Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
India, World's Biggest Vaccine Maker, To Resume Covid Exports Next Month
AP: India To Resume Exports Of Coronavirus Vaccines In October
India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said Monday. Mansukh Mandaviya said the surplus vaccines will be used to fulfill India’s “commitment towards the world for the collective fight against COVID-19,” but vaccinating Indians will remain the government’s “topmost priority.” (Saaliq and Ghosal, 9/21)
AP: Thai Campaign To Vaccinate Schoolchildren Makes Progress
Health officials in the Thai capital made headway Tuesday in their effort to vaccinate children against the coronavirus, giving shots of the Pfizer vaccine to students aged 12 to 18 with underlying diseases. Vaccinations for that age bracket were first offered last month through hospitals, but now are arranged by schools. A separate campaign by a medical research institute on Monday began inoculating children aged 10 to 18 with China’s Sinopharm vaccine. On Tuesday, 1,500 students received shots of the Pfizer vaccine, 800 for the first time and 700 as a follow-up to their first shot in August. (Vejpongsa, 9/21)
Bloomberg: HIV Is Africa’s Latest Covid-19 Problem
Africa is the world’s least vaccinated continent and it has also been the origin of a number of coronavirus variants: the beta mutation found in South Africa, eta from Nigeria and most recently C.1.2, again from South Africa. Now, scientists say they have found a possible reason. Africa is also home to the most immunocompromised people. A study of an HIV-positive woman in South Africa showed that she harbored the coronavirus for 216 days, during which time it mutated considerably. In fact, 30 times, Tulio de Oliveira, a bioinformatics professor who runs gene-sequencing institutions at two South African universities, said at an immunology conference. (Sguazzin, 9/20)
AP: German Police: Man Arrested Over Killing In Row Over Mask
Police in Germany say a 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the killing of a gas station worker who was shot dead Saturday following a dispute over face masks. Authorities in the western town of Trier said late Monday that the suspect told officers he acted “out of anger” after the 20-year-old clerk at the gas station asked him to put on a mask. (9/21)
In updates on the U.N. summit —
Reuters: Vax Van Seeks To Avert Super-Spreader Event At U.N. Summit
In a new take on vaccine diplomacy, a free mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination station is welcoming world leaders and delegates at this week's U.N. General Assembly, seeking to avoid a super-spreader event. After a virtual meeting last year, about a third of the 193 U.N. states are planning to again send videos, but presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers for the remainder are due to travel to the United States. (Psaledakis, 9/20)
Axios: Biden To Push Vaccine-Sharing At UN, But Boosters At Home
President Biden will convene world leaders on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push them to do more to end the pandemic — though he's also facing criticism for prioritizing boosters at home. There is still no functional plan in place to vaccinate the world, and past summits of this sort have flopped. The White House hopes that this virtual gathering will produce ambitious promises, accountability measures to track progress, and ultimately help achieve a 70% global vaccination rate this time next year. (Lawler, 9/20)
