People wait in vehicles at a Covid-19 mass vaccination site in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 4.
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
China has conditionally approved Sinovac Life Sciences’ Covid-19 vaccine, according to a statement posted to the National Medical Products Administration website Saturday. Sinovac says the protective efficacy of its vaccine, CoronaVac, meets legal standards set by both the World Health Organization and China.
AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine is finally here arrive in countries of the European Union as the bloc tries to speed up its vaccination campaign, leaving a crisis-ridden period behind. The shot is effective against the new strain emerging in the UK, according to a study by the shot’s co-developer, the University of Oxford.
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement in August that Russia had approved the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for use before it even completed safety trials sparked skepticism around the world. Now he can reap diplomatic rewards as Russia basks in arguably the greatest scientific breakthrough since the Soviet era.
Main Developments:
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UK Eyes Road Map to Exit Virus Lockdown (5:30 pm HK)
British hospitality industry would reopen in April if pubs and restaurants agree not to sell alcohol, the Telegraph reports. Government ministers are discussing three-phase plans to lift the restrictions, including allowing outdoor socializing from March, when the schools return. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce detailed plans for Britain’s exit from lockdown on February 22.
Macau Shots arrive (1:30 pm HK)
The first 100,000 doses of Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Macau on Saturday, Macau Business reported. The vaccination will be rolled out to frontline workers around Chinese New Year, and the city expects its second batch of vaccine from BioNTech in the second half of this month, the report said.
Supreme Court orders some churches in California to hold back office hours (noon HK)
A divided U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to resume indoor worship at a group of accusing churches, easing the restrictions officials say were necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Friday night’s orders halted the full abolition of the Covid restrictions, saying the state could impose a 25% capacity restriction on church services. Judges also had California continue to ban singing and singing at inside offices.
US wage hike unlikely in relief bill (10:59 am HK)
US President Joe Biden said he did not think his proposed increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour will survive negotiations to pass his broader coronavirus control bill – comments that could damn the prospects for the measure in the final legislative package.
Biden said the increase “apparently” would not take place after the Senate on Friday passed a budget change proposed by Senator Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican who opposed wage increases “during a global pandemic.”
South Korea relaxes rules (10:40 HK)
South Korea is relaxing the rules of social distance, including allowing longer opening hours for some retail outlets.
Restaurants, coffee shops and gyms outside the capital Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province are now allowed to remain open until 10 p.m., Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Saturday. Karaoke bars, standing concert theaters and door-to-door sales will also be allowed.
The number of daily cases in Korea fell to about 300 in the past week, from more than 1,000 at the end of December.
Israeli vaccination campaign worked within weeks (9:20 am HK)
Israel, with the highest percentage of citizens in the world vaccinated against Covid-19, found that it took three weeks for the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot to begin curbing new cases and hospitalizations.
Researchers reported preliminary observations on a national immunization program that began Dec. 20 on Wednesday.
LA Schools Chief Opposes Reopening (5:25 pm NY)
Los Angeles Unified School District pushed back under pressure to reopen, citing the number of cases remaining too high. While San Francisco has successfully lowered virus levels, LA has tricked the pandemic’s approach by allowing companies to reopen and close test sites, Chief Inspector Austin Beutner said.
“Los Angeles is a national example of how government dysfunction has gotten the virus out of control,” Beutner said.
Many NYC Vaccines Go To White Out-of-Towners (3:38 PM NY)
More than a quarter of those who get the Covid-19 vaccine in New York City are nonresidents, and they are usually younger and more likely to be white than those living in the city.
According to data released Friday by the city’s health department, about 59% of out-of-town recipients are white. In comparison, 48% of New Yorkers who have received vaccines are white, the data shows. About half of vaccinated nonresidents are under the age of 65, compared to 44% of New Yorkers who get the photos. New York City prioritizes health workers, the elderly, and essential workers for immunization.
Positive test rate in California drops (2:25 pm NY)
The rate of positive tests in California in 14 days fell to 6.6%, down from 12.7% a month ago and the lowest since Nov. 30. The state has conducted a total of 43.4 million coronavirus tests.
There were 14,021 new Covid-19 cases in California yesterday, below the 14-day moving average of 17,600, according to the health department website. Still, at 558, the number of deaths was higher than the average of 518. The total number of Covid-19 cases is more than 3.3 million, with 43,024 deaths.
Spain restricts use of Astra vaccine (2:20 pm New York)
Spain limits the use of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine to people aged 55 and under, based on “scientific evidence,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
Spain is the last country in the European Union to set a maximum age limit for the recommended use of the shot. Countries such as Germany, France and Italy have also set limits.
Hospitals in Paris warn of the arrival of New Wave (2 p.m. New York)
France’s Covid measures fail to keep the virus under control, and the country is facing a new wave of infections at a time when pandemic activity is already at a high level, said Bruno Riou, director of medical crisis. the Parisian hospital operator AP-HP, in a press. briefing on Friday.
“It is clear that we will be going through very difficult times in the coming weeks,” said Riou.
Health authorities reported 22,139 new infections Friday, with the seven-day moving average changing little at 20,466 cases. Deaths increased by 651 to 78,603, with the number including multi-day data from nursing homes.
Greece tightens curbs (1:21 pm NY)
The Greek Government increased movement restrictions by citizens, as the number of new cases and people admitted to hospital has increased in recent days.
An existing national curfew now starts at 6pm on weekends instead of 9pm in so-called red areas considered to be of higher risk, including the two largest cities of Athens and Thessaloniki and their larger regions.
Astra vaccine effective against variant, study shows (1:13 pm NY)
AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine is about the same effective against the new strain of the virus that emerged in the UK compared to the original version, according to a study by the shot’s co-developer, the University of Oxford.
Protection against symptomatic infection was similar for the new variants and for the earlier strain, according to the study, which analyzed swabs taken from volunteers from October to mid-January. The findings are revealed in a preprint version of the study that has not been peer-reviewed.
German lockdown likely to be extended (12:39 pm NY)
Germany probably will Extend the cut-off for another two weeks when Chancellor Angela Merkel and state government leaders meet next week, people familiar with the discussions say.
Chancellery officials in Berlin have concluded that it is too early to lift the restrictions, even as new infections are on the decline, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are not public.
WHO Calls on Countries to Share Vaccines (12:31 p.m. NY)
Countries should share their vaccine doses once they vaccinate their health workers and the elderly, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing. He also called on companies to cooperate until stimulate production and share complete records with WHO for emergency use lists.
More than three-quarters of vaccinations administered take place in just 10 countries, which account for nearly 60% of global GDP, he said. About 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, still have to administer a single dose.
Dutch Limit Vaccine for People Under 65 (10:50 am NY)
The AstraZeneca vaccine will initially be used for people aged 60 to 64 and long-term caregivers, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said in a letter to parliament. The Health Council advised on Thursday not to use the vaccine in people over 65.
– With help from Angus Whitley