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December 3, 2020, Brief Issue 126

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

U.S. Records Highest Single-Day Covid-19 Death Toll; More than 100,000 Hospitalizations; Redfield Warns of ‘Devastating Winter’ (Health & Science)

U.S. CDC Shortens Covid-19 Quarantine Guidelines; Recommends Postponing Holiday Travel (Health & Science)

Vaccination Cards to be Used to Keep Track of Covid-19 Immunizations in the U.S. (Health & Science)

CVS, Walgreens to be Major Covid-19 Vaccine Providers to Nursing Homes in U.S.; CVS to Deliver Antibody Treatment (Health & Science)

Covid-19 Vaccine Updates: U.K. to Roll Out Vaccines Next Week; Why the U.K. Became the First to Authorize the Vaccine (Health & Science)

Moderna to Begin Testing Covid-19 Vaccine in Children Ages 12-17 (Health & Science) 

Brazil Will Prioritize Indigenous People and the Elderly for Vaccine Rollout (Around the World)

Former French President Dies from Covid-19 Complications (Around the World)

Austria Eases Lockdown, Some Skiing Allowed (Around the World)

North Korea-Linked Hackers Targeted Health Organizations (Around the World)

Pelosi, Schumer Say Bipartisan Stimulus Proposal Should Form Basis of Talks (U.S. Government)

Obama: ’If Anthony Fauci Tells Me This Vaccine is Safe… I'm Going to Take It’ (U.S. Government)

25% of Payroll Protection Aid Went to 1% of Borrowers (U.S. Economy)

48 NBA Players Test Positive In Reentry Screening (U.S. Society)

Anti-Health Restriction Protests Rock Staten Island  (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 13,924,957 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 273,836 people have died (Johns Hopkins). Around 5,322,128 people have recovered, and the United States has conducted 195,601,815 tests. Worldwide, there have been 64,561,850 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 1,493,925 deaths. At least 41,545,314 people have recovered from the virus.

U.S. Records Highest Single-Day Covid-19 Death Toll; More than 100,000 Hospitalizations; Redfield Warns of ‘Devastating Winter’

On Wednesday, the United States recorded 2,670 new Covid-19 deaths, the highest single-day death toll recorded during the pandemic (CNN Health). As hospitalizations continue to rise, experts predict that daily death tolls could soon regularly pass 2,000 or 3,000. The current seven-day average is a little higher than 1,500.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, more than 100,000 people are currently hospitalized with Covid-19, another record-breaking day. Many hospitals around the country are stretched to the breaking point already, with some hospital systems forced to suspend elective procedures or open temporary field hospitals as facilities reach capacity. 

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed the nation on Wednesday, saying that total deaths could reach “close to 450,000” by February if Americans do not follow public health guidelines like distancing and wearing masks (NYT). Dr. Redfield said he believes the next three months are “going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”

U.S. CDC Shortens Covid-19 Quarantine Guidelines; Recommends Postponing Holiday Travel

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shortened its official Covid-19 quarantine recommendation from 14 days to seven or 10 days (NPR, CNBC). The CDC now states that anyone with a potential exposure to the virus should plan to quarantine for 10 days if they remain symptom-free. The quarantine can be reduced to seven days with a negative Covid test. The CDC says that a 14-day quarantine remains the safest option, but the agency recognizes that this length can place strain on individuals and communities.  

"Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to take this critical public health action by reducing the economic hardship associated with a longer period, especially if they cannot work during that time," said Dr. Henry Walke, CDC's Covid-19 response incident manager. Walke said the people should continue to monitor their symptoms for the full 14 days after possible exposure. The CDC said the decision to shorten quarantine recommendations was made after extensive modeling and hopes the move will help improve compliance among the public.

The CDC is urging Americans to postpone holiday travel this winter (Politico). Dr. Walke pointed to rising hospitalizations and deaths and asked the public to do their part to prevent further increases by avoiding travel. Despite similar recommendations over Thanksgiving, large numbers of people traveled for the holiday, which experts say could translate to many more infections. The CDC said that if people do travel over the holidays, they should get a coronavirus test one to three days before travel and again three to five days after, and they should quarantine for seven days after arrival.

Vaccination Cards to be Used to Keep Track of Covid-19 Immunizations in the U.S.

As states prepare to administer Covid-19 vaccines potentially starting later this month, health officials say that accurate record keeping will be key to ensuring that people receive both doses of the vaccine and to estimate what percentage of the population has been immunized. To that end, everyone who receives a Covid-19 vaccine will be issued a written card with the vaccine they got and when their next dose is due (CNN). People will also have the option of receiving text alert reminders for their next dose. Vaccination clinics will report each vaccine given to the state immunization registry and to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC did not specify whether their database would include a record of which individuals had been immunized.

CVS, Walgreens to be Major Covid-19 Vaccine Providers to Nursing Homes in U.S.; CVS to Deliver Antibody Treatment

With the U.S. on track to approve a Covid-19 vaccine by mid-December, pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens are preparing to partner with state and local governments to distribute the vaccines to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities (WSJ). The CDC has recommended that nursing home residents and staff, along with frontline health care workers, be included in the first wave of Covid-19 vaccinations. While hospitals and clinics will serve as vaccination sites for health care workers, pharmacy workers plan to deliver vaccines directly to long-term care facilities, where they will be administered to residents and staff.

In addition to providing vaccines, CVS has made a deal with the U.S. government to provide Covid-19 antibody treatments to residents in long-term care facilities (NYT). The treatment, called bamlanivimab, was developed by Eli Lilly and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration last month. The CVS pilot program plans to distribute 1,000 doses in seven U.S. cities – Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Tampa – over three months. It is hoped that timely antibody treatment will prevent vulnerable infected people from developing severe symptoms and requiring hospitalization. 

Covid-19 Vaccine Updates: U.K. to Roll Out Vaccines Next Week; Why the U.K. Became the First to Authorize the Vaccine

As we reported yesterday, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Britain’s medical regulatory body, became the first agency to authorize the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. A phased rollout will begin across the U.K. early next week, with 800,000 doses arriving from Belgium within days (AP). The first to receive the vaccine will be nursing home residents and staff, individuals over 80 years of age, and those most at risk of dying from Covid-19. The British government aims to have all vulnerable populations vaccinated by April. For now, the country only has plans to vaccinate individuals over 16 years of age, as clinical trials in children are still in earlier stages.

The U.K. approval has placed pressure on U.S. and European regulatory agencies to push their own timelines forward. President Trump in particular has expressed impatience with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for not pushing the review through earlier. However, various regulatory agencies have different authorization procedures, with the FDA notoriously employing one of the most stringent approval processes in the world. Unlike the MHRA or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the FDA requires raw data, which its scientists analyze themselves rather than relying on company analysis. The FDA also requires all data to be complete at the start of review, whereas the MHRA and EMA have been conducting rolling reviews of data as it has become available. The EMA, which requires cooperation from all its member countries, has said it will conclude its review by December 29. The FDA will convene on December 10 and intends to make an authorization decision in mid to late December (CNN, STAT). Bonus read: “EU criticizes ‘hasty’ UK approval of Covid-19 vaccine,” (Reuters). 

Moderna to Begin Testing Covid-19 Vaccine in Children Ages 12-17

The drug company Moderna announced Wednesday that it would soon begin enrolling children ages 12-17 in clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine (NYT). The study will include 3,000 children, half of whom will receive the vaccine and half of whom will receive a placebo shot. In any vaccine intended for children and adults, adults are typically tested first to ensure safety. After this, trials may be conducted in adolescents and then young children. It is expected that the vaccine will work as well in children as it has in adults, but because children have more active immune systems, some may experience more severe side effects. Experts say that it is important to understand these side effects and communicate them to parents so that parents will bring children back for the second dose.

Children will not be able to receive the vaccine until it has been fully tested in their age group. Pfizer tested its vaccine on 100 children ages 12 and older in October, and the data from these pilot trials were included in its emergency use authorization request. Depending on the data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may expedite approval of the vaccine in adolescents. However, some experts believe large-scale testing in adolescents should have begun weeks ago, saying that vaccinating children is a key part of achieving herd immunity and getting children back to school. Dr. Evan Anderson, a pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said that “the window is closing on any chance of getting an approved vaccine for children before next school year” (WaPo).

Around the World

Americas

Brazil Will Prioritize Indigenous People and the Elderly for Vaccine Rollout

Brazil’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that it would give Indigenous people and the elderly priority for a Covid-19 vaccine and presented its preliminary plan for the vaccine rollout (NYT). The government will vaccinate people who are 75 or older, those in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and Indigenous people. Next will be those who are 60 or older, people with chronic health conditions, teachers, security force personnel, penitentiary workers, and prisoners. The government has secured 109 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has been developed in partnership with the University of Oxford and undergone trials in Brazil, although it has not finished the development process and been granted regulatory approval yet. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Wednesday that he expects the first 15 million doses to arrive in early 2021. Brazil has suffered one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in the world and currently has the third-highest number of cases since the pandemic began, behind only the U.S. and India. 

Europe

Former French President Dies from Covid-19 Complications

Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing died at the age of 94 after contracting Covid-19 (Reuters). He had been admitted to the hospital in September with respiratory complications and was hospitalized again in mid-November. Giscard was elected president in 1974 and is attributed with modernizing French society and seeking to liberalize France’s economy. He built close relationships with former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt and together they laid the foundations for a single currency in the EU. Lawmakers held a minute of silence in the National Assembly to honor Giscard.

Austria Eases Lockdown, Some Skiing Allowed

After a three-week lockdown Austria will gradually reopen starting next week, with schools, retailers, and hair salons allowed to operate starting on Monday (Reuters). Restaurants, museums, and gyms will remain closed until Jan. 7 but skiing and other outdoor sports can resume on Dec. 24. However, in order to prevent an influx of tourists heading for the slopes, Austria is implementing a ten-day quarantine period until Jan. 10, essentially limiting skiing to local residents. Hotels will also remain closed. While officials hope the reopening will salvage some of the ski season, those in the tourism and services industry are still in for a difficult winter; about 700,000 jobs depend on winter tourism alone in Austria.

Asia

North Korea-Linked Hackers Targeted Health Organizations

Suspected North Korean hackers have recently attempted to break into at least nine health organizations, including Johnson & Johnson and vaccine developers Novavax Inc and AstraZeneca (WSJ). Four people who investigated the attacks told Reuters that the attempts began in September and “used web domains mimicking online login portals to try and trick staff at the targeted organizations into revealing their passwords” (Reuters). Other targets identified by the sources included the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, the University of Tuebingen in Germany, and four South Korean pharmaceutical firms: Genexine Inc, Boryung Pharma Co Ltd, Shin Poong Pharm Co Ltd, and Celltrion Inc. North Korea has not officially reported any cases of coronavirus in the country, making it the only non-island nation (aside from Turkmenistan) to be virus-free. But last month North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was quoted by state media as ordering officials to intensify their anti-coronavirus work.

U.S. Government & Politics

Pelosi, Schumer Say Bipartisan Stimulus Proposal Should Form Basis of Talks

Congress’ Democratic leadership on Wednesday said that the coronavirus stimulus bill proposed the day before by a bipartisan group of lawmakers should form the basis of renewed talks as top Republicans give the bill the cold shoulder following months of political deadlock. As we noted yesterday, the $908 billion stimulus package proposed by the group, which includes centrist senators from both parties, falls short of the $2 trillion bill proposed by Democrats and the $500 billion bill proposed by Republicans. It would include $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits for four months, $160 billion for state and local governments and a moratorium on certain pandemic-related lawsuits against companies, among other provisions. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement on Wednesday in support of the proposal. “We believe the bipartisan framework introduced by Senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations,” read the statement. House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, is not expected to embrace the bill. On Tuesday, McConnell proposed a new bill largely unchanged from his previous $500 billion offer. He did not respond when asked by reporters on Wednesday for his thoughts on the new stimulus package. Other Senator Republicans, however, have warmed up to the compromise solution. “I think that we need bipartisan cooperation to get, to get a bill all the way through,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told the Washington Post on Wednesday. “And I think that could be the difference between the two bills.” Later in the day, President Elect Joseph Biden came out in support of the $908 billion version of the package (WaPo, AP).

Politico reported that the Democratic leadership’s support of the $908 billion bill followed a secret proposal on Monday to McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy from Pelosi and Schumer. The Monday proposal, according to Politico’s sources, called for a trimmed down version of the $2 trillion bill that would cost around $1.3 trillion. The idea, which was alluded to in Pelosi and Schumer’s Wednesday statement, went nowhere with the Republicans. "While we made a new offer to Leader McConnell and Leader McCarthy on Monday, in the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations," read the statement (Politico).

Obama: ’If Anthony Fauci Tells Me This Vaccine is Safe… I'm Going to Take It’ 

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said he “absolutely” plans to get a vaccine while expressing cognizance that the legacy of racist, unsafe medical experiments may cause mistrust of the vaccine within the Black community. "People like Anthony Fauci, who I know, and I've worked with, I trust completely," said Obama in an interview with SiriusXM host Joe Madison scheduled to air on Thursday. "So, if Anthony Fauci tells me this vaccine is safe, and can vaccinate, you know, immunize you from getting Covid, absolutely, I'm going to take it.” Obama added that past medical experiments in the U.S. involving unwitting Black test subjects may sow suspicions that the vaccines, which were developed and approved in record time, are unsafe. "I understand you know historically – everything dating back all the way to the Tuskegee experiments and so forth – why the African American community would have some skepticism,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is, is that vaccines are why we don't have polio anymore, the reason why we don't have a whole bunch of kids dying from measles and smallpox and diseases that used to decimate entire populations and communities” (CNN).

U.S. Economy

25% of Payroll Protection Aid Went to 1% of Borrowers 

Information released this week by the Small Business Administration showed that a quarter of the loans disbursed by the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program went to just 1% of borrowers. Although aimed at protecting small companies at the height of the pandemic through forgivable loans, recipients of the program, which lent a total of $523 billion to 5.2 million borrowers, included large companies like TGI Fridays, the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, which is run by President Donald Trump’s long-time personal lawyer Marc E. Kasowitz, and the New York Racing Association, which is the largest race track operator in New York state. In many cases, the largest beneficiaries took out the maximum loan of $10 million. The program also showed tenants of Trump properties receiving large sums of cash. Nearly 100 businesses with addresses located within 40 Wall Street, a skyscraper owned by Trump, collected loans totaling more than $34 million (NYT).

U.S. Society

48 NBA Players Test Positive In Reentry Screening

The NBA announced that 48 out of it 546 players tested positive for the coronavirus during the initial reentry screening prior to the start of the regular season. All players were tested before the beginning of individual workouts, which began Tuesday. With 10.2% testing positive, the rate was lower than the national average over the same period but up significantly from the 5.3% recorded at the beginning of the restart of the 2019-2020 season in mid-June. Unlike last season, which saw play resumed in a contained bubble in Orlando after a three-month hiatus, teams will play in their home markets with new safety protocols outlined in a 134-page guide. Teams will also play two consecutive games in the same city against the same team to reduce travel (ESPN). Concerns have been raised that professional basketball will encounter the same problems as the NFL, which has seen coronavirus infections wreak havoc on team rosters. Doc Rivers, coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, told ESPN host Cassidy Hubbarth that he is “very concerned if we can pull this off.” Yahoo sports columnists agreed with Rivers’ sentiment, pointing out that basketball teams will be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks given their small roster size of only 15 people (Yahoo News).

Medical School Applications Up 18%

The number of people applying to medical schools in the U.S. has increased 18% this year compared to 2019 amid heightened interest in the field during the pandemic. Geoffrey Young, senior director for student affairs and programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges, compared the phenomenon to the increased interest in military service in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “For this generation, this might be their 9/11,” he said. Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, said that while the pandemic played a role, he has also long noticed a negative correlation between med school applications and the health of the economy. Mike Woodson, director of admissions at Tulane University School of Medicine, which saw a whopping 35% increase in applications this year, said he noticed a rise in Black students in particular applying. He partially accredited the spike to increased awareness of the importance of medicine in Black communities hit disproportionately hard by Covid-19 (NYT).

Hawaii Couple Arrested For Boarding Flight After Positive Coronavirus Test

A Hawaii couple was arrested after boarding a flight from San Francisco to Kauai after testing positive for the coronavirus, the San Francisco Gate reported Wednesday. Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson, both 46, of Wailua, Hawaii, boarded a United flight on November 29 after testing positive at San Francisco International Airport during pre-flight screenings. Although told not to board, the couple proceeded to do so anyway along with a four-year-old child in their party. The pair was arrested shortly after landing at Lihue Airport and charged with reckless endangerment. The child was released into the care of a family member, and Child Protective Services was notified. The couple was later released on $1,000 bail. Under Hawaiian law, all travelers must receive a negative test result 72 hours before flying in order to bypass an otherwise mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Flying into the state while knowingly carrying the coronavirus is prohibited (SFGate).

Anti-Health Restriction Protests Rock Staten Island

Hundreds of demonstrators waving American flags and political signs gathered late on Wednesday night and early into the next morning outside a Staten Island bar to protest its forced closure. The owner, Keith McAlarney, declared Mac’s Public House an “autonomous zone” last week in defiance of restrictions declaring the neighborhood an orange-level hot zone. The bar was forced to close Tuesday night, with the general manager, Daniel Presti, taken away in handcuffs for allegedly obstructing governmental administration. Under the restrictions, the bar was only allowed to serve patrons outside and for take out. Police officers on Wednesday night guarded the bar entrance to prevent McAlarney, who was among the crowd, from allowing people to go inside. The borough in recent weeks has had some of the highest spikes in coronavirus infections in the city, prompting the reopening of an emergency field hospital at Staten Island University Field Hospital (CBS). “This owner is learning that actions have consequences,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo. “Breaking the law and putting your neighbors’ lives at risk during a global pandemic to make a political statement is simply unacceptable” (NYT).

Analysis & Arguments

Philip Bump argues that the Trump administration has never made a serious effort to engage with the complicated politics of social distancing and mask-wearing (WaPo).

Roni Caryn Rabin asks when inmates should get the coronavirus vaccine (NYT).

Sally Jenkins calls for publicly shaming NFL players who put their teammates at risk by ignoring public health measures (WaPo).

 Readers can send in tips, critiques, questions, and suggestions to coronavirusbrief@newamerica.org.

The Brief is edited by David Sterman and Emily Schneider with Jessica Scott and Senior Editor Peter Bergen.

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