Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pandemic Put 31 Million More People In Poverty, Gates Foundation Says
CNBC: Gates Foundation Annual Report Says 31 Million Pushed Into Dire Poverty, Child Vaccine Rates Fell
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has pushed an additional 31 million people worldwide into dire poverty, reversing global progress on eliminating poverty by four years, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s fifth-annual Goalkeeper report published Monday. The report — which examines global progress on vaccine access, reducing poverty and other health issues — also found the pandemic led to a major backsliding in routine childhood vaccination rates, widened the education gap between poor and rich nations and increased health inequities. (Lovelace Jr., 9/13)
The New York Times: A Million Afghan Children Could Die In ‘Most Perilous Hour,’ U.N. Warns
Millions of Afghans could run out of food before the arrival of winter and one million children are at risk of starvation and death if their immediate needs are not met, top United Nations officials warned on Monday, putting the country’s plight into stark relief. Secretary General António Guterres, speaking at a high-level U.N. conference in Geneva convened to address the crisis, said that since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan last month, the nation’s poverty rate has soared and basic public services have neared collapse and, in the past year, hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless after being forced to flee fighting. (Santora, Cumming-Bruce and Goldbaum, 9/13)
In other global developments —
Bloomberg: U.K. Will Offer Covid Vaccines To Children Aged 12 And Up
The U.K. will offer Covid vaccines to all children as young as 12 starting next week as the government seeks to reduce disruption in schools and follows countries such as the U.S. The decision follows a recommendation Monday from the U.K.’s chief medical officers to give a first dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine to children ages 12 to 15. They called for the committee that advises the government to recommend whether and how to give second doses once more data is available. That wouldn’t happen before the spring term, they said. (Paton, 9/13)
Bloomberg: U.K.’s Johnson To Give Green Light To Covid Booster Shots
Boris Johnson will confirm Tuesday that booster vaccinations against coronavirus will be rolled out to the most vulnerable people this fall, as he sets out the U.K.’s new approach to tackling the virus. The British prime minister will hold a press conference outlining who will be eligible for the booster shot, soon after Health Secretary Sajid Javid gives a statement on the issue to the House of Commons. More details are also expected on which vaccines will be used for the booster program. The government said Monday that 12- to 15-year-olds in England would be offered a single shot of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine in schools from next week, in a bid to reduce transmission and keep pupils in classrooms. (Ashton, 9/13)
Axios: Israel Preparing For Potential Second Round Of COVID Booster Shots
Israel is moving to ensure that it will have enough coronavirus vaccines for a potential second round of booster shots, which would be a fourth dose, Israel's Health Ministry director general Nachman Ash said Sunday, according to Bloomberg. Booster shots have so far been strongly opposed by the World Health Organization, which believes that the doses would be better used to inoculate people in poorer countries that currently lack access to large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines. (Knutson, 9/13)
Fox News: Putin To Self-Isolate After COVID-19 Cases Detected In Entourage: Report
Russian President Vladimir Putin will self-isolate after cases of COVID-19 were detected in his entourage, according to a report. The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Putin will not travel to Tajikistan this week for planned regional security meetings, Reuters reported. Putin called Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon and told him he could not travel because he was self-isolating and would instead take part in meetings via a video link. (Aaro, 9/14)
The Washington Post: India Under Pressure To Resume Coronavirus Vaccine Exports With Cases Down
India is facing growing pressure to lift its ban on exporting coronavirus vaccines, months after curbs were imposed to tackle a massive domestic outbreak that has since relented. The world’s second most populous country — and also one of its biggest vaccine manufacturers — imposed the ban this spring as India raced to raise its immunization rate. Now officials in the United States and with Covax, the United Nations-backed vaccine distribution initiative that had counted on India to supply around a billion shots this year, hope a more stable health situation will persuade the country to resume exports. (Jeong, 9/14)
