People wait in vehicles at a Covid-19 mass vaccination site in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on February 4.
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
British doctors who spent 102 days treating a cancer survivor to Covid-19 documented how the virus mutated after the man was treated with convalescent plasma. The case study suggests that the use of donated blood plasma from coronavirus survivors may have put enough pressure on the virus to force it to evolve.
China has Sinovac Life Sciences’ Covid-19 vaccine conditionally approved in the general population, according to a statement posted on the National Medical Products Administration website on Saturday. Sinovac says the protective efficacy of its vaccine, CoronaVac, meets the regulatory standards of the World Health Organization and China.
The AstraZeneca Plc coronavirus vaccine is finally reaching the countries of the European Union while the bloc tries to accelerate its vaccination campaign and put a period of crisis behind. The shot is effective against the new strain that emerged in the UK, according to a study by co-developer of the injection, the University of Oxford.
Main developments:
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Hong Kong reports 19 new cases of virus (6:25 am EST)
Hong Kong reported 19 new cases of viruses on Saturday. Three of them were imported, while the origin of six of the new infections could not be determined. The government said at a news conference that it will require all residents of buildings with a confirmed case to complete mandatory screening, expanding the scope of testing to only buildings with infections of unknown origin. The authorities identified four cases of the British variant of the virus and three of the Brazilian mutation.
Poland reports drop in new virus cases (18:15 HK)
Poland reported 6,026 new cases, with the number dropping by the third day, while deaths increased by 367 to almost 39,000. The government announced on Friday a partial easing of restrictions, allowing hotels, theaters and cinemas to reopen at half capacity from 12 February for a two-week trial period. Meanwhile, Germany recorded more than 10,000 new cases of viruses by the third day. Deaths increased by 690, bringing Germany’s total to more than 61,000.
UK Eyes roadmap to get out of the virus block (17:30 HK)
Britain’s hospitality industry it could reopen in April if pubs and restaurants agreed not to sell alcohol, reports the Telegraph. Government ministers are discussing three-stage plans to lift restrictions, including allowing some outdoor socialization starting in March, when schools are set to return. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce detailed plans on February 22 for Britain’s exit from the blockade.
Shots arrive in Macau (13:30 HK)
The first 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Macau on Saturday, Macau Business reported. The vaccination is scheduled to be rolled out to frontline workers around the Chinese New Year, and the city expects its second batch of vaccine from BioNTech in the second half of this month, the report said.
The Supreme Court allows some churches in California to hold internal ceremonies (12 noon HK)
A divided United States Supreme Court ordered California to allow internal services to resume in a group of churches in process, easing restrictions that officials said were necessary to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Friday night’s orders have completely abolished Covid’s restrictions, saying the state could impose a 25% capacity limit on church services. Judges also allowed California to continue to ban singing and singing in closed services.
US pay raise unlikely in bailout bill (10:59 HK)
US President Joe Biden he said he did not believe his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour would survive negotiations to approve his broader coronavirus relief project – comments that could condemn prospects for the measure in the final legislative package.
Biden said the increase “apparently” would not occur after the Senate on Friday passed a budget amendment offered by Senator Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, who opposed the salary increase “during a global pandemic”.
South Korea facilitation rules (10:40 HK)
South Korea is relax its rules of social distance, including allowing longer opening hours for some retail businesses.
Restaurants, cafes and gyms outside the capital Seoul and around Gyeonggi province will now be open until 10 pm, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Saturday. Karaoke bars, theaters for standing shows and door-to-door sales will also be allowed.
Daily cases in Korea dropped to about 300 last week, from more than 1,000 in late December.
Israel’s vaccine campaign ran in weeks (09:20 HK)
Israel, with the highest proportion of citizens vaccinated against Covid-19 in the world, found that it took three weeks for the injection of Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE to start containing new cases and hospitalizations.
The researchers reported preliminary observations on Wednesday of a national immunization program that started on December 20.
Head of schools in LA resists reopening (17:25 NY)
Los Angeles Unified School District has pushed back under pressure to reopen, citing counts of cases that remain very high. While San Francisco has managed to reduce virus levels, LA has been hampered in managing the pandemic, allowing companies to reopen and close test sites, said Superintendent Austin Beutner.
“Los Angeles is a national example of how government dysfunction has allowed the virus to get out of hand,” said Beutner.
Many New York vaccines go to out-of-town residents (3:38 pm from New York)
More than a quarter of those who received the Covid-19 vaccine in New York City are non-residents, tend to be younger and more likely to be white than those who live in the city.
About 59% of recipients outside the city are white, according to data released Friday by the city’s health department. In comparison, 48% of New Yorkers who received vaccines are white, the data show. Approximately half of vaccinated non-residents are under the age of 65, compared with 44% of New Yorkers who get the vaccines. New York City has prioritized health professionals, the elderly and professionals essential to immunization.
California’s positive test rate decreases (2:25 pm, NY)
California’s 14-day positive test rate fell to 6.6% from 12.7% a month ago and the lowest since November 30. The state administered 43.4 million coronavirus tests in total.
There were 14,021 new cases of Covid-19 in California yesterday, below the 14-day moving average of 17,600, according to the health department. on the Internet network. Still, the number of deaths in 558 was higher than the average of 518. The total number of Covid-19 cases reached 3.3 million, with 43,024 deaths.
Spain limits the use of the Astra vaccine (2:20 pm New York)
Spain is limiting 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 injection. Countries like Germany, France and Italy have also set limits.
Paris hospitals warn of the arrival of a new wave (14h in New York)
Covid France’s measures are failing to control the virus, 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 at the Paris hospital operator AP-HP. briefing on Friday.
“It is clear that we are going to live in very difficult times in the coming weeks,” said Riou.
Health officials reported 22,139 new infections on Friday, with the seven-day moving average little changed in 20,466 cases. Deaths increased from 651 to 78,603, with figures including several days of data from nursing homes.
Greece tightens the curb (13h21 NY)
The Greek government Restrictions on the movement of citizens have increased with the increase in the number of new cases and people hospitalized in recent days.
An existing national night curfew will now begin at 6 pm during the weekend, instead of 9 pm in the so-called red areas that are considered to be at greatest risk, including the two largest cities of Athens and Thessaloniki and their larger regions.
Astra vaccine effective against variants, study shows (1:13 pm NY)
The AstraZeneca Plc vaccine is almost as effective against the new strain of the virus that appeared in the UK compared to the initial version, according to a study by the vaccine co-developer, the University of Oxford.
Protection against symptomatic infection was comparable for the new variants, as well as for the previous strain, according to the study, which looked at swabs taken from volunteers from October to mid-January. The results are released in a pre-printed version of the study that has not been peer-reviewed.
German block likely to be extended (12:39 pm, NY)
It is likely that Germany extend his blockade for another two weeks, when Chancellor Angela Merkel and state government leaders meet next week, people familiar with the discussions said.
Chancellery officials in Berlin concluded that it is too early to lift the restrictions, although new infections are decreasing, according to people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are not public.
WHO asks countries to share vaccines (12:31 pm, NY)
Countries should share their vaccine doses after inoculating their health care workers and senior citizens, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. He also invited companies to join up until boost manufacturing and share complete dossiers with WHO for emergency use listings.
More than three quarters of vaccines administered are in just 10 countries that account for almost 60% of global GDP, he said. Some 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, have not yet administered a single dose.
Dutch limited vaccine for people under 65 (10:50 NY)
The AstraZeneca vaccine will initially be used by people aged 60 to 64, as well as by long-term workers, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said in a letter to parliament. The Health Council said on Thursday that the vaccine should not be used in people over 65.
– With the help of Helen Robertson