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July 27, 2021 - Brief Issue 234

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

The Coronavirus Daily Brief will be on hiatus for the month of August. 

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Top Headlines

At FDA’s Urging, Drug Trials Expanding Size of Studies in Children (Health & Science)

Mixed Vaccines Boost Antibodies, Says South Korean Study (Health & Science)

Schools Reconsider Masking Rules; Health Experts Reconsider Masking Guidance, Emphasize Need for Better Masks (Health & Science)

Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Workers Groups Call for Mandatory Vaccination for Health Workers (Health & Science)

Tourism to the U.S. Still Halted (Around the World)

China Reports Most Covid-19 Cases Since January (Around the World)

Tokyo Games Plagued by Positive Tests (Around the World)

Global Supply Lines Struggle Amid Fresh Outbreaks (Around the World)

Veterans Affairs Becomes First Federal Agency to Mandate Health Worker Vaccinations; NYC to Mandate Vaccination or Weekly Testing for City Workers; California to Mandate Vaccination or Testing for State Employees (U.S. Government & Politics)

Biden: Long Covid Counts as a Disability (U.S. Government & Politics)

White House Monitoring U.K. Handling of Delta Variant Amid Concerns About Potential Impact on the Economy (U.S. Economy)

Foreign Purchases of U.S. Homes Hit Record Low (U.S. Economy)

Young People Resist Returning to the Office (U.S. Society)

QR Codes and the Tracking They Bring Are Here to Stay (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 34,535,436 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 611,007 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 341,212,051 vaccine doses, with 56.8% of all Americans having received their first vaccine dose and 49.1% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 69% have received at least one dose, and 60% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). Worldwide, there have been 194,885,476 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,171,445 deaths.

At FDA’s Urging, Drug Trials Expanding Size of Studies in Children

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are both expanding the size of their studies in children ages 5-11 at the urging of federal regulators. The expansion is meant to detect any rare side effects, including heart inflammation issues that occurred in vaccinated people under 30 (NYT). The FDA has asked the companies to include 3,000 children in the 5-11 year old age group. According to the New York Times, “people familiar with the trials said the Food and Drug Administration has indicated to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that the size and scope of their pediatric studies, as initially envisioned, were inadequate to detect the rare side effects, including myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart. Members of a C.D.C. advisory committee have said that the benefits of shots for people older than 12 greatly outweigh the risks, including of heart problems.”

Moderna confirmed that the company is expanding its trial “to enroll a larger safety database which increases the likelihood of detecting rarer events” and that it will seek emergency authorization in winter 2021 or early 2022. Pfizer is on a faster timetable than Moderna and could meet the FDA’s suggestion of a bigger trial size while still requesting emergency authorization by the end of September. Regulators will still need at least a few weeks to review all the data before granting emergency authorization.

Mixed Vaccines Boost Antibodies, Says South Korean Study

A mixed vaccination of a first dose of AstraZeneca and then a Pfizer Covid-19 shot boosted neutralizing antibody levels by six times compared with two AstraZeneca doses, a new study from South Korea showed (Reuters). In the study, 499 medical workers were given vaccinations with 100 receiving mixed doses, 200 receiving two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, and the remainder getting two doses of AstraZeneca. All participants showed neutralizing antibodies that prevent the virus from entering cells and replication. The result of the mixed schedule of vaccines showed similar amounts of neutralizing antibodies found from the group that received two Pfizer shots. Some countries have already offered alternatives to AstraZeneca as a second shot after the vaccine was linked to rare blood clots. 

Schools Reconsider Masking Rules; Health Experts Reconsider Masking Guidance, Emphasize Need for Better Masks

Weeks out from the return of in-person schooling across the United States, surging cases are leading many school districts to reconsider their policies on masking, and some districts are choosing to mandate masking (WSJ). The Wall Street Journal reports, “Several big city districts, including in Chicago, Atlanta and New Orleans, said last week they will require masks when schools reopen for in-person learning.” Meanwhile, surging cases are leading some to call for a return to masking in indoor spaces, and some health experts are also emphasizing the importance of shifting to better masks like the N95 (WaPo). Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, for example, has stated, “Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don’t think we should just talk about masks” on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” adding, “I think we should be talking about high-quality masks.” Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, told the Post, “We can’t say we’re going back to masks without discussing type of mask.”

Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Workers Groups Call for Mandatory Vaccination for Health Workers

On Monday, several groups that together represent millions of doctors, nurses, and other health workers, called for vaccination to be mandatory when it comes to health workers (WaPo). The American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association as well as 55 other groups made the call in a statement shared with the Washington Post. The groups asserted, “The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.” The Post notes, “many workers in the health field remain unvaccinated, despite having priority access to coronavirus vaccines, which first became available in December. More than 38 percent of nursing home staff were not fully vaccinated as of July 11, despite caring for patients at elevated risk of the coronavirus, according to data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and analyzed by LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and other providers of elder care. An analysis by WebMD and Medscape Medical News estimated that 25 percent of hospital workers who had contact with patients had not been vaccinated by the end of May.”

Bonus Read: “Covid-19 Vaccine Pioneer BioNTech Plans to Make New Malaria and Tuberculosis Shots in Africa,” (WSJ).

Around the World

Tourism to the U.S. Still Halted

On Monday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the White House has decided to maintain existing coronavirus travel restrictions as cases continue to surge around the world due to the Delta variant. “We will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point for a few reasons. The more transmissible Delta variant is spreading both here and around the world. Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated and appear likely to continue in the weeks ahead,” Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing (CNN). The White House has stressed that any decisions about reopening borders to nonessential travel would be guided by public health and medical experts. “For any of these recommendations, we are always going to be guided by our North Star, and that is the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and our health and medical experts,” Psaki said. The Biden administration has faced pressure from the travel industry and U.S. allies to lift restrictions limiting who can travel to the U.S.

China Reports Most Covid-19 Cases Since January

China reported 76 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest total since January, as a surge of local infections in the eastern city of Nanjing drives case numbers up. Officials in Nanjing have started a second round of mass testing and banned taxis from leaving the city in an effort to stop the outbreak (Reuters). Nanjing also suspended a subway line that linked the airport and a train station to control the cluster. China has responded to any outbreaks with quick testing and aggressive contact tracing in order to identify any more positive cases.  

Tokyo Games Plagued by Positive Tests

On Monday Tokyo Olympic organizers announced 16 new positive coronavirus tests among people connected to the games. So far, at least 153 people, including 19 athletes, have tested positive. Not all athletes who tested positive have been publicly identified, but the Netherlands team announced that rower Finn Florijn had tested positive following his Olympic debut on Friday. He was scheduled to compete on Saturday but the required 10-day quarantine will not allow him to continue competition. 

Global Supply Lines Struggle Amid Fresh Outbreaks

Coronavirus outbreaks in countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh are aggravating supply chain disruptions that could affect U.S. retailers just in time for back-to-school shopping. Closures in ports and factory towns have stretched from Asian factory towns to the American Midwest and the shipping delays and supply shortages are feeding inflation around the world (WaPo). At least two of Nike’s Vietnamese suppliers have halted production due to Covid-19 outbreaks and similar situations are occurring in Cambodia and Indonesia. As the Washington Post writes, “The pandemic has exposed fragile global supply chains across multiple continents. No sooner did the recent reopening of southern China’s Yantian port solve one problem than the closure of Bangladeshi factories until Aug. 5 created another.”  Supply chains that span oceans were a distinct marker of globalization, but they are now failing at multiple points; in Southern California, massive cargo carriers holding more than 15,000 metal shipping containers must often wait to anchor for days before unloading. Railways that normally carry the goods to their destinations have been affected too. Union Pacific, the largest publicly traded railroad in the U.S., halted all eastbound traffic from ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and Tacoma starting July 19 for at least one week to make more room for containers that are awaiting pickup. “Nobody can get anything,” said Steve Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, “Do your Christmas shopping now.”

U.S. Government & Politics

Veterans Affairs Becomes First Federal Agency to Mandate Health Worker Vaccinations; NYC to Mandate Vaccination or Weekly Testing for City Workers; California to Mandate Vaccination or Testing for State Employees

On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would require its frontline health workers to be vaccinated, making it the first federal agency to issue a vaccine mandate (NYT, WaPo). Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough stated, “I am doing this because it’s the best way to keep our veterans safe, full stop.” Patient-facing health workers in the Department who are not vaccinated eight weeks from Wednesday will face penalties and potentially lose their positions.

Also on Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will require all city workers to either be vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid testing beginning with the reopening of schools in mid-September (NYT). The New York Times reports, “The new requirement will apply to roughly 340,000 city workers, including teachers and police officers. The Sept. 13 deadline, when about a million students are set to return to classrooms, shows the importance of the reopening of schools for the city’s recovery and for Mr. de Blasio’s legacy.” De Blasio had previously announced a similar mandate for health care workers.

In addition, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will require its employees and health workers to either get vaccinated or undergo regular testing (NYT).  Newsom stated, “This is a requirement, to prove you’ve been vaccinated — and if you have not, you will be tested.”

Biden: Long Covid Counts as a Disability

On Monday, the White House announced that long Covid, where people continue to have symptoms long after they appear to no longer have the virus, will be treated as a disability for the purposes of U.S. disability law (Politico, WaPo). Monday marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. President Biden stated, “These conditions can sometimes rise to the level of a disability,” adding, “So we’re bringing agencies together to make sure Americans with long covid, who have a disability, have access to the rights and resources that are due under the disability law, which includes accommodations and services.” The Washington Post reports on the details, writing, “Earlier Monday, the Biden administration released guidance stating that what is known as ‘long covid’ could be considered a disability under various federal civil rights laws that would afford protections against discrimination in employment, housing and other areas. As part of that effort, the Department of Education issued a document providing information about the responsibility of schools to provide services and ‘reasonable modifications’ for children for whom long covid is a disability. The guidance issued by the administration makes clear that long covid is not automatically a disability and that an ‘individualized assessment’ is required to determine whether a person’s long-term symptoms ‘substantially limits a major life activity.’”

U.S. Economy

White House Monitoring U.K. Handling of Delta Variant Amid Concerns About Potential Impact on the Economy

The Washington Post reports that the White House is closely monitoring the trajectory of Covid cases in the United Kingdom as it loosens and ends restrictions in light of concerns about the potential impact of the Delta variant on the U.S. economy (WaPo). The Post writes, “Administration officials are watching to see the trajectory of that decision. If Britain’s reopening continues without a new wave of hospitalizations and lockdowns, America’s recovery could prove more likely to remain on course, officials believe. But if the U.K. cannot safely reopen its economy because the delta variant spreads too rapidly, the U.S. — which has vaccinated a smaller percentage of its population — may face similar head winds. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal the discussions.” Last week cases in the U.K. fell about 15%, according to U.K. health officials. But the Post notes, “They still remain more than 10 times their level from much of May and April and it’s unclear if they will continue to contract.” 

Foreign Purchases of U.S. Homes Hit Record Low

Even as the housing market surges amid the pandemic, foreign purchases of U.S. homes have hit a record low, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors released on Monday (WSJ). The Wall Street Journal reports, “Foreigners bought $54.4 billion in U.S. residential real estate in the year ended in March, down 27% from the prior year, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors. That is the lowest level on record since NAR began collecting the data in 2011. Domestic homebuying demand has been so robust that the decline in sales to foreign buyers hasn’t weighed on the overall market, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. Existing-home sales rose in 2020 to their highest level since 2006 and are widely expected to rise again this year.” Foreign investment in U.S. real estate began to trend downwards before the pandemic, having peaked in the year ending in March 2017 (the National Association of Realtors tracks its data using years that begin and end in March). 

Bonus Read: “A Key Gauge of Future Inflation Is Easing,” (WSJ).

U.S. Society

Bonus Read: “The Post-Pandemic Return of Professional Frisbee,” (WaPo). 

Young People Resist Returning to the Office

The New York Times reports that while many workers do not want to go back to their offices as they reopen, the desire for remote work is particularly strong among younger people (NYT). The Times writes, “In a recent survey by the Conference Board, 55 percent of millennials, defined as people born between 1981 and 1996, questioned the wisdom of returning to the office. Among members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, 45 percent had doubts about going back, while only 36 percent of baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, felt that way.” Rebecca L. Ray, executive vice president for human capital at the Conference Board, told the Times, “Among the generations, millennials are the most concerned about their health and psychological well-being.” The generational divide is also affected by the age split in who are managers, with most managers calling for a return to office being older and many of their employees being younger. Other splits are also apparent when it comes to views on returning to offices, including around issues of caregiving and parenthood.

QR Codes and the Tracking They Bring Are Here to Stay

QR codes proliferated during the pandemic, emerging as a touch free way for restaurants to make menus available among other things. The New York Times reports that the expanded use of QR codes and the tracking they enable are likely here to stay (NYT). The Times writes, “QR codes — essentially a kind of bar code that allows transactions to be touchless — have emerged as a permanent tech fixture from the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have adopted them en masse, retailers including CVS and Foot Locker have added them to checkout registers, and marketers have splashed them all over retail packaging, direct mail, billboards and TV advertisements. But the spread of the codes has also let businesses integrate more tools for tracking, targeting and analytics, raising red flags for privacy experts. That’s because QR codes can store digital information such as when, where and how often a scan occurs. They can also open an app or a website that then tracks people’s personal information or requires them to input it.” The Times notes, “QR codes have allowed some restaurants to build a database of their customers’ order histories and contact information. At retail chains, people may soon be confronted by personalized offers and incentives marketed within QR code payment systems.” While such codes have been popular abroad for years, in the U.S. they only recently became widespread as a result of Apple’s decision to give the IPhone’s camera the  ability to read them and in particular because of the pandemic, according to Scott Stratten, author of the 2013 business book “QR Codes Kill Kittens.” Stratten told the Times, “it’s amazing what a pandemic can make us do.”

Analysis & Arguments

The Washington Post’s editorial board calls for the FDA to move more quickly to approve Covid-19 vaccines for more than emergency use (WaPo).

Ned Resnikoff writes on homelessness as a symptom and cause of political crisis (NYT).

John Zavitsanos argues people just don’t work as well when they work from home (NYT).

James Harding argues that Biden should task George W. Bush with promoting the global vaccine response (NYT).

 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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