Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
India Grapples With Serious Covid Problem
AP: With 200,000 In 1 Day, India Skyrockets Past 14M Virus Cases
India reported more than 200,000 new coronavirus cases Thursday, skyrocketing past 14 million overall as an intensifying outbreak puts a grim weight on its fragile health care system. In the capital, New Delhi, more than a dozen hotels and wedding banquet halls were ordered to be converted into COVID-19 centers attached to hospitals. “The surge is alarming,” said S.K. Sarin, a government health expert in New Delhi. (Sharma, 4/15)
The New York Times: Changing Strategy, E.U. Bets Big On Pfizer To Battle Covid
Bruised by major disruptions in supplies of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines, the European Union on Wednesday said that it was putting trust and money into the Pfizer-BioNTech shot to salvage its vaccination rollout and secure doses for the future. The pivot away from AstraZeneca, once a pillar of the E.U. inoculation program, comes after months of discord over delayed shipments and as the company battles worries over rare potential side effects of its shots. (Stevis-Gridneff, 4/14)
The Washington Post: Jump The Vaccine Line? In Germany, You Could Face Prosecution.
Coronavirus vaccine line jumping in the United States has raised eyebrows and tested friendships. British Home Secretary Priti Patel has called people who skip ahead in the queue "morally reprehensible." But Germany has taken prioritization rules to another level, investigating and threatening to prosecute people who don't wait their turn. In various German cities, prosecutors have probed politicians, police officers and others. A mayor accused of deliberately circumventing the official vaccine priority list was suspended last week after having his office searched. (Noack, 4/14)
AP: Russian President Putin Gets 2nd COVID-19 Vaccine Shot
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he got his second COVID-19 vaccine shot, three weeks after getting the first dose. The Russian leader announced getting the jab, which was kept out of the public eye, at a session of the Russian Geographical Society, in which he took part via video link. (Litvinova, 4/14)
In other global news —
Reuters: Are The Olympics Canceled? Japan Official's Comments Sow Doubts
A senior Japanese ruling party official said on Thursday that cancelling this year’s Olympics in Tokyo remains an option if the coronavirus crisis becomes too dire, dropping a bomb on a hot-button issue and sending social media into a frenzy. “If it seems impossible to do it any more, then we have to stop, decisively,” Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said in comments to broadcaster TBS. (Nussey and Kim, 4/14)
Reuters: New Zinc-Fortified Wheat Set For Global Expansion To Combat Malnutrition
Scientists at a leading global grains research institute expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets, the institute’s head told Reuters. (Garcia, 4/15)
Reuters: Sweden Faces Sperm Deficit As Pandemic Keeps Donors Away From Clinics
Sweden is facing an acute shortage of sperm for assisted pregnancy as would-be donors avoid hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, halting inseminations in large parts of the healthcare system and driving up waiting times by years. “We’re running out of sperm. We’ve never had so few donors as during the last year,” said Ann Thurin Kjellberg, head of the reproduction unit at Gothenburg’s University Hospital. (Fulton, 4/15)
