Covid-19 Pandemic: Live Updates and News for Mar. 26, 2021

Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

New Jersey will expand vaccination access to people 55 and over, those with intellectual and developmental abilities and higher-education workers on April 5, according to Governor Phil Murphy’s office.

A former top U.S. health official says he thinks the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, and began spreading as early as September of 2019. Robert Redfield, who led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, told CNN that he thinks that’s more likely than any alternative.

Meanwhile, new infections are on the rise around the world. On Thursday, more than 733,000 cases were reported, the highest since mid-January. Germany’s health minister said cases are rising too rapidly and the health-care system is in danger of reaching capacity next month.

Key Developments:

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N.J. to Expand Vaccine Eligibility (10:37 a.m. NY)

New Jersey will expand Covid-19 vaccination access to people 55 and over, those with intellectual and developmental abilities and higher-education workers on April 5, according to Governor Phil Murphy’s office.

The expanded group will include the press, spokeswoman Alyana Alfaro said on Twitter.

South Africa to Tighten Curbs (9:53 a.m. in New York.)

South Africa is likely to extend a curfew and tighten restrictions on public gatherings over the upcoming Easter holiday period in a bid to curb a third wave of coronavirus infections, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A panel overseeing the response to the pandemic met Thursday to discuss options to contain its spread, balancing the health risks against the economic fallout, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans are still private.

Mabion to Speed Vaccine Production (8:41 a.m. in New York.)

Poland’s Mabion SA expects to start commercial production of Novavax Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine quickly after it completes test trials around mid-2021 in what could be the start of multiyear cooperation between the companies.

There is “great interest” by Novavax to start production as soon as possible and its scientists are in Konstantynow Lodzki, central Poland, helping to get the process on track, Mabion board member Adam Pietruszkiewicz said in an interview.

Brazil Unveils Its Own Vaccine (8:40 a.m. in New York.)

Brazil’s Butantan Institute has developed its own Covid-19 vaccine, which it plans to roll out in the coming months and offer to low income countries to help fight the pandemic.

Sao Paulo-based Butantan, which has partnered with China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to produce the CoronaVac shot, will begin trials for its own vaccine — dubbed the ButanVac — with plans to have supplies ready by July, the institute’s director Dimas Covas said at a press conference on Friday.

Kenya’s New Lockdown Measures (8:33 a.m. in New York.)

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced new lockdown measures to check the spread of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, after cases spiked in five counties.

“Kenya is squarely in the grip of the third wave of this pandemic,” Kenyatta said in a televised address. “The death rate is devastating by all measures.”

Glaxo, Vir Seek Emergency Approval (8:30 a.m. in New York.)

GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Vir Biotechnology Inc. applied for emergency-use authorization in the U.S. for their Covid-19 antibody treatment following late-stage results that showed it was highly effective, the companies said Friday.

GSK and Vir said they will continue discussions with the European Medicines Agency and other regulators to make the treatment — VIR-7831 — available to patients with Covid-19 as soon as possible.

Rome Hospital to Test Sputnik (8:16 a.m. in New York.)

Rome’s Spallanzani hospital and Gamaleya Institute will after Easter conduct “dual testing” on the Russian-made Sputnik vaccine, Ansa news agency reports, citing unnamed sources.

The study will focus on efficacy against variants, especially the Brazilian, South African and U.K. ones, and on the use of Sputnik as a booster for patients who’ve received a first dose of a vaccine with a similar structure, possibly including AstraZeneca’s.

Worst Region Struggles With Curbs (8:09 a.m. in New York.)

Parts of Eastern Europe, currently the world’s deadliest region for Covid-19, are facing increasing pushback against extensions to curbs on daily life designed to halt the spread of the virus.

As a third wave of the disease sweeps across the continent, 10 of the 11 worst-hit countries are located in the east, where adherence to restrictions has fallen short and years of under-investment in health-care is being felt in some nations.

Study Finds Robust Response for Pfizer (7:58 a.m. in New York.)

A new study led by Sheffield and Oxford universities with support from the U.K. Coronavirus Immunology Consortium has found that 99% of people generate a robust immune response against Covid-19 after just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, according to an emailed statement.

The study shows that levels of protection were “even stronger after two doses, underlining the importance of people coming forward for their second dose.”

Norway Extends Astra Suspension (7:37 a.m. in New York.)

Norway extended a temporary pause of its use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine until April 15 in order to gather more information about why a small number of people developed blood clots, hemorrhages and low platelet counts.

While the move will delay the country’s Covid-19 inoculation program by 1 to 2 weeks, it’s necessary to weigh the benefits of vaccination against the risk of rare but serious side effects from continued use, Geir Bukholm, head of infection at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said in a statement.

Germany, France Struggle With Surge (7:24 a.m. in New York.)

The European Union’s two biggest countries are floundering as they try to deal with a fresh surge in coronavirus infections that’s compounding political damage from chaotic vaccination rollouts.

Germany is considering declaring France a high-incidence virus area, a move that would require a negative Covid test before entering the country from its neighbor. France, meanwhile, extended a lockdown to three additional regions to try to halt the spread of the virus.

EMA Recommends Celltrion Drug (7:22 a.m. in New York.)

The European Medicines Agency concluded that Celltrion’s regdanvimab can be used for the treatment of confirmed Covid-19 in adult patients who do not require supplemental oxygen therapy and who are at high risk of progressing to severe Covid-19.

Results from the first part of trial indicate that regdanvimab may lower the rate of hospitalisation, but the results were not robust enough to reach a firm conclusion on the medicine’s benefits.

Corning Making Vials for 1.2 Billion Doses (7:11 a.m. in New York)

Corning will use $57 million in funding from the U.S. government to increase production of glass vials for Covid-19 vaccines, Dow Jones reports, citing the company’s VP and GM of pharmaceutical technologies Brendan Mosher.

Corning now expects to produce 150m vials this year, up 50% from a previous forecast. The vials will be able to hold about 1.2 billion vaccine doses.

Philippine Adults Don’t Want Vaccine (6:09 a.m. in New York)

About 61% of Filipino adults don’t want to get any Covid-19 vaccine, with concern about the safety of the shots as the leading reason, according to a survey by pollster Pulse Asia Research Inc.

Greece to Allow Vaccinated Visitors From Israel (3:57 p.m. HK)

Greece will allow vaccinated visitors from Israel to enter the country without a seven-day quarantine, currently in place for all incoming travelers. Israeli visitors must carry a vaccination passport issued by the government, proving they completed their vaccination at least 14 days before they travel and have a negative Covid-19 test carried out in the last 72 hours.

Indonesia Seeks South Korea, Qatar Bubble (2:44 p.m. HK)

Indonesia is in talks with South Korea and Qatar to set up a travel bubble, Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters in a virtual briefing on Friday without giving details. The government is working on a plan to inoculate about 3 million of Bali residents in July.

Moscow Residents’ Immunity Rising (2:53 p.m. HK)

Some 43% to 44% of Moscow residents have Covid-19 antibodies, a level that allows the Russian capital to return to a relatively normal pace of life, with a minimum of restrictions, Ria Novosti reported Friday, citing Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova.

The figure suggests there have been many more cases in the city of 12.7 million than officially reported. About a million people in Moscow have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and another million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Airlines at Risk of Another Lost Summer (2:05 p.m. HK)

The latest setbacks to the return of air travel are stoking concern a fresh cash crunch is about to bear down on the airline industry. In just the past week, the optimism that took the Bloomberg World Airlines Index to the highest since the start of the pandemic has evaporated. And a second summer lost to the crisis would likely trigger a spate of airline failures and bankruptcy filings.

“The ground is shifting from one day to the next,” said Stuart Hatcher at consultants IBA Group. Governments are aware that pushing back the reopening of travel will mean more pain for the aviation industry but have been spooked by resurgent infection rates even as vaccine rollouts continue, he said.

— With assistance by John Viljoen, Camomile Shumba, Benjamin Penn, Dale Quinn, Michelle Jamrisko, Randy Thanthong-Knight, Christopher Jasper, Tara Patel, Eleni Chrepa, Lenka Ponikelska, Arys Aditya, Milda Seputyte, Jake Rudnitsky, Stephen Treloar, Geraldine Amiel, Gregory White, Daniel Schaefer, Chris Reiter, Ian C Sayson, Alberto Nardelli, Nikos Chrysoloras, Suzi Ring, Eric Ombok, Josh Wingrove, and Andre Romani Pinto