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March 22, 2022 - Brief Issue 304
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
FDA Booster Strategy Meeting Set for April (Health & Science)
England to Start Offering Second Booster Shot for Vulnerable (Health & Science)
Ivermectin Didn’t Reduce Hospitalizations (Health & Science)
In U.S., Children Hospitalized at Higher Rates During Omicron Surge (Health & Science)
Astrazeneca Covid Drug Neutralizes Omicron Subvariants (Health & Science)
Hong Kong Cuts Flight Bans (Around the World)
Disney Shanghai Temporarily Closed (Around the World)
People’s Convoy Increasingly Identifies D.C. Police as an Enemy, Focuses on the City Itself (U.S. Government & Politics)
Biden Takes Aim at Shipping Companies Over Inflation, Economists Point to Other Factors (U.S. Government & Politics)
CDC Email Emphasizes Importance of Improving Data Practices (U.S. Government & Politics)
Women’s Pay Rises Faster Than Men’s, Reversing Earlier Pandemic Trends; Gender Pay Disparity Persists (U.S. Economy)
Federal Reserve Chair Powell Says More Rapid Rate Interest Increases Possible (U.S. Economy)
Ranchers Fight Exploitative Meatpackers (U.S. Society)
Office Lunch Prices Increase (U.S. Society)
Inflation Places Heavy Burdens on Older Americans (U.S. Society)
Health & Science
There have been 79,778,973 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 972,634 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 558,678,770 vaccine doses, with 76.8% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 65.4% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 88.2% have received at least one dose, and 75.3% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). 44.5% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot. Worldwide, there have been 472,235,000 cases of coronavirus, with 6,094,815 deaths.
FDA Booster Strategy Meeting Set for April
On Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it would convene a meeting of its advisory panel on vaccines to strategize about boosters (NYT). The meeting, scheduled for April 6, will include officials from the C.D.C and the National Institutes of Health with the goal of determining if a second booster shot is necessary and if so, for whom. Currently, experts are divided on the need for an additional booster shot and if it should be made available for the general public or only for those considered more vulnerable. As we covered earlier this week, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have both asked for emergency authorization of second booster shots. Bonus Read: “The F.D.A. plans to restart facility inspections that plummeted during the pandemic,” (NYT).
England to Start Offering Second Booster Shot for Vulnerable
England’s National Health Service will start offering second booster shots of vaccines for people in vulnerable populations who have already been boosted once (NYT). About five million people will be eligible. The New York Times writes, “Anyone in England over 75 years old, anyone over 12 who has a suppressed immune system, and anyone residing in a nursing home, can now receive a second booster dose, preferably about six months after their first one, the health service said, referring to the new dose as a ‘spring booster.’” Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, tweeted out the announcement on Sunday. The Times notes, “Health authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are also offering additional booster shots. Providers will offer patients either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine.” Bonus Read: “The Covid-19 vaccine market is getting crowded — as demand begins to wane,” (STAT).
Ivermectin Didn’t Reduce Hospitalizations
In the largest trial to date, Ivermectin, the antiparasitic drug, was not effective in reducing hospitalizations, researchers from Canada’s McMaster University said. The trial included nearly 1,400 Covid-19 patients at risk of severe disease, with half the patients being prescribed a course of ivermectin pills for three days and the other half being prescribed a placebo (WSJ). “There was no indication that ivermectin is clinically useful,” said Edward Mills, one of the study’s lead researchers and a professor of health sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The researchers tracked whether the patients were hospitalized, how fast the virus was cleared from the patients’ bodies, and if symptoms resolved sooner, among other things. “This is the first large, prospective study that should really help put to rest ivermectin and not give any credibility to the use of it for Covid-19,” said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, who reviewed the findings. The study has been accepted for publication in a major peer-reviewed medical journal.
In U.S., Children Hospitalized at Higher Rates During Omicron Surge
Babies and children under the age of five were hospitalized with coronavirus at much higher rates during the Omicron surge in the U.S. compared to earlier surges during the pandemic. Pediatric hospitalizations were about five times higher from Dec. 19 to Feb. 19, during the Omicron surge, than during the period when Delta was dominant, between June 27 and Dec. 18, according to data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infants six months old and younger were most vulnerable and represented nearly half of the hospitalizations. Health experts noted that children of color were infected at higher rates. “People should know there are risks to children under 1 that are pretty serious, especially during surges, and they might want to take extra precautions to reduce exposure,” said Julia Raifman, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University School of Public Health, who was not involved in the research (NYT).
Astrazeneca Covid Drug Neutralizes Omicron Subvariants
On Monday AstraZeneca said its antibody-based cocktail drug Evusheld that is used to prevent and treat Covid-19 was effective against Omicron subvariants, including the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant. According to Reuters, “Data from the latest study by Washington University in the United States showed the therapy reduced the amount of virus detected in samples - viral load - of all tested Omicron sub-variants in mice lungs, AstraZeneca said.” The study has not been peer reviewed. "The findings further support Evusheld as a potential important option to help protect vulnerable patients such as the immunocompromised who could face poor outcomes if they were to become infected with COVID-19," John Perez, head of Late Development, Vaccines & Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, said.
Bonus Read: “Biden pushes new normal amid worries about next covid surge —and who is left behind,” (WaPo).
Around the World
Hong Kong Cuts Flight Bans
Hong Kong announced that it was cutting some flight bans and quarantine requirements in a shift to address the ongoing grievances of its international business community. The financial hub’s banking sector along with the broader population has found the more than two years of effectively closed borders and onerous quarantine requirements extremely stifling for normal business operations. The quarantine period was cut in half and will now be seven days starting April 1. Flight bans on U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Philippines will also end on April 1 (Bloomberg).
Disney Shanghai Temporarily Closed
Disney Shanghai announced yesterday it will be closed until further notice due to the surging case count in China (NYT). The Shanghai Disney resort said it would work with local authorities to determine a reopening date. The country is facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began and restrictions on travel and entertainment have been put in place across China. Many large cities have also closed schools and offices and in some areas, public transport as well. Bonus Read: “Big Tech Firms Are Axing Thousands of Workers,” (WSJ).
U.S. Government & Politics
People’s Convoy Increasingly Identifies D.C. Police as an Enemy, Focuses on the City Itself
The Washington Post reports that the so-called “People’s Convoy” protest against pandemic restrictions is increasingly identifying D.C. police as an enemy in its rhetoric and moving beyond circling the beltway (WaPo). The Post writes, “At first, they protested by circling the Capital Beltway. Then last week, they switched tactics and set their aims on the District, seemingly provoked by D.C. police blocking interstate exits into downtown Washington, a move those in the convoy call a violation of their First Amendment rights. In the District, convoy members have honked through the streets, while residents have reported harassment and disrupted commutes.” It adds, “Last week, convoy organizer Brian Brase told the crowd that every time D.C. police ‘pulls their bulls--t … they’re literally helping us. They think that they’re going to deter us. They think that they’re going to break us down and they think that we’re going to go away. But all they do is make us dig our heels in deeper.’” The Post notes, “Brase threatened last week to share the names of D.C. police he talked to and when they spoke,” adding that some convoy members portrayed cases of slipping past police barriers as a “win.” The protests have increasingly targeted the city interior and moved beyond circling the beltway. The Post quotes one organizer as saying, “Black Lives Matter Street, we’re gonna take it back. All that paint’s coming off that street. Before I get put in my grave, it’s going to get tar and feathered, and then we’re going to tar and feather all our delegates,” and writes, “Convoy protesters also gathered Saturday outside the D.C. home of Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, according to a live stream of the demonstration where a man wearing a ‘People’s Convoy’ shirt cast doubt on the proven safety of the coronavirus vaccine.”
Biden Takes Aim at Shipping Companies Over Inflation, Economists Point to Other Factors
The New York Times reports that the Biden administration is taking aim at shipping companies and an alleged lack of competition, arguing that they have played a significant role in driving inflationary pressures, but many economists view other factors as playing critical roles in high shipping prices (NYT). Biden has said he would increase competition in the industry as a way of responding to rising prices, and Congress is considering expanding the power provided to the Federal Maritime Commission. As the Times reports, shipping prices have increased: “Shipping prices have soared since the pandemic, as rising demand for food, couches, electronics and other goods collided with shutdowns at factories and ports, leading to a shortage of space on ocean vessels as countries competed to get products from foreign shores to their own. The price to transport a container from China to the West Coast of the United States costs 12 times as much as it did two years ago, while the time it takes a container to make that journey has nearly doubled. That has pushed up costs for companies that source products or parts from overseas, seeping into what consumers pay.” However, the Times notes that economists point to a range of other factors driving high shipping prices, writing, “it’s unclear to what extent more government oversight and enforcement will actually bring down shipping costs, which are being driven in large part by soaring consumer demand and persistent bottlenecks. Global supply chains are still plagued by delays and disruptions, including those stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s broad lockdowns in Shenzhen, Shanghai and elsewhere.”
CDC Email Emphasizes Importance of Improving Data Practices
Politico reports that the CDC asked its staff to improve its data practices in a March 16 email (Politico). Politico writes, “In the March 16 email, Dan Jernigan, the CDC’s deputy director for Public Health Science and Surveillance, points his staff to a letter from Director Rochelle Walensky on the same day. Her note asked agency employees ‘to drive the success of the Data Modernization Initiative’ — a CDC plan to strengthen the health surveillance infrastructure it relies upon.” Politico writes, “The email is the first formal indication that the CDC is taking new steps to remedy the data gaps that have hindered the agency’s Covid-19 response. And it comes amid calls by lawmakers and public health officials that the agency find ways to ensure more accurate data to respond to the next pandemic — information that can easily be shared among hospitals, state health departments and the federal government.”
Justice Thomas Hospitalized, Not Covid-Related
On Sunday, the Supreme Court stated that Justice Clarence Thomas had been hospitalized since Friday “after experiencing flu-like symptoms,” but a spokesperson for the court said it was not Covid-related (Politico, WSJ). The court also stated, “His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two.”
U.S. Economy
Bonus Read: “Stocks Turn Lower After Powell Interest-Rate Comments,” (WSJ).
Women’s Pay Rises Faster Than Men’s, Reversing Earlier Pandemic Trends; Gender Pay Disparity Persists
The Wall Street Journal reports that in a shift from earlier in the pandemic, women are seeing their pay rise faster than men (WSJ). The Journal writes, “Female wages were up 4.4% in February from a year earlier, compared with a 4.1% rise in male wages, according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s wage tracker. That marks the sixth straight month that women’s wage growth outpaced men’s. Female wage gains exceeded male gains by 0.5 percentage point in December, matching the widest margin for records tracing back to 1997.” Women, who disproportionately work in low-payed service jobs that were hard-hit early in the pandemic by closures, may be seeing a recovery driven by reopenings amid a tight labor market. Julia Pollak, chief economist at jobs site ZipRecruiter, told the Journal, “This group of workers who experienced the worst disruption during the pandemic is now also experiencing the fastest recovery in earnings and employment.” She added, “It’s sort of sad that we only see these reversals and any kind of narrowing in the gaps when the labor market is extraordinarily, unusually tight. But that is typically the pattern.” The Journal notes, “Women who switch jobs are also reaping big pay increases. About 31% of women who changed jobs during the pandemic got a compensation package—including salary and bonus—that was more than 30% higher than in their previous role. That slightly exceeds the 28% of men who reported such a pay increase, according to the Conference Board, a private-research group.” Despite recent growth in pay, the gender pay gap persists.
Federal Reserve Chair Powell Says More Rapid Rate Interest Increases Possible
On Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the Fed may accelerate the pace of interest rate increases in order to respond to inflation (NYT, WSJ). Powell stated, “There is an obvious need to move expeditiously to return the stance of monetary policy to a more neutral level, and then to move to more restrictive levels if that is what is required to restore price stability.” Speaking at a conference, he added, “If we conclude that it is appropriate to move more aggressively by raising the federal funds rate by more than 25 basis points at a meeting or meetings, we will do so,” continuing, “And if we determine that we need to tighten beyond common measures of neutral and into a more restrictive stance, we will do that as well.”
U.S. Society
Ranchers Fight Exploitative Meatpackers
Despite the pandemic-era rise in wholesale beef prices, ranchers are struggling. The Wall Street Journal writes that the “average price for live cattle was up 5% in 2021 from 2019, according to figures from the Livestock Marketing Information Center and Agriculture Department, while the average price of boxed beef—cuts that packaging plants box to ship to retailers—was up 26%.” Ranchers are responding and one group of cattlemen in Nebraska are challenging meatpackers by constructing their own processing plant. The move is expected to “boost competition.” Ranchers on the whole plan to confront the issue of oligopoly within the meat market. Currently the market is dominated by four companies, each who exploit its power to “increase prices for restaurants and supermarkets while underpaying farmers for livestock and poultry.”
Office Lunch Prices Increase
As people return to work at the office, they are confronting a major rise in the price of salad. The price of the popular lunch item has risen 11% since last March. Salad is not the only food, however, experiencing a jump in price. One man from Chicago reported “spending roughly $50 more every day on food and commuting than he was while working remotely,” writes the Wall Street Journal. A sandwich which used to cost $9 him is now worth $15 or $16. Companies and businesses with locations all around the country are raising their prices due to the increase in food and labor costs. In addition to the added price of commuting, workers worry that eating out is becoming unsustainable.
Inflation Places Heavy Burdens on Older Americans
Inflation is causing a big financial burden on the elder portion of the United States population. The pandemic influences on inflation have made this issue particularly evident and many who have retired into the pandemic no longer rely on steady incomes. The Washington Post writes that increasing “prices are squeezing household budgets around the country and putting additional strain on its 56 million older residents ages 65 and up, many of whom rely on fixed incomes and limited savings to cover monthly costs for prolonged and unpredictable periods of time.” The stories emerging from this reality are dismal. One woman in North Carolina rations her “hot showers so she can keep her water heater off for days at a time.” Another man in California was forced to retire early when he was diagnosed with lung cancer; his stimulus check served “to prepay for his funeral and now [he] lives on $1,205 a month in Social Security.”
Bonus: “How One New York City Restaurant Fought to Survive,” (NYT).
Analysis & Arguments
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