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March 9, 2022 - Brief Issue 297

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

CDC Study: Masking Protected Children (Health & Science)

Ukraine Still Dealing with Coronavirus (Around the World)

Hong Kong’s Unvaccinated Elderly Account for High Death Rate (Around the World)

Moderna Says It Won’t Enforce Patents, Announces that Kenya Will Host Moderna Production Facility (Around the World)

White House to Offer Second Round of Free Covid Tests (U.S. Government & Politics)

Chicago Teachers’ Union to Fight Planned Lifting of School Mask Mandate (U.S. Government & Politics)

Jury Selection in Alleged Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Begins; Trial Likely Hinges on Informants’ Role (U.S. Government & Politics)

CDC Updates Level 4 Travel Warning List, Includes Former Success Cases (U.S. Government & Politics)

Visa and Mastercard Prepare to Raise Fees (U.S. Economy)

Long Covid Patients Face Challenges Claiming Disability Benefits (U.S. Society)

Companies Spend on TV Advertising to Entice New Employees (U.S. Society)

Health & Science

There have been 79,369,489 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 961,935 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 555,595,418 vaccine doses, with 76.6% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 65.1% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 88% have received at least one dose, and 75.1% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). 44.1% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot. Worldwide, there have been 449,927,057 cases of coronavirus, with 6,016,097 deaths.

CDC Study: Masking Protected Children

In recent weeks more and more school districts across the U.S. have dropped their mask mandates, but mandates still remain a topic of debate among teachers, officials, and parents. Now, a study released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that mask mandates were effective in protecting children and teachers last fall. The study looked at public school districts in Arkansas from August to October (as the Delta variant was spreading) and found that those districts that had masking requirements had 23% lower rates of coronavirus among students and staff (NYT). It should be noted that it’s not known whether the same would have been true during the Omicron surge (WaPo). “This study and the broader literature on masking suggests that in places where hospitalization and deaths are very high, the benefits of mask wearing in schools may be considerable,” said Jason Abaluck, an economics professor at Yale University’s School of Management who helped lead a large trial on masking in Bangladesh. 

Bonus Read: “Why Do Some People Never Get Covid?” (NYT).

Around the World

Ukraine Still Dealing with Coronavirus

Ukraine’s healthcare system is still trying to treat patients with Covid-19 even as it tries to cope with an invasion that has brought destruction and death. “It is my deepest sorrow to see my region, emerging from two terrible pandemic years, being now confronted with the devastating impact of military hostilities on dozens of millions of its people in Ukraine and beyond,” the World Health Organization’s regional director, Dr. Hans Kluge, said at a news briefing. Yet, the country has “remarkably” maintained its surveillance and response to the coronavirus, according to Kluge; there were 731 Covid deaths reported last week, though that figure is probably an undercount because of the chaos caused by the invasion. Health experts expect the death toll to climb as oxygen shortages continue. The WHO has sent 500 oxygen concentrators to Ukraine along with other supplies (NYT). 

Hong Kong’s Unvaccinated Elderly Account for High Death Rate

Hong Kong’s low vaccination rate among the elderly has been the driving factor behind its climbing death rate, which is now the highest in the world. Its seven-day average deaths as of March 6 was 15.5 per 1 million people, which is more than five times that of the U.S. (WSJ). Officials said that over 90% of those who have died in the current outbreak of the Omicron variant were unvaccinated and the majority were over 60 years of age. Case numbers are especially high in the city’s housing developments and nursing homes, which have accounted for about 60% of deaths (WaPo). The city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said her government is prioritizing protecting the elderly and reducing deaths and will delay a plan for mandatory citywide testing.

Moderna Says It Won’t Enforce Patents, Announces that Kenya Will Host Moderna Production Facility

On Monday Moderna pledged to “never enforce” its Covid-19 vaccine patents against manufacturers that are based in or producing in 92 low- and middle-income countries (Politico). The large biotechnology company has come under pressure to share its mRNA technology. “We are committed to defeating the pandemic across the globe, and we are fulfilling that through our pledge not to enforce our COVID-19 related patents in low- and middle-income countries,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “We are dedicated to combatting COVID-19 globally and preparing for the next pandemic.” The company expects that countries outside of the group of 92 to “respect the Company’s intellectual property,” according to the statement. 

Moderna also announced that it will build the company’s first messenger RNA vaccine production facility in Africa in Kenya (NYT). The pharmaceutical company said that it would invest up to $500 million in a new facility that would help it reach the goal of producing up to 500 million vaccine doses for Africa. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said that his country was “celebrating one of the greatest things that has possibly happened since the onset of Covid-19” in Africa. “We all know the challenges that Kenya and the entire continent of Africa went through in the earlier stages of this pandemic that resulted in Africa being left behind,” M. Kenyatta said. “Not because of want, but because of lack, and Moderna has come to fill that space.” 

Only about 65% of the world’s population has received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose. In Africa, only about 11% of the population was fully vaccinated, according to the WHO. 

Bonus Read: “How Travel Rules Are Easing Around the World,” (WSJ). 

U.S. Government & Politics

White House to Offer Second Round of Free Covid Tests

On Monday, the White House announced that it would offer another round of free Covid tests to Americans (NYT). In a video released by the White House, Biden stated, “today, I want you to know that if you have already ordered free tests, you can now order another round, shipped directly to your home, and for free.” A White House spokesperson called the video a “soft launch” ahead of a larger rollout on Tuesday. 

Chicago Teachers’ Union to Fight Planned Lifting of School Mask Mandate

On Monday, Chicago Public Schools announced a plan to lift its mask mandate next week, sparking a commitment to fight the change from the Chicago Teachers’ Union (NYT). In a statement the Union said, “Today’s move by Mayor Lightfoot and C.P.S. not only violates the union’s agreement with the district, it ignores the impact that Covid-19 has on communities of color.” The New York Times notes, “An analysis of vaccination data by WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station, found that at nearly 75 percent of schools in the district, fewer than half of students had been fully vaccinated as of Feb. 22.” The school district’s chief executive stated, “C.P.S. was one of the first to require universal masking in schools, and we would not be moving to a mask-optional model unless the data and our public health experts indicated that it is safe for our school communities.” Bonus Read: “U.S. mask mandates are lifting quickly, but there are notable exceptions,” (NYT).

Jury Selection in Alleged Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Begins; Trial Likely Hinges on Informants’ Role

The trial of four people accused of being part of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer began on Tuesday with jury selection, and the outcome will likely rest on how the jury interprets the role of informants in the case (WSJ). The Wall Street Journal writes that the prosecution’s case is, “based largely on testimony from cooperating informants, undercover agents and recorded texts, online chats and phone calls, according to the October 2020 complaint. The complaint details the alleged plotters’ extensive training with firearms and explosives, meetings held in a business with a concealed trap door and surveillance missions near the governor’s summer home. Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the government entrapped the four men by orchestrating the plot and goading them to join. They have won some pretrial battles that could make the government’s job harder, legal analysts said.” The complaint in the case tied to the alleged plot to anger over Whitmer’s pandemic response measures. Two other defendants in the case already pleaded guilty. The case has been plagued by issues with the government’s informants and the FBI agents handling them. The Journal explains, “One of the agents, who took the stand to lay out the alleged plot in an early hearing on the case, was fired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after facing charges last summer of domestic assault, according to a filing made by the government in December. Another had registered a private investigative business that the defense alleged was a conflict of interest, while a third was accused, but not found guilty, of perjury in an earlier case, according to the filing. The government said in the filing that it wouldn’t call the three agents as witnesses. The government also said it wouldn’t call an informant after labeling him as a ‘double agent’ in another filing.”

CDC Updates Level 4 Travel Warning List, Includes Former Success Cases

On Monday, the U.S. CDC updated its list of countries that have a Level 4 Travel Warning, the highest level, and among the newly listed countries are states formerly viewed as success stories of the pandemic (CNN). The CDC added Hong Kong and New Zealand to its Level 4 warning list. CNN writes, “Hong Kong and New Zealand have spent much of the pandemic in near isolation with relatively few infections and had been lauded as Covid success stories. However, the Omicron variant has caused massive spikes in cases in both places.” However, as we have covered in recent briefs both countries have seen significant spikes in cases. The CDC also added Thailand as a Level 4 warning.

U.S. Economy

Visa and Mastercard Prepare to Raise Fees

The Wall Street Journal reports that credit card companies Visa and Mastercard are preparing to increase the fees that large merchants pay when a customer uses their credit card (WSJ). The Journal cited “people familiar with the matter and a document viewed by The Wall Street Journal.” Fee increases were delayed during the pandemic, but the Journal reports that the increases will start in April. 

Bonus Read: “Uber, Lyft and Others Launch Campaign to Head Off Unions,” (WSJ).

U.S. Society

Long Covid Patients Face Challenges Claiming Disability Benefits

Patients with long Covid are facing challenges claiming disability payments and the Social Security Administration, the manager of government disability benefits, is denying claims based on inconclusive tests. The Washington Post reports: “Tasked with sorting legitimate health claims from fraudulent or marginal ones, these gatekeepers now face a novel challenge as the coronavirus pandemic drags on: a flood of claims citing a post-infection syndrome that is poorly understood by the medical community and difficult to measure.” As patients experience extreme exhaustion, memory loss, and heart palpitations, claims are being denied because “neurological exams, EKGs, and chest X-rays come back clean.” There are tests that can detect long Covid-related issues, but waiting lists that last months prohibit accessibility. The Washington Post states that doctors estimate anywhere between 750,000 and 1.3 million or more Americans are suffering from long Covid severe enough to prevent them from returning to work.

Companies Spend on TV Advertising to Entice New Employees

Companies around the United States are developing ads for television and social media to recruit new hires. This effort has come after the “tight labor market that developed during the Covid-19 pandemic has forced companies to pull out all the stops to gin up applications, including raising salaries, offering signing bonuses and allowing more flexible hours” reports the Wall Street Journal. These companies have increased their spending on these advertisements which include costly national TV campaigns and ads on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. The pandemic, and particularly the surge of Omicron, produced a shortage of delivery drivers for the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company Domino’s Pizza which “said it was spending more on recruitment advertising, but declined to provide figures.” Other companies like FedEx and Subway are using social media platforms and influencers to attract new employees.

Analysis & Arguments

Ed Yong writes on the normalization of mass death during the pandemic (Atlantic).

Natalie Shure argues the pandemic gave America a brief glimpse of a better health system (New Republic).

The Washington Post profiles a Black funeral home director and his experience during the pandemic (WaPo).

Jacobin interviews the presidents of two Minneapolis Federation of Teachers chapters that are going on strike (Jacobin). Read the Wall Street Journal’s coverage here and the Washington Post’s here.

 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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