Moderna booster increases antibodies against COVID-19 variants, early data shows - Yahoo News

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U.S. Pushes Vaccine Waiver; Japan’s Emergency: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. support for a waiver of patent protections for vaccines is heading to the World Trade Organization, with the European Union and China signaling a willingness to take part in the negotiations.India reported its highest-ever daily tally of 412,262 new virus cases and also a record 3,980 deaths. Indian drugmakers warned that a halt on some cargo flights from China could disrupt the global pharmaceutical supply chain.Asian authorities are taking steps to prevent an Indian-like wave of infections happening in their countries. The governors of Tokyo and Osaka called for their virus emergencies to be extended, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga set to decide Friday. Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia also toughened restrictions.Key DevelopmentsGlobal Tracker: Cases near 155.3 million; deaths exceed 3.24 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 1.21 billion doses have been givenModerna Covid booster shots prove effective against variants (Video)India’s struggle to track new Covid variants could worsen crisisVaccines work on this India variant. Experts fret about the nextA new wave of vaccines is coming, and they’re not all also-ransBroken ventilators add momentum to ‘right to repair’ movementSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.Russia Authorizes One-Dose Sputnik Vaccine (7:59 a.m. NY)Russia approved a single-dose version of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine after it showed almost 80% efficacy, according to the state-run fund that backed its development.The 79.4% efficacy rate of the vaccine, called Sputnik Light, is based on an analysis of real-world data rather than a standard clinical trial, and interim results from final-stage study are expected later this month, according to a statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Early and mid-stage studies showed no serious adverse events, RDIF said.U.S. Vaccine Patent Shock Roils Pharma (7:21 a.m. NY)The U.S.’s sudden support for a waiver of patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines headed to the World Trade Organization, setting the stage for potentially thorny negotiations over sharing the proprietary know-how needed to boost global supplies of the life-saving shots.“In terms of how soon the WTO can deliver -- that literally depends on the WTO members, collectively, being able to deliver,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an interview Wednesday. “I am the first one to admit that what we are leaning into is a process that is not going to be easy.”With the European Union and China signaling a willingness to take part in the debate after the Biden administration’s shock announcement, pharmaceutical executives reacted with anger and their stock prices tumbled worldwide.Moderna Says Vaccine 96% Effective in 12-to-17 Group (7:18 a.m. NY)Moderna Inc. said studies of its Covid vaccine in teenagers showed that it was 96% effective and raised its product sales projections for the year as it reported its first-ever profitable quarter.German Lawmakers Back Lockdown Exemptions (7:17 a.m. NY)German residents who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will be exempt from most lockdown rules under legislation approved Thursday in the lower house of parliament.The law, which also covers people who have recovered from Covid-19, is set to be voted on by the upper house on Friday and will likely take effect this weekend. For people considered immune, mandatory tests for trips to the hairdresser and non-essential stores will no longer be required, and the need to comply with curfews and quarantine rules will be waived.Von Der Leyen Defends EU Vaccination Drive (6:15 a.m. NY)The head of the European Union’s executive arm mounted a spirited defense of the bloc’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, taking a swipe at countries like the U.S. and the U.K. as she hailed her region as the world’s top vaccines exporter.“It is clear that our European vaccination campaign is a success,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told an online conference. “What counts is the steadily increasing daily delivery of vaccines to our people -- and to the world.”Biden’s Vaccine Path Gets Tougher as Tempo Slows (6 a.m. NY)President Joe Biden’s government is now giving an average of 2.13 million shots a day, down from 3.37 million about three weeks ago. And on Tuesday, which has the lowest shots of any day of the week, fewer than a million were given for the first time since February.In response, the administration announced this week that it would concentrate more on smaller clinics and mobile sites in rural areas, while planning to wind down mass-vaccination sites.Hungary Touts Pfizer to Buoy Campaign (5:28 p.m. HK)Hungary will make Pfizer and Moderna Covid shots widely available to the public as the nation seeks to keep up the pace of one of the European Union’s fastest vaccination campaigns.Authorities will make available as many as 180,000 vaccines from the two companies each week on an online vaccine registration platform, most of them from Pfizer, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas said at a briefing on Thursday.Australian Clots Tied to AstraZeneca Shot (2:25 p.m. HK)Five additional cases of a rare type of blood clot were identified in recipients of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine in Australia. All are receiving treatment, the company said in a statement Thursday. More cases of so-called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia are expected as the vaccine is offered to people older than 50 in Australia, said Katie Flanagan, president-elect of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases.Tokyo, Osaka Want Emergency Extensions (2:06 p.m. HK)Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would decide Friday on extending a state of emergency for Tokyo and three other regions, as he tries to stem a surge in Covid-19 infections ahead of the capital hosting the Olympics from July.Tokyo wants to extend a virus emergency currently in place and will soon seek approval for the move from Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in a bid to stem a surge in infections ahead of the capital hosting the Olympics from July.The major metro area of Osaka, where infection numbers have reached record highs in recent days, is also set to seek an extension, with Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura saying he has no other option.NZ Pauses Travel Bubble With NSW (1:52 p.m. HK)New Zealand Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said quarantine-free travel with the Australian state of New South Wales will be paused from 11:59 p.m. local time while the source of two Covid-19 cases in Sydney is investigated.Indemnity Clauses Stymie Africa Vaccine Drive (1 p.m. HK)A drive to get Africans vaccinated against the coronavirus is being hamstrung by governments’ reluctance to sign indemnity clauses, a preference for Pfizer Inc. vaccines over other more readily available shots and a lack of preparedness to distribute the inoculations.Delays in vaccinating the continent’s more than 1.3 billion people will likely lead to additional resurgences of the virus, may result in mutations that will potentially be more transmissible and could lead to economic damage associated with strict lockdowns. Less than 20 million people have been inoculated in Africa, with almost half of those living in Morocco, according to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker.Sydney Imposes Mask, Gathering Curbs (9:46 a.m. HK)Restrictions on gatherings are being imposed in Sydney and surrounding areas due to two Covid-19 cases detected in Australia’s most-populous city.From 5 p.m. Thursday, the maximum number of people allowed into homes will be 20, while singing and dancing in all indoor venues except those hosting weddings will be banned, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. Masks will be compulsory on public transport and in all public indoor venues, such as retail, theaters, hospitals and aged-care facilities. The restrictions will last until at least the end of the weekend.Hong Kong Vaccinations Pass 1 Million (9:03 a.m. HK)The number of people who have received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose has exceeded 1 million on Wednesday, Hong Kong’s government said. The vaccination program has been running since Feb, 26.Still, only about 13.4% of the Hong Kong population has received at least one dose, according to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker. That’s still well behind rival financial hubs like Singapore, London and New York.Thailand Steps Up Virus Stimulus Spending (8 a.m. HK)Thailand is planning to spend billions of dollars in providing financial relief to low-income groups to cope with the economic hit from the biggest Covid-19 outbreak sweeping the nation since the pandemic began.The cabinet gave in-principle approval on Wednesday for fiscal stimulus measures at a cost of 85.5 billion baht ($2.8 billion). It also proposed 140 billion baht worth of spending for co-payment and e-voucher programs and more cash handouts to welfare cardholders and special groups, officials said.Kuala Lumpur Tightens Movement Restrictions (8 a.m. HK)Malaysia tightened restrictions on movements in the capital Kuala Lumpur to stem the rise in new Covid-19 infections, a day after imposing similar curbs in Selangor, its richest state.The movement control order, or MCO, will stay in force from May 7 to May 20, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement on Wednesday, adding the protocols already in place for other areas under MCO will apply.Case Cluster at Hanoi Hospital Grows (7:23 a.m. HK)Vietnam reported eight more infections linked to a cluster in the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Campus of Dong Anh in Hanoi, taking the tally in the center to 22, the health ministry’s newspaper Suc Khoe Doi Song reported. Authorities in the northern province of Thai Binh ordered social distancing after reporting five infections tied to the cluster.Vietnam has ordered strict border control and mandatory quarantines of three weeks while imposing some movement restrictions as it traces the recent flare-up in coronavirus cases to overseas travelers.China Flight Halt May Snarl Supplies (6:50 a.m. HK)Drugmakers in India warn that a halt on some cargo flights from China could imperil an important link in the global pharmaceutical supply chain.The U.S. relies heavily on India to stock its medicine cabinets, and any slowdown in output could leave pharmacies short of drugs used regularly by millions of Americans.On April 26, China’s state-run Sichuan Airlines suspended cargo flights to India for 15 days amid an alarming second Covid-19 outbreak there. If the flights remain on hold, the drug industry fears “cascading effects on its entire supply chain,” Mahesh Doshi, national president for the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, wrote in an April 29 letter to India’s external affairs minister.(An earlier version of this story corrected the name of the virus)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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