U.S. Said to Prepare Booster Plan; Deaths Double: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

The Biden administration is at work on a plan to offer coronavirus booster shots as early as October, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the effort.

The seven-day average of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. reached 645 on Friday, almost doubling in two weeks to reach the highest point since May, as the delta variant pushes deeper into the country. The U.S. reported almost 1 million vaccine doses on Saturday, the most for a single day since early July.

French demonstrators filled the streets again against Covid-19 health passes required for entry to many public places. Russian deaths hit a record, as cases in Germany rose the most since May.

Key Developments:

Thailand Cases Surpass 20,000 for Fifth Day (9:03 a.m. HK)

Thailand reported more than 20,000 new daily Covid cases for a fifth straight day as about a month of quasi-lockdown measures in areas covering around 40% of the population including the greater Bangkok area failed to ease an outbreak.

The Southeast Asian nation also reported 209 new Covid deaths. Cumulative fatalities have more than doubled to 7,500 in the past month alone.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha is scheduled to hold a meeting of the nation’s main Covid task force on Monday to review the containment measures amid warnings from health officials that new cases may double by the middle of next month if the current trend continues. Anti-government groups have held near-daily protests over the past couple of weeks, calling for Prayuth’s resignation and greater access to vaccines.

Australia Secures 1 Million More Pfizer Doses (8:51 a.m. HK)

Australia secured an extra 1 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses as the nation battles an outbreak of the delta variant that’s placed Sydney in lockdown for more than seven weeks.

The doses were secured in a deal with Poland and will arrive Sunday, adding to the 40 million that Australia had already contracted to be delivered by Pfizer, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. More than half will be sent directly to areas of Sydney hardest-hit by the outbreak, in a bid to boost inoculation rates among people aged between 20 and 39.

The prime minister has been criticized for the nation’s tardy vaccine rollout, which has seen less than 20% of the population receive both jabs. New South Wales state had 415 new cases, down from Saturday’s record of 466, and 4 more deaths, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

New U.S. Vaccinations Near 1 Million (7:35 a.m. HK)

The U.S. reported almost 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses on Saturday, the most for a single day since early July, reflecting a faster pace of inoculation as the delta variant spreads.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported almost 991,000 doses given nationwide. That is more than double a low point of less than 400,000 in mid-July.

Several states hit hardest by the recent surge in infections have reported increased vaccinations, including Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. However, Florida, which broke a record for weekly cases on Friday, reported vaccinations falling week over week.

U.K. to Vaccinate 16- and 17-Year-Olds Within Week (7 a.m. HK)

The U.K. is aiming to offer a first dose of the vaccine to all 16- and 17-year-olds by Aug. 23, Health and Social Secretary Sajid Javid said on Sunday. That should give them protection before returning to school in September.

Notifications will be sent out to thousands of young people by text and letter to be vaccinated at more than 800 sites, according to a U.K. government statement. NHS England also launched a new online walk-in site finder to help them find the nearest available center, and further locations will be available in the coming days and weeks, according to a government statement.

The U.K. has one of the fastest inoculation programs in the world, and more than 75% of adults are fully vaccinated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson fully re-opened the economy in July, right when infections appeared to be reaching their peak. While virus reproduction numbers are now in retreat, health authorities are still warning against complacency.

Texas Takes Mask Fight to State’s High Court (6:46 a.m. HK)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is asking the state Supreme Court to jump into his highly charged campaign to smack down county officials who defied his ban on public mask requirements.

The governor and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton decided to escalate the fight to the state’s highest court after two mid-level appeals courts sided with renegade local officials in Dallas and Bexar counties.

The county officials said surging Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations required the drastic step of ignoring the governor’s edict and instituting mandatory mask rules for all public schools, municipal facilities and public transportation.

Israel Expands Booster Eligibility (4:59 p.m. NY)

Israel administered 70,000 booster shots this weekend, as people between the ages of 50 and 59 became eligible, according to the Haaretz newspaper. Almost 846,000 booster shots have been given so far and another 100,000 people have signed up, the newspaper reported.

Infections are rising quickly in a nation where 80% of adults are fully vaccinated. Experts are divided about who would benefit most from a third shot -- and even about the efficacy of boosters themselves. It is the first nation to widely distribute third doses, beginning last month to administer shots to people over 60 years old after a sharp rise in cases among the fully vaccinated.

U.S. Plan for Boosters in Works, Times Reports (2:50 p.m. NY)

The Biden administration is at work on a plan to offer coronavirus booster shots as early as October, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the effort.

The shots would likely go first to people in nursing homes and health care workers, then to older people who were eligible when vaccines became available in December, the newspaper reported. The U.S. has a stockpile of at least 100 million doses.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has only approved another dose for people whose immune systems are compromised, and it’s not considered a booster but rather a third shot for those who did not generate enough immunity when vaccinated. Federal health officials have so far said publicly they do not see the need for boosters, as experts debate how quickly vaccine efficacy declines over time.

N.Y. Hits Second Week of Double-Digit Deaths (1:16 p.m. NY)

New York state reported 13 deaths, the eighth consecutive day of double-digit fatalities. Three weeks ago, fatalities fell to just one for two straight days, but have been steadily rising in August along with cases, hospitalizations and other indicators of Covid-19’s spread. The death rate remains low: Florida is reporting an average of more than 150 deaths a day from Covid-19.

New York’s seven-day average of positive test results, which was 0.5% in early July, has risen to more than 3% this week. The U.S. average is almost 10%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden Backs School Districts Defying Governors (12 p.m. NY)

President Joe Biden backed school district leaders in Florida’s Broward County and Phoenix for issuing mask-wearing requirements in defiance of state bans, according to a White House official.

In phone calls Friday with Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent Chad Gestson and Broward Country Public Schools interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, Biden praised their courage for opposing measures enacted by governors and standing up for the safety of students, teachers and schools, according to the official.

Opposition to face coverings by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Arizona’s Doug Ducey, both Republicans, have triggered conflict as the new U.S. school year gets under way. The Biden administration said this week it would seek to channel federal relief funds to school districts that face funding cuts due to Republican restrictions on mask mandates, in particular in Florida.

Hospitalization of U.S. Seniors Rise (11:25 a.m. NY)

The Covid-19 wave that has recently struck young people in the U.S. has ensnared the country’s elderly population, with hospitalizations among seniors in some hot-spot states nearing their previous peaks.

In Florida, the rate of new daily Covid-19 hospitalization among the 70-and-over age group is as high as it was in January -- a possible signal of more mortality ahead since seniors have been much more susceptible to severe outcomes. Hospital admissions of the elderly also have jumped in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Vaccines are still proving highly effective at protecting the inoculated from severe disease, even with the fast-spreading delta variant. But the virus is finding ways to circulate as menacingly as ever. The toll on many hospitals has been devastating.

U.S. Deaths Almost Double (11:10 a.m. NY)

The seven-day average of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. reached 645 on Friday, almost doubling in two weeks to reach the highest point since May, as the delta variant pushes deeper into the country.

Daily infections are up about 66% over the same period and are back at levels last seen in early February -- the average topping 128,000 as of Friday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

Fatalities are much lower than in the previous surge over the New Year, with more than half the total population now fully vaccinated and almost 60% with at least one dose, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Oregon Sends National Guard to Hospitals (11:07 a.m. NY)

Governor Kate Brown deployed 500 members of the Oregon National Guard on Friday to support hospitals that have been hit with a record number of Covid-19 patients. She spoke the day a renewed mandatory mask order went in place statewide in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

“I cannot emphasize enough the seriousness of this crisis,” the Democratic governor said in a video message, adding that 733 people were hospitalized, 185 of them in intensive care. “When our hospitals are full with Covid-19 patients, there may not be a room for someone needing care after a car crash or a heart attack or other emergency situation.”

She said that as many as 1,500 guardsmembers would be available “to support hospital workers as needed.”

French Protesters Keep Up Pressure (10:34 a.m. NY)

Protesters against France’s so-called health pass system are holding marches for a fifth Saturday in a row. Police officials expect around 250,000 people to attend the protests nationwide, compared with about 237,000 a week ago, Agence France-Presse reported. The protests began after President Emmanuel Macron announced in July that the passes -- which show proof of testing or immunization via vaccination or having had the disease -- would become mandatory to get into restaurants, cafes and some other venues. The announcement also prompted a surge in vaccinations in the country.

Egypt Receives Fresh Supplies of Vaccines (7:54 a.m. NY)

An additional 1.77 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine arrived in Cairo late on Friday via the Covax facility, the United Nations Children’s Fund said in a statement. It’s the third shipment under the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access program.

Egypt is among the few countries that offer vaccinations to refugees and migrants as well as its own citizens.

Russian Deaths at Record (5:10 a.m. NY)

Russia reported 819 new deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday -- its biggest-ever daily tally. The rising toll is being driven by the delta strain, though on a more positive note daily new cases have leveled off, with the latest figures showing them up just 0.3% to 22,144.

Mask-Wearing Urged in Belgium (5:10 a.m. NY)

Belgium may require face masks at work and schools throughout the winter, according to advice from government scientists reported by the Belga news service. Coronavirus-related measures would be linked to hospitalizations, with the lowest alarm level requiring masks at work or higher education. Secondary-school pupils may need masks if more than 30 Covid patients are admitted to hospital every day. Children would be home-schooled if more than 95 patients are hospitalized per day. The government must still decide whether to accept the advice.

Cases Surge in Germany (2:50 p.m. HK)

Germany reported 5,644 new coronavirus infections Saturday, the biggest daily increase since the end of May. A week ago, the number stood at 3,206.

The seven-day incidence -- a measure used by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to decide on pandemic restrictions -- continued to rise and reached a level last seen at the beginning of June.

Germany must “hold out once again until spring,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a video conference Friday with his party’s parliamentary group, according to the Bild-Zeitung newspaper. “The fourth wave is coming. But we have not yet vaccinated enough people that a burden on the health system can be excluded.”

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