(Bloomberg) — China postponed two political meetings in the port city that borders Beijing over its sudden Covid-19 outbreak, a move that’s raising concern whether the Olympics and annual national legislative meetings can go ahead smoothly.
Crowds at the Australian Open will be capped at half capacity as authorities in host city Melbourne worry about surging infections. A U.S. study found that almost all teenagers who needed intensive care for Covid-19 were unvaccinated, bolstering the case for the shot in youths.
Switzerland joined Spain and the U.K. in suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic may be shifting to an endemic phase. Covid infection rates are falling in London, raising hopes that the omicron outbreak is in retreat.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 315.3 million; deaths pass 5.5 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.57 billion shots administered
- China faces mounting economic damage from Covid-zero policy
- For emerging economies, new Covid wave spawns new thinking
- Omicron has workers ready to quit rather than return to office
- N95 mask prices hit ‘ridiculous’ highs on CDC advice speculation
Hong Kong May Hack BioNTech Shot (10:49 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong’s vaccine advisory panel recommended giving a partial dose of BioNTech SE’s adult Covid shot to younger children, resorting to an “off-label use” amid supply shortages for a pediatric formulation.
The experts suggested children age 5 to 11 receive 10 micrograms of the German-made shots, which is one-third of the adult dose. The move would “facilitate the timely extension” of vaccine coverage for those age groups, the government advisers said in a statement.
Australian Open to Curb Crowds (10:05 a.m. HK)
Crowds at the Australian Open will be capped at half capacity as authorities in host city Melbourne worry about increasing omicron infections and hospitalizations. Spectators at the tennis tournament will be required to wear face masks and density limits will apply for all indoor hospitality areas when it starts Monday, Victoria state government said in a statement.
Victoria’s health-care system is under pressure as thousands of its workers are furloughed after being exposed to the virus. The state recorded 37,169 new infections Thursday, up from 7,442 at the start of the year, while hospitalizations have more than doubled to 953 in the same period.
In Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, more than 92,264 new infections were recorded Thursday. That included some 61,387 infections detected from rapid tests since Jan. 1, more than 50,000 of which were from the past 7-days, state health authorities said in a statement. The state has 2,383 people hospitalized with Covid, up from 903 at the start of the year.
Biden to Send Medical Teams to Six States (9:43 a.m. HK)
The U.S. federal government will send medical teams to New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Michigan and New Mexico to help hospitals overburdened by Covid-19, USA Today reported, citing an unidentified White House official.
President Joe Biden is expected to unveil the deployments on Thursday while discussing plans to address the omicron variant, the newspaper said.
China Detects Omicron in Second Port City (8:13 a.m. HK)
A person who tested positive for Covid-19 in the Chinese port city of Dalian on Wednesday has been confirmed as infected with the omicron variant, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a local authority. Earlier, health authorities in nearby Tianjin discovered an infection cluster caused by omicron.
The surge in infections prompted officials to delay two separate meetings of the Committee of the People’s Congress of Tianjin, according to a report by state broadcaster China Central Television. That’s raising questions about whether the Beijing Olympics set to start next month can be organized smoothly.
Tokyo to Raise Alert Level (6:53 a.m. HK)
Tokyo is set to raise its coronavirus alert to the second-highest level on a four-tier system Thursday as daily infections surge, broadcaster NHK reported, without attribution. The alert was previously put on that level in September.
The capital’s coronavirus panel will also raise the alert on the medical situation in the city by one notch from the lowest level, NHK said. Local daily cases jumped more than fivefold on Wednesday to 2,198 compared with 390 a week earlier.
BioNTech Still Talking With China (5:20 p.m. NY)
Vaccine maker BioNTech SE hasn’t given up on securing approval for its mRNA Covid-19 shot in mainland China, despite a monthslong delay and the country doubling down on homegrown inoculations.
“It is continued dialog with the Chinese authorities,” Sean Marett, the German drug developer’s chief commercial officer, said at JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s annual health care conference this week. “It’s difficult to predict when we will get approval, but China remains for us extremely important.” Chief Strategy Officer Ryan Richardson said there was significant interest in mRNA shots in China, but the key was working out how to “open up the regulatory pathway.”
Study Bolsters Case for Vaccine in Youths (5 p.m. NY)
Almost all teenagers who needed intensive care for Covid-19 were unvaccinated, according to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, bolstering the case for using the Pfizer-BioNTech shot in youths.
The vaccine prevented 98% of ICU visits and 94% of Covid-related hospitalizations in the real-world study of more than 1,000 adolescents ages 12 to 18 in 23 states. The research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a network of 31 hospitals is one is one of the most detailed yet showing that vaccines can prevent severe Covid complications in teenagers.
U.S. Eyeing China Lockdowns’ Impact (4:38 p.m. NY)
The U.S. is monitoring the economic impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns imposed in China “very closely,” White House economic adviser Brian Deese told reporters during a briefing.
An omicron outbreak in China is sending jitters through supply chains as manufacturers and shippers brace for disruption inside the world’s-biggest trading nation if it can’t contain the fast-spreading variant.
Illinois Hospitals Face Surge in Patients (3:45 p.m. NY)
Illinois has never had so many Covid-19 patients hospitalized as its seen in recent days. Currently, more than 7,100 people in the state are hospitalized due to the virus and the vast majority are unvaccinated, said Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Only 9% of the state’s hospital intensive-care unit beds remain available, and a key reason is fewer available medical and health-care workers. Governor J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced that he’s deploying more than 2,000 workers to assist hospitals hardest hit by the most recent surge.
U.S. Orders 500,000 More Astra Doses (1:40 p.m. NY)
The U.S. government is in talks with AstraZeneca Plc to order 500,000 doses of its coronavirus antibody drug, used by vulnerable people before exposure to the virus to prevent severe illness.
Jeff Zients, Biden’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said Wednesday that the administration and AstraZeneca are “in the process of ordering” the doses, which are aimed at immunocompromised people. The new order will push the total U.S. purchase to above 1 million doses, all due by the end of March, Zients said.
Fall in London Cases Raises Hope (11 a.m. NY)
Covid infection rates are falling in London, raising hopes that the omicron outbreak is in retreat.
Infections for the U.K. increased to 4.3 million in the first week of January, up from 3.7 million a week earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. England accounted for the bulk, at just over 3.7 million, and the highest infection rate at 1-in-15.
But cases in London, which has been at the epicenter of the U.K. outbreak, dropped from 1 in 10 to 1 in 15. The hot spots are now the North West of England and Yorkshire and the Humber, where 1 in 10 people have Covid.
Signs that the virus may be retreating in the capital provide some hope that the worst may soon be over. A short, sharp surge in cases echoes the experience in South Africa, where omicron was first reported.
Swiss Add to Talk of Endemic Phase (10:30 a.m. NY)
Switzerland’s interior minister said the transition from pandemic to a stage where the country learns to live with Covid-19 like the flu may be in sight.
“We may be on the eve of a watershed, the transition from a pandemic phase to an endemic phase,” Alain Berset, whose ministry includes health, said at a media conference Wednesday.
Berset’s comments follow a call by Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday to consider treating the crisis differently, given that the omicron wave of infections hasn’t led to an equivalent surge in hospitalizations and deaths. Britain’s Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, told the BBC on Sunday the U.K. is “on a path towards transitioning from pandemic to endemic.”
Scholz Says Unvaccinated Put Others at Risk (8:08 a.m. NY)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued a strong appeal for Germans to get vaccinated, saying failing to do so puts others at risk as the nation grapples with the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Speaking to parliament on Wednesday, Scholz reaffirmed his support for making shots compulsory for all adults, saying the measure is needed to ensure health-care services don’t get overwhelmed.
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