Japan Won’t Lift Emergency; U.K.’s Vaccine Data: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- A World Health Organization investigation in China found that the coronavirus most likely jumped to humans through an animal or frozen wildlife products, and a theory that it resulted from a laboratory leak is “extremely unlikely.”

One dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offers two-thirds protection against coronavirus, data seen by the U.K. government suggests. The data is due to be released within days. Eli Lilly & Co.’s combination antibody drug for Covid-19 was cleared for emergency use by U.S. regulators.

Moderna signed pacts with Taiwan and Colombia for more doses. The U.K. outlined plans for restrictions designed to prevent new strains entering the country.

Key Developments:

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.

Japan Won’t Lift Emergency (10:51 a.m. HK)

The Japanese government is planning to keep the state of emergency in the 10 prefectures despite earlier reports that it was considering lifting it in some areas on Friday, broadcaster FNN reported, without attribution. Officials see need to keep the emergency in place to ease pressure on the medical system.

Mexico Deaths Rise by 1,701 (9:15 a.m. HK)

Mexico posted a daily rise of 1,701 Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total to 168,432, according to data released by the Health Ministry Tuesday. The government said 49% of general hospital beds occupied, 46% of beds with ventilators are occupied.

Lilly Covid Antibody Combo Gets Approval (8.30 a.m. HK)

Eli Lilly’s combination antibody drug for Covid-19 was cleared for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, providing doctors with a treatment option that is expected to be better able to combat new coronavirus mutations.

The FDA authorized the treatment for use in Covid-positive adults and children 12 and older who are at high risk of developing severe forms of the disease or progressing to the hospital, according to a fact sheet posted Tuesday by the agency.

Malaysian Glovemaker Halts Operations (8:23 a.m. HK)

Supermax Corp., a Malaysian glovemaker, said its manufacturing plant in Meru, Klang, will halt operations for three days starting Wednesday after it discovered several Covid-19 cases among its workers there. The company said the infections likely came from external transporters.

Hong Kong Meeting on Sinovac (8:23 a.m. HK)

The expert committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss whether to approve the vaccine for emergency use, Sing Tao Daily reported. Sinovac has yet to publish stage-3 clinical trial data for the vaccine but submitted some data to the Hong Kong government.

Pfizer Shot Gives Two-Thirds Protection (8:20 a.m. HK)

Early findings from the U.K.’s vaccination program, due to be released within days, show that the first dose reduced the symptomatic infection risk among patients by 65% in younger adults and 64% in over-80s, a person familiar with the matter said. The data, first reported by The Sun newspaper, showed that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine saw protection rise to between 79% and 84%, depending on age. The AstraZeneca vaccine offers similar protection, the newspaper said.

WHO Rules Out Lab Theory on Virus (8:15 a.m. HK)

A World Health Organization-led investigation in China found that the coronavirus most likely jumped to humans through an animal host or frozen wildlife products, finding that it’s “extremely unlikely” it came from a laboratory leak. No further research is needed to look into the theory about a leak, Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO food-safety scientist, told reporters Tuesday at a joint briefing with China in Wuhan, the city where Covid-19 first mushroomed at the end of 2019. That speculation has been promulgated by former U.S. President Donald Trump and some others.

The virus could have been introduced to the Huanan wet market in Wuhan, which many of the first Covid patients were linked to, by a person who was infected or by a product that was sold there, Ben Embarek said.

Australian Quarantine Hotel Closed (8:11 a.m. HK)

A hotel in Melbourne being used to quarantine overseas arrivals has been closed after new coronavirus cases were linked to it. The Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport will close until further notice, Victoria state quarantine authorities said. About 135 staff and 48 residents who were in the hotel between Jan. 7 and Feb. 9 will need to enter a 14-day quarantine, while two schools located in the suburb that’s recorded seven new exposure sites have closed as a precaution.

Wockhardt’s Vaccine Packaging Extended (7:49 a.m. HK)

Wockhardt received a six-month extension to its contract to put Covid-19 vaccines into glass vials ready for distribution, INews reported, citing U.K. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Wockhardt is handling the “fill and finish” operation for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Moderna Signs Pacts With Taiwan, Colombia (7:21 a.m. HK)

Moderna reported an agreement to supply 5 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the government of Taiwan and a separate pact with the government of Colombia for 10 million doses. Deliveries would begin in mid-2021.

Jakarta’s Covid Cemeteries (7:01 a.m. HK)

Indonesia’s capital is racing to open more cemeteries to cope with the coronavirus death toll that has doubled in less than three months despite vaccination efforts.

Jakarta’s government bought more than three hectares (7.4 acres) of land to use as dedicated cemeteries for those who have died from Covid-19, said Suzi Marsitawati, who heads the province’s park and forest service. The new sites will accommodate at least 8,000 burial plots, after the existing two cemeteries hit capacity.

New Zealand Seeks Clarification (6:59 a.m. HK)

New Zealand is urgently seeking clarification from Chinese authorities after Beijing suspended imports from two of its seafood factories. Shipments from a Sanford Ltd. facility that processes mussels and a Sealord Group fish processing plant have been suspended due to “issues around the interpretation of the World Health Organization’s Covid guidance, and food safety management,” the Ministry for Primary Industries said on Wednesday.

New Zealand also approved Pfizer vaccine for those aged 16 and older.

Astra Vaccine Urged for South Africa (4:30 p.m. NY)

The lead researcher of the South African trial of AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine urged authorities in the country to continue using the shot to cut death and hospitalization rates and the chance of further virus mutations.

Early data of a small phase trial showed that AstraZeneca’s vaccine has limited efficacy against mild disease caused by the B.1.351 variant that’s now dominant in South Africa, prompting the government to suspend plans to give it to health workers. The study didn’t determine whether it protects against severe Covid-19 cases and deaths because most participants were “young healthy adults,” according to the company.

U.S. Vaccine Hesitancy Cited in CDC Report (2:05 p.m. NY)

Only about half of U.S. adults surveyed late last year said they were certain or very likely to get a Covid-19 vaccine, according to a new report from by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, released Tuesday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, surveyed 3,541 people in September and 2,033 individuals in December. The first Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 11. A similar vaccine made by Moderna Inc. was cleared for emergency-use shortly thereafter.

A greater proportion of people indicated that they planned to get a vaccine in December than in September. But the finding showed that more work needed to be done to address concerns about the vaccines after they were cleared for use, said agency researchers who co-wrote the report.

Pfizer Plant in Belgium Resumes Production (2 p.m. NY)

Pfizer Inc. said it has resumed manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine it developed in partnership with BioNTech SE at its plant in Belgium after temporarily reducing production to upgrade the facility’s production lines, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A Pfizer spokeswoman said Tuesday the changes in Puurs, Belgium, have finished, and during the week of Jan. 25 the company resumed its original delivery schedule of doses to the European Union, the Journal said. Pfizer also plans to increase deliveries next week to meet its contractual obligations for the first quarter, the spokeswoman said.

U.K. Advisers Raise Concerns on New Variants (1:40 p.m. NY)

A U.K. government advisory panel raised concerns over a further mutation of the so-called Kent variant, while reassuring the public that vaccines should still provide protection.

The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group said the additional E484K mutation of the B.1.1.7 Kent virus strain has been designated a “variant of concern”, according to a government statement. The mutation was first identified in Bristol, England.

The mutation has also been found on another original strain of the virus -- known as A.23.1 -- which the panel has now classified as a “variant under investigation.”

The E48K mutation has been seen in a number of variants, including those from South Africa and Brazil. Public Health England has found 76 cases of the two new variants, the government said.

Greece Imposes Stricter Lockdown (1:05 p.m. NY)

The Greek government has reintroduced a stricter lockdown in Athens and the surrounding Attica region in a bid to curb a recent spike in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The area accounts for around half of Greece’s population of almost 11 million.

Cuomo Says U.S. to Boost Doses by Another 5% (1 p.m. NY)

The U.S. government plans to increase vaccine allocations by another 5% for the next three weeks, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The additional 5%, announced on a White House call with governors Tuesday, follows an initial 20% increase and then a subsequent 5%. Cuomo, during a call afterward with reporters, said he doesn’t expect a major supply boost until Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine is produced.

Astra CEO: Shot Should Prevent Severe Disease (12 p.m. NY)

AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine should protect people against severe disease from the South Africa strain of the virus, according to the company’s chief executive officer.

Speaking at a World Health Organization meeting Tuesday, Pascal Soriot said that while a recent study showing the vaccine may not prevent mild disease was concerning, that didn’t mean more serious illness wouldn’t be stopped.

Soriot also said the company had capacity to deliver 100 million vaccine doses in February globally. That should increase to 200 million doses a month from April, he said.

NYC Surpasses 1 Million Doses (10:55 a.m. NY)

New York City has surpassed 1 million vaccine doses, a major milestone but missing a goal that Mayor Bill de Blasio had hoped to reach by the end of January.

“The challenge for us constantly is the lack of supply,” he said in a briefing on Tuesday. “This is a really good sign of what we could do in this city, but we could be doing a lot more.”

Serbia Taps Chinese Vaccines (10:15 a.m. NY)

Serbia will receive additional 500,000 Chinese vaccines from Sinopharm on Wednesday, after importing 50,000 Sputnik V vaccines from Russia on Tuesday, as part of efforts to have total of 2 million shots by the end of February, President Aleksandar Vucic said. Other deliveries will include a further 50,000 Russian vaccines, expected later this month, along with 88,000 shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and between 125,000 and 150,000 vaccines from AstraZeneca, he said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.