Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
To Halt Covid, China Locks 30K Inside Disney, Keeps Schoolkids Overnight
The Wall Street Journal: China Locks 30,000 Visitors Inside Shanghai Disneyland After One Guest Got Covid-19
More than 30,000 visitors to the Shanghai Disneyland theme park were kept within the park’s gates on Sunday and forced to undergo Covid-19 testing after a customer tested positive for the virus, a move that underscores China’s eradication efforts. With fireworks exploding above them as they awaited nasal swabs, the Disney visitors became the latest Chinese residents to experience life under a “zero tolerance” policy for the virus enforced by their country’s government. Leaders there have taken stringent measures to contain pockets of the coronavirus in the country, despite criticism from business groups and a close to 80% vaccination rate. (11/1)
Bloomberg: Beijing Quarantines School Children In Pursuit Of Covid Zero
Parents gathered outside a primary school in Beijing late into the night on Monday, anxiously waiting for their children who were caught in a snap lockdown triggered by a teacher diagnosed hours earlier with Covid-19. The principal came out a little past midnight, telling them some of the kids would have to quarantine. Each could have one parent accompany them through the two weeks of isolation. For students whose test results hadn’t yet come back, parents were asked to bring quilts and pillows to spend the night at school. (11/2)
In other global news —
The Wall Street Journal: Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine Gets First Authorization, In Indonesia
Indonesia became the first country to authorize the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc. and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Novavax said Monday that Indonesia’s drug regulator cleared use of the new vaccine, called Covovax, in adults 18 years and older. (Loftus, 11/1)
Bloomberg: Where Did Covid Come From? WHO Calls More Experts To Study Disputed Origins
The World Health Organization reopened a search for experts to join a committee to study Covid-19’s origins to add more specialists in areas such as biosecurity. Applicants have until Wednesday to express interest, and the WHO said Monday it’s looking for experts in social science, anthropology, ethics, political science and biosafety. In October, the WHO proposed a fresh team of 26 experts to lead an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and other diseases after an earlier effort was beset by controversy. The list was subject to a two-week public consultation process. (Mulier, 11/1)
Politico: US Health Care System And State Of Democracy Perceived Negatively Abroad: Survey
American health care systems, including their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the state of the country’s democracy, are seen negatively abroad, according to the latest Pew Research Center report released Monday. The survey, carried out in 17 advanced economies with 18,850 respondents, shows that the U.S. health care system is perceived as below average or as the worst among developed nations, and that very few respondents believe American democracy, in its current state, serves as a good model for other nations. (Gijs, 11/1)
