WHO Confronts Case Rebound; China Vaccine Goal: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Global cases rose for the first time in almost two months in the past week, mainly in the Americas, Europe and Southeast Asia, the World Health Organization said, citing countries easing restrictions, people letting their guard down and variants spreading.

China has set a goal to vaccinate 40% of its population by the end of June, up from about 3.5% currently, an official said. The European Commission is set to unveil a proposal this month for a digital vaccine passport, which could ease a return to normality for those who are immunized. But critics say it may be discriminatory and infringe on privacy.

A new Covid variant detected in New York is being watched “very, very closely” by U.S. health officials, Anthony Fauci said. Johnson & Johnson is looking for manufacturing partnerships to increase supply of its vaccine, which was cleared Saturday by U.S. regulators.

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China has only vaccinated 3.5% of its population and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention aims to bring that level up to 40% by end of June, Zhong Nanshan, who advises the government on Covid-19, said at an online forum.

Gao Fu, head of the China CDC, suggested in the forum that China relent on virus suppression to allow small local outbreaks to keep its economy strong and active.

China reported 11 new virus cases on Monday, all of which it said were imported.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump privately received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine while still in office in January, aides familiar with the matter say, at a time when other public officials took shots on-camera to boost public confidence in the vaccines.

Trump and his wife, Melania, have now received both doses of vaccine, said one of the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders said they’ve struck a deal that would push school districts in the most-populous U.S. state to begin reopening by April.

The state would hand out more than $6 billion for related costs including personal protective equipment, ventilation upgrades and Covid testing. To make up for lost learning, the school year might extend into summer.

Covid-19 infections in the U.S. had the biggest monthly decline in February, plunging 61% to about 2.42 million, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg show. That helped lower the death count from January by 25% to 71,772. Overall, almost 514,000 Americans have succumbed to Covid-19 and about 28.7 million residents — or 8.7% of the population — have been infected by it.

Twitter said it will label tweets that may contain misleading information around Covid-19 vaccinations.

France expanded its guidelines for AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine, saying it can now be used to immunize the elderly.

All three vaccines currently in use, including Astra’s, show “remarkable efficacy,” Health Minister Olivier Veran said.

France and other European Union countries such as Germany originally advised giving the Astra vaccine only to people under 65, saying there wasn’t enough clinical-trial data on efficacy in older people.

A new Covid-19 variant detected in New York City that’s now traveled through various neighborhoods is being watched “very, very closely” by U.S. health officials, Anthony Fauci said on Monday.

The variant, known scientifically as B.1.526, likely started off in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, Fauci, a top adviser to President Joe Biden on the pandemic, said. It is one of five concerning variants now being tracked nationally by health officials.

Global cases rose for the first time in almost two months in the past week, mainly in the Americas, Europe and Southeast Asia, the World Health Organization said. Part of the reason is that countries are easing restrictions, people are letting their guard down and variants are spreading, WHO officials said at a media briefing Monday.

People should continue to limit contacts, avoid crowds and practice hygiene measures as vaccines are being rolled out.

“If the last week tells us anything, it’s that this virus will rebound,” said Maria van Kerkhove, the group’s technical lead officer on Covid-19. “This virus will rebound if we let it. We cannot allow it to take off again.”

Austria extended lockdown measures for the majority of the country on Monday following government meetings with scientists, opposition parties and provincial governors in Vienna. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ruled out even outdoor dining until Easter as incidence rates in eastern regions of the country doubled to about 200 over the past month. Only restaurants and cafes in the far-western province of Vorarlberg got the go-ahead to reopen from March 15 after infections fell.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said he was easing restrictions, including revising maximum occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor events, as well as ending out-of-state travel restrictions.

Outdoor events are now allowed a maximum of 20% occupancy, regardless of venue size, the governor said. Attendees and workers must keep six feet (1.8 meters) apart. Indoor venues can have 15% occupancy.

Johnson & Johnson is looking for manufacturing partnerships to increase supply of its Covid-19 vaccine that was cleared Saturday by U.S. regulators, Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky said.

J&J will deliver 3.9 million doses of its one-shot vaccine within the next 24 to 48 hours, Gorsky said Monday in a telephone interview. The company wants to speed up its timeline of supplying enough vaccines to immunize 20 million Americans by the end of the month and a total of 100 million by the end of June, he said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said many of the shots at large, state-run vaccination sites in the city aren’t going to local residents. He said 43% of shots at the massive vaccine site at the Javits Center convention site have gone to non-city residents. Three quarters of shots at the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, which is near one of the hardest-hit parts of the city, have gone to people who don’t live in the city, he said.

The Polish government will discuss the potential purchase of Covid-19 vaccines with its Chinese counterparts, according to a readout from a Monday phone call between Presidents Andrzej Duda and Xi Jinping. Details of possible supplies will be figured out by special working group.

Poland has already administered 8.39 doses of Covid-19 vaccine per 100 people, one of highest ratio in the EU, according to Bloomberg tracker.

The European Commission will unveil a proposal this month for a “digital green pass,” which will provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, recovered from Covid-19 or has received a negative test.

“The proposal’s aim will be to facilitate travel within the European Union based on this medical data that will be available in this green digital pass,” Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

But countries including France have raised objections on the grounds that the policy may be discriminatory against those not vaccinated and infringe on personal data.

France needs another four to six weeks before the government can start lifting restrictions, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday, citing comments made by President Emmanuel Macron. The country is already implementing a nationwide curfew that runs from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but officials have warned that more curbs might be needed.

Finland declared a state of emergency, allowing the government to shutter bars and stop dining at restaurants for three weeks from March 8. It’s preparing an aid package to the affected businesses.

In addition, the government may use emergency powers to restrict people’s movements at a later point, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

Iran recorded 108 deaths from coronavirus in 24 hours, the highest since Jan. 4 and the first time in seven weeks that the country surpassed 100 Covid-19 deaths in one day. The number of daily new cases rose by 8,510, the highest since Dec. 11, the Health Ministry reported. Iran now has 60,181 deaths from the virus with more than 1.6 million infections.