Global Covid Cases Hitting Plateau After 2-Month Surge, WHO Says

CNN: Global Covid-19 Cases Plateau After Nearly Two Months Of Increase, WHO Reports 
The number of new Covid-19 cases reported globally "seems to be plateauing" after increasing for nearly two months, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday. WHO reported more than 4.5 million new cases and 68,000 new deaths worldwide last week -- only a slight increase from the more than 4.4 million cases and 66,000 deaths reported the prior week. The cumulative global caseload now stands at more than 211 million, with the total death toll surpassing 4.4 million, according to WHO's weekly epidemiological update. (Mascarenhas and Gan, 8/25)

AP: Harris: US To Provide Vietnam 1 Million More Vaccine Doses
The United States will provide an additional 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses to Vietnam, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday, offering additional aid to a country currently grappling with a fresh coronavirus surge and stubbornly low vaccination rates. Harris, speaking at the top of a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, said that the doses would begin to arrive within the next 24 hours. That brings the total vaccine donation to Vietnam to 6 million doses from the U.S. (Jaffe, 8/25)

CIDRAP: WHO Airs Concern Over COVID Control, Medical Supplies In Afghanistan
At a briefing today, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean office said the group is worried that upheaval in Afghanistan will fuel a spike in COVID-19 cases and that the country has only enough medical supplies to last 1 week. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, MD, PhD, who directs the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean office (EMRO), said that, alongside upheaval, increasing population movements could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases. "We need to keep the COVID pandemic under control," he said. (Schnirring, 8/24)

In other news around the world —

AP: Japan To Further Expand Virus Emergency Areas As Cases Surge
Japan was set to expand its coronavirus state of emergency for a second week in a row Wednesday, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant strains the country’s health care system. The government last week extended the state of emergency until Sept. 12 and expanded the areas covered to 13 prefectures from six including Tokyo. Sixteen other prefectures are currently under quasi-emergency status. (Yamaguchi, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Paralympics Village Faces Largest Covid Outbreak As Games Begin
Five people residing at a housing complex reserved for Paralympics athletes, coaches and committee officials tested positive for the new coronavirus in Japan, event officials announced on Wednesday, just a day after the formal commencement of the games. This is the largest single-day tally for people living in the Paralympics Village. The area is designed to be a protective bubble shielding residents from the coronavirus.So far, the Paralympics Games — which had its opening ceremony on Tuesday — has recorded 169 infections of the deadly virus so far, according to the event’s organizing committee. This figure includes the 11 cases recorded inside the village. (Jeong, 8/25)

The New York Times: China Will Hold The Unvaccinated ‘Accountable’ If There Are Outbreaks
The authorities in at least 12 cities in China have warned residents that those who refuse Covid-19 vaccinations could be punished if they are found to be responsible for spreading outbreaks. The latest government notices, issued this and last week, reflect China’s anxiety about stamping out the more transmissible Delta variant, which has spread recently in several cities. China has fully vaccinated roughly 55 percent of its population, but officials have said that rate needs to hit 80 percent for the country to reach herd immunity. (Wee and Chen, 8/25)

Reuters: New Zealand Pushes Ahead With Vaccinations As Delta Outbreak Widens
New Zealand recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections in the latest outbreak to 210 as the government scrambled to scale up vaccinations amid growing criticism. Most of the cases are in the largest city Auckland, while 12 are in the capital Wellington, the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said at a news conference. (Menon, 8/25)

Reuters: Vietnam Urges WHO To Send More COVID-19 Shots As Cases Surge Despite Lockdown
While the rapid spread of the Delta variant and low vaccinations have caught much of Asia off-guard, no country shows more vividly than Vietnam how easily the highly infectious version of the coronavirus can foil strict containment policy. Vietnam had successfully contained the coronavirus for most of last year but since April has been dealing with a large COVID-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City, driven by the Delta. (Lin, 8/25)

CNBC: Africa Was Shortchanged On Covid Vaccines: African Development Bank
African countries have been “shortchanged” with regard to its access to Covid-19 vaccines, the president of African Development Bank said. “Africa [has] for sure been shortchanged, if I can use that term, regarding access to vaccines globally,” Akinwumi Adesina told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday. “The vaccines are not getting here in time, in the right quantity and the right price,” he said, adding that saving lives is “all about timing.” (Ng, 8/25)

Reuters: Thailand Develops Robotic System To Squeeze Out More Vaccine Doses
Using a robotic arm, the "AutoVacc" system can draw 12 doses of the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine in four minutes from a vial, according to researchers at Chulalongkorn University, who made the machine that has been used at the university's vaccination centre since Monday. That is up 20% from the standard 10 doses drawn manually, they said. The machine only works on AstraZeneca multi-dose vials currently and labels show each vial can provide 10 to 11 doses. (Kittisilpa, 8/25)