Delta Covid Variant Soars In Sydney, Forcing Full Lockdown Of City

Axios: Sydney Enters Full Lockdown To Fight Delta Variant 
Australian authorities announced a two-week lockdown in the city of Sydney and surrounding areas as the Delta coronavirus variant continues to rapidly spread. This is the first full lockdown for Sydney since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. It takes effect from Saturday at 6 p.m. local time until at least midnight on Friday, July 2. (Gonzalez, 6/26)

AP: South Africa Tightens Restrictions To Fight Resurgent Virus
Battling a fast-increasing surge of COVID-19 cases, South Africa has reintroduced tough restrictions including a ban on alcohol sales and an extended nightly curfew. The delta variant, first discovered in India, appears to be driving South Africa’s new increase, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday night, announcing the return to strict measures. South Africa recorded more than 15,000 new cases Sunday, including 122 deaths, bringing its total fatalities to near 60,000. (Magome and Meldrum, 6/27)

Reuters: More Infectious COVID-19 Variants Account For Most UAE Cases, Authority Says
New coronavirus infections in the United Arab Emirates are mostly from more infectious variants leading to an increase in the number of virus-linked deaths, a federal authority has said. The Gulf Arab state, with a population of about 9 million, has had one of the world's fastest vaccination campaigns. (6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: India Has Undercounted Covid-19 Deaths By Hundreds Of Thousands, Families And Experts Say
India has officially recorded more than 390,000 coronavirus deaths, but families who have lost loved ones, health experts and statisticians say that vastly undercounts the true toll. ... India’s undercount has also left a huge gap in the world’s understanding of the impact of the Delta variant, which health experts believe helped drive one of the world’s worst Covid-19 surges in April and May. India was the first to detect the highly infectious variant, which has hopscotched around the world. It is fueling a surge in the U.K., and is expected to become the dominant variant in the U.S. (Li, Bhattacharya and Agarwal, 6/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Killed 26 Indonesian Doctors In June—At Least 10 Had Taken China’s Sinovac Vaccine 
At least 10 of the 26 doctors in Indonesia who died from Covid-19 this month had received both doses of the vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a medical association said, raising questions about the Chinese-made shot that is being used in many parts of the developing world. (Emont, 6/27)

Reuters: Mallorca Probes COVID-19 Outbreak Among Hundreds Of Partying Students
Authorities in Mallorca are investigating a coronavirus outbreak involving more than 600 students celebrating the end of term in the Spanish island, just as it prepares for British tourists to return following the easing of travel curbs. Students visiting from the mainland went to a music concert at a bullring in the capital, Palma, as well as parties on boats and in hotels, and officials said on Saturday they wanted to find out if venues had adhered to virus-control measures. ... At least 1,000 students have had to go into isolation. (6/26)

In news about Russia —

NBC News: Russia Registered The First Covid Vaccine. Now It's Struggling To Vaccinate Its Population
In August 2020, Russia became the first country in the world to register a Covid-19 vaccine. President Vladimir Putin announced the news on national television and said one of his daughters had already been vaccinated. At the time, Russia was set to race ahead of other countries in its efforts to vaccinate its population. Instead, 10 months after Sputnik V’s approval, Russia's vaccination rate is one of the lowest in countries where vaccines are widely available. (Chistikova and Elbaum, 6/27)

The Washington Post: As Moscow Demands More Vaccine Proof, A Black Market Booms For Fake Certificates
It took just a few hours for fraudsters to act after Moscow's mayor announced this month that coronavirus vaccinations were compulsory for most of the city's service sector employees. Accounts advertising the availability of fake coronavirus vaccination certificates suddenly appeared as social media followers of Russians who identified as working in restaurants or bars. A new black market was born with a deep potential clientele: the many Russians still hesitant to be vaccinated even amid a surge in coronavirus cases. (Khurshudyan, 6/27)

Reuters: S.Korean Consortium To Produce Russia's Sputnik Light Vaccine 
Huons Global Co Ltd said on Monday its South Korean consortium plans to begin production of a single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine from as early as September. The plan followed a request by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the vaccine, and production would take place along with Sputnik V vaccines the consortium also intended to make for the sovereign wealth fund, Huons said. (Cha, 6/27)

In other global developments —

Stat: Gilead Faces Pressure To Lower The Price Of A Drug To Treat Rare Infection
Over the past few months, thousands of people in India who survived Covid-19 returned to hospitals with a rare and life-threatening infection called mucormycosis, or black fungus. But the medicine used to treat the infection is in short supply and priced out of reach for many people, according to dozens of advocacy groups that are urging the manufacturer to quickly widen access. (Silverman, 6/25)

CIDRAP: ACIP Approves Dengue Vaccine For Endemic Areas, Tweaks Flu Vaccine Advice
The vaccine advisory group to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday unanimously voted to recommend Sanofi's dengue vaccine (Dengvaxia) for children ages 9 to 16 years who live in areas such as Puerto Rico where the disease is endemic. The vaccine is given in three doses and requires a test to confirm that a child has had a previous dengue infection. Vaccination in someone who has never been exposed to dengue before can lead to a more severe future infection through a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement. (6/25)