Japan Struggling With Covid Ahead Of Olympics

AP: 'Like Hell:' As Olympics Loom, Japan Health Care In Turmoil
Hospitals in Osaka, Japan’s third-biggest city and only 2 1/2 hours by bullet train from Summer Olympics host Tokyo, are overflowing with coronavirus patients. About 35,000 people nationwide — twice the number of those in hospitals — must stay at home with the disease, often becoming seriously ill and sometimes dying before they can get medical care. As cases surge in Osaka, medical workers say that every corner of the system has been slowed, stretched and burdened. And it’s happening in other parts of the country, too. (Yamaguchi and Komiya, 5/21)

The New York Times: Japan Approves The Moderna And AstraZeneca Shots, Hoping To Speed Up Its Vaccination Campaign
Japan on Friday approved the Moderna and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines for use in adults, giving the country much-needed new options as it tries to speed up an inoculation campaign that has been one of the slowest in the developed world. Previously, only the Pfizer vaccine had been authorized for use in Japan, where just 4.1 percent of the population has received a first shot. Vaccinations have been held up by strict rules that allow only doctors and nurses to administer shots, and by a requirement that vaccines be tested on people in Japan before they are approved for use. (Hida, 5/21)

The New York Times: Severe Covid Is More Often Fatal In Africa Than In Other Regions
People in Africa who become critically ill from Covid-19 are more likely to die than patients in other parts of the world, according to a report published on Thursday in the medical journal The Lancet. The report, based on data from 64 hospitals in 10 countries, is the first broad look at what happens to critically ill Covid patients in Africa, the authors say. The increased risk of death applies only to those who become severely ill, not to everyone who catches the disease. Over all, the rates of illness and death from Covid in Africa appear lower than in the rest of the world. But if the virus begins to spread more rapidly in Africa, as it has in other regions, these findings suggest that the death toll could worsen. (Grady, 5/20)

The New York Times: Covid News: W.H.O. Notes Sharp Drop In New Cases In Europe Over Past Month 
Europe has recorded a 60 percent drop in new coronavirus infections over the past month, the World Health Organization said Thursday, encouraging news that comes as the continent plans to reopen its borders. Still, “this progress is fragile,” a top agency official cautioned. On Wednesday, the 27 member states of the European Union agreed that the bloc would reopen its borders to nonessential travelers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with an approved shot, as well as to those coming from a list of countries where the coronavirus is relatively under control. (Cumming-Bruce and Slotnik, 5/20)

CIDRAP: Europe Makes Cautious Progress, Urged To Monitor COVID-19 Variant Spread
Europe's COVID-19 cases have dropped 60% over the past month, but progress is fragile, as the region once again is on guard against a more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant, B1617, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) European regional office said today. Hans Henri Kluge, MD, MPH, the group's director, said, "We have been here before. Let us not make the same mistakes that were made this time last year." (Schnirring, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: South Korea’s Fix For Covid-19 Vaccine Shortages: Ask U.S. For A Swap
South Korea has a wealthy-country solution to alleviate its delayed rollout of Covid-19 vaccines: propose a swap with the U.S., which has one of the world’s biggest supplies. With its president visiting the White House on Friday, South Korea is expected to suggest an exchange of millions of doses on a one-for-one basis: The U.S. provides vaccinations now from its growing pile of unused shots. South Korea—with less than 3% of the population fully vaccinated—will send its supply to the U.S. in the months ahead. (Yoon, 5/21)