Singapore Warns Hospitals Strained; U.S. Boosters: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore set a record with almost 4,000 daily cases, straining the city-state’s health care system. Authorities are monitoring the situation “to determine if this is a temporary spike or a further surge in infections.”

Bangkok’s vaccination rate topped 70%, as Thailand’s tourism-reliant economy seeks open up to quarantine-free visits from five nations. In Vietnam, the country is projecting an economic rebound in 2022 after underperforming this year due to the pandemic and delta variant, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

The U.S. is likely to recommend booster shots for people as young as 40 who received the Pfizer Inc. or Moderna Inc. vaccine, CNN reported. Pfizer’s inoculation is proving highly effective in keeping adolescents from being hospitalized with the disease, a U.S. analysis found. 

The U.S. will block entry to foreign travelers who have recovered from Covid-19 and then gotten one shot of a two-dose vaccine, a standard that France and the European Commission consider full inoculation.

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: Cases top 241.5 million; deaths surpass 4.9 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.73 billion shots given
• As U.K. cases surge, Israel offers a lesson in boosters
• Biden’s vaccine mandate rush faces slow walk in GOP-led states
• Alpha, delta and more. Why virus variants cause alarm: QuickTake

Roche Raises Sales, Profit Forecast on Covid Test Demand (1:13 p.m. HK)

Roche Holding AG raised its forecast for the year slightly, saying demand for its prescription drugs and Covid-19 tests will help sales and earnings rise in the mid-single digits.

The new outlook comes after revenue rose 8% in the first nine months of the year, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said. Roche’s previous forecast was for sales and earnings excluding some items to grow by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage.

Gates Backs Access to Merck’s Covid pill (12:01 p.m. HK)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said millions of courses of Merck & Co.’s promising pill for Covid-19 could begin to reach lower-income nations early next year as the charity kicks in as much as $120 million to widen global access to the therapy.

The funds will assist generic-drug manufacturers, some of which have indicated they could produce as many as 10 million treatments a month, according to Trevor Mundel, president of the global health division at the Gates Foundation.

The drug’s progress has been accompanied by concerns that lower-income nations struggling to obtain Covid vaccines could be left behind once again when it comes to therapies. The foundation is calling on other donors to devote resources to accelerating the rollout of Merck’s experimental molnupiravir to poorer nations if it’s approved.

Singapore Warns of Strain on Hospitals (11:10 a.m. HK)

Covid-19 cases are in danger of stretching the country’s health care system to its limits, even as strict rules designed to curb the current outbreak are set to be reviewed within days. 

The peak in new daily cases was likely due to a post-weekend surge, the Ministry of Health said, though it will continue monitoring cases to determine if it was a trend. 

“The number of persons requiring ICU care continues to rise, and this has put our hospitals under significant pressure and strain,” according to the ministry. It asked residents to limit their social activities, especially the elderly population, and go out only for essential outings.

Vietnam Predicts Faster Growth (11:04 a.m. HK)

The southeast Asian nation is seeking to revive manufacturing and exports after a crippling coronavirus outbreak, the prime minister said.

“The country faced increasing difficulties with the outbreak of the delta variant,” which challenged the resiliency of its economy, Chinh said in an address to the National Assembly.

The ravages of the Covid-19 delta variant sent GDP plunging 6.17% in the third quarter, the worst performance since the government started tracking the figure. 

Bangkok Hits 70% Vaccination Rate (9:25 a.m. HK)

Thailand’s capital has administered at least two doses of vaccine to 71% of its adult population, paving the way for the city to welcome back inoculated visitors without a mandatory quarantine from Nov. 1. The inoculation rate is projected to reach 80% by the end of this month, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Thailand is set to allow quarantine-free visits from five nations including the U.S., U.K. And Singapore starting next month as it seeks to revive its tourism-reliant economy. The country reported 8,918 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the lowest single-day tally since July 13.

New Zealand May Ease Quarantine Measures (8:52 a.m. HK)

Chris Hipkins, Covid-19 Response Minister, said the changing nature of the pandemic in New Zealand may lead to changes to the country’s border controls, with the possibility of shorter stays in government-managed isolation facilities and increased use of self-isolation for people coming into the country. 

Bidens Not Deemed Exposed After Mayorkas Tests Positive (6:30 a.m. HK)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden aren’t considered close-contact exposures to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who tested positive three days after attending an outdoor event with them.

Biden, who received his booster shot three weeks ago, isn’t considered at risk because his most recent encounter was more than 48 hours before the positive test and occurred outdoors, the White House said. The fully vaccinated Mayorkas tested positive Tuesday morning as part of routine check before a planned trip, according to his department. Mayorkas is experiencing mild congestion and will isolate and work from home.

Pregnancy Changes Immune Response to Vaccine: Study (5:02 a.m. HK)

Pregnant and breast-feeding women appear to respond relatively weakly to their first vaccine dose, according to a study that indicates the importance of them receiving both doses of standard regimens. Immune responses to a single dose of vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech SE were weaker than in a group of nonpregnant women, according to the study released Tuesday by Science Translational Medicine. 

Pfizer Shot Prevents Hospitalization in Teens (1 p.m. NY)

Pfizer’s vaccine proved highly effective in keeping adolescents from being hospitalized with the disease, according to a new analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among children age 12 to 18, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot were 93% effective in preventing Covid hospitalization, the agency said. The real-world data was gathered from 19 children’s hospitals from June to September, after U.S. regulators cleared the shot for people age 12 to 15.

The analysis of 464 patients compared those admitted with Covid to others in the hospital who didn’t have the disease. Nearly all of those hospitalized for Covid – 97% – were unvaccinated, compared to about two-thirds of the control group that was unvaccinated.

The delta variant predominated during the study period, and pediatric hospitalizations reached their highest levels in early September, the CDC said. About half of adolescents 12 to 17 have been fully vaccinated in the U.S. so far. Only the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is authorized for people under 18 in the U.S. so far.

GE Requires Worker Vaccinations (12:55 p.m. NY)

General Electric Co. will require its roughly 56,000 employees in the U.S. to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, or receive a medical or religious exemption by that date, the company said in a statement. GE is a federal contractor and said it will comply with Biden’s order mandating vaccines for workers at those companies.

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