The Covid-19 vaccine at the Diepsloot Taxi Rank Pop-Up Vaccination Site on 29 September 2021 in Diepsloot, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle) 
The Chinese province that was the initial epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak made significant purchases of equipment used to test for infectious diseases months before Beijing notified international authorities of the emergence of a new coronavirus, according to research by a cybersecurity company.
A European Union advisory committee endorsed the use of a third dose of the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna for people with severely weakened immune systems. Airline losses from the coronavirus pandemic are set to surpass $200-billion, according to a trade group.
New York City said 95% of teachers and other school staff got Covid-19 shots ahead of a mandate that went into effect Monday, with 18,000 vaccine doses administered over the weekend.
Key developments
- Global Virus Tracker: Cases top 234.9 million; deaths exceed 4.8 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.34 billion shots given
- The march back to office heads in sharply different directions
- Merck’s Covid pill progress sparks Asian vaccine stock selloff
- Vaccine mandates hit amid historic healthcare staff shortage
- How Covid is transforming a $380-billion luxury fashion industry
Chinese PCR purchases rose in 2019
The Chinese province that was the initial epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak made significant purchases of equipment used to test for infectious diseases months before Beijing notified international authorities of the emergence of a new coronavirus, according to research by a cybersecurity company.
The province’s purchase of polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing equipment, which allows scientists to amplify DNA samples to test for infectious disease or other genetic material, shot upward in 2019, with most of the increase coming in the second half of the year, the Australian-US firm Internet 2.0 found.
Based on the research, Internet 2.0 concluded with “high confidence that the pandemic began much earlier than China informed the WHO about Covid-19,” according to the report.
EU panel backs Pfizer, Moderna boosters
A European Union advisory committee endorsed the use of a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna for people with severely weakened immune systems.
The panel also concluded that booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine, developed with BioNTech, may be considered for all adults at least six months after their second vaccine. For the immunocompromised, extra doses of either shot may be given at least 28 days after the second one, it said on Monday.
The European Medicines Agency committee is following the US and other countries with ample vaccine supplies in allocating doses or considering the move for booster shots. The US Food and Drug Administration may soon authorise half-dose boosters of the Moderna vaccine, setting the stage to further widen the US booster campaign after earlier authorisation of the extra Pfizer-BioNTech dose.
De Blasio says 95% of school staff vaccinated
https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1445028511492739072
Global trade recovers at a faster clip
The World Trade Organization raised its projection for global trade growth in 2021 and 2022 to 10.8% and 4.7%, respectively, citing the resurgence of economic activity in the first half of the year. This year’s increase in merchandise trade would mark the biggest year-over-year jump since 2010, the group said.
Hiring at Gulf carriers shows travel rebound
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways plans to hire as many as 1,000 cabin crew in the latest sign of an improving outlook for travel. The announcement comes a month after Emirates unveiled plans to recruit 3,000 cabin crew and 500 airport services employees to join its Dubai hub.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are part of the United Arab Emirates, which has inoculated more than 80% of its population. Infection rates have dropped and the country is now placed sixth on Bloomberg’s Resilience Rankings. DM
– With assistance from Cindy Wang, Alfred Cang, Michelle Fay Cortez and Kanoko Matsuyama.