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September 30, 2021 - Brief Issue 244
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
Americans Getting Booster Shots, No Questions Asked (Health & Science)
U.S. CDC Study: Third Dose of Vaccine Has Similar Side Effects to Second Dose (Health & Science)
Regional Health Agency Buying Vaccines for Latin America (Health & Science)
EU to Decide on Pfizer Booster on Oct. 4 (Around the World)
Melbourne Cases Hit Record Despite Severe Lockdown (Around the World)
Vietnamese Factories Forced to Close, Complicating Global Retail Supply Chain (Around the World)
Government Shutdown Threat Could Further Exacerbate Pandemic Backlogs (U.S. Government & Politics)
Alabama Governor Defends Plan to Use Covid Relief Funds for Prisons (U.S. Government & Politics)
A Month Into the End of the Eviction Ban, No Sign of Surging Evictions (U.S. Economy)
After Cutting Back U.S. Growth Estimates Due to Delta Variant, Economists Expect Growth to Speed Up (U.S. Economy)
As Covid’s Impact Wanes, New York City Rent Jumps (U.S. Economy)
YouTube Will Remove Vaccine Misinformation, Including for Non-Covid Vaccines (U.S. Society)
As In-Person School Returns, School Lunch Programs Face Worker and Supply Shortages (U.S. Society)
Health & Science
There have been 43,350,990 coronavirus cases in the United States, and 695,123 people have died (Johns Hopkins). The United States has administered 391,992,662 vaccine doses, with 64.5% of all Americans having received at least one vaccine dose and 55.5% fully vaccinated. Among adults aged 18 or older 77.2% have received at least one dose, and 66.8% are fully vaccinated (U.S. CDC). Worldwide, there have been 233,312,543 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,775,456 deaths.
Americans Getting Booster Shots, No Questions Asked
Many doctors and pharmacies in the United States are signing patients up for booster shots without asking for proof of eligibility according to the standards that federal officials set last week. According to the FDA and CDC, a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine is allowed for anyone over the age of 65, anyone over the age of 18 with a pre-existing condition that predisposes them to a severe case of Covid-19, or anyone with a job or living situation that puts them at greater risk of contracting the virus. Booster shots must be given at least six months after an initial Pfizer vaccine course (WSJ). The Journal notes, “White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at a media briefing Tuesday that more than 400,000 people received a Covid-19 vaccine booster at U.S. pharmacies last weekend. Nearly 1 million people have scheduled appointments to get their booster shots, Mr. Zients said.” Many people told the Journal that pharmacies and clinics were not requiring any proof that individuals met eligibility requirements before administering shots.
U.S. CDC Study: Third Dose of Vaccine Has Similar Side Effects to Second Dose
The side effects of a third shot of coronavirus vaccine appear to be the same as those people experienced after their second dose, according to a study published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, which looked at data from 22,191 people who received a booster shot, found that side effects were mostly considered mild to moderate; the most common complaints were injection site pain (71%), fatigue (56%) and a headache (43.4%). Around 28% of people said they were unable to perform normal daily activities due to side effects of a third dose. Nearly 2.8 million people in the United States have received a booster shot since mid-August, when additional doses of the mRNA vaccines, both from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, were first authorized for people with compromised immune systems. "This latest report includes some of the data of our early experience with third doses," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday during a White House Covid task force briefing. "The frequency and types of side effects were similar to those seen after the second vaccine doses, and were mostly mild or moderate and short-lived," she added.
Regional Health Agency Buying Vaccines for Latin America
The Pan American Health Organization has contracted with Chinese manufacturer Sinovac to purchase millions of Covid-19 vaccines for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (NYT). The agency is part of the World Health Organization and is working to make vaccines available to countries where access has so far been limited and unequal. Sinovac said it would sell 8.5 million doses this year and an additional 80 million next year. Countries in the region will have to buy the vaccines from the health organization. Only 35% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, said Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, the agency’s director, and that coverage has been unequal. Chile and Uruguay, for example, have fully vaccinated over 70% of their populations. Other countries, like the Bahamas, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, have not even vaccinated 20% of their populations.
Twin Threat of Flu and Covid Coming, Says Former FDA Commissioner
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner warned on Wednesday that the threat of flu season combined with the current spread of Covid-19 could be disastrous. "We've been too complacent about the spread of respiratory diseases in the wintertime," Gottlieb told CNN. "With a twin threat of flu and Covid circulating, we're not going to be able to enjoy that complacency anymore," he said. "I think we're going to have to readjust how we live our lives." Gottlieb suggested that mask-wearing in the winter could become the norm.
Maine Records Highest Case Number Yet
Maine health officials said on Wednesday that the state reported the highest number of cases in a single day, with 867 positive cases (Bangor Daily). The new record follows a weekend of increasing cases. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,008 infections were reported on Saturday and Sunday across the state.
Around the World
EU to Decide on Pfizer Booster on Oct. 4
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU’s drug regulator, will decide on Monday, Oct. 4, whether to approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 booster vaccine, according to a report by Reuters. An internal document and two officials who spoke to Reuters said that the EMA is unlikely to give precise guidance on who should receive the booster, however. "There is no need of boosters for the general population, but there is some waning effect, especially for the elderly," EMA head Emer Cooke told EU legislators, according to minutes of Tuesday's internal meeting. More than a dozen EU countries have already started administering boosters without official EMA backing.
Melbourne Cases Hit Record Despite Severe Lockdown
Covid-19 cases have hit record levels in Melbourne even though the city has been in lockdown for two months to combat the spread of the Delta variant. Officials have blamed illegal home gatherings to watch a key sporting event for the spike, with almost a third of Thursday’s 1,438 new infections traced back to home parties last weekend. "Many of these cases were completely avoidable ... I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm simply trying to explain because a lot of people will be scratching their heads - how could it have gone up by so much, so fast," state Premier Daniel Andrews said during a media briefing (Reuters). Authorities in Victoria, home to the city of Melbourne, are racing to vaccinate the state’s 5.5 million adult population but currently, only half of the population has received their first dose. That’s below the national average of 53% of adults vaccinated.
Vietnamese Factories Forced to Close, Complicating Global Retail Supply Chain
A surge in coronavirus cases in Vietnam has forced factories to either close or operate at severely reduced capacity, sending retailers scrambling ahead of the holiday season (NYT). The Delta variant is sweeping through the country and the caseload has surged past 766,000 and the death toll is close to 19,000. Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s epicenter of the virus, has had to close factories since July. Even as new cases have declined, the government has extended the lockdown because the vaccination campaign has been struggling to vaccinate residents.
Vietnam has grown to become the second-biggest supplier of apparel and footwear in the U.S. following China. Now, with the holiday season approaching, American retailers are expecting delays and shortages along with higher prices tied to labor and shipping costs. Apparel company Everlane said it was facing delays of four to eight weeks. Nike has cut its sales forecast and has cited the loss of 10 weeks of production in Vietnam since mid-July and reopenings set to start in phases in October. Bonus Read: “The workers who keep global supply chains moving are warning of a 'system collapse'” (CNN).
Putin Out of Self Isolation After Covid Outbreak in his Entourage
On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir V. Putin emerged from two weeks of self isolation following a coronavirus outbreak in his entourage (NYT). His first meeting following the period of isolation was a three-hour discussion with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the New York Times, “the pandemic played into at least some of their talks” and “news accounts included a description of the two men bantering about their antibody levels, and Mr. Putin urging Mr. Erdogan to get a booster dose of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine.”
Bonus Read: “How Police and Armed Groups Turned the Pandemic into a Human Rights Crisis,” (Intercept).
U.S. Government & Politics
Government Shutdown Threat Could Further Exacerbate Pandemic Backlogs
Multiple government agencies wrestling with backlogs as a result of the pandemic could find their problems exacerbated if the government has to shut down as a result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling (WaPo). The Washington Post lists some of these backlogs: “The Internal Revenue Service is struggling to serve taxpayers 18 months after the pandemic sidelined thousands of employees. Close to a half-million immigrants are on a State Department list to schedule interviews for their visa applications — and the wait for a passport is now as long as 16 weeks. Thousands of documents for Social Security benefits lay unprocessed this summer in field offices where in-person service has been suspended since March 2020, the agency’s watchdog recently found,” and writes, “A shutdown would magnify these delays and further weaken services that the pandemic has hobbled.” The Post also notes the impact could be significant even with a short shutdown. Contemplating the impact of a shutdown, the Biden administration has said that it will keep federal employees involved in the pandemic response at work.
Alabama Governor Defends Plan to Use Covid Relief Funds for Prisons
On Tuesday, Alabama’s Republican Governor Kay Ivey defended her government’s plans to use Covid relief funds to finance the construction of new prisons (WaPo). In a statement, she wrote, “The Democrat-controlled federal government has never had an issue with throwing trillions of dollars toward their ideological pet projects,” adding, “These prisons need to be built, and we have crafted a fiscally conservative plan.” The Post writes, “The plan, backed by Ivey, to build three new prisons and renovate others will involve using up to $400 million from the state’s share of American Rescue Plan funds,” citing AP reporting. The Covid relief funds have few restrictions on what they can be used for, but Alabama’s plan drew criticism from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, asking the department to “prevent the misuse of [American Rescue Plan] funding by any state, including Alabama.” The letter stated, “Directing funding meant to protect our citizens from a pandemic to fuel mass incarceration is, in direct contravention of the intended purposes of the ARP legislation and will particularly harm communities of color who are already disproportionately impacted by over-incarceration and this public health crisis.”
Bonus Read: “Kathy Hochul Aims to Raise $25 Million as Likely Rivals Eye Challenges,” (NYT).
U.S. Economy
Bonus Read: “Dollar Tree to Sell More Items Above $1 as Costs Rise,” (WSJ).
A Month Into the End of the Eviction Ban, No Sign of Surging Evictions
The Washington Post reports that a month after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on evictions on August 26th, there is no sign of surging evictions (WaPo). The Post notes that at the time of the court’s decision, “lawmakers and housing experts mentioned a slew of devastating metaphors — cliff, tsunami, tidal wave — to describe the national eviction crisis they saw coming. One month later, however, many of those same authorities find themselves wondering: Where is the cliff?” Instead data from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University shows evictions holding steady or declining across the country. In Cleveland, Memphis, Charleston and Indianapolis, evictions are actually below their pre-pandemic level. The data has led to debate over why - so far - there is no sign of an eviction wave. Some experts and analysts warn that the wave may still be coming, arguing that eviction cases can be slow to move through the courts. Analysts also note that the eviction moratorium did not substantially change the eviction rate in some parts of the country and that other parts of the country continue to have local protections against eviction. In addition, some hypothesize that people may simply be leaving before they are evicted. In addition, in some areas, evictions are rising. The Post writes, “Filings have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels in Gainesville, Fla., and have come close in Cincinnati and Jacksonville, Fla.” The Post interviewed a number of experts and also people who have faced eviction as part of its reporting.
After Cutting Back U.S. Growth Estimates Due to Delta Variant, Economists Expect Growth to Speed Up
As the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid spread, many economists cut back their estimates of U.S. economic growth, but the Wall Street Journal reports that economists are now beginning to predict that growth will speed up again (WSJ). The Journal writes, “There are early signs that the spending slowdown is bottoming out as Covid-19 cases decline. In the week ended Sept. 28, the number of diners seated at restaurants was down just 8% from the same period in 2019, a less severe decline than earlier in the month, data from reservations site OpenTable show. U.S. hotel occupancy was at 63% for the week ending Sept. 18, the highest level since late August, data from STR, a global hospitality data and analytics company, show. Air travel has shown signs of recovery since hitting a recent trough in mid-September, according to Transportation Security Administration figures comparing passenger traffic with 2019.” The Journal notes that if Covid cases continue to fall in number as many expect, people may spend more on in-person services. Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies LLC, told the Journal, “The consumer is in great shape,” adding, “They have the firepower, they have the ability to spend.” The Journal also notes that “In one sign of robust holiday demand, there were five times as many internet searches related to December travel in August compared with a year earlier, according to digital analytics company Similarweb.” Furthermore, the Federal Reserve increased its forecast of growth for 2022 to 3.8% last week from the 3.3% it projected in June.
As Covid’s Impact Wanes, New York City Rent Jumps
After a period of the pandemic in which many New Yorkers left the city and vacancy rates rose to eleven percent from almost zero, the Wall Street Journal reports that renters are now returning to a market in which rent prices are surging (WSJ). The Journal notes that many tenants who took advantage of cheap rent to move into luxury apartments are now “facing sticker shock.” The Journal adds, “Those who want to keep their apartments with the latest amenities or located in stylish neighborhoods must absorb steep rent increases. The most ambitious landlords are attempting to raise rents by as much as 80%, according to Adjina Dekidjiev, a real-estate broker at Warburg Realty. Bidding wars—usually confined to the for-sale housing market—are breaking out for rental units in some sought-after neighborhoods, real-estate brokers said.” Kunal Khemlani, a broker at the Living New York firm, told the Journal, “It’s a horrible time to be looking for an apartment right now.” A report by the brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. tracked the changes through data on the median rental price (inclusive of concessions), finding that in November 2020, the median price fell 22% to $2,743, but has now risen back to $3,118.
Bonus Watch: “ How the Pandemic Is Accelerating Changes in Your Packaging,” (WSJ).
U.S. Society
YouTube Will Remove Vaccine Misinformation, Including for Non-Covid Vaccines
On Wednesday, YouTube, a division of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced that it will remove videos on its platform that share vaccine misinformation (WSJ, WaPo, NYT, Reuters). The decision expands the platform’s policies and will cover false allegations that vaccines are not safe. The Wall Street Journal writes that according to YouTube, “Examples of content that would be taken down include false claims that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer or infertility or that they don’t reduce transmission or contraction of diseases.” Notably, the policy is not restricted to Covid vaccination, and YouTube states, “We’ve steadily seen false claims about the coronavirus vaccines spill over into misinformation about vaccines in general,” adding, “We’re now at a point where it’s more important than ever to expand the work we started with Covid-19 to other vaccines.” YouTube has also announced that it will suspend the posting ability of RT DE, Russia’s state-owned German Language news service, over vaccine misinformation. On Twitter, Russia’s foreign ministry called the action, “flagrant censorship and suppression of freedom of expression.” The Washington Post writes that YouTube is also “taking down several video channels associated with high-profile anti-vaccine activists including Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who experts say are partially responsible for helping seed the skepticism that’s contributed to slowing vaccination rates across the country.”
As In-Person School Returns, School Lunch Programs Face Worker and Supply Shortages
The Washington Post reports that as students return to in-person schooling, many school lunch programs across the country are facing pandemic-related worker and supply shortages (WaPo). The Post reports, “With the school year in full swing, product shortfalls, delivery delays and labor shortages have pushed the nation’s public school meal programs to a crisis point. It’s the same economic forces plaguing other industries, but the stakes are higher: Many low-income American children get the majority of their nutrition from school meals.” On Wednesday, Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $1.5 billion in funding to help address the shortages. VIlasack stated, “USDA is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to supporting the school meal programs, taking action to help schools get out in front of possible challenges and addressing other issues that arise from all angles and with all available resources.” While the funding may help on some fronts, advocates note that supply chain issues will be difficult to resolve even with greater funding. The concern over supply chain disruptions has been expressed by trade groups. The Post reports, for example, “The School Nutrition Association, the trade group for school-food-service manufacturers and professionals, polled its members in a back-to-school survey and found that 97 percent are concerned about continued coronavirus pandemic supply-chain disruptions. The next top concern was staff shortages, from dishwashers to cooks, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for the association.”
Analysis & Arguments
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