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https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/covid-2021-03-24
What to Know
- Newly reported U.S. cases ticked up, as vaccinations rose.
- The U.K. and EU sought to defuse a vaccine supply fight after the EU set out a plan to broaden export controls.
- Hong Kong suspended distribution of BioNTech's vaccine while it investigates packaging issues in a certain batch.
- Most Asian countries have administered doses to less than 3% of their populations.
- Find out how to get a vaccine with the Journal’s state-by-state guide. See how vaccine distribution is going here.
Vaccinations in the U.S. have ramped up, with more than a quarter of Americans now having received at least one shot and nearly 14% fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More states are expanding eligibility to all adults. Utah and Arizona opened access to residents aged 16 and up Wednesday, while Georgia will do so Thursday and Texas and Ohio will follow on Monday.
Newly reported U.S. cases, meanwhile, appear to have stagnated, as public-health officials warn about the relaxing of social-distancing guidelines and the spread of highly contagious variants.
Globally, vaccination efforts continue to face roadblocks. The European Union is expected to put in place a plan that would make it easier for the bloc’s governments to block vaccine exports, raising the stakes in a standoff over vaccine exports with the U.K. And in Asia, countries that succeeded in containing Covid-19 have now fallen behind much of the West in the race toward herd immunity.
EU, U.K. Seek to End Covid-19 Vaccine Fight as Bloc Broadens Export Controls
The U.K. and European Union said they were working on steps to defuse a fight over vaccine supplies after the EU set out a plan that would make it easier for the bloc’s governments to block Covid-19 vaccine exports.
After days of talks among senior U.K. and EU officials, the two sides said they were discussing specific steps to work together to expand vaccine deliveries.
“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take—in the short-, medium- and long term—to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens,” the statement said.
It wasn’t clear exactly what steps were under discussion, and officials said talks would continue on these in the coming days.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, set out a proposal Wednesday that would give the bloc’s governments more powers to block vaccine exports. The proposal is mainly aimed at the U.K, which left the EU last year and has imported millions of doses from the bloc but hasn’t exported any.
EU leaders are expected to give broad backing to the proposal at a virtual meeting Thursday, with a formal signoff coming in the next few weeks. However, the real test will be how actively leaders decide the proposed powers should be used.
Slaoui Fired From Startup’s Board Over Sexual Harassment Allegations
Moncef Slaoui, a veteran pharmaceuticals industry executive who helped lead the U.S. government’s investment in Covid-19 vaccine development, has been fired as chairman of the board of a biotechnology startup backed by GlaxoSmithKline and Google-parent Alphabet following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
Glaxo, a U.K.-based drug-maker, received a letter last month alleging that Dr. Slaoui several years ago had committed acts of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct toward a Glaxo employee, Glaxo Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said in a company-wide email to employees reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The alleged misconduct occurred while Dr. Slaoui was employed by Glaxo, where he led the company’s vaccines unit and sat on the board of directors before retiring in 2017.
Glaxo said it hired a law firm to conduct an investigation and that the law firm substantiated the allegations.
The investigation led to the termination of Dr. Slaoui’s job as chairman of Galvani Bioelectronics, a medical research company formed as a joint venture by Glaxo and Alphabet subsidiary Verily Life Sciences, Glaxo said. Glaxo is Galvani’s majority shareholder.
“Dr. Slaoui’s behaviours represent an abuse of his leadership position and violate our company policies, our values, and our commitment to Trust,” Ms. Walmsley said in the email to employees.
Dr. Slaoui didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
How a Promising Covid-19 Vaccine Lost Its Way—And Found It Again
BERLIN—Early last year, Ingmar Hörr was at the forefront of the world’s race to make the first Covid-19 vaccine. The company he had founded and was leading, CureVac, had developed a promising candidate using largely untested technology he pioneered.
Then, he suffered a crippling stroke that left him in a coma for weeks. Even as he regained consciousness, he couldn’t remember his name and briefly feared he had been abducted by Russian spies.
While he recovered in the hospital under a fake identity, a rival German biotech company, Pfizer partner BioNTech, went on to develop the West’s first vaccine using the same mRNA technology.
Now back on his feet, Mr. Hörr has re-entered the race. This is the story of the blow that almost ended his life and of how he recovered as CureVac’s vaccine effort got back on track.
Compared with many rivals, CureVac was late in submitting its vaccine for review in Europe—and it now expects approval there by June. But the shot could be a godsend for Europe in particular, which has been trailing the U.S. and the U.K. in vaccinations.
Initial data suggests it can be stored at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, or 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, and could prove easier to manufacture, distribute and administer than many competing shots. CureVac has agreed to deliver 405 million doses to the European Union and is working with Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer to produce the shot. It is also cooperating with Tesla, which is developing portable RNA printers that could be deployed to Covid-19 hot spots to quickly produce vaccines on the ground.
As Covid-19 Cases Stagnate, U.S. Vaccinations Pick Up
Newly reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose slightly, while Covid-19 vaccination campaigns continued to ramp up, with more than a quarter of the country having received at least one dose.
The U.S. reported 52,878 new cases for Tuesday, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Tuesday’s total was slightly higher than Monday’s revised tally of 50,584, and close to the 53,811 reported a week earlier.
The seven-day average of newly reported cases, which helps smooth out irregularities in data reporting, stood at 53,308 on Tuesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data. The 14-day average was 54,043. When the 14-day average is higher than the seven-day average, it indicates cases are falling. But the gap between the two metrics has been narrowing over the past week, remaining below 1,000, and over the weekend, the seven-day average overtook the 14-day average. In 28 states, the seven-day average is higher than the 14-day, signaling a rise in cases in some places.
Hospitalizations continued to decline but, like cases, more slowly. States reported around 40,000 Covid-19 patients in their hospitals, according to the latest data posted by the Department of Health and Human services.
The nation reported 894 Covid-19 fatalities for Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to more than 543,800, according to Johns Hopkins data.
With newly reported cases flattening following a steep drop from January records, public-health officials have increasingly sounded the alarm over relaxing social-distancing guidelines and over the spread of highly contagious variants.
The new variants pose a threat to progress on vaccinations, Andy Slavitt, President Biden’s senior adviser on Covid-19, said Tuesday. Speaking at a health forum hosted by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Slavitt warned that a highly transmissible U.K. variant accounted for a rise in Covid-19 infections in Florida.
Mr. Slavitt said the public should remain vigilant despite an acceleration in the pace of vaccinations.
“If people decide that now is the time they want to let down their guard…and not wear a mask or get on an airplane or what have you, because they think they see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not time to do that yet,” he said.
Around 25.3% of Americans have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and an average of 2.5 million doses a day have been administered over the past week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccination levels vary by state. In New Mexico, 33.5% of residents have had at least one shot, while 20.3% are fully vaccinated. In Georgia, which along with Texas announced plans to expand vaccine eligibility to all adults Tuesday, 19.4% of residents have received one vaccine dose and 11% are fully vaccinated.
Quick to Contain Covid-19, Asia Trails West in Vaccinations
Asian countries that succeeded in containing Covid-19 have now fallen behind much of the West in the race toward herd immunity.
Most have administered doses to less than 3% of their populations, according to Our World in Data, a project based at Oxford University. compared with at least one dose to around 25% of the population in the U.S., and 41% in the U.K. this week.
Countries like China, South Korea and Australia have been under less pressure to vaccinate because they have been so successful at containing the virus. Their economies were also more resilient last year.
But without herd immunity, countries risk introducing new cases of Covid-19 if they loosen border controls and social-distancing restrictions. Retaining those measures, though, weighs on their economies by making it harder to attract investors, foreign workers, tourists and students.
Hong Kong Halts BioNTech Vaccination Pending Packaging Inspection
Officials in Hong Kong temporarily suspended distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine made by BioNTech, while authorities investigate packaging issues related to a certain batch.
The government said Wednesday it had received notice from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., which distributes the vaccine in the region, that a batch labeled 210102 could have packaging defects associated with the seals on vials containing the doses.
Officials said that while there was no reason to suspect issues with product safety, it would suspend vaccinations using the shot during the investigation period. Hong Kong's Director of Health Constance Chan told reporters that vaccination program staff had previously reported close to 60 incidents including vials that had cracks or stains on the glass, loose seals and containers that had air pressure issues.
"At this point, we have no reason to believe there is any safety risk posed to the population," a BioNTech spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson added that no other region had been supplied with doses from the batch and that no other batches shipped to other regions were affected by the investigation.
It was unknown how lengthy the suspension period would be. Some people who had been due to get vaccinated at government centers early Wednesday reported they were told to go home for the day and rebook their appointments.
The city has so far seen a relatively low vaccination uptake, despite authorities widening eligibility for all residents over the age of 30 last week. Many people in the city have adopted a “wait and see” approach amid single-digit case numbers in recent days. About 403,000 people in the city of 7.5 million had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose as of late Tuesday, with BioNTech shots accounting for 150,200 of those, according to government data.
Covid-19 vaccinations in Hong Kong are free and people are given a choice of two vaccines, one from Sinovac Biotech and one from BioNTech.
The city said its Department of Health held an emergency meeting with Fosun Pharma on Wednesday, and that Fosun Pharma and BioNTech have initiated an investigation. Hong Kong also has a batch labeled 210104, which officials said would remain sealed and unused temporarily.
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