U.K. Mandates Covid Shots By Early 2022 For Frontline Health Workers

The New York Times: Frontline Health Workers In England Must Be Vaccinated By April
All frontline health workers in England must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by next spring to keep their jobs, Britain’s health secretary said on Tuesday, a move that employers and trade unions warned could aggravate staff shortages. “We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the N.H.S., protect colleagues in the N.H.S. and, of course, protect the N.H.S. itself,” Sajid Javid, the health secretary, told Parliament, referring to the National Health Service. He added that about 90 percent of the service’s workers had received at least two vaccine doses. (Castle, 11/9)

AP: Germany Reports Daily High Number Of New Coronavirus Cases
Germany’s national disease control center reported a record-high number of new coronavirus cases Wednesday as one of the country’s top virologists warned that another lockdown would be needed if vaccinations do not quickly accelerate. The 39,676 cases registered by the Robert Koch Institute surpassed the previous daily record of 37,120 new cases reported Friday. The institute said Germany’s infection rate rose to 232.1 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. (Grieshaber, 11/10)

ABC News: Virus Deaths In Russia Hit Daily Record Despite Work Halt
Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit a new record Tuesday and new confirmed cases remained high two days after a nine-day work stoppage ended in most of the country's regions. The state coronavirus task force reported 1,211 COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily death toll in the pandemic, and 39,160 new cases. The task force has reported around 40,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths every day since late October. (Litvinova, 11/9)

The New York Times: As India Administers A Billion Vaccine Doses, Experts Warn About Complacency
India’s coronavirus crisis was killing thousands of people a day seven months ago. Now, as the nation celebrates the delivery of its one billionth vaccine dose, public health experts are sounding a new warning: The turnaround is losing steam. Vaccinations are slowing down. As the temperature dips amid India’s most important festival season, people are crowding markets and hosting unmasked friends and family indoors. And the government is telling vaccination campaign volunteers like Namanjaya Khobragade that they are no longer needed. (Schmall and Kumar, 11/9)

Reuters: Germany Recommends Only Biontech/Pfizer Vaccine For People Under 30
Germany's vaccine advisory committee recommends people under 30 be vaccinated only with the Biontech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as it showed a lower number of heart inflammations in younger people than the Moderna vaccination, it said on Wednesday. The committee, known as STIKO, said it also recommends pregnant women, independent of their age, be inoculated only with the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine as well. (11/10)

Reuters: S.Korea Urges COVID-19 Booster Shots, As Severe Cases Hit Record
South Korea encouraged its citizens to take COVID-19 booster shots on Wednesday, as more of the elderly fell ill and reported vaccine breakthrough infections, driving serious and critical cases to a record. Severe coronavirus cases jumped from the mid-300s in October to 460 on Wednesday, official data showed. Of the severely ill patients, more than 82% were aged 60 and older. (Cha, 11/10)

AP: Denmark Wants To Reintroduce Phased-Out Coronavirus Pass
Denmark wants to again consider COVID-19 as “a socially critical disease,” paving the way for the reintroduction of a digital pass months after the label was removed and restrictions were phased out. The move, which still needs approval in parliament, will also allow Denmark to reintroduce other restrictions if deemed necessary. A majority seems to be backing the suggestion of the minority Social Democratic government. (Olsen, 11/9)

On news from China —

Bloomberg: Chinese Virus Expert Launches Scathing Attack On Covid Zero Push
A top Chinese virologist warned the country risks economic collapse if local officials continue to try to wipe out all traces of Covid-19, marking the most vocal criticism of China’s so-called Covid Zero approach by one of its own experts. Guan Yi, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, disparaged China’s effort to eliminate sporadic flareups of the virus through mass testing and lengthy quarantines. In the wide-ranging interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite TV, he urged a reality-check on how well an extensive vaccination drive helped the world’s most populous country build immunity to Covid. (11/10)

Bloomberg: China Suspects Kids’ Clothing Deliveries Are Spreading Covid
China is taking its extreme Covid-19 containment measures a step further, warning that the virus could be transmitted on parcels just as the country’s biggest annual online shopping festival looms. After three workers at a children’s clothing maker in the northeastern Hebei province were found to have Covid, authorities more than 1,200 miles away ordered people who had received -- or even just handled -- parcels from the company to get tested. The health commission in Guangxi, in China’s southeast, described the situation as a “Covid-related mail chain.” (11/10)

In news about bird flu —

Reuters: Japan Reports First Bird Flu Outbreak Of Season, Culling 143,000 Chickens
Japan has detected its first outbreak of bird flu for the 2021 winter season, with confirmation of a case of "highly pathogenic avian influenza" at a poultry farm in the northeast of the country, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. About 143,000 egg-laying chickens are being exterminated at the farm in Yokote city in Akita Prefecture, the ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that restricted zones up to 10 kms (6.2 miles) from the site have been established. (11/10)