Taiwan’s First Case Since April; Vaccine Capacity: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan, which held the longest streak of zero domestic infections, recorded the first local infection since April. A cluster in Sydney has grown to 90. California’s overburdened hospitals face the prospect of even more patients, while hospitalizations in Texas surpassed 10,000 for the first time in five months.

The U.S. Senate passed a giant year-end spending bill combining $900 billion in Covid-19 relief aid with $1.4 trillion in regular government funding and a bevy of tax breaks for businesses.

Pfizer Inc. partner BioNTech SE is exploring options to boost capacity. Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine won the backing of a key European review panel, clearing the way for inoculations to start before year-end. More than 2.1 million people have been vaccinated.

Why the U.K.’s Mutated Coronavirus Is Fanning Worries: QuickTake

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Pfizer Partner BioNTech Ready to Boost Vaccine Capacity for 2021 (1:15 p.m. HK)

BioNTech SE is pursuing all its options to make more Covid-19 vaccine doses than the 1.3 billion the companies have promised to produce next year, according to the German company’s chief executive officer.

The companies will probably know by January or February whether and how many additional doses can be produced, Ugur Sahin said Monday. “I am confident that we will be able to increase our network capacity, but we don’t have numbers yet,” he said in an interview.

Thailand’s Outbreak (1 p.m. HK)

Thailand on Tuesday confirmed 427 new infections, with the majority of the cases having ties to the Samut Sakhon outbreak, taking the nation’s total infections to 5,716 cases, according to Covid-19 Spokesman Taweesilp Witsanuyotin.

Of the total in the latest outbreak, 1,273 cases as of Tuesday were migrant workers, according to Taweesilp.

U.K. Covid Testing Capacity Seen Falling Short (12:18 p.m. HK)

Demand for the U.K.’s coronavirus test kits will outweigh supply in coming weeks, the Financial Times reported, citing an internal government document it has seen.

Demand for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests used by health authorities predicted to outnumber supply in the week to Christmas by up to 50,000 tests a day, according to government calculations made last week, the FT reported.

Malaysia Signs Deal for 6.4 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine (11:37 a.m. HK)

Malaysia has signed a deal with AstraZeneca Plc to secure 6.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

The government is also in the final stages of negotiations with Sinovac, CanSino Biologics and Gamaleya Research Institute, he said in a televised briefing on Tuesday. The deals will ensure enough doses to cover more than 80% of the population, he said.

Mexico’s Excess Deaths Pass 250,000 (10:58 a.m. HK)

Mexico has recorded 40% more deaths than expected this year, according to a report on excess mortality in the country.

The country has recorded 254,625 more deaths -- from all causes -- than expected through late November, the report said. The amount is more than double the 118,598 confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the country.

Excess deaths include those who died because they couldn’t get treatment at overloaded hospitals or were never tested even though they had the virus. The country’s management of the virus and the clarity of its data has been criticized because of the excess deaths.

First Batch of Vaccines Arrive in Singapore (9:34 a.m. HK)

The first batch of coronavirus shots arrived in Singapore on Monday, marking an important step in the city-state’s plan to vaccinate its population and serve as a global hub for distribution of the jabs.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. delivered the vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE from Brussels, the airline said in a statement on Monday. The shots were sent to ground handling operator SATS Ltd.’s cold-chain facility for subsequent storage and transportation.

Airlines Flying From the U.K. to N.Y. to Test Passengers (9:05 a.m. HK)

All three airlines that fly from the U.K. to New York have agreed to test for Covid-19, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office.

British Airways, Delta and Virgin Airlines all will require passenger testing, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said on Twitter.

Cuomo on Monday said he had asked the three airlines to add the state to a list of 120 countries requiring pre-boarding Covid tests.

Cuomo blasted the U.S. government for not enacting a travel ban from the U.K. or requiring testing. The new strain of the virus that has been discovered in the U.K. “is flying around the world,” he said.

Sydney Cluster Swells as Lockdown Under Review (9:02 a.m. HK)

Australia’s most-populous state reported 8 new local cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday as authorities battled to bring an outbreak in Sydney under control without having to resort to lockdowns over Christmas.

Seven of the cases are linked to infections in the Northern Beaches area of the city, bringing that cluster to 90, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. The other case was a health care worker, who transported infected overseas travelers from Sydney airport to hotel quarantine.

Ohio May Deploy Guard for Vaccinations (8:50 a.m. HK)

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said new guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could lead to the deployment of the National Guard to help vaccinate people across the state, particularly in rural areas.

“There will certainly be opportunities where we’ll want the Guard to come in and get the job done,” he said at a news briefing.

He also said a decrease in the expected number of Pfizer Inc. vaccine doses shipped this week to Ohio is less of a concern than receiving additional vaccines developed by other companies.

South Korea to Shut Down Ski Resorts, Tourist Spots (7:51 a.m. HK)

South Korea will close its ski resorts and tourist spots from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3 in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further, Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun said.

South Korea reported 869 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours versus 926 a day earlier, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website.

Texas Hospitalizations Surge (7:45 a.m. HK)

The state’s hospitals tallied 10,009 virus patients on Monday, the highest since July 24, state health department figures showed. Almost half the state’s 22 trauma service areas have more than 15% of hospital capacity occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Earlier in the day, Governor Greg Abbott announced plans to reopen the state capitol on Jan. 4 as lawmakers prepare to convene their bi-annual legislative session.

Southeast Asian Companies Find Cases at Plants (7:40 a.m. HK)

Karex Bhd., the world’s top producer of condoms, and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd. became the latest companies in the Southeast Asian nation to say that some of their employees caught the coronavirus.

Karex said 35 tested positive after a routine screening of more than 2,000 employees, while Panasonic said it found 116 cases among its 2,137 workers, according to filings on Monday.

Philippines Expects to Sign More Vaccine Deals Soon (7:15 a.m. HK)

The Philippines expects to soon sign deals for the supply of as many as 60 million coronavirus vaccine doses for delivery as early as the second quarter of 2021, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said.

The Southeast Asian nation will next week sign an agreement with AstraZeneca Plc for 20 million vaccine doses, and was assured of 30 million doses by Serum Institute of India which will produce Novavax Inc.’s vaccine, Galvez said in a televised briefing late Monday.

California Sees Worsening Crisis (7 a.m. HK)

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday the state could see more than 90,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19 by mid-January, if the current surge in cases doesn’t slow down.

The state reported a record 18,359 coronavirus patients in its hospitals Monday, a 67% increase in two weeks. Intensive care units in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley are effectively full, and just 2.5% of the entire state’s ICU capacity remains open.

In Los Angeles County, the center of the state’s crisis, hospitals are taxed to the limit. Health Services Director Christina Ghaly urged everyone not to mingle with people outside their household, and to not shop for gifts or make plans for gatherings.

California may start quarantining travelers from the U.K. and testing them for the new coronavirus strain if the federal government doesn’t do so first, Newsom said. The state began discussing such a step with airlines over the weekend, he said, while noting the virus’s latest mutation has not yet surfaced in California.

Bidens Get Coronavirus Vaccine (4:53 a.m. HK)

President-Elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, received the coronavirus vaccine on Monday, joining a list of U.S. political leaders who’ve sought to boost public confidence in the shot.

Joe Biden received the first of a two-shot regimen at a public event at ChristianaCare Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. Jill Biden got the vaccine earlier in the day. Both received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

NIH to Study Allergic Reactions to Shots (1:55 a.m. HK)

The U.S. National Institutes of Health plans to begin a clinical trial that aims to help doctors “predict and manage” allergic reactions related to the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine, according to Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. vaccine program.

Slaoui said during a Monday news briefing that the aim of the trial, which will also study the Moderna Inc. shot just authorized for emergency use, will be to pinpoint why the incidents, known as anaphylaxis, are occurring.

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