Experience Reinfections
Previous COVID-19 infection did not completely protect young US Marines in a study led by scientists from the Naval Medical Research Center and published yesterday in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Of the 2,346 otherwise healthy quarantined Marine recruits studied from May 11 to Nov 2, 2020, 189 were seropositive, or had antibodies against COVID-19 in their blood, indicating previous coronavirus infection, while 2,247 were seronegative. (4/16)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Vaccination Cards A Target Of Scams
One listing offered eBay customers an “Authentic CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $10.99. Another promised the same but for $9.49. A third was more oblique, offering a “Clear Pouch For CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $8.99, but customers instead received a blank vaccination card (and no pouch).All three listings were posted by the same eBay user, who goes by “asianjackson” — using an account registered to a man who works as a pharmacist in the Chicago area — and all were illegal, federal regulators say. The account sold more than 100 blank vaccination cards in the past two weeks, according to The Washington Post’s review of purchases linked to it. (Diamond, 4/18)
Fox News:
New Hampshire Lifts Coronavirus Mask Mandate
New Hampshire’s mask mandate expired Friday after the state’s governor announced in a tweet on Thursday that it would not be renewed. Gov. Chris Sununu said the decision was made as the state’s rate of virus-related hospitalizations remains stable, vaccination efforts increase and COVID-19 deaths continue to decline. "This mandate going away will not limit or prevent the ability of private business or cities and towns from requiring masks, as was the case before," Sununu further explained. "New Hampshire residents know how to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe without a state mandate – just as we did before the winter surge." (Hein, 4/17)
The Hill:
Whitmer: State Won't Close Down Again Following GOP Lawsuits
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), indicated Sunday that her state would not implement new coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions in response to a spike in new infections due to Republican-led lawsuits last year that challenged her constitutional authority to do so. Speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Whitmer explained to host Chuck Todd that the lawsuits had left her without the ability to unilaterally implement new COVID-19 lockdown measures shutting down businesses in the state, which experts, including Anthony Fauci, have said is the best response in the face of rising infection numbers. (Bowden, 4/18)
Crain's Detroit Business:
ER Doctors 'Manage Chaos' Amid COVID-19 Surge In Michigan
Emergency doctors and nurses in Michigan are seeing a massive increase in patients seeking care in hospital EDs, a mixture of ailments not seen before in previous COVID-19 surges. Some people are flocking to hospital EDs suffering from such traditional emergencies as stroke, chest or abdominal pain, visits which they might have tried to avoid last year. Others, those in their 30s or 40s, and some teenagers and children, are coming in with COVID-19 illnesses or symptoms, ED healthcare workers tell Crain's. (Greene, 4/18)
The New York Times:
Can Covid Research Help Solve The Mysteries Of Other Viruses?
Barie Carmichael lost her sense of taste and smell while traveling in Europe. She remembers keeping a dinner date at a Michelin-starred restaurant but tasting nothing. “I didn’t have the heart to tell my host,” she said. It may sound like a case of Covid-19. But Ms. Carmichael, 72, a fellow at the University of Virginia’s business school, lost her ability to taste and smell for three years in the 1990s. The only respiratory infection she’d had was bronchitis. (Kolata, 4/17)
The New York Times:
The Covid-19 Plasma Boom Is Over. What Did We Learn From It?
Scott Cohen was on a ventilator struggling for his life with Covid-19 last April when his brothers pleaded with Plainview Hospital on Long Island to infuse him with the blood plasma of a recovered patient. The experimental treatment was hard to get but was gaining attention at a time when doctors had little else. After an online petition drew 18,000 signatures, the hospital gave Mr. Cohen, a retired Nassau County medic, an infusion of the pale yellow stuff that some called “liquid gold.” (Thomas and Weiland, 4/17)
CIDRAP:
OCD Drug Spotlighted As Potential COVID-19 Treatment
Despite a highlight story on 60 Minutes last month, fluvoxamine, a drug typically used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is still just a brief mention in the "cytokine inhibitors" section in the New York Times' "Coronavirus Drug and Treatment Tracker." For now, it makes sense. Fluvoxamine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has shown promise in two smaller studies, but larger trials have not been published yet. (McLernon, 4/16)
NPR:
COVID-19 Antibody Drugs Are Tough To Deploy In Surges
Government officials are trying to figure out how to make better use of drugs that can keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital. That's an urgent but daunting challenge in Michigan, where hospitals are struggling to keep up with a surge in new cases. Monoclonal antibodies can hold the coronavirus in check by mimicking the body's natural immune defenses. The drugs, produced by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, can keep people with mild to moderate COVID-19 out of the hospital and have emergency authorization for people over 65, as well as others with certain underlying health conditions. (Harris, 4/16)
USA Today:
COVID-19: Monoclonal Antibodies Are 'Happy Pill' For At-Risk Americans
As of Wednesday, the government had bought nearly 1 million doses of monoclonals from the two companies that have authorized products, Regeneron and Eli Lilly, and has made them available to 5,800 sites across the country. Many hospital systems, particularly those in large urban areas, have adopted the drugs. Forty-three percent of the federally funded doses have been used in patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining doses sit on pharmacy shelves. Last month, the Biden administration announced a $150 million plan to improve access to the drugs, particularly among vulnerable people. (Weintraub, 4/17)
The New York Times:
How Safe Are You From Covid When You Fly?
More people are flying every day, as Covid restrictions ease and vaccinations accelerate. But dangerous variants have led to deadly new outbreaks, raising questions about just how safe it is to travel now. (Grondahl, Mzezewa, Fleisher and White, 4/17)
USA Today:
COVID Travel And Stress: Airports Step Up Mental Health Assistance
Robin Hancock gently worked her steel tongue drum with a pair of mallets, producing a set of soothing, mystical tones. They blended with the soft sound of chirping birds and bubbling creeks pouring from a Bluetooth speaker. Her warm voice invited the two visitors in the dimly lit room to slip into a nature setting of their choosing. The 20-minute guided meditation took place at an unlikely location: Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which until 2020 was the world’s busiest passenger hub. The airport interfaith chapel’s executive director, Blair Walker, introduced the meditation sessions last fall in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Ridderbusch, 4/18)
Stat:
Report Guides Pediatricians On Preventing Abuse Of Children With Disabilities
Children with disabilities are at least three times more likely to experience abuse and neglect compared to their peers, and a new American Academy of Pediatrics report underscores the role of pediatricians in preventing maltreatment and offers guidance on how they can support families. “I’m always struck by the numbers of kids that are abused, and how prevalent abuse [is] in the population of children with disabilities,” said Lori Legano, the director of Child Protection Services at NYU Langone Health’s department of pediatrics and the lead author of the report, which was published Monday in Pediatrics. (Sohn, 4/19)
Stat:
American Hospital Association Loses Its Top Lobbyist At A Critical Time
Tom Nickels helped build the American Hospital Association into one of the biggest lobbying forces in Washington. He was the industry’s dealmaker on every big health policy battle of the last 25 years, from the fight over the Affordable Care Act to the creation of Medicare’s drug benefit to the deficit reduction frenzy of the 1990s. And now — as the hospital industry stares down a newly empowered Democratic Party eyeing a litany of unprecedented health reforms — Nickels is retiring at 68. (Cohrs, 4/19)
Crain's Chicago Business:
HCSC Execs Collect Pay Hikes At Blue Cross Parent
Top brass at Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. got big raises last year, as health insurers emerged largely unscathed from the economic fallout of a pandemic that hammered other segments of the health care industry. The biggest winner was former board member David Lesar, who served as interim CEO of HCSC from July 2019 through May 2020. His total compensation surged 172% to $16.9 million. Paula Steiner, who left HCSC after stepping down as CEO in July 2019, pocketed $12.6 million last year. Maurice Smith, who took the helm last June, got a 63% boost to $5.9 million, while longtime board Chairman Milton Carroll's pay jumped 81% to $8.9 million. (Goldberg, 4/18)
AP:
Officials Warn Of Possible Legionnaires’ Disease Exposure
State and local health officials are warning of a potential for Legionnaires’ disease exposure at a hotel in Missouri. Two people were diagnosed with the severe form of pneumonia after using the hot tub or the pool late last month while staying at a Comfort Inn & Suites in Macon, KMIZ-TV reports. (4/17)
CIDRAP:
H1N1v Flu Infects Wisconsin Child
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported a variant H1N1 influenza (H1N1v) case in Wisconsin, the third variant flu case to be reported for the 2020-21 flu season. In its weekly FluView report, the CDC said the child was not hospitalized and completely recovered. An investigation found that he or she had direct contact with pigs and that no human-to-human transmission was linked to the infection. The case is the first involving H1N1v to be reported in 2021. (4/16)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Verdicts Tossed Vs. Paint Companies In Milwaukee Lead Poisoning Trial
A federal appeals court has thrown out a historic verdict against paint companies a jury found responsible for the lead poisoning suffered by three men who lived in old Milwaukee houses as toddlers. Those three cases were among about 170 lead poisoning cases filed after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's controversial 2005 ruling that expanded potential liability of lead pigment manufacturers and before the Legislature closed that avenue in 2011. The three cases were the first to go to trial. Jurors in the combined trial found three companies responsible for the brain damage and resulting life limitations endured by the three plaintiffs, and awarded $6 million in damages in 2019. (Vielmetti, 4/16)
AP:
Food Boxes With Fresh Produce To Be Given Away In Jackson
Thousands of food boxes of fresh produce will be available for pick-up at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson on Wednesday. The food is being provided as part of a federal program to support families who have lost income during the coronavirus pandemic. “A lot of our citizens are still struggling with health and loss of work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said in a press release. (4/18)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Touro University Nevada Gets $3M Gift For Autism Center
Touro University Nevada is getting a $3 million endowment gift for its autism center from the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar. The funding for the private Henderson university’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities will be used primarily for scholarships for Southern Nevada families who don’t have health insurance or can’t afford to pay for care at the center. The scholarships will be awarded beginning in June 2022. (Wootton-Greener, 4/18)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Nevada Bill Aims To Help Home Care Workers, Clients
The legislation would create a board of state health officials, disability advocates, workers and agency owners to examine the state of home care in Nevada and issue recommendations to improve the quality of care and the working conditions. The median hourly wage for personal care aides in the state is $11.07, according to the union. The bill also would enable workers to seek training and benefits such as paid sick leave, protective equipment and health care coverage to address the shortage of quality care that seniors and people with disabilities are facing in Nevada. (Erickson, 4/18)
CNBC:
China Is Starting Clinical Trials Of A Covid Vaccine That Can Be Inhaled
China’s CanSino Biologics will be starting clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine that is administered through inhalation next week, the company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Xuefeng Yu told CNBC on Sunday. Efficacy rates for China’s Covid vaccines have been found to be lower than those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Earlier this month, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control publicly acknowledged that Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates” and that they were considering giving people different Covid shots to boost vaccine efficacy. (Lee, 4/19)
CNBC:
Covid: Chile's Coronavirus Cases Hit Record Levels Despite Vaccine Rollout
Chile’s vaccination campaign against the coronavirus has been one of the world’s quickest and most extensive, but a recent surge in infections has sparked concern beyond its borders. Almost 40% of the South American country’s total population have now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data, reflecting one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. (Meredith, 4/19)
AP:
EU To Purchase 100 Million More Vaccine Doses
Pharmaceutical company BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer say they will provide 100 million more doses of their coronavirus vaccine to the European Union this year. The two companies said Monday that the 27-nation group’s executive Commission exercised an option to purchase the additional doses, bringing the total number of shots to be delivered to the EU in 2021 to 600 million. (4/19)
Reuters:
Canada’s Ontario To Expand Use Of AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine As Epidemic Rages
The Canadian province of Ontario will begin offering AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday to people turning 40 or older this year, according to a government source. The change will broaden access to vaccines as a third wave of infections threatens to overwhelm hospitals in Canada's most-populous province, and should make it easier to use doses that in some cases have been accumulating at pharmacies. (Martell, 4/18)
Bloomberg:
India Bans Oxygen To Most Industries To Meet Hospitals’ Demand
India has barred the supply of oxygen to many industries to meet rising demand from hospitals which are under pressure from a surge in coronavirus infections in the country. Clinical demand for the gas has increased to 60% of India’s production and is expected to rise further, the Ministry of Health said in a statement late Sunday. The nation reported a record 273,810 new infections on Monday. (Sanjai and Pradhan, 4/19)
Fox News:
Israel Drops Outdoor Mask Mandate With 80% Of Adults Vaccinated
Israel has dropped its outdoor mask mandate as it closes in on total immunization of its adult population against the coronavirus, according to reports. Instituted almost a year ago at the start of the pandemic, Israel required masks outdoors for non-exercise activities. The mandate has ended as of Sunday. Israel hosts a population of 9.3 million, but the nation has aggressively pursued vaccination of its adult population: close to five million people – or around 80% of the adult population – has been vaccinated, according to Reuters. (Aitken, 4/18)
AP:
Australia-New Zealand Travel Bubble Opens With Joy, Tears
As the passengers walked a little dazed through the airport gates, they were embraced one after another by family members who rushed forward and dissolved into tears. Elation and relief marked the opening of a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand at the Wellington Airport on Monday. Children held balloons and banners and Indigenous Maori performers welcomed the arrivals home with songs. (Perry, 4/19)
CBS News:
Macron Says France "Finalizing" Plans To Ease Restrictions For Vaccinated Travelers
France is finalizing plans to lift restrictions for Americans traveling to the country who have received their COVID-19 vaccines, French President Emmanuel Macron said, as the nation grapples with another surge in coronavirus cases. (Quinn, 4/18)