No images? Click here Click here to subscribe to the daily brief. October 26, 2021 - Brief Issue 256 The Coronavirus Daily Brief is a daily news and analysis roundup edited by New America’s International Security Program and Arizona State University. Please consider making a donation to support our ongoing analysis of the most important news and headlines surrounding Covid-19. Top Headlines U.S. FDA Review Paves Way for Covid Vaccine for Kids (Health & Science) U.S. Advisory Committee to Consider Pfizer-BioNTech Doses for Children Today; Moderna Says Data Shows its Vaccine Prompts Immune Response in Young Children (Health & Science) Biden Administration to Increase Availability of Rapid At-Home Tests (Health & Science) NYC Moves Toward Covid-19 Becoming Endemic (Health & Science) English Study on AstraZeneca Shows Slightly Higher Risk of Nerve Syndrome, But Not Worse Than from Covid (Health & Science) Moderna to Sell 110 Million Vaccine Doses to African Countries (Around the World) Hong Kong’s Quarantine Rules Will Get Even Stricter (Around the World) Students Return to Classrooms in Venezuela (Around the World) Biden Administration Describes New Rules to Enter the U.S., Children Will Be Exempt (U.S. Government & Politics) Less Than a Quarter of Eviction/Rent Aid Disbursed (U.S. Government & Politics) Florida Governor DeSantis Says State Will Pay $5,000 for Police Angry About Vaccine Mandates to Relocate to Florida (U.S. Government & Politics) Federal Reserve Prepares to Taper Stimulus (U.S. Economy) Singer Ed Sheeran Tests Positive for Covid (U.S. Society) Health & Science There have been 45,546,609 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 737,371 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 414,302,192 vaccine doses, with 66.4% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 57.4% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 79.5% have received at least one dose, and 69% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). 7% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot. Worldwide, there have been 244,196,228 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,958,923 deaths. U.S. Advisory Committee to Consider Pfizer-BioNTech Doses for Children Today; Moderna Says Data Shows its Vaccine Prompts Immune Response in Young Children Today, Tuesday, a key federal advisory committee is meeting to consider the question of pediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine (NYT). The Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee will hear from officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will discuss how Covid-29 has affected children and look at data on the safety of vaccines in 5- to 11-year olds. The pediatric dose being considered is one-third strength of the dose given to people over 12 years of age and would be two shots given three weeks apart. If the FDA grants authorization, about 28 million children will be eligible for shots. Bonus Read: “Explainer: COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. kids: Here's what you need to know,” (Reuters). On Monday Moderna announced that interim data shows that its vaccine produces a strong immune response in children ages 6 to 11. The data showed that the vaccine generated antibodies that were up to one and a half times as high as what had been observed in adults (WaPo). “We look forward to filing with regulators globally and remain committed to doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic with a vaccine for adults and children of all ages,” said Stéphane Bancel, chief executive of Moderna. The company said it will submit the results to regulators in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere to seek authorization to administer its shot to a younger age group (WSJ). Biden Administration to Increase Availability of Rapid At-Home Tests On Monday the Biden administration announced additional measures that will increase the availability of rapid at-home coronavirus tests as well as lower the cost of such tests. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will invest $70 million to assist manufacturers navigating the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory process (WaPo). The NIH will do this by helping the manufacturers produce the data needed to submit to the FDA. Experts believe that at-home rapid tests will become more and more useful as cold and flu season begins and as the White House is expected to finalize a rule that would require businesses with over 100 employees to mandate vaccinations or face weekly testing. American consumers have had less access to at-home tests compared to consumers in Europe and Asia. NYC Moves Toward Covid-19 Becoming Endemic Many health experts and scientists believe that the world will be living with Covid-19 for the foreseeable future. It seems that New York City could be reaching that future sooner than some other parts of the country. While the threat of the virus continues to be present, the severe danger of the threat has passed for most NYC residents. Vaccination rates are higher in the city than U.S. averages and most people likely have some immunity from natural infection. Masks are still required in many settings and officials have mandated vaccines for healthcare workers and employees and patrons at bars and restaurants (WSJ). “New York and New Jersey are going to be in the U.S. where I would look first for the transition to endemicity,” or the point when the virus is still circulating in the background but the disease is more manageable, said Andrew Noymer, an infectious-disease epidemiologist and demographer at the University of California, Irvine. “It’s also, quite frankly, the canary in the coal mine, conversely, if there is a significant winter wave.” Officials are continuing to urge people to remain vigilant and practice hygiene precautions, but they don’t expect a surge as significant as last year’s. Bonus Read: “Arizona’s pandemic outlook worries experts as mask and vaccine mandate battles rage,” (WaPo). English Study on AstraZeneca Shows Slightly Higher Risk of Nerve Syndrome, But Not Worse Than from Covid A study of more than 32 million Covid vaccine recipients in England published Monday found that those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine were at slightly increased risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare but potentially serious neurological condition (NYT). But the researchers said that the coronavirus vaccine still posed a far smaller risk of the disorder than did Covid itself. “The study estimated that for every 10 million people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca shot, 38 additional people would be expected to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome. In comparison, for every 10 million people who contracted the coronavirus, 145 would be expected to develop Guillain-Barré,” writes the New York Times. Concerns about the syndrome in Britain and the European Union have led the European Medicines Agency and Britain’s medicines regulator to add it as a potential side effect. But according to Dr. Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, “the neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are much rarer than the neurological complications of Covid-19.” Around the World Moderna to Sell 110 Million Vaccine Doses to African Countries On Tuesday, Moderna announced that it has agreed to sell up to 110 million shots to African Union member nations, saying it would deliver 15 million doses by the end of this year. It expects to deliver 35 million more by the end of March 2022. Fewer than six percent of Africans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and fewer than a third of African nations had fully vaccinated 10% of their populations by the start of October (NYT). Moderna has been criticized for not sharing its vaccine recipe or transferring its technology to manufacturers in poor countries and doses of Moderna’s vaccine have gone almost entirely to wealthy nations. More than any other vaccine manufacturer, Moderna has supplied shots to high-income countries. Hong Kong’s Quarantine Rules Will Get Even Stricter Hong Kong is already home to the world’s longest pandemic quarantine but is planning to further tighten its rules for overseas arrivals. Currently, people arriving from “high-risk” countries (including the U.S. and much of Europe) must spend 21 days in hotel quarantine (NYT). Almost all other overseas arrivals must spend 14 days in quarantine. Some exemptions have been made for high-ranking executives and celebrities, but Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive, said Tuesday that most of those exemptions would end soon. Only people who travel back from mainland China are allowed to skip quarantine. “We have to ensure that our anti-Covid-19 practices are more in line with the mainland practices,” Lam said, “so that the mainland authorities will have a level of confidence to enable Hong Kong people to go into the mainland.” Hong Kong has recorded only two locally transmitted cases in the past five months. Students Return to Classrooms in Venezuela On Monday, Venezuela reopened public schools and universities after a long closure due to the coronavirus pandemic (Reuters). According to Youth Minister Mervin Maldonado, 8.7 million children would return to classrooms across the country and some 3.1 million students would resume university lessons. Schools must deal with staff shortages as many teachers have not returned because they fear getting sick and their salaries are so low -- in many schools they are paid around 118 bolivares, the equivalent of about $27, per month. Children age 12 and up are eligible for vaccination in Venezuela. The government has said that around 56% of the 28.7 million population has been vaccinated. U.S. Government & Politics Biden Administration Describes New Rules to Enter the U.S., Children Will Be Exempt On Monday, the Biden administration provided further details on the new Covid-related rules that will govern how foreigners can enter the U.S. (Politico, NYT). Politico writes, “Starting Nov. 8, adults who are fully vaccinated will be required to show proof of vaccination prior to boarding their flight in order to travel to the U.S. Only vaccines approved or authorized by either the Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization will be accepted, according to senior administration officials.” They will also have to show a negative test within three days of travel. However, children under the age of 18 will be exempt from the vaccine requirement, as vaccines remain unavailable for many young people, but those over the age of two will still have to present a negative test. Unvaccinated children traveling alone will have to provide a negative test within one day of travel as opposed to three. The New York Times adds, “The exemptions will also apply to adults flying from countries where less than 10 percent of the overall population is fully vaccinated, if they can show a ‘compelling reason’ for entering the United States, officials said. That carve-out, they said, would apply to a narrow group of unvaccinated travelers; entering the United States for tourism would not clear the bar for an exemption.” Less Than a Quarter of Eviction/Rent Aid Disbursed On Monday, the Treasury Department released data showing that less than a quarter of the $46.5 billion authorized by Congress for eviction aid and rental relief has been disbursed (Politico). Politico writes, “The release of $2.8 billion in September marked a 9.1 percent increase from August, which had seen a 44.7 percent increase from July.” The U.S. has now passed the September 30th deadline the Treasury Department gave for localities to disburse more than 65% of the money provided or face it being redistributed. The Department said it would begin the process of distributing unused funds to where they will be used. Florida Governor DeSantis Says State Will Pay $5,000 for Police Angry About Vaccine Mandates to Relocate to Florida On Sunday, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida would pay $5,000 each to help police officers, who are let go because of vaccine mandates in their jurisdictions, to relocate to Florida (WaPo). DeSantis told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, “We’re actually actively working to recruit out-of-state law enforcement, because we do have needs in our police and our sheriff’s departments.” He added, “You can fill important needs for us, and we’ll compensate you as a result.” The Washington Post writes, “DeSantis, who told Bartiromo he hopes to sign such a bill in the next legislative session, urged officers in New York, Minneapolis and Seattle to relocate to Florida if their departments do not offer accommodations to those declining the coronavirus vaccine. A spokeswoman with the governor’s office did not immediately respond to a message from The Washington Post late Sunday.” U.S. Economy Federal Reserve Prepares to Taper Stimulus The Wall Street Journal reports that the Federal Reserve is preparing to taper its stimulus measures amid debate over whether inflationary pressures will persist (WSJ). The Journal writes, “Federal Reserve officials are set to wind down their $120 billion-a-month bond-purchase program in November, but questions over how soon inflation pressures will fade are creating more uneasiness inside the central bank.” Officials continue to believe that inflation will reduce as the supply chain disruptions resolve, although the Journal notes that they appear to be less confident in that assessment than in the past. The Journal writes, “For now, the Fed’s Nov. 2-3 policy meeting remains focused on flipping the switch to start reducing, or tapering, asset purchases later in the month. Mr. Powell has secured broad consensus among officials on a plan to phase down their pandemic-era stimulus program by next June, reducing purchases by $15 billion each month.” U.S. Society Bonus Read: “This Year’s Thanksgiving Feast Will Wallop the Wallet,” (NYT). Singer Ed Sheeran Tests Positive for Covid On Sunday singer Ed Sheeran announced via social media that he had tested positive for Covid and will be quarantining and cancelling public appearances as a result (NYT). The New York Times writes, “It wasn’t immediately clear what appearances would be canceled or rescheduled, or whether Mr. Sheeran was sick with symptoms of Covid-19. The news came days before the Friday release of his new album, ‘=,’ pronounced ‘equals.’ The 14-song album includes his recently released single ‘Bad Habits.’ And it comes just after Mr. Sheeran had been announced as the musical guest for ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Nov. 6.” Analysis & Arguments 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. Read previous briefs here and stream and subscribe to our weekly podcast here. 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