No images? Click here Click here to subscribe to the daily brief. September 21, 2021 - Brief Issue 238 The Coronavirus Daily Brief is a daily news and analysis roundup edited by New America’s International Security Program and Arizona State University. Please consider making a donation to support our ongoing analysis of the most important news and headlines surrounding Covid-19. Top Headlines U.S. Death Toll from Covid Overtakes That of 1918-19 Spanish Flu (Health & Science) Johnson & Johnson Says Booster Shot After Two Months Increases Protection (Health & Science) At-Home Rapid Tests Become Important Tool in Ongoing Pandemic (Health & Science) American Samoa Reports First Covid Case (Health & Science) Innovation Continued in Spite of Pandemic, Says U.N. (Around the World) India to Resume Vaccine Exports (Around the World) Vietnam’s Capital to Ease Restrictions (Around the World) U.S. Will Relax Covid Air Travel Restrictions; Extends Land Border Restrictions with Canada, Mexico (U.S. Government & Politics) Republicans Aim to Block Vaccine Mandates (U.S. Government & Politics) Pandemic’s Impact on Women Impacts Debate Over Biden Child Care Bill (U.S. Government & Politics) U.S. Stocks Drop 2% on Concerns About Growth (U.S. Economy) Chris Rock Says He Has Covid (U.S. Society) Health & Science There have been 42,291,708 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 676,261 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 386,237,881 vaccine doses, with 63.9% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 54.7% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 76.5% have received at least one dose, and 65.9% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). Worldwide, there have been 229,137,710 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,702,119 deaths. U.S. Death Toll from Covid Overtakes That of 1918-19 Spanish Flu The United States’ known death toll from Covid-19 is now higher than the death toll from the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918-19. During the Spanish Flu pandemic, an estimated 675,000 people died across the U.S. (AP). As of Tuesday, the death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 676,000 people. A century ago, the U.S. population was just one-third of what it is today, meaning that the flu outbreak was more lethal (CNBC). But the tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic lies in the fact that scientific advances and the currently available and highly effective vaccines should be able to overcome the virus, and yet, more Americans die every day. “Big pockets of American society – and, worse, their leaders – have thrown this away,” said Dr. Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan. Johnson & Johnson Says Booster Shot After Two Months Increases Protection On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson released data from a late-stage clinical trial showing that a booster shot of its vaccine two months after the first shot increases the vaccine’s protection (WSJ). The Wall Street Journal reports, “Data released Tuesday from a late-stage clinical trial showed that study participants in 10 countries including the U.S. who received a second dose of the company’s vaccine two months after the first had 75% protection against symptomatic Covid-19. Participants in the U.S. had 94% protection against the illness. J&J didn’t explain the reason for the difference in efficacy rates. A double dose of the vaccine provided participants with 100% protection against severe or critical Covid-19 at least two weeks after the second shot, J&J said.” A prior trial showed one shot of the vaccine to have 66% efficacy according to Johnson & Johnson. Paul Stoffels, the company’s chief scientific officer stated, “We now have generated evidence that a booster shot further increases protection against Covid-19 and is expected to extend the duration of protection significantly.” The data has not yet been peer reviewed or published yet. The announcement comes as the Biden administration considers its strategy regarding booster shots. The Journal writes, “The Biden administration is hoping to begin at least part of its boosting strategy this week. It is waiting for the FDA to authorize additional doses of the vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for people who are 65 years old and over or at high risk of developing severe Covid-19. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is set to discuss the Pfizer boosting strategy on Wednesday and Thursday.” At-Home Rapid Tests Become Important Tool in Ongoing Pandemic Rapid tests that can be used at home are flying off drugstore shelves in the U.S. and other countries where they are available. Some schools and employers are using them as a tool to reduce quarantine times and individuals are using them for guests at events or gatherings, like weddings (WSJ). In the U.S., President Biden’s new Covid-19 response plan aims to make at-home tests more accessible and readily available. Currently, they cost anywhere from $14 to $25. Compare that to Germany, where tests can be purchased for under a Euro in supermarkets, pharmacies, and even home improvement stores. According to scientists, rapid tests taken at home are most reliable if the person being tested is already displaying symptoms. But if a person is asymptomatic and a rapid test is negative, there is still a possibility that the person was exposed to the virus, and a PCR test, which is more accurate, would be needed. American Samoa Reports First Covid Case Over 18 months into the pandemic, American Samoa reported its first case of the coronavirus on Friday (AP). The U.S. territory’s health officials said the individual infected was a resident who had returned to American Samoa from Hawaii. The traveler flew in last Monday, which was the first day that commercial flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago resumed; they had been suspended in March 2020. The resident was fully vaccinated and tested negative for Covid-19 before boarding the flight back to American Samoa. Bonus Read: “As Covid-19 Patients Fill Hospitals, Health-Care Workers Fight Fear and Exhaustion: ‘Here We Go Again’” (WaPo). Around the World Innovation Continued in Spite of Pandemic, Says U.N. The U.N.’s intellectual property agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said on Monday that innovation continued in 2020 despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with technology, pharmaceuticals, and biotech industries boosting their investments (AP). Transport and travel sectors cut back on spending and WIPO warned that the change in the overall “innovation landscape” was happening too slowly. WIPO’s latest innovation index report ranked Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Britain, and South Korea as the most innovative economies. China and France also climbed up in the rankings. “Innovation is resilient — and even more resilient than we expected,” WIPO Director General Daren Tang told the AP. India to Resume Vaccine Exports India will begin exporting Covid-19 vaccines again in October and will prioritize vaccines to COVAX and neighboring countries first, the health minister said on Monday. India is the world’s biggest maker of vaccines but it stopped exporting doses in April as cases surged domestically and the government focused on inoculating its own population (Reuters). The country’s vaccine output is set to quadruple to over 300 million doses next month, according to minister Mansukh Mandaviya. "We will help other countries and also fulfil our responsibility towards COVAX," Mandaviya told reporters, but also noted that only excess doses would be exported. India has so far given at least one dose to 64% of its adult population and has given two doses to 22% of adults. Vietnam’s Capital to Ease Restrictions Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, will begin to loosen its coronavirus restrictions starting this week as new cases decline and the majority of its adult population is partially vaccinated. The government announced that construction projects can resume on Wednesday with further easing of restrictions following close behind. Deputy chairman of Hanoi's ruling People's Committee, Duong Duc Tuan, said that the government is aiming to have the majority of adults receive their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of November. So far, 94% of Hanoi’s adult population of 5.75 million has received one shot (Reuters). U.S. Government & Politics U.S. Will Relax Covid Air Travel Restrictions; Extends Land Border Restrictions with Canada, Mexico On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it will relax Covid-related restrictions on international travelers entering the United States (WSJ, NYT, CNN, Reuters, AP). Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, stated that travelers will now be allowed to enter if they are vaccinated and show a negative test result for Covid within three days of travel. Zients stated, “International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange of ideas and culture.” The policy removes restrictions that had been in place for more than a year on travelers from many European countries, China, India, Brazil, and Iran. For Americans who are returning home, there are stricter testing rules. The New York Times writes, “Unvaccinated Americans overseas aiming to travel home will have to clear stricter testing requirements. They will need to test negative for the coronavirus one day before traveling to the United States and show proof that they have bought a test to take after arriving in the United States.” The decision to remove the restrictions was motivated in part by pushback from European allies. The Wall Street Journal reports that “Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the travel restrictions on Friday with Philippe Étienne, the French ambassador to the U.S., according to a senior administration official. The official added that diplomatic considerations played a role in the decision to lift the restrictions, but said the policy was guided by science.” The European pressure came as travel between Europe and the U.S. increased, but not in both directions due to American restrictions. The Journal writes, “Travel from the U.S. to Europe jumped this summer when countries began allowing Americans to visit once again, but the traffic didn’t flow both ways because of the continued bans. The number of passenger flights from the U.K. to the U.S. dropped 76% this year so far compared with the same period in 2019 according to Cirium, an aviation data provider. Flights from Europe to the U.S. fell 67% over the same period.” The relaxation of restrictions has drawn praise from some. Sean Doyle, chief executive of British Airways, for example, stated, “Our customers should now feel the world is reopening to them.” Zients also stated that the U.S. would issue a contact tracing order requiring airlines to collect information on passengers (Politico). Meanwhile, the United States also extended its restrictions barring non-essential travel across the land borders with Mexico and Canada until October 21 (Reuters). The decision comes even as Canada opened its borders to American travelers in August. Republican Montana Senator Steve Daines said Monday the White House's "continued refusal to open the northern border is inexplicable and is devastating Montana border communities and our economy." Republicans Aim to Block Vaccine Mandates As the Biden administration has increasingly turned towards vaccine mandates, Republicans are positioning themselves to oppose and block such policies (WaPo). While Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis promoted vaccination over the summer, the Washington Post reports that in recent days, he “ has shifted his focus — devoting much of his time to battling any business or government agency that would require workers to get the shot.” DeSantis, for example, stated, “These big government mandates strip away people’s rights to make the best decision for themselves, but we are going to protect Floridians from federal and local government overreach” during a stop in Gainesville, Florida to oppose the city’s employee vaccination requirement. The Post notes that DeSantis is far from alone, writing, “DeSantis’s hard-line stance has become the prevailing view of the Republican Party, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also stepping forward to oppose local mandates in their states in the name of protecting individual liberty. In the hotly contested race for Virginia governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin said in a debate last week that individuals should be allowed to make that decision on their own,’ while on Sunday Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, whose state is among the leaders in the country in covid deaths per 100,000 residents, warned on CNN that the country would be in ‘deep, deep trouble’ if a president has ‘unilateral authority’ to impose vaccine requirements.” DeSantis and Abbott have also both issued executive orders in their states opposing masking mandates in schools. The new Republican opposition runs against much of the guidance from public health experts who see mandates as essential to combating the pandemic. Pandemic’s Impact on Women Impacts Debate Over Biden Child Care Bill Politico reports that the pandemic’s impact on women, and in particular their participation in the labor force, is shaping the debate over the Biden administration’s proposal to massively expand support for child care (Politico). Politico notes that while the return of children to school was seen as a possible turning point for women’s participation in the labor force after the pandemic saw women’s participation plunge to a three-decade low, data from over the summer suggests significant challenges remain. Politico notes, “more than 40,000 women dropped out of the labor force between July and August, even as Americans flocked back to work, government data shows. Men returned to the job over that period at more than three times that rate.” In addition, there are concerns about the potential for disruptions to in-person schooling from outbreaks. Politico writes that this context has “lent new ammunition to the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers in their push to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to overhaul the nation’s child care industry to make it more accessible and affordable, arguing that doing so is the only way to get families back on track.” Massachusetts Democratic Representative Katherine Clark stated the case, telling Politico, “I don’t see a way that we can truly have people returning to work, especially women, in the numbers that we need if we are not providing for child care,” and calling recent jobs numbers “a red flashing light that now is the time to invest in women in our workforce.” Republicans call the administration’s $450 billion plan too expensive. However, the administration’s proposals currently poll well. Politico writes, “A large majority of voters support the proposals. Two in three registered voters, or 66 percent, said they somewhat or strongly support federal funding for affordable child care being included in the Biden spending package, according to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll from late last month. That includes 87 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Republicans” Bonus Read: “After California Recall, Democrats Fret Over Latino Vote,” (WSJ). U.S. Economy U.S. Stocks Drop 2% on Concerns About Growth On Monday, U.S. stocks tumbled more than 2 percent driven in part by concerns over slow global growth as well as concerns that the Chinese government will let China Evergrande Group, a major property company, fail (Reuters, WSJ, NYT). The Wall Street Journal reports, “Losses for the major U.S. indexes accelerated midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2%, or around 700 points, dragged down by shares of Caterpillar and financial heavyweights like Goldman Sachs. The Dow was nearing its worst day on a percentage basis since October 2020. The S&P 500 dropped 2%. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.6%, after being down more than 3% in afternoon trading.” The declines showed up in all eleven sectors tracked by the S&P. The fall interrupted a period of stability for major indexes, and the Journal notes, “The S&P 500 hasn’t fallen more than 1% since Aug. 18.” As we covered in yesterday’s brief and reported by the Wall Street Journal, multiple signs have raised concern among some investors that the global economic recovery is slowing despite expanded vaccination efforts. U.S. Society Chris Rock Says He Has Covid On Sunday, comedian Chris Rock announced on Twitter that he has Covid (NYT). Rock urged people to get vaccinated in his tweet, writing, “Hey guys I just found out I have COVID, trust me you don’t want this. Get vaccinated.” Rock has previously advocated for people to get vaccinated and in May, he appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, saying, “I’m two-shots Rock, that’s what they call me,” though he clarified that he had gotten the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Rock also joked about pushing aside other celebrities in order to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Much remains unclear about the potential and impact of breakthrough cases, like that of Rock’s. The New York Times, however, notes, “A recent analysis of state-repnew yorted data from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than nine in 10 Covid-19 cases that resulted in hospitalization and death occurred among people who were not fully vaccinated.” Analysis & Arguments Katherine J. Wu, Ed Yong, and Sarah Zhang on six rules that will define the pandemic winter (Atlantic). Dhruv Khullar examines the struggle to define long Covid (New Yorker). Michael Brendan Dougherty argues against efforts to mask kids (National Review). Readers can send in tips, critiques, questions, and suggestions to coronavirusbrief@newamerica.org. The Brief is edited by David Sterman and Emily Schneider with Senior Editor Peter Bergen. Read previous briefs here and stream and subscribe to our weekly podcast here. About New America New America is dedicated to renewing the promise of America by continuing the quest to realize our nation's highest ideals. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report. Help us to continue advancing policy solutions and journalism by making a donation to New America. |