Pfizer OKs Covid Pill Production, Cheap Price In Low-Income Nations

The New York Times: Pfizer Will Allow Its Covid Pill To Be Made And Sold Cheaply In Poor Countries
Pfizer announced a deal on Tuesday to allow its promising Covid-19 treatment to be made and sold inexpensively in 95 poorer nations that are home to more than half of the world’s population. The agreement follows a similar arrangement negotiated by Merck last month, and together the deals have the potential to vastly expand global production of two simple antiviral pills that could alter the course of the pandemic by preventing severe illness from the coronavirus. (Nolen and Robbins, 11/16)

Politico: Moderna Nears Deal To Pledge More Vaccines To Lower-Income Countries
After months of intense negotiations, vaccine maker Moderna is nearing an agreement to pledge many millions more doses of its Covid-19 shot to low- and middle-income countries in 2022, two people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. The deal with chief vaccine equity initiative COVAX would provide a boost to a global vaccination campaign that has suffered from delays and difficulties in securing sufficient doses from drug makers. It comes amid escalating pressure on Moderna — which has benefited from U.S. taxpayer-funded vaccine technology without a requirement to share it with poorer nations — to step up its aid to the developing world. (Cancryn, Banco and Owermohle, 11/15)

On bird flu —

Reuters: Japan Confirms H5N8 Strain In Third Bird Flu Outbreak In The Country
Japan has confirmed the highly pathogenic bird flu subtype H5N8 was detected at a poultry farm in the third outbreak of avian influenza in the country this winter, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. The outbreak was discovered on Monday at a farm with about 11,000 egg-laying chickens in Izumi City in Kagoshima prefecture in southwestern Japan, the ministry said in a statement on its website. It comes as several outbreaks of severe bird flu in Europe and Asia have been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health in recent days, in a sign the virus is spreading quickly again. (11/16)

Axios: Bird Flu Outbreaks Reported In Europe And Asia 
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has received several reports of outbreaks of bird flu in Europe and Asia in recent days, Reuters reports. Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is a highly contagious strain of influenza that affects food-producing birds, pet birds and wild birds. Previous outbreaks have prompted the mass culling of birds and trade restrictions in some regions, Reuters notes. (Garfinkel, 11/15)

In news from Europe —

Bloomberg: Boris Johnson Warns New UK Lockdown Is Possible With NHS Struggling
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson left the door open to another coronavirus lockdown this winter, warning that people must get their Covid-19 vaccinations and booster doses to avoid fresh restrictions. A “new wave” of Covid-19 is spreading across Europe and forcing governments to reimpose tougher rules, Johnson said at a televised press conference on Monday. “History shows we cannot afford to be complacent.” (Ashton, 11/15)

Reuters: U.S. CDC Raises COVID-19 Travel Warnings For Czech Republic, Hungary
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against travel to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Iceland because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in those countries. The CDC raised its travel recommendation to "Level Four: Very High" for the three countries, telling Americans they should avoid travel there. The CDC separately lowered its COVID-19 travel advisory to "Level One: Low" for Japan, India, Pakistan, Liberia, Gambia and Mozambique. (11/15)

NPR: Austria And Germany Impose Restrictions On Unvaccinated People As COVID Cases Surge
Austria has placed some 2 million unvaccinated people on partial lockdown, while neighboring Germany has reintroduced free coronavirus testing, as the two countries contend with soaring rates of COVID-19 amid a Europe-wide wave of new infections. TeamHealth subsidiary Fremont Emergency Services is suing Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare for allegedly shortchanging emergency room physicians $10.5 million. It is one of at least nine complaints the private equity-backed provider has pending against the nation's largest insurer. New York-based MultiPlan helps UnitedHealthcare negotiate rates with out-of-network providers like TeamHealth. (Neuman, 11/15)

Reuters: Pfizer To Conduct Trials Of Antiviral COVID-19 Pill In Russia
Russia has granted approval for Pzifer Inc (PFE.N) to conduct clinical trials in Russia of its experimental antiviral pill to treat COVID-19, a state registry of medicines showed on Tuesday. The trials conducted on 90 people located in home-like conditions with someone who has symptomatic COVID-19 began on Nov. 12 and will continue until March 2023, the registry's website said. Pfizer said earlier this month the experimental antiviral pill cut by 89% the chance of hospitalisation or death for adults at risk of severe disease. It hopes to make the pill available globally as quickly as possible. The pill has the brand name Paxlovid. (11/16)

AP: Italy: Police Move Against Violent Anti-Vaccine Activists
Police conducted searches across Italy on Monday against 17 anti-vaccine activists who were allegedly affiliated with a Telegram chat that espoused violence against government, medical and media figures for their perceived support of COVID-19 restrictions. Police in Turin said the “Basta Dittatura” (Enough of the Dictatorship) chat had tens of thousands of members and was a prime forum for organizing protests against Italy’s health pass. (Winfield, 11/15)

The New York Times: Europe Toughens Rules For Unvaccinated As Fourth Covid Wave Swells
Hospitalizations and deaths were mostly in Eastern Europe, but the new wave threatened the economic recoveries and Christmas vacations across the continent. A return to normalcy predicated on the success of vaccination campaigns was being increasingly threatened by the unvaccinated who offered the virus room to run. That is why governments all around Europe have been taking the extra step of explicitly singling out the unvaccinated. The new rules in Austria amounted to “a massive reduction in contacts between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,” Professor Eva Schernhammer of the Medical University of Vienna told the BBC. (Horowitz, 11/15)

Elsewhere around the world —

The Washington Post: Scorpions Hospitalize Hundreds In Aswan, Egypt After Storm
Aswan, Egypt, is one of the world’s driest cities, where it hardly ever rains. Situated along the Nile River and home to more than 1.5 million people, it averages just 0.12 inches (3 millimeters) of rain per year. But on Friday and Saturday, intense thunderstorms and even hail deluged the desert city and parts of the surrounding region. The Associated Press reported that the torrents caused flooding and power outages, closed schools and left three people dead. The rains also unleashed something especially sinister: hordes of highly venomous scorpions whose stings hospitalized 503 people, according to Ehab Hanafy, undersecretary of the Health Ministry in Aswan. (Samenow, 11/15)

Bloomberg: New Zealand's Maori Ask Anti-Vaccine Protesters To Stop Using Ceremonial Dance
Ngati Toa, an indigenous tribe in New Zealand, denounced a group of anti-vaccine protesters for performing a ceremonial Maori dance known as the Ka Mate haka during a demonstration in Wellington on November 9th. “As the descendants of Te Rauparaha, we insist that protesters stop using our taonga immediately,” said senior member of Ngati Toa Taku Parai, in a statement on Radio Waatea this week.  “We do not support their position.”  (Silvan, 11/15)

Bloomberg: Australia Faces Compensation Bill For Vaccine Side Effects: SMH
Australia’s government may face a more than A$50 million ($37 million) bill related to its Covid-19 vaccination program, as thousands of people register for compensation for health issues related to their inoculations, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. More than 10,000 people have registered for a government program to be compensated for lost income after being hospitalized for rare but significant side effects from the jab, the paper reported, citing official data. Compensation starts from A$5,000, meaning the program would cost at least A$50 million should each claim be approved. (Burgess, 11/16)

Bloomberg: Hong Kong Experts Back Sinovac Shots For Kids Ages 3 And Older
Hong Kong’s advisers backed lowering the age of eligibility for vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to 3 years old, down from 18 years old, as the city works to bolster Covid-19 immunity levels and reopen its border with China. The Sinovac vaccine had good safety when administered on younger children of different ethnicities, experts serving on panels for the Centre for Health Protection said in a statement late Monday after reviewing real-world and clinical trial data. Currently, children aged 12 to 17 are only allowed to receive shots made by Germany’s BioNTech SE, the other vaccine dispensed in the city. (Hong, 11/15)