Thailand Eases Tourism Curbs; Sydney Cluster Grows: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine won backing from a panel of experts who advise U.S. regulators, setting the stage for its shot to be the second vaccine cleared in the U.S.

Pfizer Inc. said it has shipped all 2.9 million doses that the U.S. government ordered this week, while governors from several states say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told them they will get fewer doses than planned.

Thailand is easing travel restrictions on visitors ahead of the peak holiday season, while in Australia, Sydney is battling to contain an outbreak. South Korea’s daily cases again topped 1,000 for a third straight day, while Indonesia’s capital steps up movement curbs. California sets a record for fatalities for the second consecutive day as the U.S. passed 17 million total infections.

Key Developments:

Philippine Prepares Pandemic Recovery Steps (2:25 p.m. HK)

The Philippines has lined up key measures to support economic recovery for President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval, as it aims for a strong rebound in 2021 after plunging into recession this year amid the pandemic.

Congress has approved a record $93.6 billion spending plan for 2021, and allowed unspent funds from this year’s budget and pandemic relief package to be rolled over to next year.

Turkey Publishes Regulation on Emergency Vaccination (1:30 p.m. HK)

Turkey may allow vaccination even if there is no comprehensive evidence for efficiency, quality or safety in case of emergency situations including pandemic, according to official gazette.

Thailand Eases Curbs on U.S., Japan Tourists (12:45 p.m. HK)

Thailand is easing travel restrictions on visitors from 56 countries, including the U.S., Japan and Singapore, ahead of the peak holiday season to boost the nation’s ailing tourism sector.

Tourists are allowed to enter Thailand without prior visas but will need to carry a health certificate to prove they are free of Covid-19 and undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

Indonesia’s Capital Sets Mall, Restaurant Curfew (11:17 a.m. HK)

Jakarta, a hotbed of Covid-19 cases in the country, is limiting activities at various public places from Friday until Jan. 8, 2021.

Offices must close by 7 p.m., while restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters and tourist sites must shut by 9 p.m. On Christmas and New Year public holidays, recreational sites must close by 7 p.m. Officials will increase monitoring of those traveling into the city and will check that travelers can show the negative results of their rapid antigen tests. Public transport will operate until 8 p.m. only.

Pfizer, BioNTech Apply for Covid Vaccine Approval in Japan (11:12 a.m. HK)

Vaccine is undergoing p1/2 trials in the country, but already approved for emergency use in several countries, including the U.S. Kyodo says inoculation could happen as soon as March, without attributing the information.

China Aims to Dispense 100 Million Vaccine Doses (8:52 a.m. HK)

China is planning to distribute 100 million vaccines made by Sinopharm and Sinovac before Lunar New Year to prevent coronavirus outbreaks during the holiday travel season, South China Morning Post reports, citing an unnamed health specialist “with knowledge of” a training meeting to prepare for mass inoculations.

It is planning to vaccinate high-priority groups such as health workers, police officers and transport and logistic workers, while inoculations for the general public aren’t expected to start until after the Chinese New Year.

Mesoblast Shares Plunge After Trial Update (7:33 a.m. HK)

Mesoblast plunged as much as 45%, the most ever in intraday trading, after the Australian drug developer said its stem cell medicine isn’t likely to meet a target for reducing mortality in a trial of Covid-19 patients.

Sydney’s Surge Triggers Restrictions (5:25 p.m. NY)

Australia’s largest city reported an additional 10 cases on Friday, taking the total cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches to 28, prompting states to reimpose restrictions on visitors coming from New South Wales.

The outbreak ends a more than month-long run with limited community transmission in New South Wales state.

Benefits Outweigh Risks of Moderna’s Vaccine (5:15 p.m. NY)

FDA advisers agreed Thursday that the benefits of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine outweigh any risk, giving a boost to efforts to ramp up the U.S. immunization campaign. The effort is initially focusing on health-care workers and seniors who live in long-term care facilities. The FDA could authorize the shot within the next day.

Moderna’s product is based on the same technology as a shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE that was cleared by the FDA last week, and like that vaccine showed a high degree of efficacy in late-stage clinical trials. At Thursday’s advisory meeting, some of the discussion focused on a handful of allergic reactions experienced by people in the U. S. and U.K. who got the Pfizer shot.

Putin’s Vaccine Comments Rattle Argentina (5:10 p.m. NY)

Comments by President Vladimir Putin signaling caution about Russia’s coronavirus vaccine reverberated in Argentina, where the government plans to use it on priority groups, including the elderly. Argentina will await the final results before importing the vaccines by plane to Buenos Aires, said a person familiar with the matter.

Putin, 68, expressed caution about taking the Sputnik V vaccine, saying at a news conference earlier Thursday that it hasn’t been fully tested on people his age.

Microsoft Urges Faster School Openings, Pledges Aid (5:05 p.m. NY)

Microsoft Corp. called for an accelerated reopening of elementary schools in Washington State and pledged protective equipment, cleaning supplies and technology to track Covid-19 tests. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, also called for teachers to be prioritized in the state’s vaccination plans.

The comments from the software giant come a day after Governor Jay Inslee loosened the state’s guidelines for school reopenings. Inslee’s announcement Wednesday was condemned by the statewide teacher’s union and also comes as hospitalizations linked to the virus have surged in the state over the past month.

European Leaders Isolating After Macron Tests Positive (3:54 p.m. NY)

Leaders from across Europe announced they’re isolating after coming into contact with French President Emmanuel Macron who tested positive for Covid-19.

Hours after being tested positive for Covid-19 after what an official described as “mild symptoms,” Macron, 42, took part in a conference about development aid via video, from isolation. His 67-year-old wife Brigitte tested negative on Thursday.

Macron is suffering from a cough, fever and fatigue, an official in his office said. Macron will isolate and work in a state residence known as “la Lanterne” in Versailles, while his wife will remain at the Elysee Palace.

U.S. Governors Say They Will Get Fewer Vaccine Doses (2:57 p.m. NY)

Many U.S. states are going to get fewer vaccine doses than originally planned, according to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, marking what could be a significant hiccup in the effort to distribute shots to all Americans.

Next week’s allocation for Washington, the state that saw the first outbreak of the epidemic in the U.S., was cut by 40%, Inslee, a Democrat, said on Twitter. “All states are seeing similar cuts,” he said, adding the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention didn’t give the state any explanation.

On Monday, Washington said it was expecting 62,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week and a total of 222,000 by the end of the month. The Evergreen State, which has about 7.6 million residents, would also get 183,800 doses of Moderna’s vaccine this month if that inoculation is approved by regulators. Washington’s frustrations echo complaints from states including Illinois, Michigan and Florida.

California Deaths Set Record for Second Day (2:23 p.m. NY)

California reported 379 daily coronavirus deaths, breaking the record of 293 set just yesterday. The state had 52,281 new infections, for a total of more than 100,000 in the past two days, though the health department said some of those cases reflect a processing backlog.

The home of 40 million people is facing a rapidly worsening crisis that is threatening to overwhelm medical systems. Hospitalizations jumped 3.3% over 24 hours to a record 16,426 patients, while the number of people in intensive care climbed 2.8%. Four of the state’s five regions are now under stay-at-home orders after ICU capacity fell below a 15% threshold.

U.K. Passes Record After Error in Wales Reporting (1:18 p.m. NY)

The U.K. recorded its highest daily increase of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, in part because Wales added thousands of previously unreported infections.

A further 35,383 new cases were reported, about 11,000 of them as a result of “system maintenance in the NHS Wales Laboratory Information Management System.”

Even without the additional cases, the number is a worrying sign that the U.K. hasn’t fully controlled its second outbreak, with the seven-day rolling average steadily creeping higher. Earlier on Thursday more areas of England were moved to the nation’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions.

French Health Chief Sees Worrying Situation as Covid Cases Rise (1:07 p.m. NY)

France’s coronavirus situation is worrying as the number of new cases is rising again after a November decline and the year-end holiday period will increase infection risk, the country’s director general of health said.

“We know we have a two-week risk period ahead of us, this being the festive period,” Jerome Salomon said in a briefing on Thursday.

France registered 18,254 new Covid-19 cases over 24 hours, the most since Nov. 20. The rolling seven-day average of cases, which smooths out fluctuations over a week, jumped 5.3% to 12,764, back to levels last seen at the end of November.

Pfizer Says No Vaccine Shipments Have Been Delayed (1:03 p.m. NY)

Pfizer Inc. said it has shipped all 2.9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine that the U.S. government ordered this week and that it has millions more doses sitting in warehouses awaiting instructions for where to ship.

Some governors have complained this week that their allocations of Pfizer’s vaccine are less than what they had expected. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Pfizer is experiencing production issues, an assertion that Pfizer rejected. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made similar claims in a briefing Wednesday.

New York State Deaths Top 100 Again (11:50 a.m. NY)

Coronavirus-related deaths rose above 100 in New York state again -- the highest since mid-May. Meanwhile, of the 202,772 coronavirus tests conducted statewide on Wednesday, 5.38%, or 10,914 were positive, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday during a briefing in Kingston.

There were 120 virus-related fatalities. Covid-19 deaths have been above 100 three of the last seven days.

Cuomo declared a state of emergency in 18 counties as a snowstorm barraged parts of the state. The distribution of the coronavirus vaccine has not been disrupted by the storm, he said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.