U.S., U.K. Pledge Doses; Chile Capital Locks Down: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to join other Group of Seven leaders in a campaign to end the Covid-19 pandemic by distributing at least 1 billion extra shots to poorer nations. He announced the U.S. will begin shipping a half-billion doses of Pfizer Inc. vaccines to countries in “dire need” in August. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. will donate at least 100 million doses, amid reports he may delay England’s final reopening.

U.S. public health advisers will meet to discuss a potential link between Covid-19 shots that use messenger RNA technology and heart inflammation. A Miami Bitcoin conference, which sold at least 12,000 tickets and attended by mostly unmasked crowds, is emerging as a new Covid hotspot, according to attendees.

Chile announced a full lockdown in the capital city of Santiago and surrounding municipalities as the number of available hospital beds hit dangerously low levels.

Key Developments:

Bitcoin Gathering Was a Covid Hot Spot (6:30 a.m. HK)

Last week’s Bitcoin 2021 conference, which sold at least 12,000 tickets, brought mostly unmasked crowds together in Miami’s Wynwood arts district, was a hotspot for the outbreak, attendees said. There were also countless other gatherings and afterparties.

Cryptocurrency podcaster Luke Martin said he caught Covid-19 during the conference, one of the biggest events to take place in the U.S. since the pandemic began. Larry Cermak, research director at the Block, a cryptocurrency news and information website, said he hadn’t gotten it, but “everyone” whom he hung out with during the three days of conferencing and partying did.

The Miami conference had no vaccine verification and masking was rare. Although part of the event was outside, many Bitcoiners crowded into the warehouse-style space and private house parties. It’s wasn’t clear whether the attendees got the disease at the conference itself or at the gatherings. Some people came to town only for the networking.

Merkel’s G-7 Trip Unsettled by Hotel Outbreak (6:10 a.m. HK)

A Covid-19 outbreak in one of the G7 summit hotels set off alarm bells in the German delegation hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel’s arrival in the U.K.

Members of Merkel’s security detail were already staying in the Pedn Olva hotel, in the host town of St Ives, before local staff tested positive, according to a German official. For now, the security members have self-isolated, and the chancellor will attend the G-7 summit as planned, the person said, declining to be named because the details are confidential. German health authorities have declared Britain as high risk and travelers returning from the U.K. have to go into a two-week quarantine.

Royal Caribbean Says Two Guests Tested Positive (5:55 a.m. HK)

Two guests sharing a stateroom on the Celebrity Millennium tested positive at the required end-of-cruise testing, Royal Caribbean said.

The two were asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by the company’s medical team. The cruise operator is conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts and closely monitoring the situation.

U.K. Pledges 100 Million Doses Globally (5:52 p.m. NY)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. will start donating vaccines to countries in need within weeks, with at least 100 million surplus doses set to be distributed in the next year.

Johnson’s announcement comes after U.S. President Joe Biden promised to donate half a billion Pfizer Inc. vaccines to 92 lower income countries and the African Union. Group of Seven leaders meeting from Friday in the U.K. are expected to collectively provide a billion extra doses with the aim of inoculating 80% of the world’s adult population and ending the pandemic in 2022.

North Carolina Joins Vaccine Sweepstakes (4:54 p.m. NY)

North Carolina became the latest state to offer lottery winnings to jump-start a slowing pace of vaccinations. Governor Roy Cooper announced Thursday that four people 18 years and older who have received at least one dose would be eligible to win $1 million. Four people younger than 18 will win tuition for post-secondary education.

“A chance at a million dollars is pretty good motivation,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.

More than half a dozen states are offering lottery winnings to encourage vaccinations. At least one dose has been given to 44% of people in North Carolina, below the U.S. average of almost 52%, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

N.Y. Takes Aim at Fake Vaccine Cards (4:33 p.m. NY)

Forging coronavirus vaccination cards would be a felony in New York under a bill passed by state lawmakers on Thursday. The legislation, which aims to ensure individuals do not misrepresent their vaccination history, now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Many sports arenas, entertainment venues, and some businesses are requiring proof of vaccination. The state since March has issued more than 1 million of its first-in-the-nation digital Excelsior Passes, according to data from the governor’s office. The passes are being used by businesses to verify proof of vaccination.

China Province Sees Sicker Patients (4:22 p.m. NY)

More than 10% of Covid-19 patients in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, have become critically ill -- a higher percentage than in previous outbreaks in China, a local health official said at a media briefing, the Global Times reported.

Guan Xiangdong, a specialist with the local Covid-19 medical team, said he believed the reason was more virulent Covid strains. Many of the patients are senior citizens whose condition deteriorates quickly after the onset of symptoms, he said.

Kansas Blood Banks Face Shortages (2:24 p.m. NY)

The pandemic’s impact is causing emergency shortages at blood banks in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported Thursday. In the Kansas City metropolitan area alone, an estimated 25,000 blood donors have yet to return since the onset of Covid-19, the newspaper reported.

Chile Capital Locks Down (2:22 p.m. NY)

Chile announced a full lockdown in the capital city of Santiago and surrounding municipalities as the number of available hospital beds hits dangerously low levels and new cases remain high.

Santiago’s Metropolitan Region will go into full lockdown starting on June 12 at 5:00 a.m. local time, Health Ministry officials said on Thursday. The Health Ministry reported that the 7-day average of new cases remain above 7,000 per day, and that there are only 30 intensive care beds available in the Santiago, a region with a population of about 8 million inhabitants.

Biden Sets Date for Shipping Doses Worldwide (2:10 p.m. NY)

President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will begin shipping a half-billion donated doses of Pfizer Inc. coronavirus vaccines to countries in “dire need” in August, making good on a promise to lead the global campaign against the pandemic.

Biden said Thursday the U.S. purchase and donation of Pfizer’s shots would be the largest of any single country so far, and that the vaccines would come “with no strings attached” -- veiled criticism of Russia and China, which he’s accused of using vaccines as leverage in their foreign policy.

“We know the tragedy. We also know the path to recovery,” Biden said at Tregenna Castle in St. Ives, U.K. ahead of a Group of Seven summit. “The key to reopening and growing economies is to vaccinate your people.”

Earlier Thursday, U.S. officials said the Biden administration will slash in half its $4 billion commitment to the Covax international vaccine consortium to help pay for the purchase of the Pfizer shots.

CDC to Meet on Vaccine Heart Risk (12:09 p.m. NY)

U.S. public health advisers will meet to discuss a potential link between Covid-19 shots that use messenger RNA technology and heart inflammation after hundreds of vaccinated people experienced a condition called myocarditis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will gather on June 18 to discuss an increase in reported cases of the condition, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Covid vaccines made by Moderna Inc. and partners Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s use mRNA technology.

J&J Shelf Life Extended by FDA (12:07 p.m. NY)

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine can be kept in a refrigerator for four and a half months, extending the shot’s shelf life by 50%. the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided. As doses languish amid a slowing U.S. immunization campaign, concern has been growing that some shots could spoil before they are used.

U.K. Set to Delay Final Reopening (11:38 a.m. NY)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poised to delay the final stage of pandemic lockdown easing in England, in a blow to hospitality and entertainment businesses that want to see social-distancing rules dropped.

Johnson is due to announce on Monday whether he will lift remaining curbs, imposed in January to contain a wave of infections, on June 21.

Poland Eases Curbs (11:08 a.m. NY)

Poland will reopen discos, loosen limits for hotel occupancy, and allow for higher capacity at sports events, concerts and fairs from June 26. Fully-vaccinated people will be excluded from density limits. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that previous loosening of rules hasn’t boosted virus cases, evidence that vaccines are working.

Zambia Hits Record (11:07 a.m. NY)

Zambia reported record new infections amid a third viral wave, the health ministry said. The southern African nation reported 2,146 new cases on Thursday, with a 15% positive test rate, bringing the total cumulative number of infections to 105,909, with 1,332 deaths.

Japan May Lift Tokyo Emergency (9:39 a.m. NY)

The Japanese government is considering lifting a Covid-related state of emergency in most areas, including Tokyo and Osaka, as planned on June 20, the Mainichi newspaper reported, without citing how it got the information.

The government may maintain strict virus measures for about a month until the Tokyo Olympics kicks off, on July 23, even after the state of emergency is lifted. An official decision will be made in the second half of next week.

Delta Variant in 91% of U.K. Cases (9:24 a.m. NY)

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday the delta variant, first identified in India, accounts for 91% of new cases in the country.

Earlier, a U.K. study showed cases have more than doubled in the past week. The data comes less than a week before Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to decide whether to further ease lockdown rules. Cases are higher and increasing faster in the unvaccinated population, according to the study.

Moderna Files for Teen Clearance (8:32 a.m. NY)

Moderna Inc. filed for U.S. emergency-use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents. If approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it would be the second vaccine approved for this age group after Pfizer and BioNTech received authorization for use of their shot in teens in May.

Both vaccines are now being studied in younger children.

Goldman U.S. Workers to Report Vaccine Status (7:32 a.m. NY)

Goldman Sachs employees in the U.S. have to report their vaccination status by noon Thursday, the New York Times’s DealBook reports, citing a memo sent to employees this week who have not yet communicated their status.

Bankers won’t have to show proof of vaccination but will be asked to provide the date they received shots and the maker of the vaccine.

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