Pfizer Gets Good News; U.K. Vaccinations Begin: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators gave early indications they may grant emergency-use authorization to Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine, calling the shot highly effective with no safety issues. The news came on a day when the number of infections in the U.S. topped 15 million.

Britain became the first country to start administering the vaccine to its population, kicking off the western world’s Covid immunization campaign. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned people to keep their “discipline” during the rollout, noting that cases are starting to rise in London. Germany plans to vaccinate as many as 8 million people in the first quarter of 2021.

A different vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc provided protection against severe Covid-19 in a peer-reviewed study, though more analysis will be needed to see how well it works in older people.

Key Developments:

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New York State Cases Rise (7:10 a.m. HK)

Coronavirus hospitalizations are nearing 5,000 in New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. Monday’s total was 4,835, the most since late May, according to state data.

Of the more than 162,400 tests conducted statewide, 5.74% were positive, including in hot-spot areas, the highest since mid-May. There were 74 virus-related fatalities, according to the data.

“As we continue to see the number of Covid cases rise in New York and across the nation, it’s critical that we not only remain tough and practice safe behaviors to limit viral spread, but that we also do everything in our power to ensure hospitals are prepared to handle a growing number of patients,” Cuomo said.

France Sees ‘Worrying’ Situation (6:45 a.m. HK)

France is mulling “many options” related to to the planned loosening of lockdown measures scheduled for Dec. 15 as the number of Covid-19 cases remains high, Health Minister Olivier Veran said Tuesday in an interview on LCI TV.

Options include introducing a new curfew or sticking to the current lockdown for some additional days to observe developments, Veran said, declining to give more details.

The government will discuss the Covid-19 situation Wednesday, and an announcement is due before end of the week, he said. The situation is “worrying,” as the “level of contaminations is still high,” Veran said. “We’re not out of the second wave yet.”

U.S. Looks to AstraZeneca, J&J (6 a.m. HK)

The U.S. government’s plan to vaccinate most Americans by next summer rests heavily on two Covid-19 shots that U.S. regulators won’t get a chance to rule on until early in 2021.

AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson together would provide 150 million to 200 million shots in the first quarter, said Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific officer of Operation Warp Speed. This could immunize 110 million to 150 million people, if the doses are evenly split between J&J’s single-dose vaccine and Astra’s two-dose regimen.

CVS, Walgreens Seek Pharmacists (4:30 a.m. HK)

CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are aggressively recruiting pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses to administer Covid-19 vaccines in long-term care facilities, just days before the drugstore giants are expected to play a key role in a large immunization effort.

Representatives from the two companies are making in-person and virtual pitches to independent pharmacists, according to National Community Pharmacists Association Chief Executive Officer Douglas Hoey. The outreach has surprised the group’s members because it suggests the chains don’t have enough people to run the massive effort, he said.

Netherlands ‘Really Not Going Well’ (2:45 a.m. HK)

The Netherlands extended a partial lockdown for the holiday season, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte warning that stricter measures may be announced before Christmas if numbers don’t come down. “It is really not going well,” Rutte said at a press conference in The Hague on Tuesday.

Health Minister Hugo de Jonge cautioned that people should remain vigilant rather than adopting a “we-are-almost-there” attitude in regard to the first vaccines expected to show up in early January.

The number of cases in the Netherlands rose again in the past seven days, a worrying increase after declines in recent weeks, the health agency RIVM said earlier on Tuesday. In the latest week, 43,103 new patients were confirmed, a jump of more than 9,000.

Switzerland May Close Shops, Restaurants (2 a.m. HK)

Switzerland’s federal government plans to work with cantons, or states, to unify restrictions to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed new measures, including reducing opening hours for shops and restaurants, would take effect from Dec. 12 and last until Jan. 20. Measures could be tightened further on Dec. 18, when restaurants and shops might shut altogether, if case loads don’t come down.

The country of about 8.5 million on Tuesday reported 4,262 new infections, up 12% from a week ago.

In contrast to its neighbors, the Swiss federal government has thus far shied away from imposing a second round of lockdowns even though case loads were much higher than in Germany. Instead, it has asked cantons to manage the situation as they see fit.

Connecticut Case Rate Tops Nation (1:25 a.m. HK)

Connecticut has the most new Covid-19 cases per capita, after reporting an additional 8,129 positive test results on Monday.

The state had 2,280 new cases per million people on Monday, the highest rate in the nation, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The next highest is Kansas, with 1,967 per million.

More Than 1 Million Americans Expected to Fly (12:55 a.m. HK)

Americans are expected to continue with their travel plans for the Christmas holiday with more than a million air passengers anticipated for the balance of December and into January for the holiday, David Pekoske, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said during an aviation event Tuesday.

Americans plan to travel despite Center for Disease Control advice to stay at home and celebrate with the people they live with.

Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, said that the Christmas holiday season could pose greater risks than Thanksgiving when it comes to spreading the coronavirus, and urged Americans to double down on measures such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds and social distancing.

Despite Pekoske’s forecast, passenger traffic has fallen steadily since Thanksgiving as the country faces a surge in new infections. In the past seven days through Monday, airlines carried only 33.5% of passengers compared with the equivalent week in 2019, or an average of about 725,000 a day. The passenger numbers are the lowest seven-day average since late September, according to TSA data.

Vaccine’s Effect on Transmission Still Unknown (11:35 p.m. HK)

Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine prevents symptomatic cases of the virus, but it’s not clear if the shot keeps the disease from being transmitted, U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff found in a report issued Tuesday.

The conclusion highlights a major unknown about vaccine candidates that persists ahead of an ambitious U.S. rollout of millions of shots: How effective they’ll be in stemming the spread of coronavirus at a population level.

The answer to that question carries important implications for the continued use of public-health measures including masks and social distancing, even among those who have been immunized.

Cases Starting to Rise in London, Johnson Says (10:09 p.m. HK)

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned London is facing a rise in Covid-19 infections as he urged the public to stick to the pandemic rules. The government is due to review the restrictions on Dec. 16 and could impose tighter curbs on regions where cases are rising.

In London, cases are “starting to climb again in spite of all the efforts we’ve made,” Johnson said in a video released on Twitter. It is “vital” people keep their “discipline” as the vaccine is rolled out at the same time, he said.

Zurich to Close Casinos, Sex Clubs (9:57 p.m. HK)

The Swiss canton of Zurich will close casinos, sex clubs and saunas from Dec. 10 in an effort to curb infections. It will also close restaurants an hour earlier and limit public gatherings to 10 people -- going beyond the federal government’s threshold of 15 people. The measures last until Jan. 10.

Infection rates in Zurich have recently been among the highest in Switzerland. “The situation in hospitals remains tense,” the local government said in a statement, adding that a new high in hospitalized Covid-19 patients was reached Monday.

Dutch Weekly Cases Rise in Past Week (9:44 p.m. HK)

The number of cases in the Netherlands rose in the past seven days, a “worrying” increase after declines in recent weeks, the health agency RIVM said. In the latest week, 43,103 new patients were confirmed, a jump of more than 9,000.

Pfizer, BioNTech’s Vaccine Meets FDA’s Requirements (8:54 p.m. HK)

The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech meets the requirements for an emergency-use authorization set out by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a 92-page staff report analyzing the companies’ clinical development program.

The shot appears safe and effective, including among people who had previously been infected, according to the report. Side effects appear mild and are more common in younger people.

The report offers a first look at the U.S. review of the vaccine ahead of a public meeting Thursday of outside advisers to the agency. The FDA could clear the shot shortly after the meeting, with as many as 6.4 million doses immediately available to kick off a vast immunization effort designed to end a pandemic that has killed more than 283,000 Americans.

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