Covid-19

CORONAVIRUS GLOBAL UPDATE

A third of New York City cops unvaccinated; South Africa registers 533 new cases

A third of New York City cops unvaccinated; South Africa registers 533 new cases
The Discovery Health Covid-19 vaccination site on 21 October 2021 in Sandton, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

South Africa registered 533 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 2,921,114. A further 55 Covid-19-related deaths were reported, taking total official deaths to 89,104. A total of 22,116,947 people have been vaccinated.

Nearly a third of New York Police Department cops – 10,000 people – are unvaccinated ahead of the city’s Friday deadline. The city said it will temporarily outlaw days off for sanitation workers ahead of anticipated employee shortages stemming from a vaccine mandate that goes into effect next week. 

Citigroup will require all US employees to be vaccinated as a condition of their employment. 

Merck is planning to make at least 20 million treatment courses of its closely watched Covid-19 antiviral next year, on top of 10 million it expects to make by the end of 2021. 

Key developments 

New York City has 10,000 unvaccinated cops 

Nearly a third of New York Police Department cops are unvaccinated against Covid-19 ahead of the city’s Friday deadline.

The Police Benevolent Association, which represents 24,000 cops in the most populous US city, said 10,000 of the roughly 35,000 uniformed NYPD officers have not got the shot. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio eliminated the test-out option and said all city employees must receive their first vaccine dose by October 29 or face unpaid leave. 

The union is fighting the mandate in court, but a judge has refused to block it in the meantime. It’s not clear what effect the drop in staff will have on the operations of the nation’s largest police force, but De Blasio on Thursday sought to assure New Yorkers they will be safe. 

Citigroup requires vaccines for all US workers 

Citigroup will require all US employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as a condition of their employment, citing new orders from President Joe Biden. 

The Wall Street giant asked staffers to submit proof of vaccination by December 8, and said those who comply will receive $200 as a “thank you,” according to a memo to staff on Thursday seen by Bloomberg News. Citigroup set January 14 as the final cut-off for workers to upload vaccine cards, to give unvaccinated staff more time to get shots.

Citigroup told employees in August that anyone returning to offices in the New York area and other major US cities would have to be vaccinated. The new policy expands that requirement to all workers in the US. 

UK removes all countries from red list 

The UK removed all seven remaining countries from its Covid-19 red list, effectively ending a mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for any arriving travellers.

The highest-risk category will remain in place to protect public health, and UK officials are prepared to add countries back if necessary, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Thursday on Twitter.  

The seven countries – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Haiti, Panama, Ecuador and Peru – will be removed on November 1, Shapps said.

Florida sues US over vaccine mandates 

Florida sued the Biden administration over vaccine mandates for federal contractors, the latest in a wave of Republican pushback against the president’s orders to fight the pandemic.

In a federal lawsuit filed on Thursday in Tampa, the state called vaccination requirements for government contractors a “radical intrusion on the personal autonomy of American workers”. It alleges that the administration issued the mandate based on a law that doesn’t give it such power.

Among the defendants is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or Nasa, which has a large presence in the state through the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. 

Vaccination doesn’t stop spread 

People inoculated against Covid-19 are just as likely to spread the Delta variant of the virus to contacts in their household as those who haven’t had shots, according to new research.

In a year-long study of 621 people in the UK with mild Covid-19, scientists found that their peak viral load was similar regardless of vaccination status, according to a paper published on Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal. The analysis also found that 25% of vaccinated household contacts still contracted the disease from an index case, while 38% of those who hadn’t had shots became infected.

New York City bans time off for sanitation workers 

New York City said it will temporarily outlaw days off for sanitation workers as needed ahead of anticipated employee shortages stemming from a vaccine mandate that goes into effect next week.

The sanitation department also will require Sunday shifts and move to a 12-hour schedule for workers to “create additional capacity,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a briefing on Thursday.

The city last week said it would require all municipal workers to be vaccinated by 5pm on Friday and eliminate a test-out option. Those who aren’t vaccinated will be put on unpaid leave. So far, 67% of sanitation workers are vaccinated.

Singapore cases fall from record 

Singapore recorded a total of 3,432 new cases as of noon on Thursday, including nine imported infections, down from the record number of 5,324 on the day before, according to the Ministry of Health. 

WHO says G20 faces test on vaccines 

Some 82 countries are at risk of not being able to vaccinate at least 40% of their population by the end of this year – a goal the World Health Organization has set – only because of a lack of supply, WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward said.

Those 82 countries need an additional 550 million doses to hit that target. Between now and the end of 2021, about three billion doses of vaccine will be manufactured, he added.

“The big question to the G20 is, are they going to say, ‘here’s where those 550 million doses are going to come from’ because those 20 countries control the global vaccine supply?” Aylward said at a briefing on Thursday. “This is a very solvable problem. The numbers are not daunting. It’s an issue of the will and the manufacturers cooperating to make sure doses go where they’re needed.”

US buys more kids’ doses 

The US government has purchased an additional 50 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in a push to secure supply for kids, the companies said in a statement on Thursday. All the doses will be delivered by April 30, 2022.

To date, the US has cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those 12 and older. The Food and Drug Administration is poised to clear the shot at a lower dose for those aged five through 11 imminently, paving the way for a paediatric vaccination campaign in early November. The latest supply agreement includes doses for children under five, who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Pfizer and BioNTech aim to read out data on the cohort before the end of the year.

Merck’s antiviral drug plans 

Merck is planning to make at least 20 million treatment courses of its Covid-19 antiviral next year, on top of 10 million it expects to make by the end of 2021. The company and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics are seeking US authorisation of molnupiravir.

Molnupiravir has become one of the most highly anticipated coronavirus medications, as the pill is relatively cheap to make and easy to transport. Merck said the treatment could bring in as much as $7-billion in global sales through 2022, including as much as $1-billion in revenue this year if it’s authorised in December.

US posts weakest growth of the recovery 

US economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter to the softest pace of the pandemic recovery period as snarled supply chains and a surge in cases throttled spending and investment. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2% annualised rate following a 6.7% pace in the second quarter.

Inovio shot in WHO-sponsored trial 

The World Health Organization confirmed to Inovio that the company’s vaccine candidate is one of two vaccines being tested in a large Phase 3 clinical trial that’s funded, sponsored, and conducted by the organization.

Hungary allows vaccine mandates 

Hungary will allow companies to enforce Covid vaccines on staff as a condition of employment, as the number of cases surges and the vaccination programme stalls. The government will also demand that public-sector workers receive a shot, while compulsory mask-wearing will be reintroduced on public transport from next week.

Israel needs more shots, tourist safeguards  

Israel must do more to break down vaccine resistance and implement tougher safeguards as foreign tourists start returning next month, or risk a fifth Covid wave, public health experts are warning

“What we did last time was open and then we were passive and did almost nothing  – no enforcement, no good genetic surveillance – and gradually we lost control,” said Nadav Davidovitch, head of Ben-Gurion University’s School of Public Health and a member of the expert panel advising the Israeli government. 

Tourists tentatively are to start returning on Monday, pending final government approval, but guidelines the government has released so far apply only to vaccination and testing requirements. 

EU, UK recognise each other’s certificates 

The European Commission has decided to give equivalence to the UK’s Covid-19 certificate. The move was reciprocated by the UK, which will accept the EU certificate for travel.

Germany urges elderly to get boosters 

Germany needs to press ahead with providing booster shots to the elderly to prevent more sickness and deaths amid a new surge in cases, according to the head of the country’s vaccine commission.

“It certainly won’t be as dramatic as the start of the pandemic, because the protection from vaccination won’t disappear from one day to the next,” Thomas Mertens, the chairman of the government’s standing committee on vaccination, said on DLF radio.

Germany recorded more than 28,000 new cases on Wednesday, the biggest daily increase since April. Deaths exceeded 100 for a third straight day, taking the total to 95,485. Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that she’s concerned about the latest surge and its potential to overload the nation’s hospitals.

CDC issues guidelines on fourth shot 

Americans with cancer, organ transplants and other conditions that weaken their immune systems could get a fourth vaccine shot to add protection against the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Moderately and severely immunocompromised adults who are fully vaccinated and received a booster dose may get an additional shot six months later. DM

With assistance from Iain Rogers, Zoltan Simon, Gwen Ackerman, John Martens, Jim Silver, Deirdre Hipwell, Joe Mayes, Emma Court, Riley Griffin and Corinne Gretler.

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

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