1) Coronavirus live news: WHO chief criticises booster campaigns; China says it has zero new cases theguardian.com/world/live/202…
2) UK government has agreed to a contract for 35M more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech💉, delivery from 2nd half of next year. Vaccine stockpiling criticisms made, as other countries need first doses for their residents. UK gov’t acknowledged it was “future-proofing” w/its surplus;
3) US FDA poised to give full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech
💉 later today, in the hopes it will facilitate further 💉 mandates and an increase in take-up rates – despite an absence of long-term data of the jab’s efficacy and safety;
4) The WHO DG, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, once again said Covid-19 booster shots should be delayed, as priority should be given to raising 💉 rates in countries where only 1% or 2% of the population has been inoculated;
5) Israel has said it will offer Covid-19 💉 to students on school grounds, as it announced the school year begin next week, despite opposition to the “divisive” plan from the Education Minister.
6) Sweden is likely to see Covid-19 infections gain momentum in the coming months while the curbs to limit the spread will need to be maintained until a higher proportion of the adult population is vaccinated, the health agency has said;
7) Weeks after Delta variant ripped through Jakarta, the Indonesian capital has reached “herd immunity”, Jakarta’s Deputy Governor said, ahead of an expected decision by the President today on whether to extend Covid-19 curbs;
8) China’s Health Authority reported that there were no new local transmitted cases for first time since July, offering more signs that the current outbreak that began late last month may be tapering off soon;
9) Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen received her first dose of the island’s domestically developed coronavirus vaccine, launching its rollout to the public;
10) The Japanese gov’t & Tokyo Metro gov’t has appealed to hospitals in the capital to accept more Covid-19 patients, as increasing infections have made it increasingly difficult to get access to care;
11) Australian police have issued 31 fines to people who attended an illegal Sunday night church service in Blacktown, in the heart of Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak hotspots;
12) Russia reported 19,454 new covid cases Monday, first daily cases drop ⬇️ 20K since June 23, as authorities blamed case surge on Delta variant. The government coronavirus task force also reported 776 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours nationwide;
13) Australia must start to learn to live with Covid-19 when higher vaccination targets are reached, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, despite concerns in some states about the impact of a surge in cases in Sydney;
14) On Monday, NSW reported 818 cases (most of them in Sydney - which reported 71 new cases), slightly down from the record 830 cases yesterday;
15) A third dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots, findings published by the health ministry showed on Sunday;
16) Malaysia’s 17,672 cases are the lowest in 2 weeks.
17) 94 new local spread cases reported Aug 23, as per MOH.
59 cases linked to North Coast Lodge in Woodlands, & were detected through testing operations conducted from Aug 21.
This was after three residents tested (+) for covid on same day during rostered routine testing.
19) AP reports that officials have said all New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the covid, as the nation’s largest school system prepares for classes to start next month;
20) After a nightclub owner sued local authorities, a Berlin-Brandenburg court said curbs fair & sensible but “likely to be disproportionate” for those 💉or recently recovered, DJ Mag reports. However, for un-💉people, even w/negative test result, the ban continues to apply;
21) Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said that he’ll ask Health Minister to set end date for use of face masks as means of reducing Covid transmission. Any such move could prove to be largely moot, however, w/ states & municipalities free to set their own Covid-19 curbs in 🇧🇷;
22) In the UK, a further 31,914 people have tested positive for Covid in the last 24 hours. A further 40 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, according to the latest update to the government’s coronavirus dashboard on Monday;
23) Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, in response to some criticism today concerning the FDA grant of full approval of Pfizer’s 💉, said approval of💉was “a milestone as we continue to battle the Covid-19 pandemic”, said the data has met its standards;
24) A Spanish court has rejected a request by the regional government of Catalonia to reimpose a virus curfew in Barcelona and dozens of other cities, arguing the measure was “disproportionate” as infections have fallen.
29) Jonathan Jackson told NBC News that doctors at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital have closely monitored the condition of the couple. He didn’t specify what treatments doctors have administered or how his parents were infected with the virus, according to NBC News.
30) Chevron & refiner Valero will require jabs for certain field workers or new workers. Schlumberger said last week some customers are requesting its staff💉or tested before arriving on job sites. Oil producer Hess to require workers at its GOM ops to be fully💉by Nov. 1.
32) Florida’s battle over school mask mandates reaches the Gov's doorstep after education leaders in Tallahassee, became defy his ban. Rocky Hanna, Superintendent of Leon County SD, announced mask mandate Sunday. Only medical exemptions will be allowed.
33) Anti-vaccine protesters occupied the headquarters of ITV News and Channel 4 News in London on Monday afternoon, the latest in a series of actions aimed at the media;
34) Italy has reported 44 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, compared with 23 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 4,168 from 5,923;
35) Italy patients in hospital with Covid (excluding ICUs) is 3,928 Mon, up from 3,767 Sun.
There were 45 new admissions to ICUs, up from 33 on Sunday. Total number of ICU patients ⬆️ to 485 from a previous 472;
44) Reuters Highlights :
A) In Pfizer’s clinical trial, ~ 12K recipients of 💉 followed for
at least 6 months;
B) FDA’s approval extends shelf life of PFE shots fr 6 months to 9 months;
C) Pentagon said it is preparing to make the vaccine mandatory for US military personnel;
44 cont.)
D) Approval makes it easier for physicians to prescribe 3rd dose of PFE💉off-label for people who may benefit from additional protection;
E) FDA isn’t recommending that children under age 12 get the vaccine because there is not “proper data” proving its safety;
44 cont.)
G) It also confirms💉increases risk of heart inflammation, particularly among young men in week following 2nd shot;
H) Pfizer is expected to submit data this fall to support the shot’s EUA for children under 12 based on smaller doses;
44 cont)
I) The American Academy of Pediatrics, representing children’s doctors, discouraged having children under 12 receive the vaccine;
45)(A) Biden keys :
FT- Biden tells parents: "You have the tools to keep your child safer":
1: Make sure everyone around your child who can get vaccinated do so
2: Make sure your child is masked when they leave home.
45)(B) From @atrupar - Biden: Even as delta variant ravaged un-💉...the death rate is still 70% lower than….last winter...[experts estimate] the pace of our vaccination effort has saved over 100k lives & prevented more than 450k hospitalizations...[but] we need to move faster"
49) As per @maddow - “…Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and two other members of the five-person audit team have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quite sick.”
54) For context, TX hospitalizations reported on Sunday below :
“Texas COVID-19 hospitalizations surpass 13,000. They haven’t been above 13K since Jan. 22, 2021. There are 13,106 COVID-19 patients currently in TX hospitals.”
56) The Associated Press reported Ghebreyesus made these remarks while speaking to reporters in Budapest. The WHO head argued that “vaccine injustice and vaccine nationalism” fuels the risk of more infectious COVID-19 variants emerging.
58) FT - TMC status.
Texas Medical Center:
"Within the TMC, there are currently 2,650 COVID-19 positive patients in hospitals (ICU & Med/Surg combined), which is the second-highest day recording during the pandemic."
60) Dozens of South FL doctors staged a walkout Monday, to protest number of un-💉COVID-19 patients flooding their hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Just before sunrise, ~75 doctors stepped outside their hospitals & offices to stand together & encourage the community to get💉;
62) Dr Bloomfield says modelling suggests the peak has not yet been hit, and while the numbers have increased today it's reassuring that cases have not risen exponentially.
He says soon we will have identified all the cases that would have arisen before we went into lockdown.
1) Coronavirus live news: Hawaii governor wants to curb travel; Israel boosters ‘beating Delta’ theguardian.com/world/live/202…
2) The newly elected Iranian gov’t led by President Raisi is facing demands to broaden its sources of💉as Iran battles a
5th deadly covid wave. The supply of💉is said to be close to exhausted in Isfahan & Tabriz, as well as provinces including Gilan, Khuzestan and Mazandaran;
3) Australian Covid vaccine study shows social restrictions and cash would slash hesitancy; 4) Cuba will supply large quantities of its home-grown Covid-19 vaccine, Abdala, to Vietnam & also transfer the production technology to 🇻🇳 by end of 2021, Vietnamese Health Ministry said;
3) Leaders of the Group of Seven countries were set to discuss on Tuesday whether to seek an extension to a Aug. 31 deadline for the evacuation of thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan and whether to recognize or sanction a Taliban government.
1) 🇦🇫 thread highlights Aug 23;
A) No extension to Aug 31 foreign troop withdrawal deadline;
B) Germany looking at evacs after Kabul airport closes;
C) Qatar an ‘impartial mediator’ amid Afghanistan evacuations: FM;
D) Taliban name Haji Mohammad Idris Acting Head of Central Bank;
E) Iran resumes fuel exports to Afghanistan after Taliban request;
F) UK not set on hard deadline for evacuation: PM’s spokesperson;
G) US military evacs 10.4K over 24 hours Sunday. Since Aug 14, US evacs 37K people out of Afghanistan, or helped with their evac;
H) French Mins to travel to UAE to discuss Afghanistan;
I) Putin says vital to prevent spillover of ‘radical Islam’ from Afghanistan;
J) Taliban forces recapture 3 districts in northern Afghanistan that fell to local militia groups last week, according to a Taliban spokesman;
1) Afghanistan thread for Sunday ;
A) Pentagon says formally seeking airlift help from commercial airlines, to relocate 🇦🇫 evacuees once they’re out of 🇦🇫;
B) Def Sec Austin activated initial stage of Civil Reserve Air Fleet program Sunday;
C) Def Sec asking for 18 aircraft: 3 each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; 2 from Hawaiian Airlines; and 4 from United Airlines;
D) Pentagon Press Sec Kirby said those aircraft won’t directly fly into HKIA in Kabul;
E) This comes as US Embassy has issued a new security warning, telling citizens not to travel to Kabul airport unless instructed by US gov’t rep & as President Joe Biden warned he could not predict the outcome of one of the “most difficult airlifts in history”;
1) Coronavirus live news: UK public to be offered antibody tests for first time; Iran reports record daily deaths theguardian.com/world/live/202…
2) Iran reported record daily covid deaths today, with 684 deaths recorded. Sunday’s total passes 655 deaths recorded Aug 16, taking the cumulative toll to 102,038, according to IRNA. 36,419 cases were also identified;
3) Greek gov’t reiterated pledge to avoid closing economy again this fall, saying it will deploy Covid passes for hospitality venues. Un-💉not allowed to sit indoors in venues including restaurants, cafes, bars, theaters/cinemas, while those💉required to show proof of💉;