AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate produced a strong immune response in older people, the Financial Times reported. Johnson & Johnson said the first batches of its injection could be available in January. Both companies are resuming trials that had been stopped for safety reasons.
Spain announced a national curfew and Italy introduced the strongest measures since May. Australia’s state of Victoria will dismantle most restrictions and allow retailers to reopen.
J&J Sees Covid-19 Vaccine Available From January
Johnson & Johnson’s first batches of its Covid-19 vaccine could be available for emergency use starting in January, said Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, the company’s director of public health research and development, in a presentation at the World Summit. Of the health.
The timeline coincides with that previously provided by the US drugmaker, which said on Friday it plans to restart a large trial of the late-stage vaccine that had been halted due to safety concerns. The 60,000-person study is expected to have initial results by the end of the year.
Retailers to reopen in the state of Australia
One of the world’s tightest and longest lockdowns to control a surge in coronavirus cases will finally end this week, with Australia’s state of Victoria dismantling most of the restrictions starting Wednesday and allowing retailers to reopen.
Restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars will be able to serve a maximum of 20 people indoors starting Wednesday, while they can serve up to 50 customers outdoors, Prime Minister Daniel Andrews told reporters. He also said that as of November 8, travel restrictions that have seen the state capital Melbourne cut off from the rest of Victoria will be lifted.
Astra Shot produces response in the elderly: FT
The AstraZeneca vaccine has produced a robust immune response in older people, the Financial Times reported, citing two unidentified people familiar with the finding. The vaccine, which AstraZeneca is producing in collaboration with the University of Oxford, produced protective antibodies and T cells in older age groups, the FT reported.
The findings from immunogenicity blood tests performed on a subset of older participants echo data published in July that showed the vaccine elicited “robust immune responses” in healthy adults ages 18 to 55, according to the report. Oxford declined to comment to the FT.
Cases from India continue to decelerate trend
India added 45,148 more cases on Monday, government data showed, the lowest daily figure since late July. The country, which has the second-highest number of infections after the United States, has averaged about 52,000 cases a day over the past week, after reaching nearly 100,000 in September. The slowdown comes as the US reports more infections, topping 80,000 for two days in a row.
China faces outbreak in Kashgar region
China has screened nearly three million people in Xinjiang province to tackle a cluster of coronavirus cases, in the latest example of the country’s aggressive approach to controlling new outbreaks.
A 17-year-old teenager from Kashgar prefecture was found to have contracted the virus through routine testing. Subsequent tests found 137 cases, all related to a factory where the teenager’s parents worked. Each of the cases was asymptomatic, according to Xinjiang health authorities.
Free trials are being rolled out for nearly 4.75 million people in Kashgar, in the far west of China. As of 2 p.m. Sunday, 2.83 million people had been tested, while 334,800 people had already tested negative.
WHO’s Tedros sees a ‘dangerous moment’
Countries must “strike a fine balance” between protecting their people and minimizing social and economic damage as cases arise, said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“This is a dangerous time for many countries in the Northern Hemisphere as cases increase,” Tedros told a Berlin-based World Health Summit online meeting. “We still have a long way to go.” He urged that vaccines, once available, spread to “some people in all countries rather than all people in some countries.”
New French Cases Top 50,000
France reported record new infections for the fourth day in a row, spreading an increase that left it with the majority of cases in the European Union. The rate of positive tests for the virus that causes Covid-19 jumped to 17% from 16% on Saturday, according to the national health agency.
Reported cases increased by 52,010 after three days to more than 40,000. Deaths increased by 116 to 34,761. Covid-19 patients have occupied almost 70% of intensive care beds in the Paris region, according to local health authorities.
Arizona reports most cases five weeks
Arizona, one of the Sun Belt states hardest hit this summer, reported 1,392 cases, the most since Sept. 17. The state had successfully controlled a multi-day spike that peaked in July of more than 4,000 cases. But the numbers have slowly risen again in recent weeks, as cases spread to the Midwest and then to two national records this week. Florida has also reported several recent days of elevated infections, and Texas is working to contain a hot spot in El Paso.
Gottlieb sees a ‘dangerous turning point’
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the United States has reached a “dangerous tipping point” as Covid-19 hospitalizations begin to spike sharply, undermining the idea that most current incidents of the virus are no worse than a case of the flu.
Medical resources in most states are not “extremely pressured” right now, but “that’s going to change in the next two to three weeks,” he said.
“There really is no backup here. I don’t see any strong political intervention happening any time soon, “Gottlieb said Sunday on CBS.
Fauci backs Trump on vaccine schedule
The United States could have a coronavirus vaccine ready by the end of the year, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday.
“We will know if a vaccine is safe and effective in late November, early December,” Fauci said, backing President Trump’s estimates of the arrival of a vaccine. Even if a vaccine is shown to be effective by the end of the year, it will take several more months before it can become widely available in the US, he said.
Cuomo accuses Trump of virus ‘surrender’
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized President Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, for saying earlier Sunday that the United States “is not going to control the pandemic” and will instead focus on getting vaccines and therapies.
Less than two weeks before Election Day, Cuomo said Trump’s approach to the virus has been “don’t even try. Just give up … That’s what they did and we have 217,000 people dead. “Data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg show more than 225,000 virus deaths in the US.
Italian cases at a record level
Italy reported a record 21,273 daily infections, with more than 1,200 patients in intensive care for the virus.
Bulgarian Premier tests positive
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has tested positive for the coronavirus and is feeling a “general malaise,” he said on his official Facebook page. Borissov, 61, was briefly quarantined on Friday after coming into contact with a deputy minister who had tested positive. released on Saturday after two negative tests and said he is resting at home.
Italy Approves Partial Closure; Spain sets curfew
Italy introduced the strongest virus restrictions since the end of a national shutdown in May, and Spain will impose a national curfew as cases rise in the two countries at the epicenter of the initial wave of the pandemic in Europe.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte approved a plan to limit the opening hours of bars and restaurants, and close entertainment venues, gambling venues and gyms. Italians will also be urged not to travel. The measures will begin on Monday and will remain in effect until November 24.
The cabinet of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, approved this Sunday a new state of emergency that will grant more powers to the central government and announced that the government plans a national curfew from 23 to 6 hours, except in the Canary Islands, where the rate of contagion is low.
United States Reports Record Infections for Second Day in a Row
The United States recorded the most infections from the pandemic for the second day in a row, adding another 85,317 cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg as of Saturday. The 1% increase surpassed the 0.8% daily average of the previous seven days as President Donald Trump tried to downplay the increase in rallies at virus hot spots days before the election. Another 939 people died, in line with the daily average from the previous week, as deaths also begin to rise again.
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