Dems to Meet Biden; Post-Coup Myanmar Vaccinations: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Top Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives will meet with President Joe Biden on Friday after the Senate backed a non-binding call to oppose stimulus checks for upper-income taxpayers. Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. drug regulators to clear its experimental Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, which would give the U.S. a third vaccine.

China appears to have gotten an outbreak in its northern regions under control, but is discouraging travel during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts next week. The U.K. government said a mandatory quarantine for travelers will start Feb. 15, fleshing out a policy announced last month.

When might life around the world return to normal? In 7.4 years at today’s vaccine rates.

Key Developments:

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Post-Coup Myanmar Kicks Off Vaccination Drive (10:12 a.m. HK)

Myanmar is set to kick off vaccination for the general public Friday, starting with townships with the highest number of infections and mortality rate, according to Khin Khin Gyi, director of emerging infectious disease at the Ministry of Health and Sports. Authorities will prioritize those 65 and above in the initial phase.

Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a coup earlier this week, has vowed to inoculate 38.4 million people 18 and older by the end of this year. The administration expects the first batch of 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine ordered from the Serum Institute of India to arrive next week and 27 million doses from the Covax facility from March.

Tokyo Survey Shows 0.91% Have Covid Antibodies (10:03 a.m. HK)

A survey conducted by Japan’s Health Ministry in December found 0.91% of people in Tokyo have Covid-19 antibodies, up from 0.1% in a June tally. The survey showed a rate of 0.58% in Osaka and 0.54% in Aichi prefecture.

House Dems to Meet Biden After Senate Move on Stimulus (9:33 a.m. HK)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other U.S. House of Representatives leaders will meet with President Joe Biden on Friday after the Senate backed by 99-1 a non-binding call to oppose stimulus checks going to “upper-income taxpayers” -- one of a series of messaging votes the chamber is taking in a complex process of preparing Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan for passage through Congress.

The amendment to the fiscal 2021 budget resolution doesn’t define the income cutoff for stimulus checks, but serves as a test vote for senators to gauge support on tightening the requirements.

FDA Limits Emergency Use Authorization for Plasma (9:11 a.m. HK)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised its Emergency Use Authorization for convalescent plasma, limiting its use to hospitalized patients early in the disease. The convalescent plasma used must contain high levels of antibodies.

The EUA was updated based on data from more recent clinical trials since the original order was issued in August, the agency said in a statement. The original authorization produced an embarrassing episode for then-FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who had to walk back comments he made exaggerating the benefit of convalescent plasma. Plasma with low levels of antibodies has not been shown to be helpful in treating Covid-19 and is no longer authorized for use in treatment, the FDA said.

Canada Extends Cruise-Ship Ban to February 2022 (9:03 a.m. HK)

Canada is extending its ban on cruise ships through February 2022 because of Covid-19, effectively shutting down popular summer trips to Alaska for another year. The prohibition will allow authorities to focus on vaccine rollout and limit the spread of new variants, the government said in a statement.

The decision is a setback for an industry trying to get back in business after being in dry dock for almost a year. Alaska is one of the industry’s top destinations -- it attracted a record 1.33 million cruise guests in 2019 -- and the ban will also affect New England cruises that travel north to Montreal and other stops.

China Gets Northern Outbreak Under Control (8:50 a.m. HK)

China appears to have controlled a virus resurgence in its northern regions, with new local cases reported at just six Friday, compared to a peak of 135 on Jan. 14. Overall, China’s winter wave -- concentrated in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Hebei -- numbers more than 2,000 infections.

While there were concerns that infections would seep into the Beijing ahead of Lunar New Year and national political meetings scheduled for March, the capital has recorded only 44 cases so far. Still, officials remain on high alert and have discouraged travel during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts Feb. 11, while tightening restrictions on people entering Beijing.

U.K. to Start Mandatory Quarantine for Travelers Feb. 15 (8:15 a.m. HK)

The U.K. will require travelers from coronavirus hot spots to quarantine starting Feb. 15, the government said, adding flesh to a policy first announced last month.

Arrivals from countries on the U.K.’s travel ban list will be required to isolate for 10 days in government-approved accommodation, the Department for Health and Social Care said Thursday. The government is seeking bids from hotels near airports and ports to support the program.

Meanwhile, British officials are working on a “vaccine passport” to facilitate tourism, the Times reports, without attribution.

FDA Says Variants Won’t Mean Back to Square One (7:32 a.m. HK)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with industry to ensure that updated vaccines for Covid-19 variants are deployed as quickly as possible, Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. The option of “streamlined” clinical trials for altered vaccines is under discussion, she said.

“We do not believe there will be the need to start at square one with any of these products,” Woodcock said. “We do not want to create obstacles to getting these tools to the frontlines.”

The FDA is building on experience with vaccines for other evolving infections diseases, such as the flu, she said.

U.S. Consumer Bureau to Restart Data Collection (7:26 a.m. HK)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will resume data collection from mortgage lenders and credit card companies that was halted earlier in the pandemic. The directives are part of a broader CFPB effort to study the pandemic’s impacts on consumers and boost racial equality.

In March 2020, the CFPB gave banks and other companies a break from reporting data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the CARD Act, which governs credit cards. In a blog post Thursday, the acting director said the bureau would soon begin collecting that data again, as well as information related to small business lending and other loans.

Vaccine Maker SK Bioscience Gets Preliminary IPO Approval (7:23 a.m. HK)

SK Bioscience is eligible to list shares after preliminary review, Korea Exchange said Thursday, without giving further details. SK Chemicals holds 98% of SK Bioscience, one of the manufacturers of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.

J&J Seeks Emergency Vaccine Clearance in U.S. (5:49 p.m. NY)

Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. drug regulators to clear its experimental Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, setting up what’s likely to be a fast-moving review process that could lead to millions more doses becoming available for the immunization drive within weeks.

The drugmaker said Thursday it had filed an application for emergency-use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The shot would give the U.S. a third vaccine to try to halt a pandemic that has killed more than 450,000 Americans.

The agency scheduled a Feb. 26 meeting where outside advisers will consider the request and make a recommendation about whether to grant it. While their decision isn’t binding, it would be unusual for the FDA to reject the experts’ advice.

When Will Life Return to Normal? In 7.4 Years at Today’s Vaccine Rates (5:38 p.m. NY)

When will the pandemic end? The answer can be measured in vaccinations.

Bloomberg has built the biggest database of Covid-19 shots given around the world, with more than 108 million doses administered worldwide. U.S. science officials such as Anthony Fauci have suggested it will take 70%-85% coverage of the population for things to return to normal. Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker shows that some countries are making far more rapid progress than others, using 75% coverage with a two-dose vaccine as a target.

Israel, the country with the highest vaccination rate in the world, is headed for 75% coverage in two months. The U.S. will get there in time to ring in the 2022 New Year -- though North Dakota could get there six months before Texas. With vaccinations happening more rapidly in richer Western countries than the rest of the globe, it will take the world as a whole 7.4 years at the current pace.

Novavax Begins Rolling Review in U.S. (5:20 p.m. NY)

Regulators in the U.S. have begun to review certain data required for clearance of Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine while final-phase clinical trials are still underway, the company said.

The process, called a rolling submission, has also begun in the U.K. and Canada, Novavax said. On Wednesday, the company said European regulators were doing a similar review.

Texas Breaks Daily Vaccination Record (4:10 p.m. NY)

Texas administered more than 150,000 vaccinations Thursday, the highest 24-hour total since the rollout, Governor Greg Abbott said in a tweet.

The aggregate figure for shots in the second-largest US state will exceed 3 million “in a few days,” Abbott said. Meanwhile, statewide virus hospitalizations have dropped to the lowest since late December, health department figures showed.

Wisconsin Governor Issues New Mask Order in Political Fight (3:58 p.m. NY)

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers immediately issued a new face mask order after the state legislature repealed his earlier one.

“Our fight against this virus isn’t over,” Evers, a Democrat, said in a Twitter video after the Republican-controlled body voted. He accused the legislature of putting politics over science. Legislators have argued the issue is not masks themselves but who has the ultimate authority to declare heath emergencies.

School Testing Experiment Hits Snarls (3:35 p.m. NY)

A pilot project in which rapid Covid-19 tests were used in an effort to reopen some U.S. schools has encountered administrative and logistical hurdles, according to a report Thursday.

Through a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Rockefeller Foundation, the project received about 140,000 quick-turnaround Covid tests from Abbott Laboratories. Even with access to testing from the outset, schools needed additional resources like staffing to perform the tests.

U.S. Restrictions Easing (2:58 p.m. NY)

Around the U.S., restrictions are relaxing as the outbreak eases:

• Massachusetts will increase capacity limits at business like restaurants and gyms to 40% from 25%
• Rhode Island is allowing weddings to have as many as 50 guests, and indoor dining now can include two households
• Arkansas won’t extend a directive requiring bars and restaurants selling alcohol to close at 11 p.m.
• Michigan will allow high school sports leagues to restart practices and competitions. Masks will be required
• Puerto Rico will shorten its nighttime curfew by an hour -- the new schedule is midnight to 5 a.m. -- and allow many businesses to operate at 50% capacity
• Denver began accepting applications for a program that encourages businesses to add Covid-19 safety measures beyond what’s required by public health orders, helping businesses expand operational capacity

U.S. Capitol Police to Get Vaccine (12:27 p.m. NY)

All members of the U.S. Capitol Police, which suffered a Covid outbreak following the Jan. 6 riot, will be given access to vaccines, the department announced.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Congressional leadership, especially House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the administration, enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccines have been secured to vaccinate all USCP personnel,” Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman said. The police union reported 38 cases on the force in the two weeks following the riot.

NYC Is Denied Shifting First Vaccine Doses for Second (11:44 a.m. NY)

New York’s state health commissioner denied New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s request to start using vaccine doses that have been reserved for second doses. The city currently has around 320,000 doses on hand that have been reserved for second doses. De Blasio has said these doses sit in storage for weeks and could be used for first doses.

Responding to a Feb. 3 letter from the mayor, Commissioner Howard Zucker said Thursday the Biden administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently don’t recommend using second doses as first doses. The state will continue to follow that guidance unless the CDC says otherwise, he said.

De Blasio said the decision “makes no sense to me.”

“We’re in a wartime dynamic,” he said. “People are suffering, people are scared and they are vulnerable. The reality is we need to protect people and free up those second doses.”

NYC Hospitalizations Jump Post-Storm (11:03 a.m. NY)

New York City vaccine sites are up and running after a snowstorm shut them down for a few days, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, adding that all appointments have been rescheduled. The mayor said the number of patients admitted to New York City hospitals jumped to 300 on Tuesday, after the numbers dipped below 200 on previous days. The city’s seven-day average of new Covid cases dropped below 4,000 on Tuesday for the first time since December.

BOE Sees Rapid U.K. Rebound Following Vaccine Push (7:41 a.m. NY)

The Bank of England said the U.K. economy is heading for a rapid pickup in light of a bold vaccination effort. Despite lowering its outlook for the year, the central bank sounded an optimistic note on its hopes of a powerful rebound. Officials also kept monetary stimulus in place and agreed as a contingency that banks should prepare for the possibility of negative interest rates.

Sweden to Introduce Vaccine Passports (3:47 p.m. HK)

Sweden plans to roll out a “digital vaccination certificate” and has asked three government agencies to develop the infrastructure to handle the relevant personal data.

The new certificate should be ready for use “before the summer,” Health Minister Lena Hallengren and Minister of Digitalization Anders Ygeman said Thursday.

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