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June 7, 2021 - Brief Issue 208

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

New Type of Covid-19 Vaccine Could Hit the Market This Summer (Health & Science)

Experts Push for Teens to Get Vaccinated, Saying Serious Illness Affects Young People Too (Health & Science)

U.S. Pandemic Response ‘Wasn’t a Good Performance,’ CDC Official Says (Health & Science)

Previous Bout of Covid-19 Offers ‘High Degree of Protection’ Against Reinfection, U.K. Researchers Find (Health & Science)

U.K.’s Boris Johnson Calls on G7 for Vaccine Sharing (Around the World)

India’s Capital Eases Some Restrictions Even as Third Wave Approaches (Around the World)

Chinese City Issues New Lockdown Orders (Around the World)

U.S. to Donate 750,000 Vaccine Doses to Taiwan (U.S. Government & Politics)

U.S. Labor Pool a Seller’s Market (U.S. Economy)

Mississippi State Governor Defends Low Vaccination Rate (U.S. Society)

2020 Sets 13-Year Record For Traffic Deaths (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 33,362,629 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 597,628 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 301,638,578 vaccine doses, with 51.5% of Americans having received their first vaccine dose and 41.9% fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). Worldwide, there have been 173,315,599 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 3,729,410 deaths.

New Type of Covid-19 Vaccine Could Hit the Market This Summer

A protein subunit vaccine – likely one made by American vaccine producer Novavax – could be available to fight Covid-19 as soon as this summer (NPR). Unlike the other coronavirus vaccines currently used in the U.S., protein subunit shots contain the actual coronavirus spike protein, coupled with an adjuvant molecule to boost immune response. Other protein subunit vaccines exist for diseases like hepatitis B and pertussis. Novavax plans to apply for authorization in the U.S., U.K., and Europe in the third quarter of 2021. 

Meanwhile, clinical trials are beginning for a nasal coronavirus antibody spray developed by researchers at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston (Nature). The treatment delivers antibodies straight to the respiratory tract and may prove useful for people who were exposed to Covid-19 or for those who have low immune protection against the disease. 

Experts Push for Teens to Get Vaccinated, Saying Serious Illness Affects Young People Too

In light of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showing increased Covid-19 hospitalization rates among teenagers in March and April, CDC director Rochelle Walensky encouraged parents to vaccinate their teenagers against the virus (WaPo). “I am deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the numbers of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation,” Walensky said Friday. Out of the 204 hospitalized adolescents included in the study, nearly one third required intensive care and 5% required ventilation, leading the researchers to conclude that severe disease occurs across age groups. Despite falling case counts across the U.S., experts are urging young people to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible; the Pfizer shot is currently authorized for those 12 and older (CNN). "The truth of the matter is, kids wouldn't have to get vaccinated if all the adults would," said pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Amy Edwards. The CDC continues to investigate rare cases of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, among young recipients of mRNA vaccines, especially as a new article published in Pediatrics reports myocarditis in teenage boys who got the Pfizer shot (STAT). 

U.S. Pandemic Response ‘Wasn’t a Good Performance,’ CDC Official Says

CDC official Dr. Anne Schuchat criticized the U.S. pandemic response, saying the country has “a lot of work to do” to prepare for the next disease outbreak (NPR). "This was a really complex, systemwide assault," CDC’s principal deputy director said on Morning Edition. "But another threat tomorrow, we're not where we need to be. We're still battling this one. And we have a lot of work to do to get better prepared for the next one. But I think there's political will that might have been missing before." Schuchat said testing resources, virus containment strategies, and the U.S. healthcare system all need bolstering if the country wants to be prepared for future pandemics. She also emphasized the importance of investigating where the novel coronavirus came from and how it spread so quickly. 

Echoing Other Experts, Fauci Pushes for Deeper Probe Into Covid-19’s Origins

Following the release of a U.S. intelligence report saying three Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers fell ill with covid-like symptoms in late 2019, chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci pressured Beijing to release the medical records of these patients (WaPo). Though many experts, including Fauci, think the virus most likely spread from bats to humans through another animal, the report fueled speculation that the novel coronavirus leaked from this Chinese research facility, which was studying bat coronaviruses. The director of the Wuhan Institute has denied the so-called “lab leak theory.” 

Fauci also pressed for the medical records of six miners who became ill in 2012 after entering a bat cave in China, from which a bat coronavirus was collected and studied at the Wuhan Institute. “It is entirely conceivable that the origins of SARS-CoV-2 was in that cave and either started spreading naturally or went through the lab,” Fauci said. 

Bonus Read: “Republicans Dive Into Politically Fraught Push for Covid’s Origin Story,” (Politico). 

Previous Bout of Covid-19 Offers ‘High Degree of Protection’ Against Reinfection, U.K. Researchers Find

According to a University College London study published in The Lancet, previous coronavirus infection dramatically reduces the risk of falling ill again for up to 10 months (WaPo). Among more than 2,000 nursing home residents and staff in Britain, a prior case of Covid-19 reduced the risk of reinfection by 85% for residents and 60% for staff. The study spanned between October 2020 to April 2021, during which the alpha variant was spreading quickly across the U.K. Study participants were tested weekly (for staff) or monthly (for residents). “We identified only 14 cases of possible reinfection, mainly affecting staff, and although almost all of these individuals reported symptoms, none required hospital treatment,” the authors wrote. 

U.S. Prepares to Donate Surplus Vaccines, As Pressure Mounts to Address Vaccine Shortages in Poorer Countries

The Biden administration has detailed a plan for sharing 80 million coronavirus vaccine doses with other countries by the end of June, with the first shipment slated for this Thursday (NPR). White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said this won’t be a sufficient amount to address vaccine inequality, but he hopes a global pandemic response strategy will emerge from the upcoming G-7 summit. Zients said three quarters of the first 25 million-dose shipment will go to COVAX, a World Health Organization-backed strategy for distributing vaccines to under-resourced countries. The U.S. will first be prioritizing Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. "This won't be enough to end or reduce the lifespan of the pandemic. And that's why we're working with allies and partners to expand the production of vaccines and raw materials, including here at home," said national security adviser Jake Sullivan. 

Global health activists and experts are pushing for more vaccine donations from rich countries, particularly to COVAX and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which are struggling to secure enough doses to benefit places like Africa, where only 3% of 1.2 billion people are vaccinated (NYT). The Biden administration is considering boosting global supply by donating states’ unused doses to countries in need – tens of thousands of Johnson & Johnson will expire by the end of the month (Politico). The E.U. recently announced a plan to loosen trade restrictions to facilitate global vaccine distribution, at odds with the U.S.’ to waive intellectual property rights for vaccines (WaPo).

Around the World

U.K.’s Boris Johnson Calls on G7 for Vaccine Sharing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging the world’s richest nations to “vaccinate the world” by the end of 22 in remarks ahead of the G7 summit in the U.K., according to an advanced copy of his remarks seen by media outlets. “Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history,” Johnson plans to say (Politico). Johnson is encouraging G7 countries to ramp up vaccine production and remove barriers to distribution along with sending their surplus doses to other countries in need. Figures compiled by the Observer show that the wealthiest nations, including the U.K., have enough vaccines to inoculate their populations more than twice over (Guardian). “I’m calling on my fellow G7 leaders to join us to end to this terrible pandemic and pledge will we never allow the devastation wreaked by coronavirus to happen again,” he said.

India’s Capital Eases Some Restrictions Even as Third Wave Approaches

New Delhi will ease some coronavirus restrictions today, allowing markets to reopen and the metro transit system to operate at 50% capacity. The announcement was made on Saturday by Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, who said “the corona situation is under control for now,” while also announcing preparations for a potential third wave of infections (Reuters). Delhi’s number of infections have dropped by 85% over the past two weeks and India as a whole reported 114,000 new cases, the lowest daily number in two months (NYT). But experts warn that gaps in testing and medical treatment have left many cases and deaths unrecorded. Kejriwal said that the region would build new oxygen-production and storage facilities and expand intensive care units to prepare for future waves of the virus. Less than 4% of India’s 1.3 billion people are fully vaccinated. 

Chinese City Issues New Lockdown Orders

More restrictions have been placed in Guangzhou, an industrial hub in southern China, in order to stop an outbreak of the coronavirus that had grown to 80 cases since May 21, with seven new cases reported on Sunday (Reuters). The recent lockdown orders were originally put in place in the Liwan District after a 75-year-old woman tested positive for the virus after dining at a restaurant in the neighborhood (NYT). Now, officials are carrying out mass testing of residents across 11 districts and people leaving the city must produce a negative Covid-19 test. Restaurants can no longer offer dine-in services and limitations have been placed on gyms, pools, and other public venues. 

Afghanistan Hit by Surge in Cases and Vaccine Delay

Coronavirus infections are surging in Afghanistan and health and government officials are pleading for vaccines, but so far have not received any assistance. “We are in the middle of a crisis,” Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastigir Nazari told AP, expressing deep frustration at the global vaccine distribution that has left poor countries scrambling to find supplies for their people. Nazari told AP that he knocked on the door of several embassies but so far has gotten “diplomatic answers” but no vaccine doses.The situation has been made worse after the the World Health Organization told the country that the 3 million doses it expected to receive by April will not be delivered until August. Case numbers have continued to rise over the past month and has been blamed on uninterrupted travel with India, which has allowed the highly contagious Delta variant to enter the country unchecked. Meanwhile, the Afghan government has allowed unrestricted mass gatherings until last week and most Afghans still question whether the virus is real, meaning that basic hygiene measures like wearing masks and social distancing are rare. Hospital beds are full and oxygen supplies are dwindling; Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said in a tweet on Friday that Afghan ambassadors have been ordered to seek emergency oxygen supplies from neighboring countries. Afghanistan has so far relied on a donation of AstraZeneca doses from India and a purchase of Sinopharm doses from China. About 600,000 people have had at least one dose, about 1.6% of the population of 36 million. But the number who have gotten a second dose is minute — “so few I couldn’t even say any percentage,” Nazari said.

First Cruise Ship in Venice Since the Pandemic Began Sparks Protests 

On Saturday the first cruise ship since March 2020 wound its way through Venice and heralded the return of large passenger vessels to the historic city. The MSC Orchestra carried about 1,000 passengers and was greeted at the port with signs reading “Welcome Back Cruises” as it sailed through the Giudecca Canal accompanied by two dozen boats filled with port employees and VIPs to welcome the renewal of tourism (Guardian). But the mood was not totally celebratory, as hundreds of people on land and in smaller wooden boats joined together to protest the return of big boats to Venice, saying they disrupt the fragile lagoon and present safety concerns. Venice has become a popular tourist destination over the last two decades and served as a lucrative turnaround point for cruise ships. In 2019, 667 cruise ships visited the city, embarking nearly 700,000 passengers and carrying a total of 1.6 million people, according to the association Cruise Lines International. According to AP, “Italian Premier Mario Draghi’s government pledged this spring to get cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon, but reaching that goal will take time. Even an interim solution rerouting larger ships away from the Giudecca Canal is not likely before next year. Ridding the lagoon of the ships, which run more than 250 meters (yards) in length and weigh over 90,000 tons, could take years.”

U.S. Government & Politics

U.S. to Donate 750,000 Vaccine Doses to Taiwan

The U.S. will give 750,000 vaccine doses to Taiwan, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Il.) announced on a visit to Taipei on Sunday. “It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership,” she said at a news conference in the Taiwanese capital. She was joined on her trip by fellow Senators Dan Sullivan and Christopher Coons.

Although Taiwan had been largely successful in keeping the coronavirus outside its borders, its first major occurrence of community spread began last month. Only 3% of the nation’s 23.5 million citizens have received at least one dose of any vaccine. The government accuses China, which claims Taiwan as its own, of blocking access to the international vaccine market, although Beijing denies this characterization. Taipei has turned down offers from the mainland to supply doses of Chinese-made vaccines, citing concerns about quality as well as a law that outlaws vaccine imports from China. 

President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the senators in a video released by her office, adding that the donations amounted to “timely rain” for Taiwan. It remains unclear which vaccines will be sent. The news follows Japan’s Friday delivery of 1.24 million free doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, more than doubling the total amount of vaccine previously acquired by Taiwan (Reuters).

Congressional Republicans Call For Fauci’s Resignation 

Top Republicans in Congress have called on Anthony Fauci to resign as conservative media attacks the White House coronavirus advisor over 866 pages of emails released last week. 

"The American people don’t have trust in Dr. Fauci,” said House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy on a Breitbart radio show. "Let’s find a person we can trust. Take politics aside, I mean we’re talking about American lives here” (Fox News). McCarthy was among several prominent Republicans to call for Fauci’s resignation in recent days,  along with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

While the exact criticism is varied, much of it concerns an email sent to Fauci by an executive at EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit that funded research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. The email thanked Fauci for publicly stating that the evidence suggested a natural origin of the virus over theories that the pandemic was the result of a lab leak in Wuhan. 

"There are some of your critics who say this shows you have too cozy of a relationship with the people behind the Wuhan lab research," CNN's John Berman said to Fauci during an interview on Thursday. 

"That's nonsense," Fauci responded. "I don't even see how they get that from that email.”

While the possibility of a lab leak origin of the pandemic has been heavily promoted in conservative circles for more than a year, scientists generally maintain that a naturally occurring zoonotic jump is the more likely explanation. The lab leak theory gained more credence last week, however, after President Joe Biden said that the U.S. intelligence community is exploring the hypothesis. Fauci told CNN that he has always been willing to believe evidence supporting the lab leak theory. 

"You can misconstrue it however you want -- that email was from a person to me saying 'thank you' for whatever it is he thought I said, and I said that I think the most likely origin is a jumping of species,” Fauci said on CNN. “I still do think it is, at the same time as I'm keeping an open mind that it might be a lab leak,” he continued.

Fauci’s critics have also drawn attention to a February 2020 email that advised a woman to not wear a mask. Although U.S. public health policy later reversed course and advised universal mask-wearing in public, Fauci defended the email last week given the scientific consensus in the U.S. at the time 

"You're asking a question, 'Would you do something different if you know what you know now?' Of course people would have done that. That's so obvious,” said Fauci (CNN).

U.S. Economy

U.S. Labor Pool a Seller’s Market

American workers are experiencing leverage in the workforce unprecedented in this generation, the New York Times reported. With the private sector dealing with an excess in unfilled job openings as people hesitate to return to work, employers have been forced to offer higher pay and on-the-job training to draw talent while being less picky about traditional qualifications. 

“Companies are going to have to work harder to attract and retain talent,” Karen Fichuk, the chief executive at the staffing company Randstad North America, told the Times. “We think it’s a bit of a historic moment for the American labor force,” she added. Burning Glass Technologies, a firm that analyzes job listings nationwide, reported that postings advertising “no experience necessary” is up two thirds from 2019, while the number of ads promising a starting bonus has doubled.

The shift has enabled some workers to start careers in industries that they had previously failed to enter owing to a lack of qualifications. Alex Lorick, a 24-year-old college dropout who worked as a bouncer in South Florida before the pandemic, said he recently took a tech job for IBM after years of failing to break into the tech industry despite his ambitions. IBM, where he had previously been rejected, offered him a paid apprenticeship to train as a mainframe technician. 

“This is a way more stable paycheck, and more consistent hours,” Mr. Lorick said. “But the most important thing is that I feel like I’m on a path that makes sense and where I have the opportunity to grow.” Obed Louissaint, IBM’s senior vice president for transformation and culture, told the Times that the pandemic was hastening a process that had begun in the tight labor market of the late 2010s.  “I think something fundamental is changing, and it’s been happening for a while, but now it’s accelerating,” said Louissaint. 

Byron Auguste, chief executive of Opportunity at Work, said that employers are rediscovering on-the-job training after largely abandoning them in the 2000s. “A lot of companies, after the recessions in 2001 and 2008, dismantled their onboarding and training infrastructure and said that’s a cost we can’t afford. But it turns out, you actually do need to develop your own workers and can’t just depend on hiring,” said Auguste (NYT).

U.S. Society

Mississippi State Governor Defends Low Vaccination Rate

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on Sunday said there was no longer a high risk of being hospitalized with Covid-19 in his state despite its slow vaccine rollout, prompting CNN host Jake Tapper to tell the governor that was contradicting himself. 

“Let me begin by saying that I believe that the vaccine works, I believe it is safe, I believe it is effective,” he said to CNN’s Jake Tapper, adding that he received the vaccine on live television with his wife and encouraged other Mississippians to receive immunizations. “But I also want to point out, Jake, that President Biden’s goals for July 4 or otherwise are arbitrary to say the least,” he added. With just 34% of Mississippi adults having received at least one dose, the state has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates in the nation. 

“I guess the concern is what happens when there’s another wave if so many Mississippians are not vaccinated. What if it’s one of these new variants?” replied Tapper, who shared a video of National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins telling CNN’s Chris Coumo on Friday that states with low vaccination rates are “sitting ducks” for future coronavirus outbreaks. The governor replied by bringing up President Joe Biden’s controversial March comment that likened officials lifting public health restrictions against expert guidance to “neanderthal thinking.” 

“Those same public health experts are the exact same individuals who have been advising President Biden, who said in March that we were all neanderthals because we were willing to open our state up and open our economy up. They were wrong then and they’re wrong now,” said Reeves. He continued: “Now, am I worried?” You’ve heard me say this throughout this pandemic. If the question is are you concerned with respect to the pandemic, the answer is always yes no matter what the remaining words in the sentence [are].” 

Tapper replied by telling Reeves that he was contradicting himself. “You seem to be arguing two things. You seem to be arguing that everybody should get vaccinated, and yet it’s not that big of a deal that not everyone is getting vaccinated,” said Tapper.

“I encourage my fellow Mississippians to go get vaccinated,” replied Reeves. "But that’s an individual choice and we’ve got to get out of this idea that central government in Washington, D.C. knows best on all decisions, and that’s the view of the Biden administration and so many others on the far left.”

“I’m not really quite sure what you think I disagree with that you just said,” said Tapper. “I don’t support mandatorily vaccinating people, I just think that you’re contradicting yourself” (CNN).

Miami Hosts First Major In-Person Business Convention Since Beginning of Pandemic

At least 12,000 cryptocurrency enthusiasts flocked to Miami on Friday and Saturday for the Bitcoin 2021 conference, the largest in-person business convention since the start of the pandemic. The New York Times reported that the event, which was hosted by Bitcoin Magazine, featured few masks and no social distancing as participants appeared content in believing that the danger of the pandemic had largely passed. 

“Several attendees told me the event offered catharsis, a signal that the pandemic was really ending,” reported Times journalist Erin Griffith. “The line on Friday morning to enter the venue, a warehouse and outdoor site called Mana Wynwood, stretched more than a mile. It was the largest crowd I had seen in a year."

Speakers included early crypto investor Cameron Winklevoss, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and boxer Floyd Mayweather, while the most prominent politician in attendance was Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis. Clothing ranged from business casual to beachwear, with many attendees appearing as if they were dressed for a music festival, reported Griffith. Although bitcoin crashed last month after hitting a record price of $64,899 in April, it remains up nearly 300% year-on-year. The crypto market is believed by some analysts to have benefited from increased interest among retail investors stuck at home during the pandemic looking for ways to spend their time and stimulus cheques (NYT).

2020 Sets 13-Year Record For Traffic Deaths

The rate of traffic fatalities rose 7% in 2020, the highest annual increase in 13 years, despite the total number of miles driven plummeting by 13%. Last year was also the deadliest overall on record, with 38,680 deaths on American roads since 2007. 

Experts at the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blamed the increase in deaths on drivers taking advantage of non-congested roadways to engage in riskier behavior behind the wheel. Increased incidences of speeding, drunk driving and failing to wear seat belts were cited as culprits. Motorcyclist deaths rose the highest at 9%, while passenger vehicle fatalities increased 5%. Pedestrian deaths remained steady, while fatalities among senior citizens fell 9% (AP).

Analysis & Arguments

Sarah Wheaton examines the historical pattern of social unrest following pandemics and what it could mean for 2021 and beyond (Politico).

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

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