Biden Offers Money for Vaccine Boost; German Surge: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration will offer drug manufacturers, including Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., funding to expand domestic production capacity of mRNA vaccines by 1 billion doses a year by the second half of 2022.

New infections in Germany rose to a record and deaths from Covid-19 reached the highest level in six months. The country will delay some vaccine donations earmarked for low-income nations to make sure it has a sufficient supply of booster shots.

An adviser to China’s government said he hopes the country will gradually loosen its strict approach to battling the coronavirus after Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics. The capital is tightening curbs further even after new infections in the latest outbreak fell to single digits.

Key Developments:

U.S. to Fund Vaccine Output Boost (9:25 a.m. NY)

The White House will offer drug manufacturers, including Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., funding to expand domestic production capacity of mRNA vaccines by 1 billion doses a year by the second half of 2022.

The plan, described by officials familiar with the matter ahead of an announcement Wednesday, is aimed at increasing availability of Covid-19 vaccines and also building capacity to address any future pandemic. The move, if realized, could see the U.S. consolidate more production of vaccines on its home soil. 

EU Regulator Starts Evaluating Novavax Shot (9:10 a.m. NY)

The European Medicines Agency has started evaluating Novavax’s application for conditional marketing authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine. The assessment will proceed under an accelerated time line, and an opinion on the authorization could be issued within weeks.

French Official Cites Fifth Wave (7:36 a.m. NY)

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters after a cabinet meeting that France “has entered a fifth wave of the epidemic with a rising number of infections,” and said the country was “on alert.” He added that France is in a better situation than neighboring countries thanks to the so-called health pass, which makes vaccination effectively necessary to resume a normal life. 

Croatia Weighs Sanctions Over Covid (7:32 a.m. NY)

Croatia is considering sanctions for people in violation of the government’s rules to fight the pandemic, including for those who incite civil disobedience over the measures, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told Cabinet on Wednesday. The European Union member in recent weeks has been one of the hardest hit nations, along with Slovenia and Estonia.

Malaysia Approves Boosters (6:51 a.m. NY)

Malaysia granted conditional approval for the use of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines as Covid booster doses to individuals aged 40 years and above, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a tweet. Previously, only the Pfizer-BioNTech shot had received conditional approval for use as a booster.

Summer Flu in South Africa Blamed on Covid (6:38 a.m. NY)

An unusual outbreak of influenza in South Africa’s summer months is likely due to the relaxation of pandemic restrictions and a drop in immunity following a two-year hiatus in flu cases because of those curbs, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said. The number of influenza cases detected more than tripled in the week ended Nov. 7 from 10 weeks earlier, the NICD said Wednesday.

Beijing Tightens Curbs (5:22 p.m. HK)

Beijing is tightening restrictions further, even after China’s outbreak receded to fewer than 10 new daily infections. Authorities in the capital have asked residents living in districts that have reported infections to avoid leaving the city unless necessary. Local entertainment venues will deny entry to people from anywhere in the country with a Covid case in the past two weeks, in addition to operating at 75% of capacity.

Germany Delays Some Covax Donations (4:30 p.m. HK)

Germany has delayed donations to Covax, the World Health Organization-backed program to distribute vaccines around the world, to ensure sufficient supply for its booster campaign, Health Minister Jens Spahn said. Some Covax donations planned for December are now being pushed to January and February, Spahn said. 

P-town Outbreak Yields Insights (4 p.m. HK)

Four months after a widely publicized outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, researchers studying those who contracted the virus are gaining important insights into the immunity-bolstering effects of natural infection after vaccination. Their findings offer clues about the immune protection needed for the coronavirus to cease being a public-health menace and, ultimately, to end the pandemic.

Glaxo to Supply U.S. With Covid Treatment (3:48 p.m. HK)

GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Vir Biotechnology Inc. will supply $1 billion worth of doses of their antibody treatment to the U.S. in the next month. The companies announced a contract on Wednesday that brings the number of doses ordered to 750,000 worldwide. The medicine, sotrovimab, can prevent Covid patients from becoming severely ill.

Malaysia Cases Climb Before Polls (3:38 p.m. HK)

New cases in Malaysia rose above the 6,000 mark for the first time in five days and the reproduction factor of the virus edged above the key threshold of 1, raising concerns about a worsening outbreak heading into state elections in Malacca and Sarawak.

German Cases Surge (3:05 p.m. HK)

Germany reported another record increase in cases, and the seven-day incidence rate climbed to a new high. There were 52,826 new cases in the 24 hours through early Wednesday, the incidence rate rose to 319.5, and a further 294 people died from Covid-19, the most in more than six months.

With the country’s fourth wave spreading, and the inoculation campaign in stasis, the head of Germany’s vaccination committee, Thomas Mertens, signaled that it might update its advice on who should get Covid booster shots. The recommendation could be extended to people aged 18 or older, instead of the current one which focuses on elderly people or those most at risk, he said late Tuesday.

China Jet Fuel Demand to Drop (2:55 p.m. HK)

Recent waves of Covid-19 in China may have curbed domestic jet fuel demand by more than 30% in some months, Fenglei Shi, an associate director of oil markets at IHS Markit, said in an email interview. Overall, the impact could account for more than 10% of domestic consumption on a quarterly average basis versus a non-resurgence scenario.

Record Numbers in Czech Republic (2:50p.m. HK)

The Czech Republic had a record number of new cases on Tuesday. The country of 10.7 million people reported 22,479 new infections, almost double from a week ago. The outgoing government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis is meeting Thursday to debate how to stem the spread. 

Philippines Clears Novavax Shot (1:46 p.m. HK)

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration has allowed the emergency use of Novavax’s vaccine, the regulator’s head Eric Domingo said. The shot, under the brand name Covovax, will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. The Southeast Asian nation has also allowed colleges and universities in the capital and other areas under the three lowest alert levels to hold in-person classes. Only fully-vaccinated teachers and students can attend, and classrooms will only be at half capacity.

Air travel in the Philippines is seeing signs of recovery as local restrictions on movement are relaxed, even as the country remain shut off to foreign tourists.

Japan Pfizer Shots (1:30 p.m. HK)

Japan plans to start administering Pfizer’s Covid vaccine to those under 12 years of age in February if experts approve, broadcaster NHK reported, without saying where it got the information. The ministry has told local governments to be prepared for the rollout.

Disneyland Closed Wednesday (12:51 p.m. HK)

The Disneyland Park will be closed on Wednesday to ensure staff can complete Covid tests sooner, Disneyland said on its website after it was put on the government’s mandatory test list. Visitors, staff members who were at the park between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 14 are required to undergo testing by Thursday as the park was previously visited by preliminary positive imported cases, according to the government.

Accor Sees Travel Revival (11:41 a.m. HK)

Travel should spring back to pre-Covid levels by around early 2023, according to Accor SA, one of the world’s largest hospitality groups with a portfolio of 40 hotel brands spanning 110 countries. 

“Business is back, much stronger than expected, people are eager to travel,” Chief Executive Officer Sebastien Bazin said in a television interview at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

China Infections Fall (11:38 a.m. HK)

China reported eight infections on Wednesday, all in one province, as the country’s new cases dropped to single digits for the first time in its latest delta outbreak. All of the locally transmitted cases were found in northeastern Liaoning province, according to the National Health Commission. The number of new infections has fallen for three consecutive days, after peaking at more than 100 daily during the broadest outbreak it’s experienced since Covid first emerged two years ago.

China Reopening Efforts (11:06 a.m. HK)

Henry Wang Huiyao, an adviser to China’s State Council and founder of an influential Chinese think-tank, said a closer collaboration between Washington, Beijing and the World Health Organization could help open up the country. China has largely isolated itself as it follows a “Covid Zero” approach to suppressing the virus.

“There’s a lack of leadership on the global fighting of the pandemic,” Wang, president of the Center for China & Globalization, said in an interview from the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. “There’s a need for having that so we can facilitate travel, the movement of people, and even for Chinese government officials to visit other countries.”

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