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October 18, 2021 - Brief Issue 251
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
Fauci Backs Boosters, Says It Isn’t Political (Health & Science)
Antibody Tests Won’t Provide the Answers People Seek Say Doctors (Health & Science)
England To Open Walk-In Clinics for Children (Around the World)
Russia’s Cases Still Climbing (Around the World)
Japan’s Recent Covid-19 Success is a Mystery (Around the World)
Sydney Schools Reopen After Four Months (Around the World)
U.S. Will Allow People with Mixed Vaccination to Enter U.S. (U.S. Government & Politics)
Colin Powell Dies of Covid Complications (U.S. Government & Politics)
WSJ Survey: Economists Expect Supply Chain Bottlenecks and Inflation Into 2022 (U.S. Economy)
Unions, Empowered by Pandemic-Linked Worker Shortage, Press Demands (U.S. Economy)
College Campuses See Backlash Against Covid Restrictions (U.S. Society)
Health & Science
There have been 44,934,620 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 724,323 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 408,265,959 vaccine doses, with 65.9% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 57% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 78.9% have received at least one dose, and 68.4% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). 5.5% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot. Worldwide, there have been 240,768,237 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,900,512 deaths.
Fauci Backs Boosters, Says It Isn’t Political
On Sunday, President Biden’s top medical advisor addressed concerns over whether the White House’s vocal push for boosters influenced the regulatory process for approving additional shots (Politico). “I don’t think there’s any a political issue there; I think it’s just public health data and evidence,” Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Last week, the Food and Drug Administration's independent vaccine advisory committee voted to recommend additional shots for those who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Fauci said on Fox News that data gathered in the U.S. and elsewhere, like Israel, point to waning immunity that can be addressed through booster shots. He also said the first priority is still convincing the tens of millions of unvaccinated people who are eligible to get vaccinated to do so. “We’re not living in a vacuum as individuals. We’re living in a society and society needs to be protected,” Fauci said. Bonus Read: “Am I Eligible for a Coronavirus Booster Shot?” (WaPo).
Antibody Tests Won’t Provide the Answers People Seek Say Doctors
Many Americans are getting antibody tests in order to determine immunity to Covid-19, but doctors say these tests won’t provide the answer most people are seeking. The tests, which might indicate the presence or level of coronavirus-fighting antibodies in the bloodstream, won’t tell a person if they’re immune to Covid-19 because scientists don’t yet know what number of antibodies actually provide protection. “Doctors are ordering antibody tests for people who are worried about waning immunity, but I see that as problematic,” said Alan Wells, medical director of clinical labs at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “For a normal person, knowing your level eight months later [after their initial vaccine dosages] is of relatively little value” (WaPo). Another issue is that the antibody tests aren’t standardized, so values associated with antibody tests in one person might differ from another person’s. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration advise against using antibody tests to determine one’s level of immunity. So does the Infectious Disease Society of America, which represents infectious-disease specialists.
Bonus Read: “‘Lurching Between Crisis and Complacency’: Was This Our Last Covid Surge?” (NYT) and “Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US,” (CNN).
Around the World
England To Open Walk-In Clinics for Children
Walk-in Covid-19 vaccination clinics for 12- to 15-year olds are expected to open within weeks in England as infections rise within secondary schools (Guardian). The percentage of Britons testing positive for Covid-19 is highest among the 12-15 age group and the vaccination rate among the same group is just 14.2% in England. So far, England has administered vaccines for this age group solely through schools, but officials hope that the addition of walk-in clinics will help boost the immunization rate. Older teenagers are already permitted to get vaccinated in walk-in clinics and the rate of vaccination among 16- to 18-year olds is 56.5%. According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics, one in 14 secondary school-age children had Covid during the week ending 8 October.
Russia’s Cases Still Climbing
On Sunday Russia reported its largest daily increase in new coronavirus infections, with 34,303 cases recorded. That number is over 70% more than daily cases just a month ago. Widespread vaccine skepticism and conflicting messages from officials have stymied efforts to increase vaccination rates, even as Russia has introduced vaccination lotteries, bonuses, and other incentives (AP). The Kremlin has ruled out any sort of new nationwide lockdown like the one used early on in the pandemic and has instead delegated the decision-making power over restrictions to regional authorities.
Japan’s Recent Covid-19 Success is a Mystery
In Japan, daily new Covid-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak when nearly 6,000 cases were reported in Tokyo to below 100 per day, an 11-month low. But health experts aren’t sure about the reason behind the sudden decline in cases. The remarkably rapid vaccination campaign and widespread mask usage combined with bad weather in late August that kept people at home could explain it. “It’s a tough question, and we have to consider the effect of the vaccinations progress, which is extremely big,” said Disease Control and Prevention Center Director Norio Ohmagari. “At the same time, people who gather in high-risk environments, such as crowded and less-ventilated places, may have been already infected and acquired natural immunity by now” (AP). Other experts speculate that the drop in cases could just reflect a drop in testing. But as vaccine efficacy wanes and winter weather approaches, some experts worry that -- without knowing exactly what caused the drop in cases -- Japan could face another wave of the virus.
Sydney Schools Reopen After Four Months
Thousands of children returned to school in Sydney on Monday after months of home learning due to a coronavirus lockdown. Australia’s largest city is easing Covid-19 curbs; masks are no longer mandatory in offices and larger gatherings are permitted after the state of New South Wales reached the milestone of 80% of its adult population fully vaccinated. Children in kindergarten, first grade, and twelfth grade all started back on Monday with the other grades joining later this week. New South Wales had the lowest single-day rise in cases in 10 weeks on Monday, with just 265 new cases. Sydney has spent nine months under strict stay-at-home orders, the world’s longest lockdown (Reuters).
U.S. Government & Politics
U.S. Will Allow People with Mixed Vaccination to Enter U.S.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their guidance to allow people who are fully vaccinated with a mix of vaccines to enter the U.S. once the U.S. relaxes its travel restrictions on November 8 (WaPo). The Washington Post writes, “That means international travelers will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive an FDA- or WHO-approved single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson shot, or ‘any combination of two doses of an FDA approved/authorized or WHO emergency use listed COVID-19 two-dose series,’ such as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.” The CDC continues to recommend against mixing vaccines, but the policy acknowledges the wide use of mixed regimens in other countries.
Colin Powell Dies of Covid Complications
On Monday, Colin Powell, the 84-year-old retired four-star general and the first African-American Secretary of State, died from complications of Covid (Politico). Politico writes, “Powell was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, his family said in a statement posted to Facebook. With his death, the former soldier and statesman becomes perhaps the most high-profile American public figure to succumb to a so-called ‘breakthrough’ infection of the novel coronavirus.”
U.S. Economy
WSJ Survey: Economists Expect Supply Chain Bottlenecks and Inflation Into 2022
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expect supply chain disruptions and inflation to continue into 2022 (WSJ). The Journal writes, “The economists’ inflation projections are up dramatically from July, while short-term growth outlooks are lower. Economists on average see inflation at 5.25% in December, just slightly less than the rate that has prevailed since June. Assuming a similar level in October and November, that would mark the longest inflation has been above 5% since early 1991.” Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Capital Markets America, told the Journal, “It’s a perfect storm: supply-chain bottlenecks, tight labor markets, ultra-easy monetary and fiscal policies.” The economists also predicted that inflation will drop but remain high relative to before the pandemic. The Journal writes, “Consumer-price inflation will drop to 3.4% by June of next year, then 2.6% by the end of 2022, according to respondents’ average estimates. That is still above the average 1.8% that prevailed in the decade before the pandemic.”
Unions, Empowered by Pandemic-Linked Worker Shortage, Press Demands
The Wall Street Journal reports that the shortage of workers that is confronting many companies is empowering unions to press their demands across a range of industries (WSJ). The Journal summarizes some of the recent activity, writing, “A walkout by production workers for farm and construction machinery company Deere & Co. that began Thursday followed recent stoppages at snack producer Mondelez International Inc., commercial truck maker Volvo and breakfast-cereal giant Kellogg Co. Labor leaders elsewhere this year have worked to unionize Starbucks Corp. baristas and Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers, so far with mixed success.” James P. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told the Journal, “There is a new militancy out there.” The increased militancy is also coming as the pandemic has also put many worker complaints about conditions into sharp relief. Union membership increased slightly in 2020, but remains near the bottom of a long decline. The Journal writes, “Union members comprised 10.8% of the U.S. workforce last year, a higher proportion than in 2019, but down from a peak of 20.1% in 1983, the earliest year for which the Labor Department has comparable data.”
Bonus Read: “Rising Mortgage Rates Shift Lenders’ Focus to Home Buyers,” (WSJ).
U.S. Society
College Campuses See Backlash Against Covid Restrictions
The Wall Street Journal reports that college students are protesting and pushing back on some Covid related policies and restrictions (WSJ). The Journal writes, “Student complaints include objections to restrictions on their travel on and off campus, increased surveillance and what they consider erosion of civil liberties. Student-led petitions have prompted some schools to drop the use of location-tracking apps and requirements to wear sensors that monitor vital signs.” The Journal reports that students are generally supportive - to the tune of about three quarters - of vaccine mandates with colleges that have not imposed mandates seeing occasional protests. However, the Journal notes that now campuses with near universally vaccinated populations are seeing protests against perceived overreach, writing, “Protests and petitions have popped up at at least 40 schools pushing back against vaccine and mask mandates. Some are coming from the same groups that complained before the pandemic that their schools are becoming as heavily surveilled as prisons.” Among the examples is the University of Southern California, where 95% of the student body is vaccinated, but where weekly testing requirements and strict enforcement of masking has drawn criticism from some students. The Journal notes, however, “Since July, about 1,000 of the 60,000-member USC community have tested positive for Covid-19, said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, chief health officer of USC Student Health. Of those cases, about three-quarters were symptomatic, and a handful required hospitalization. All medical information collected by the school is protected by privacy laws, she said. Professors aren’t privy to students’ specific medical information.” Meanwhile students at Oakland University near Detroit, Michigan, successfully protested and prevented the adoption of a piece of wearable technology designed to “monitor heart rate, temperature and respiration” and provide warning of Covid symptoms.
Bonus Read: “Mass Evictions Didn’t Result After U.S. Ban Ended, Despite Fears,” (WSJ).
Analysis & Arguments
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