U.S. Cases Remain High; U.K. Royals to Have Shots: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

All Americans who want a Covid-19 vaccination should be able to get one by the second quarter of next year, Health and Human Services Alex Azar said. Vaccinations could begin as early as Friday. Across the U.S., there were more than 200,000 new infections for the fourth consecutive day.

In the U.K., shots will begin on Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip will both reportedly get shots within weeks, partly to encourage others to have the injections. The government also said that a no-deal Brexit won’t affect supplies.

Switzerland will begin vaccinations next month. Denmark may toughen curbs, while cases in Poland have eased. South Korea introduced stricter social-distancing measures following a resurgence of the virus.

Key Developments:

HHS Chief Sees Vaccine for All Americans by Second Quarter (10:38 a.m. NY)

All Americans who want to get a Covid-19 vaccine should be able to do so by the second quarter of next year, Health and Human Services Alex Azar said.

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to decide as early as Thursday on emergency authorization for a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, Azar and Moncef Slaoui, the head of the government’s program to accelerate a vaccine, expressed confidence that the FDA would clear the way.

“I’ve not heard of any red flags,but I’ll have to leave that to the career scientists at the FDA who were digging through all the data,” Azar said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Most Californians to Enter Lockdowns (9:11 a.m. NY)

Stay-at-home orders will come into effect in Southern California and San Joaquin Valley at 11:59 p.m., local time, after intensive-care capacity fell below a 15% threshold in both regions.

The orders affect about 33 million people, or 84% of the state’s population, according to the Los Angeles Times. The restrictions, lasting at least three weeks, will mean shutdowns of bars, hair salons, live-audience sport and other activities. Los Angeles and San Diego are both in Southern California.

Five San Francisco Bay Area counties will also soon begin restrictions. Their intensive-care capacity is still above the state-set 15% trigger level.

U.S. Suffers Fourth Day of 200,000-Plus Cases (8:00 a.m. NY)

The U.S. added 213,877 new cases on Saturday, the fourth consecutive day of infections above 200,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The number was below the record set the day before of 228,419 -- and weekend reporting is often lower. The seven-day average of cases is now more than 191,300, a 16% increase over the previous week.

Another 2,301 people died, the fifth consecutive day above 2,000. A record of 2,867 fatalities was recorded on Thursday.

Iran Deaths Fall Below 300 (6:49 p.m. HK)

Iran’s daily death toll dipped below 300 for the first time in six weeks, with 294 fatalities overnight. The number of new infections fell for a third straight day to 11,561. The country now has 50,310 deaths and 1,040,547 known cases, the Health Ministry reported.

U.K. Readies for Possible No-Deal Brexit (6:23 p.m. HK)

Supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine won’t be disrupted by a no-deal Brexit, U.K. Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky TV’s “Sophy Ridge on Sunday” show.

“We’ve got many contingency plans in place,” he said. “There won’t be any effect on the deployment of this vaccine from a no-deal Brexit.”

A government-procured ferry is on standby and the option of air freight is also available, Eustice said. Military aircraft could be used to transport vaccines made in Belgium if seaports are clogged up, the Guardian said.

The U.K.’s medicine regulator is also prepared for any Brexit outcome, Chief Executive June Raine said on BBC TV’s “Andrew Marr Show.”

People should have “no doubt whatever that this is a very safe and highly effective vaccine,” Raine said. She runs the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which approved the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

Danish PM Flags Potential New Curbs (6:04 p.m HK)

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a Facebook post that the government may impose tougher restrictions to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The nation registered 2,115 new cases on Saturday.

Poland Cases Cool Amid School Shutdowns (5:44 p.m. HK)

Polish Covid-19 deaths dipped to 228 in the last 24 hours from 502 on Saturday, potentially indicating the virus is loosening its grip on central and eastern Europe’s largest economy. New infections fell to a daily average of 11,196 this week from 17,677 last week. The country’s schools remain closed. Shopping centers reopened on Nov. 28.

Queen Elizabeth II to Receive Vaccine (4:42 p.m. HK)

Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her husband, Prince Philip, 99, will likely receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine within weeks, the MailOnline reported Sunday. The royal couple will then make their vaccination public, a move health officials believe could help combat anti-vaccine conspiracy theories that have left some Britons skeptical about taking the jab, the paper said. In 1957, the Queen let it be known that Prince Charles and Princess Anne had received polio vaccines, helping build public support, the paper said.

Celebrities such as Monty Python founder Michael Palin, Bob Geldof and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood have all signaled they will get the vaccine, the Mirror reported.

The U.K. has bought 40 million vaccine doses, enough to inoculate 20 million people on the two-dose regimen. The shots will be given in order of priority, with the first going to those in care homes, including workers, and people over 80 years old.

More than 1,000 centers across the country will provide shots over the coming weeks, under the government plan. The first jab is due to be given on Tuesday.

Switzerland Readies Vaccination Plans (4:30 p.m. HK)

Covid-19 vaccinations will begin in Switzerland next month and should be completed by the summer, Virginie Masserey, the head of infection control at the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, told Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The nation’s 26 cantons will oversee distribution, and up to 70,000 vaccinations per day are planned.

Russia Sets New Record for Cases (4:21 p.m. HK)

Russia reported a record 29,039 new Covid-19 cases in the past day, according to data from the government’s virus-response center. That exceeded the previous high of 28,782 set a day earlier and brings the total infected to 2,460,770, the fourth-most worldwide.

Widespread vaccination of front-line workers and other high-risk people started on Saturday in Moscow.

U.K. May Loosen Covid Curbs Before March-End (4:02 p.m. HK)

The U.K. may be able to ease coronavirus restrictions by the end of March following the approval of a vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Telegraph.

Having a vaccine “will bring forward the moment when we can get rid of these blasted restrictions,” he said. “But until then we have got to follow them.”

The government will also start a large-scale advertising campaign, fronted by celebrities and other trusted voices, before Christmas to support vaccination efforts, Hancock said.

South Korea Tightens Curbs as Cases Hit Nine-Month High (2:53 p.m. HK)

The social-distancing alert for the greater Seoul area was raised to 2.5 from 2, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday. All gatherings of more than 50 people will be banned, and restaurants will continue to be prohibited from serving customers after 9 p.m. and can do only takeouts and deliveries. No spectators will be allowed into sporting events.

South Korea confirmed 631 cases on Sunday, the highest in nine months, while total deaths rose by five to 545, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The greater Seoul area — which covers the capital, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province — is home to almost half of South Korea’s population, and Chung acknowledged the disruption that the latest move would cause.

“The situation in the greater Seoul area is serious,” Chung said at a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures meeting in Seoul City Hall. “The 2.5 level will be maintained for the next three weeks until the end of the year.”

Pfizer Seeking Emergency-Use Approval for Vaccine in India (1:09 p.m. HK)

Pfizer India has applied to India’s drug regulator for emergency-use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine, after the company’s parent received clearance for the treatment from Britain and Bahrain, Press Trust of India reported.

The company is seeking to import the vaccine for sale and distribution in India without the requirement for clinical trials on local people, in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, the news agency said, citing an unidentified official. Pfizer is the first drugmaker to seek the approval in India and submitted the application on Dec. 4, the report said

Australian Police Blamed for Two Quarantine Dodgers (12:14 p.m. HK)

Australian state police were to blame for two German nationals avoiding mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival in Sydney before they took a flight to Melbourne.

New South Wales Police reviewed the circumstances of the incident and identified they “had incorrectly allowed the two travelers to proceed to Melbourne,” the force said in a statement Sunday. “Police practices and systems at the airport have also been reviewed and strengthened as a result of this incident.”

The pair -- a 53-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy -- arrived at Sydney International Airport at 9:45 a.m. Saturday from Tokyo and were screened, police said. After being cleared, all travelers were directed toward a bus to hotel quarantine but the duo advised police they were booked on a flight to Melbourne, according to the statement.

U.S. Covid Shots Could Begin Friday, Doctor Says (2:21 p.m. NY)

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine could be in use in the U.S. by Friday if the Food and Drug Administration approves an emergency use authorization, James Hildreth, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, told NBC News.

The panel is scheduled to vote on the matter after reviewing the vaccine’s data at a meeting on Thursday.

“If the FDA Commissioner decides to issue approval, the EUA, on that day when the vote is taken, as early as Friday of next week we could see vaccinations happening across the country,” Hildreth said on NBC’s “Weekend Today.

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