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June 21, 2021 - Brief Issue 216

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

Black Fungus Epidemic Follows Coronavirus Pandemic in India (Health & Science)

Lotteries Show Reduced Impact on Vaccination as Persuadable Population Dwindles (Health & Science)

EU Recommends Allowing Americans to Enter (Around the World)

China, Other Asian Countries Ramp Up Vaccination Efforts (Around the World)

Businesses Push for Another Round of Stimulus (U.S. Government & Politics)

Jobless Claims Rise, Ending Trend of Declining Claims, Four Week Average Still at a Pandemic Low (U.S. Economy)

After A Tough Pandemic Year, A Wave of School Superintendent Departures (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 33,541,997 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 601,825 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 379,003,410 vaccine doses, with 53.3% of Americans having received their first vaccine dose and 45.1% fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). Worldwide, there have been 178,513,818 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 3,866,737 deaths.

Bonus Read: Can the C.D.C Be Fixed?,” (NYT Magazine).

Black Fungus Epidemic Follows Coronavirus Pandemic in India

Across India, former Covid-19 patients have been dealing with another disease, mucormycosis, commonly known as “black fungus,” that eats bone and tissue and can also attack the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, skin, and sinuses. It’s not passed from person to person, rather the fungus builds up in homes and hospitals from commonplace spores. In three weeks, cases of the disease increased to more than 30,000 from negligible levels (NYT). According to news reports, over 2,100 deaths have been recorded from the disease, but the federal health ministry has not released a fatalities figure. Doctors aren’t entirely sure why the disease has increased so significantly, but some hypothesize that India’s crowded hospitals and the dire lack of medical oxygen allowed the fungus to take hold. Many doctors prescribed steroids as a treatment for Covid-19 since they reduce inflammation in the lungs and helped patients breathe more easily. But sometimes doctors had patients on steroids longer than the recommended duration, which compromised their immune systems and left them more susceptible to fungal spores. “Mucormycosis will tail off and go back to baseline as the Covid cases subside,” said Dr. Dileep Mavalankar, an epidemiologist. “But it may come back in the third wave unless we find out why it is happening.” According to the health ministry, about four out of five mucormycosis patients have had Covid-19. More than half have diabetes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the fungal disease as a new “challenge” and said it was “important to create systems to tackle it.

Lotteries Show Reduced Impact on Vaccination as Persuadable Population Dwindles

Multiple states have adopted lotteries, sometimes offering million dollar prizes, to try and incentivize vaccination, but Politico reports that such efforts are showing limited impact as the population of people who  can be persuaded to get vaccinated and haven’t yet has fallen (Politico). Politico writes, “While Ohio did see a two-week bump in adult vaccination rates last month after becoming the first state to offer sizable cash prizes, the pace of vaccinations there has already fallen off. And states that followed its headline-grabbing example made some small gains without showing evidence of any comparable surge, a POLITICO analysis of federal and state data shows.” Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University’s Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative, told Politico, “It’s just not working,” adding, “People aren’t buying it. The incentives don’t seem to be working — whether it’s a doughnut, a car or a million dollars.” Even in Ohio, whose lottery showed the greatest impact, the effect has leveled off. Politico writes, “Ohio got the most bang for its buck. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s mid-May announcement that five adults would win $1 million each week received a burst of national attention, and the number of Ohioans receiving a shot rose about 40 percent over the next 10 days. Four weeks later, however, the number of people receiving daily doses is lower than when DeWine made the announcement.” New York saw a more limited short-term increase after it implemented a lottery followed by a decline, and initial data suggests that North Carolina may not see any bump in vaccination as a result of its recently announced lottery.

Around the World

EU Recommends Allowing Americans to Enter 

On Friday the European Union officially recommended that its member states allow vaccinated Americans and those with a negative coronavirus test to enter for nonessential travel in a sign of hope that the bloc is turning the corner on the pandemic (NYT, WaPo). Most countries are expected to open to American leisure travelers immediately if they haven’t already. The ruling is a welcome development for the tourism industry across the continent and was met with relief and optimism that the summer holiday season could be salvaged. Friday’s decision was made by Europe’s economy ministers and means that travelers from the list of countries considered safe from an epidemiological point of view can enter the bloc even if they are not fully vaccinated as long as they can prove they do not have an active coronavirus infection on the basis of a PCR test. The ruling is still just a recommendation, however, and the European Union cannot compel member states to open to American visitors. Each country can keep or impose more stringent restrictions, such as quarantine obligations or additional testing upon arrival. 

Brazil Surpasses 500,000 Covid Deaths 

The death toll from Covid-19 in Brazil has now surpassed 500,000, behind only the United states and India. Almost 18 million people have been infected with the virus so far, with the country averaging almost 73,000 new cases and some 2,000 deaths a day, according to official data. On Saturday, thousands of people protested President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to the virus, including his resistance to mask wearing and the slow rollout of vaccines. Only about 11% of the country’s population is believed to be fully vaccinated (NYT). According to the New York Times, “In recent testimony before a legislative committee, Brazil’s former health ministers described Mr. Bolsonaro’s befuddling belief that an anti-malaria drug was effective against Covid-19, and an executive at Pfizer said that the company offered millions of doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Brazil last year — but received no response from the government for months. Mr. Bolsonaro shrugged off the revelations.”

China, Other Asian Countries Ramp Up Vaccination Efforts

Covid-19 vaccine campaigns have accelerated in many Asia-Pacific countries in recent weeks, with China now accounting for roughly half of the world’s 33 million Covid-19 shots administered every day. About one in five people in Asia have received a single dose, doubling since early May, although the region is still behind the 37% in Europe and 40% in North America (WSJ). Approximately four-fifths of Beijing’s adults have gotten a single dose. In the past month, South Korea has increased the number of daily doses to about 700,000. In Japan and Australia, more people are getting vaccinated every day than in the U.S. or Israel, when numbers are adjusted for population.

Tokyo Olympics to Allow Domestic Spectators 

Spectators who live in Japan will be allowed to attend Olympic events in Tokyo this summer, according to an announcement by Seiko Hashimoto, the prescient of Tokyo 2020, on Monday (NYT). Hashimoto said the International Olympic Committee agreed that crowds would be capped at 50% capacity up to 10,000 people. However, if the pandemic situation worsens or if emergency measures are re-implemented, the Games will be held without spectators. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to begin on July 23 and run through August 8.

U.S. Government & Politics

Businesses Push for Another Round of Stimulus

Amid signs of the economy recovering and reduced numbers of Covid cases, businesses including the hotel and restaurant industry are pushing for another round of stimulus, Politico reports (Politico). Politico writes, “The growing list of trade associations lobbying for a new round of pandemic aid — also representing gyms, amusement parks, travel agents and horse shows — say they suffered massive, unrecoverable financial losses because of social distancing restrictions and still face uncertainties as the economy recovers.” Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association told Politico, “We're still incredibly vulnerable.” Such proposals have drawn some support already from Republicans in Congress.

U.S. Economy

Jobless Claims Rise, Ending Trend of Declining Claims, Four Week Average Still at a Pandemic Low

Jobless claims rose in the week ending June 12, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday (WSJ). The number of claims rose by 37,000 to 412,000. The increase was the first such rise in claims since April. However, the Wall Street Journal notes that “Despite the increase, the four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, reached a new pandemic low of 395,000. This was the lowest average level since March 2020, when the pandemic first took hold in the U.S.”

Bonus Read: “Supply Crunch Risks Extending Into 2022, Stoking Inflation,” (WSJ).

U.S. Society

Bonus Read: “How to Handle This Job-Interview Question: Would You Rather Work From Home or the Office?,” (WSJ).

After A Tough Pandemic Year, A Wave of School Superintendent Departures

The 2020-2021 school year was a tough one for school administrators who had to deal with the various adaptations required by the pandemic. The Washington Post reports that there is a wave of school superintendent departures in its wake (WaPo). The Post writes, “The departures are from the top spots in large cities — including the largest three, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago — but also in many midsize and smaller districts in suburban and rural areas, according to AASA, the School Superintendents Association, which keeps track of its 9,000 members.” Austin Beutner, a former investment banker, first deputy mayor of Los Angeles, and publisher and chief executive of the Los Angeles Times, who is now leaving his position as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, told the Post, “We have worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week — truly 15 hours a day, truly seven days a week,” adding, “It has been exhausting, and my guess is, from talking to other superintendents, this year has been like none other.” Beutner refused an offer to extend his position by three years. The Post notes, “While some superintendents are moving on to similar positions elsewhere, many are retiring early despite having years left on their contracts. And others have been forced out over differences with school boards.”

Bonus Read: “Pandemic Brought Out Something Positive for Some People — Resilience,” (WaPo).

Analysis & Arguments

Pointing to the lessons of the pandemic and other factors, Joe Pinsker makes the case for ending the five day work week (Atlantic).

Felipe De La Hoz writes on ICE’s role in a Covid spike in immigration detention (Intercept).

Kate Aronoff writes that the global disparity in vaccination foreshadows a coming climate apartheid (New Republic).

 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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