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April 29, 2021 - Brief Issue 190

The Coronavirus Daily Brief is a daily news and analysis roundup edited by New America’s International Security Program and Arizona State University.

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Top Headlines

Health & Science

Fauci Says Countries Need to Coordinate Equitable Access to Covid-19 Vaccines and Treatments, As Pandemic Accelerates

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that wealthy nations haven’t offered enough support to less advantaged ones throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to outbreaks in places like India – which just set another global record with over 360,000 new cases in the past 24 hours (WaPo, The Guardian). “The only way that you’re going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world,” Fauci said. The World Health Organization’s COVAX initiative has been working to distribute vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments globally, but Fauci said that’s not enough, arguing that better-equipped countries like the U.S. need to boost their shipments of supplies worldwide. Fauci also emphasized the need for better global communication and surveillance to prevent future outbreaks. The Pan American Health Organization echoed these sentiments on Wednesday, explaining that equitable vaccine access will play a key role in ending a still-accelerating pandemic (Reuters). 

Bonus Read: “Inequality’s Deadly Toll,” (Nature). 

Experts Disagree About New CDC Guidance On Outdoor Masking

With about 42.7% of the U.S. population at least partially vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance Tuesday outlining situations in which fully vaccinated people can remove their masks, including dining and gathering with small groups outdoors. Some experts fear this loosening of mask guidance didn’t go far enough in incentivizing vaccination (CNN). Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a medical professor at Georgetown University, said the government should be doing more to reduce vaccine hesitancy, especially since many unvaccinated people already unmask for the situations the CDC described. "If you tell people that you can do just about anything if you are vaccinated, that is telling people that you have confidence in the vaccines," Reiner said. "But what's the message to the country when you tell people who are fully vaccinated 'Be wary of crowded locations?' You're casting doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine. And I don't think there is any doubt on the efficacy of these vaccines." Research has repeatedly emphasized the protection offered by Covid-19 vaccines; but some White House officials, like senior Covid-19 advisor Andy Slavitt, say it’s still the government’s responsibility to be as cautious as possible. "I don't think the CDC's job is to say, 'Hey, let's create an incentive that will make people want to get vaccinated,’” Slavitt said. “I think their job is to do the safe thing and make the right call.

After Federal Directive, Most Pharmacies Will Offer Second Vaccine Doses Regardless of Where People Got The First Shot

On Tuesday, U.S. health officials directed the majority of pharmacies administering Covid-19 vaccines to offer second doses to people who got their first shot at a different location (NYT). As part of this measure, stores participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for Covid-19 Vaccination will drop their residency requirements for people seeking a vaccine. The government’s directive is meant to reduce the number of Americans who miss their second shot due to access issues, like a cancelled appointment or a move to a different state – CDC data puts the amount of partially vaccinated people skipping their second dose around 8% (NYT). Some pharmacies, like CVS and Walgreens, were already giving second doses to people who needed them. Public vaccination sites in New York City have been doing the same. 

Vaccination Rate Close to Zero Among Amish in Ohio

In the Amish communities of Northeast Ohio, families live in close quarters and public health measures aren’t always strictly followed; these communities have suffered high Covid-19 infection and death rates compared to the rest of the state (NPR). Yet vaccinations among the Amish have been few. Michael Derr, the health commissioner of Holmes County, Ohio, where over half the population is Amish, said less than 1% of the county’s Amish have been vaccinated. Marcus Yoder, a Holmes County resident with ties to the local Amish, said many people aren’t getting vaccinated because they believe the community has herd immunity, or because they equate Covid-19 with something more common, like the flu. Vaccine skepticism is also very prevalent. According to West Virginia University sociologist Rachel Stein, Amish communities are often less focused on preventative medicine, including vaccines, than other Americans. Derr said he hopes trust in the vaccine will grow among the Amish as positive reports spread via word-of-mouth, though he fears another Covid-19 outbreak before that happens. 

U.S. Already Seeing the Benefits of Vaccination, Experts Say

According to U.S. public health officials, vaccines seem to be slowing the pace of Covid-19 transmission, based on the seven-day new case average from Johns Hopkins University (WSJ). Almost 40% of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, a percentage at which disease spread started to slow significantly in places with higher vaccination rates, like Israel. “When you get to somewhere between 40 and 50%, I believe you’re going to start seeing real change, the start of a precipitous drop in cases,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci. There are also millions of unvaccinated people in the U.S. with partial immunity from a prior infection. Health officials still urge caution – vaccination rates vary place-to-place, and vaccines aren’t 100% effective. 

Even if the U.S. doesn’t reach herd immunity, experts like Fauci say, widespread vaccination will slow the spread of the virus significantly. A recent CDC study found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 94% effective against severe Covid-19 outcomes in adults over 65 years old who were fully vaccinated, and 64% effective among those who were partially vaccinated (CNN). Another study of 24,000 households in the U.K. found that just one dose of the Pfizer or Astrazeneca vaccine reduced intra-household transmission by 38-49%, three weeks after the shot was administered. 

Vaccines May Not Be As Effective Following Organ Transplant 

According to a letter to the editor of the American Journal of Transplantation, seven organ transplant recipients at Mayo Clinic in Florida tested positive for Covid-19, even though they’d all received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine six to 44 days before (Mayo Clinic). Five were fully vaccinated and two were only partially vaccinated; five required hospitalization for severe Covid-19. Dr. Hani Wadei and colleagues tested the blood of six of these patients, finding that only one had protective antibodies for the spike protein of SARS-Cov-2. "This study is eye-opening for the transplant community," Wadei said. "Our study suggests that transplant patients don't have the same immune response as the general population. They got infected after getting vaccinated and lifting protective measures, thinking they were immune to the virus." Wadei’s team is pushing for more studies on the efficacy of vaccines in transplant patients. 

Bonus Reads: “How Pfizer Makes Its Covid-19 Vaccine,” (NYT); “Coronavirus Vaccine Trials Begin on Infants and Children,” (WaPo).

Around the World

Bonus Read: “The CDC changed its mask guidance for vaccinated Americans. Other countries are taking different approaches,” (WaPo).

Brazil Nears 400,000 Covid-19 Deaths

Brazil is about to reach 400,000 coronavirus deaths this week after the Health Ministry reported 3,163 new Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 398,185 (Reuters). Brazil’s Covid-19 crisis has spun out of control in recent months as a highly contagious new variant of the virus spreads unchecked. Younger Brazilians are increasingly being affected, with those in their 20s showing the greatest increase in deaths this year, according to a report published by government biomedical institute Fiocruz last week.

Experts Struggle to Keep Up With Variants As Outbreak In India Worsens

As Covid-19 cases surge in India, medical experts are scrambling to figure out which, and to what extent, coronavirus variants have contributed to the virus’ devastating toll on the country (NYT). Low vaccination rates and loose public health measures have certainly played a role, but the current surge is believed to be spurred by more aggressive variants. India’s homegrown B.1.617 variant appears to be more prevalent in Maharashtra; the U.K. variant, B.1.1.7, is on the rise in New Delhi. “The current wave of Covid has a different clinical behavior,” said Dr. Sujay Shad of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. “It’s affecting young adults. It’s affecting families. It’s a new thing altogether. Two-month-old babies are getting infected.” The explosive nature of this outbreak and a lack of data make it hard for experts to figure out how variants are behaving. Virologist Dr. Thekkekara Jacob John said India “missed the boat” in terms of tracking variants earlier on in the pandemic. 

Olympic Athletes to be Tested Daily for Coronavirus, Top Medical Advisory Urges Caution

Organizers of Japan’s Summer Olympics said they will administer daily coronavirus tests to athletes and that they were discussing other measures to keep the coronavirus in check during the games, which begin July 23 (NPR). They have not announced how many spectators will be allowed to attend the games yet, but International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said during the virtual meeting on Wednesday that "the IOC is fully committed to the successful and safe delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020." The meeting between the organizers and representatives occurred the same day that Japan’s top medical advisor on Covid-19 urged caution during a parliamentary committee meeting. Shigeru Omi said, “It’s time for the organizers and other related parties to thoroughly consider the level of infection and the strain on the medical system” (WSJ). Dr. Omi was asked on Wednesday by an opposition lawmaker for his view on the Games going ahead and the advice he had given the government. “There is obviously a risk and there are many virus cases here,” Dr. Omi said. “I said the organizers have a responsibility to explain things to the public after considering the infection situation and medical system.” Tokyo and other major urban areas in Japan were put under a new state of emergency on Sunday as the country experiences a fourth wave of infection. 

Gibraltar Has Vaccinated Most of Its Population

Gibraltar is one of the few places in the world that has vaccinated most of its population against Covid-19. Gibraltar, which has a population of 34,000, has fully vaccinated around 85% of adults, its government says, and 98% of adults over 60 (WSJ). Authorities had administered over 32,000 second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as of Tuesday, which includes some residents of Spain who work in Gibraltar. By comparison, in the U.S., 37% of adults were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. In Gibraltar, all pandemic restrictions are gone and the streets are full of maskless people visiting pubs and cafes and socializing.

U.S. Government & Politics

Biden’s Covid Team Split Over Sending Vaccines Abroad

On Monday, the Biden administration decided to send shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine to support India as it wrestles with a major crisis, but Politico reports that the decision split Biden’s Covid team (Politico). Politico writes that the announcement, “sent several top administration officials scrambling to figure out who had determined that the U.S. would not need the AstraZeneca shots over the next several months, according to three senior officials with knowledge of the situation.” According to Politico, the decision also followed weeks of opposition to calls for such assistance on the part of senior officials in the White House and National Security Council. Politico writes about the debate that preceded the eventual decision to provide aid, “The debate came to a head in early March when a cross-agency group focused on the Covid-19 response that included top staffers at HHS, CDC and USAID pushed the administration to begin donating potentially hundreds of millions of doses over the next five months, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Supporters used the internal vaccine supply projections to make their case, showing the U.S. had a plethora of doses that it could ship to countries in need. Yet top White House aides rejected that recommendation over concerns that the domestic stockpile was not large enough yet.”

White House Criticizes Podcaster Joe Rogan for Discouraging Vaccination

On Wednesday, White House officials criticized podcaster Joe Rogan for discouraging his audience from getting vaccinated (Politico). Rogan told his audience on Friday, “If you’re like 21 years old and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go, ‘No,’” and then added, “If you’re a healthy person and you’re exercising all the time and you’re young and you’re eating well, I don’t think you need to worry about this.” On Wednesday White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield told CNN, “I guess my first question would be, did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren’t looking?” Asked about Rogan’s comments, Dr. Anthony Fauci, stated, “Even if you don’t have any symptoms, you are propagating the outbreak.”

U.S. Economy

Fed to Maintain Near Zero Rates

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve voted to maintain interest rates at near zero (WSJ). The Wall Street Journal writes, “Fed officials voted unanimously Wednesday to maintain the central bank’s policies, aimed at holding down borrowing costs, until the economy heals further from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Major Consumer Tech Show to Return to Vegas in 2022

The CES, the world’s largest consumer technology trade show, plans to return to holding an in-person convention in  Las Vegas in 2022, the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the convention announced (WSJ). The Journal writes, “The group moved CES to an all-virtual format for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that was a blow to the Las Vegas regional economy. CES is typically the largest event by exhibition space in the country.” While the decision reflects a growing optimism that the country will put the pandemic behind it and return to normal business, the trade show will maintain a virtual attendance option, illustrating the lasting changes imposed by the pandemic.

U.S. Society

Descendents of Tuskeegee Study Participants Urge People to Get Vaccinated

The Tuskeegee study in which Black men were denied treatment as part of a study of Syphillis, and in which at least 100 men died of the disease while it also spread to wives and children of the participants, has come to stand in as a cultural touchstone for discussions of dynamics surrounding racist medical practices and their relation to vaccine hesitancy. The Washington Post spoke to descendents of the men who were part of the study, and found that they were urging people to get vaccinated (WaPo). Fluorine Edwards, an 84-year-old who received her vaccine in March and whose father was part of the study without his knowledge, told the Post, “When I hear people say, ‘Well, I’m not sure,’ I say, ‘You be sure, because this is important.’” Lillie Tyson Head, a 76-year-old who also was vaccinated in March and whose father was likewise an unknowing subject of the study, told the Post, “I had no doubts about whether I was going to get it.” Leo Ware, 82, both of whose grandfathers were subjects of the study, said that if asked about the wisdom of getting vaccinated, he’d say, “Definitely. Without hesitation.” Head is the president of Voices for our Fathers, an organization of descendants told the Post that she understands those who cite the study as part of their hesitation, but that she sees descendants as having a role to play in providing “an encouragement or an inspiration for people to get the vaccine, especially people of color.” The Post writes, “The family trees of descendants no doubt contain some vaccine skeptics. But Head says the foundation’s most active members have been, or soon will be, vaccinated. They feel a duty to use the education and empowerment that their forefathers lacked to seek information about the vaccines — to assure themselves that this federal medical program is trustworthy and beneficial.” In addition, the Post notes that the facts of what happened in the study have often been muddled in tellings and that “the men are often summed up one-dimensionally as poor sharecroppers.”

Analysis & Arguments

Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams writes that more people need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity (WaPo).

The Times examines how American health care looks from abroad (NYT).

Zeynep Turfecki provides a critical appraisal of the CDC’s latest guidance (Atlantic),

Kyle Smith argues that conservatives should get vaccinated in the spirit of owning the libs (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.

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