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March 28, 2022 - Brief Issue 307

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 Expected to Approve Second Booster for People Over 50 (Health & Science)

Brain Fog Following Covid May Overlap with ‘Chemo Brain’ and Alzheimer’s (Health & Science)

Shareholders Pressure Pharmaceutical Companies to Expand Access (Around the World)

Shanghai Introduces a Staggered Lockdown (Around the World)

End of UK’s Free Testing Will Put Vulnerable at Risk (Around the World)

Hawaii Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate, The Final State to Do So (U.S. Government & Politics)

Biden Administration Faces Pressure to End Use of Covid Border Authority (U.S. Government & Politics)

GOP Ads Feature Inflation (U.S. Government & Politics)

Amazon Union Vote at New York Warehouse Begins (U.S. Economy)

Lin-Manuel Miranda Misses Oscars as Wife Tests Positive (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 79,954,460 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 976,704 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 559,873,640 vaccine doses, with 76.9% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 65.5% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 88.3% have received at least one dose, and 75.4% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). 44.7% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot. Worldwide, there have been 481,012,947 cases of coronavirus, with 6,124,113 deaths.

FDA Expected to Approve Second Booster for People Over 50

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a second coronavirus vaccine booster for anyone over the age of 50. The authorizations for second Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna boosters could be announced as soon as Tuesday. After the authorizations are granted, it’s believed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will say that the second boosters are available but not explicitly recommend them (WaPo). People who are eligible should wait at least four months after their first booster before getting a second. Administration officials have been debating the issue of additional booster doses but the recent rise in infections in Europe due to an Omicron subvariant have pushed officials to push for more protection. Bonus Read: “New Antiviral Pills Help Treat Covid. Here’s How to Get Them.” (NYT).

Brain Fog Following Covid May Overlap with ‘Chemo Brain’ and Alzheimer’s

Researchers have found similar changes in specialized brain cells in patients undergoing chemotherapy and those who have long covid, gathering evidence that could be useful in developing treatments in the future. Scientists from different backgrounds, who were usually working in silos, came together during the pandemic to study the complex, multi-organ disease and sparked discussions of commonalities among the conditions. Stanford University neuroscientist Michelle Monje, Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiologist from Yale, and David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, collaborated on a study that showed the brain inflammation from Covid-19 looks similar to the inflammation following cancer therapy. 

In cancer patients undergoing treatment, a malfunction in those specialized brain cells, known as microglia, is believed to cause “fuzzy” thinking or brain fog. Scientists have also theorized that Alzehiemer’s disease could also impede the same cells. Now, scientists also believe that post-covid cognitive changes could share the same characteristics as these other well-studied brain conditions. Knowing that these conditions all share certain characteristics means that those studying long covid have some foundation from which to begin; there’s already talk of testing drugs used to treat “chemo brain” in those suffering from severe covid brain fog. "There is humongous overlap” between long covid and these other conditions, said Avindra Nath, intramural clinical director of the neurological disorders and stroke unit of the National Institutes of Health (WaPo).

Bonus Read: “​​Opinion: Your questions about covid-19, answered by Dr. Leana Wen,” (WaPo).

Around the World

Shareholders Pressure Pharmaceutical Companies to Expand Access

Investors and shareholders are beginning to pressure Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to make their shots available in poorer countries. Activist groups, including the organization Oxfam, have placed proposals on shareholder proxy ballots that include measures like exploring the transfer of their technology to other manufacturers (WSJ). Shareholder votes on the resolutions will be counted and announced at the annual meetings in April. The efforts follow requests by some countries for the World Trade Organization to lift patent restrictions for the vaccine-related technologies and urging by activists for the U.S. government to share companies’ proprietary vaccine information with other countries. “The central problem right now is, by maintaining monopoly control over the technology, the companies are artificially constraining the supply of these lifesaving medicines,” Robert Silverman, senior advocacy manager of private-sector development at Oxfam America Inc., said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. But the companies claim that transferring the technology to other manufacturers would be too complex. “Expanding manufacturing to organizations who do not meet Pfizer’s requirements would put patients at risk and pressure on resources,” Pfizer said.

Shanghai Introduces a Staggered Lockdown

Shanghai has never imposed a full-scale citywide lockdown before but new regulations announced on Sunday night are the closest the city has come so far. The new round of lockdowns will be rolled out sequentially as part of an effort to test the entire population of 26 million people (NYT). The restrictions and mass testing began this morning in areas east of the Huangpu River; testing and restrictions in districts west of the river will begin on April 1. During the lockdowns, no one will be allowed to leave their neighborhoods and nonessential businesses and transportation will be closed. Shanghai reported just over 2,600 new cases on Sunday, up drastically from just a handful of cases per day in early March, and hospitals are stretched thin (WSJ). 

End of UK’s Free Testing Will Put Vulnerable at Risk

Experts are voicing concerns that the end of free community testing for the coronavirus will put vulnerable people at risk and undermine efforts to understand the virus better. Even though infections are rising across the U.K., free lateral flow and PCR tests will be stopped for the majority of people in England on April 1 and other countries in the U.K. will reduce free testing in the coming weeks (Guardian). After April 1, symptomatic testing will be free only for hospital patients and social care staff and some other select groups, though the Department of Health and Social Care has not specified those other groups yet. 

Health experts believe that rising infections will still put pressure on the National Health Service and the government’s ability to track the rise and fall of Covid-19 and its variants will be reduced by the lack of free testing. Doctors also worry about how they will be able to deploy interventions, like antiviral pills, to those most at risk for severe disease at an early stage of their infection without widespread testing. 

U.S. Government & Politics

Hawaii Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate, The Final State to Do So

On Saturday, Hawaii lifted its indoor mask mandate, making it the final state in the nation to end its state-wide mandate (NYT). The New York Times writes, “The state also suspended its Safe Travels program, allowing travelers from the continental United States travelers to enter without submitting proof of vaccination or the results of an approved coronavirus test for the first time since the pandemic began.” The move comes as the recent wave of cases and hospitalizations subsides in Hawaii and nationally, and was greeted with delight by the state’s tourism industry.

Biden Administration Faces Pressure to End Use of Covid Border Authority

The Biden administration is facing increasing pressure opposed to its use of Title 42 authority, a public health measure enacted under Trump as part of the pandemic response that has enabled the U.S. to turn away as many as 1.7 million people at the border (Politico). Politico reports, “Pressure is increasing for the Biden administration to end a Trump-era public health order being used to turn away migrants at the U.S. border, as Covid-19 cases drop and pandemic restrictions relax across the country. Congressional lawmakers, public health experts and immigration advocates say the expulsions are not being used to keep Covid-19 out of America but to stop migrants from coming in — and in the process denying people fleeing violence and persecution the chance to seek asylum.” Politico notes, “A confluence of events this month brought the policy renewed scrutiny. On March 4, a D.C. Circuit Court judge questioned what, if any, public health purpose the policy serves at this stage in the pandemic. A week later, the CDC, in response to a separate court ruling in Texas, ended the order for unaccompanied minors, but kept it in place for adults and families.” Among the factors is the challenges that the measure appears to be creating for Ukrainian refugees. Among those criticizing the use of Title 42 are Human Rights First, which reports that there are “at least 9,886 kidnappings, torture, rape, and other violent attacks on people blocked in or expelled to Mexico due to the Title 42 policy under the Biden administration.” Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer in the class action lawsuit that prevented the administration from using the authority to deport people to countries where they might be at risk, stated, “We suspect that the CDC does not think there is a public health justification any longer.” The judge in the case also expressed skepticism, stating, “This is March 2022, not March 2020,” adding, “The CDC’s 265 order looks in certain respects like a relic from an era with no vaccines, scarce testing, few therapeutics, and little certainty… We would be sensitive to declarations in the record by CDC officials testifying to the efficacy of the 265 Order. But there are none.” On Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the government is evaluating the data regarding the program.

GOP Ads Feature Inflation

The Wall Street Journal reports that inflation is playing a major role in Republican congressional campaign ads (WSJ). The Journal writes, “If Americans aren’t feeling the pain of inflation enough on their own, Republicans running for Congress are working hard to remind them of the biggest price increases in four decades.” Among those candidates emphasizing inflation is Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), who is running an ad calling inflation, “the Democrats’ tax on the middle class.” The Journal reports, “Overall, about one in eight television ads in congressional races aired between Jan. 1 and March 20 has featured inflation as a topic, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of broadcast and national cable data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. About 69% of those more than 15,800 airings were sponsored by Republicans or conservative-leaning groups.” Democrats have sought to counter the message by pointing to other factors driving inflation including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruptions, and the Journal writes, “Some also point to their efforts to lower prices on such things as insulin and child care and their willingness to take on what they see as price gouging by oil companies.”

U.S. Economy

Bonus Watch: “Why Global Supply Chains May Never Be the Same - A WSJ Documentary,” (WSJ).

Amazon Union Vote at New York Warehouse Begins

On Friday, Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse began voting on whether to unionize (WaPo). The Washington Post writes, “If the vote succeeds, the warehouse would be the first Amazon facility to unionize in the country, dealing a major blow to the online retail giant’s efforts to keep organized labor out. It would also mean an independent union succeeded where many more established unions have faltered, something said to be possible because it’s run by Amazon insiders.” As we have covered in prior briefs, the unionization effort is not tied to a major union, and features warehouses that were prominent early in the pandemic as sites of protest over Amazon’s work conditions.

U.S. Society

Lin-Manuel Miranda Misses Oscars as Wife Tests Positive

Lin-Manuel Miranda did not attend the Oscars despite being nominated for best original song for “Dos Oruguitas,” which appears in the Disney musical “Encanto” because his wife tested positive for Covid (NYT). On Saturday, Miranda took to Twitter to say that his wife had tested positive for Covid, adding that while he and their kids had tested negative, “out of caution, I won't be going to the Oscars tomorrow night.”

Analysis & Arguments

The New York Times editorial board warns against premature declarations that the pandemic is over (NYT).

Dhruv Khullar looks at why Covid is surging in Hong Kong (New Yorker).

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

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