A version of this story appeared in the May 18 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
The coronavirus variant first identified in India has ravaged the nation, then spread into neighboring countries, causing immeasurable suffering. Scientists believe the variant, called B.1.617.2, could be more transmissible than the original Covid-19 strain. There is no evidence that it is causing more serious illness. But its higher transmissibility means the number of infections is rising a lot faster.
Now that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that nearly half of the US population has received at least one dose and more than a third of the country is fully vaccinated, Biden said he wants the US to “lead the world with our values.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has long campaigned for rich countries such as America to share its vaccines.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus went as far as saying it was a “grotesque” moral failure that some countries were vaccinating younger, healthy people at low risk of the disease while health workers in other countries still hadn’t been vaccinated.
The US doses will help plug some supply holes in COVAX, the worldwide vaccine sharing initiative, but they won’t be enough to make up for the serious shortages the scheme is facing.
The program had hoped to deliver 170 million doses to low-income countries by this week, but it is expected to reach 65 million doses instead, according to UNICEF, a partner with COVAX.
UNICEF said yesterday that the soaring demand for vaccines in India, a global powerhouse for vaccine production, is having a huge impact on availability. It said that at least 140 million doses intended for distribution through the end of May will not be available to COVAX. Another 50 million shots are likely to be missed in June.
But India, facing the worst impact of its catastrophic second wave, is itself running short on doses. The Delhi government said yesterday it has just four days’ worth of Covid-19 vaccines left. Two Indian states have already suspended vaccinations for people aged between 18-44 due to shortages.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q: Q: If nine fully vaccinated New York Yankees got infected, does that mean the vaccine doesn’t work?
A: At least 14 different Covid-19 vaccines have been used around the world so far, according to Gavi, the vaccine alliance.
But many more are being developed and tested in trials. Gavi said 25 shots are currently in Phase 3 trials, while a further 35 are in Phase 2 trials.
There has already been promising news this week about two vaccine candidates. Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline announced today that their vaccine candidate, made in Canada and derived from plants, has triggered a strong response in adults after two doses in a Phase 2/3 trial. Yesterday, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline also said their vaccine candidate showed a strong immune response in adults.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
A new Axios/Ipsos poll finds that 67% of American adults have either gotten a Covid-19 vaccine or will get it as soon as possible. And it seems likely that some people who were initially hesitant are actually getting a shot, as the percentage of vaccine hesitant is at its all-time low at 14% in the Ipsos data.
A coronavirus variant first detected in India in February has now gone global, spreading to dozens of countries and raising fears that the strain will overwhelm health care systems, reverse reopening plans and even potentially undermine the rollout of vaccines.
Experts believe the B.1.617 variant is driving the huge wave in infections seen across India in recent weeks. Here’s what you need to know about the new variant.
European leaders seized more power during the pandemic. Few have ‘exit plans’ to hand it back
Democratic norms have been seriously dented by a year of restrictions. Experts now fear power-hungry politicians could be reluctant to give up their near-total authority once the crisis is over, Luke McGee and Saskya Vandoorne report.
France is a good example. Last week, its parliament extended the state of emergency until late September and approved the introduction of a health pass, showing vaccination status, as well as curfews across the nation. This was seen as controversial by some of President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal allies: after all, instructing your citizens to be home by a certain time and tracking their medical information is hardly consistent with France’s liberal traditions.
Stranded Australians claim faulty Covid tests made them miss a repatriation flight
Australians who waited months to escape India as the coronavirus spread through the country say they lost a place on a repatriation flight provided by their government due to faulty Covid-19 testing.
As many as 10 passengers who were blocked from the repatriation flight after testing positive have since tested negative for Covid-19, according to Sunny Joura, who was barred from the flight after testing positive. His elderly mother, Darshan, tested negative but could not board the flight as she was a close contact. “My mother and I did not venture out of the house at all for 14 days prior to the pre-flight quarantine. We were double-masking all that time,” Joura said. Joura took another test soon after with a different provider – it was also negative.
ON OUR RADAR
- Delta Air Lines is requiring new employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine, making it one of the largest US companies to issue a mandate.
- Kenya is just weeks away from running out of vaccines with less than 2% of the population having had a first shot,
- Covid-19 vaccination drives were suspended in the Indian city of Mumbai today and in the state of Gujarat today and tomorrow because of Tropical Cyclone Tauktae, officials said.
- Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate showed a strong immune response and no safety concerns in a Phase 2 trial, the companies said today. A large Phase 3 trial of the vaccine is expected to begin in the coming weeks, they said.
- Another vaccinated New York Yankees staff member has tested positive for Covid-19, the ninth to do so in the last week. Eight of the nine were asymptomatic, according to the team.
- China has suspended its spring climbing season from the Tibetan side of Mount Everest. On the Nepali side, climbers are scrapping their expeditions over Covid-19 concerns.
- A Virginia mom who recruited four of her sons to work alongside her on the frontlines of the pandemic wants you to know: You don’t have to have a medical degree to help the fight.
TODAY’S TOP TIP
And if you feel the need to carry one with you for a time, if that provides you a degree of comfort, absolutely do so, he says.
That doesn’t mean you should ditch your mask. You still have to mask up on public transportation or if required by laws or regulations – that would apply to hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care settings, and even some local businesses and workplaces. Kids still have to mask up to go to school.
If you are immunocompromised, the CDC also recommends keeping your mask on, even if you are fully vaccinated. “If you have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may NOT be fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. Talk to your healthcare provider,” the CDC said in the new guidance.