Coronavirus updates: China approves vaccine as US braces for super-spread of new wave of virus
China has approved 79 per cent effective COVID vaccine while the virus-ravaged US is told to buckle up as the new UK strain is set to make matters much worse.
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The new super-contagious UK strain of COVID has now been found in two US states, with experts saying it will now sweep through the already ravaged nation.
White House infectious diseases adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said that life won’t return to normal until fall of next year as the mutant strain spreads rapidly across the US.
The new strain has now been found in Colorado and California.
Dr Fauci said on New Year’s Eve it was “inevitable” that the new strain will spread across the US.
“We predicted it would be, when you have so much of it in the UK, which then spread to other countries in Europe and Canada, it was inevitable that it would be here,” he said.
“You’ll be hearing reports from other states and more cases in the state that is already reported. Unfortunately, that’s just the reality of the way these viruses spread.
“The good news is that it does not appear to be more virulent, namely, making people more sick and leading to more death.”
Dr Fauci, who recently received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine, said that if the US “diligently vaccinates” people next year, the country could resume some sense of normality by autumn.
He said herd immunity may be achieved if about 70 to 85 per cent of the population gets the touted vaccine by then.
“By the time we get to the early fall, we will have enough good herd immunity to be able to really get back to some strong semblance of normality – schools, theatres, sports events, restaurants, Dr Fauci explained.
He said he was “not surprised” that new contagious strain of the virus first found in the UK was detected in CA and pointed out that there were “likely more cases” there.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 was detected in a Southern California patient a day after the first known case of it on US soil emerged in Colorado.
The Sun reports that the California Department of Public Health said the San Diego County patient has no known travel history, which would suggest that the variant emerged within the community.
“The transmissibility of this mutant is more efficient than the transmissibility of the standard virus that we’ve been dealing with up to now,” Dr Fauci said.
“Namely, it’s able to bind to the receptors on cells better, and therefore it’s transmitted better.
“It appears … this particular mutation does in fact, make the virus better at transmitting from one person to another.”
But he noted that people who were previously infected by earlier forms of SARS-CoV-2 “don’t seem to get reinfected by this,” so immunity “is protective against this particular strain”.
Researchers estimate the new strain is 50 per cent to 70 per cent more contagious as the push to vaccinate people ramps up.
CHINA APPROVES VACCINE WITH LESS EFFICACY AGAINST COVID
China has granted “conditional” market approval to a Sinopharm vaccine with a reported 79 per cent efficacy rate against COVID-19, health authorities, a major stride towards inoculating the world’s largest population.
The Sinopharm jab, which has surged ahead of a raft of Chinese competitors during Phase 3 trials, could signal a breakthrough in the battle to squash the pandemic in Asia.
Around 4.5 million doses of largely unproven emergency vaccines made locally have already been given to health workers and other workers destined for overseas jobs, according to authorities.
On Wednesday, Sinopharm announced its leading candidate had a 79.34 per cent efficacy rate.
That is lower than rival jabs developed in the West by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna -- with 95 and 94 per cent rates respectively -- but still a game-changer for China.
Chen Shifei, deputy commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration, on Thursday told reporters his agency had granted a “conditional listing” to Sinopharm’s vaccine.
A conditional listing helps hustle emergency drugs to market in cases when clinical trials are yet to meet normal standards but indicate they will work.
“The known benefits of Sinopharm’s new inactivated coronavirus vaccine are bigger than the known and potential risks,” Chen added.
The listing allows the government to “extend vaccination to high-risk groups, those susceptible to a severe viral infection... and the elderly,” Zeng Yixin, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission told reporters.
But China faces the unprecedented challenge of getting vaccines to a population of more than 1.3 billion people.
“The general view is you have to vaccinate 60 to 70 per cent to establish universal protection,” Zeng added.
Beijing plans to vaccinate millions this winter in the run-up to Lunar New Year. “I’m convinced -- and please be convinced -- that the production of COVID-19 vaccines can meet the demand of large-scale vaccination we have in China,” Mao Junfeng, head of Consumer Goods Industry Department added.
China has also pledged to swiftly share its vaccines with lesser developed countries at a “fair price”, as it seeks global leadership in the recovery from a pandemic which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan a year ago.
As a winter wave of virus infections batters much of the world, spurring fresh lockdowns and grim spikes in death tolls, attention has returned to China’s management of the pandemic.
China has broadly stamped out the virus inside its borders, introducing swift local lockdowns and mass testing when cases emerge.
Beijing has been at pains to retool the pandemic story in its favour, touting the fast reflexes of its Communist leadership in locking down the country and restarting the economy.
OXFORD JAB APPROVED IN UK
Oxford University’s COVID vaccine has been approved by UK regulators, with the jab set to be rolled out to millions of Brits from Monday.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the vaccine as a “great British success story” which will help the country out of the pandemic “by spring”.
It is the third COVID-19 vaccine approved for market use following on from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine.
AstraZeneca, who partnered with Oxford, says it will soon be producing 2 million units of the vaccine every week.
“It’s very good news for accelerating the vaccine rollout. It brings forward the day we can get our lives back to normal,” Health Minister Hancock said.
“The vaccine is our way out of the pandemic. We are confident we can get out of the pandemic by the spring.”
Australia has secured 53.8 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, most of which could be manufactured locally by CSL. The federal government has also ordered 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will all have to be imported.
UK Primie Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the vaccine approval was “a triumph for British medicine”.
It is truly fantastic news - and a triumph for British science - that the @UniofOxford /@AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 30, 2020
We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/cR4pRdZJlT
The release of the Oxford vaccine marks a major turning point in the fight against the coronavirus in Britain, where a record daily tally of new cases surpassed 50,000 on Tuesday.
It is understood that the UK government has ordered 100 million doses of the new vaccine, which requires two doses to be effective, and will help inoculate 50 million people.
The Oxford booster will give 70 per cent protection for 22 days after the jab until people receive a second jab 12 weeks later – the space between shots allowing medics to roll the first jabs out to as many people as possible., The Sun reported.
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine – enough to vaccinate 50 million people.
Along with the 30 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, the UK now has enough doses ordered to vaccinate the entire population, Mr Hancock said.
Hailing the approval as “fantastic news, the Health Secretary confirmed its rollout would begin on January 4.
Mr Hancock said the plan is to vaccinate all vulnerable groups first but that eventually all adults, including the under-50s, will be offered a jab.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the jab is “safe and effective”, adding: “It is very good news that the independent regulator has now authorised for use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.”
The news came as the US reeled from the revelation that a man in Colorado has become the first known US case of the newly identified strain of COVID circulating in the UK – and authorities have found a second suspected case in this state.
Two National Guards working at a Colorado nursing home are feared to be the first cases of the UK “super-COVID” strain found in the US.
CNN reports today that a previously confirmed case and the newly suspected infection both involve National Guard males that work at The Good Samaritan assisted living facility in Simla, 70km outside of Denver.
The Colorado man confirmed to have contracted the new variant, called B.1.1.7, is in his 20s, and had no travel history, according to the state’s health department. In a statement, Governor Jared Polis said that health officials are conducting an investigation into how the man might have contracted the virus, while he recovers in isolation.
The new variant is thought to be more contagious than other, established variants and has prompted some countries to restrict travel from the UK. Public health experts believe that this variant is already spreading throughout the US.
US POLITICIAN DIES FROM COVID AT AGE OF JUST 41
A Republican politician from Louisiana has died from COVID-related medical complications at the age of just 41.
Luke Letlow, who won a by-election for a seat in Congress earlier this month, died in the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, where he had been hospitalised with COVID-19 since December 23.
“The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” his spokesman said in a statement.
The newly-elected Republican announced on December 18 that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was first quarantining at home.
He was hospitalised the next day and eventually transferred to the ICU.
Letlow was a married dad of two from rural Louisiana. He reportedly had no underlying medical conditions.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards offered his condolences to Letlow’s family and said he had ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the day of the congressman-elect’s funeral, which will be announced at a later date.
“COVID-19 has taken Congressman-elect Letlow from us far too soon. I am heartbroken that he will not be able to serve our people as a US Representative, but I am even more devastated for his loving family,” Gov Edwards said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Letlow’s wife Julia had thanked the public for their “continued prayers and well wishes” as her husband continued to battle the illness.
“We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of support we have received and feel truly blessed to be touched by the prayers of so many,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, patients in hard-hit Los Angeles County have been treated in hospital gift shops or outside after ICUs became overwhelmed with Covid cases.
The desperate measures were introduced as it emerged the US was struggling to cope with the largest ever number of coronavirus hospital admissions, with a record number of virus deaths also recorded.
Oxygen supply issues have led to at least five hospitals in Los Angeles County declaring an “internal disaster”.
Ambulances have been turned away and patients treated in gift shops, meeting rooms and tents outside.
Meanwhile, at least one LA funeral home has requested bigger freezer trucks to store the ever-increasing numbers of bodies.
Dr Mark Ghaly, Los Angeles County’s health services director, described the situation as “truly dire”, the Los Angeles Times reports.
He said: “All hospitals are experiencing this strain, but it’s especially more pronounced and more serious for some of the smaller hospitals, “ Dr Ghaly said.
“Many hospitals have reached a crisis point and are having to make many tough decisions about patient care.”
As of Monday morning, there were 54 available ICU beds, and half were for child patients.
“Soon, there won’t be any places for these ambulances to go,” Dr Ghaly said.
VACCINATED NURSE ‘GOT COVID’, ELDERLY PATIENT DIES AFTER SHOT
In yet further evidence that the US is a long way from leaving behind its COVID crisis, a male nurse who received the new Pfizer vaccine has since tested positive for the virus.
The 45-year-old ICU health worker from California received his vaccine shot on December 18.
On social media, in reference to reported fears of vaccine side affects, he told his followers: “I’ll let you know if I grow a third arm.”
A week later, after working a shift in the COVID-19 unit, Matthew had chills, muscle pain and fatigue. A drive-up hospital test confirmed he was positive for COVID-19, the US ABC News reported.
But despite the apparent setback for US hopes that the vaccine would help lead it out of its virus crisis, infectious disease expert Dr Christian Ramers, from the Family Health Centres of San Diego, said that the diagnosis did not surprise him.
Dr Ramers said the cases highlighted that patients don’t immediately develop COVID protection after being vaccinated.
“We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine,” Dr Ramers said.
Even after those 10 to 14 days, patients still need a second vaccine dose for full protection. “That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50 per cent, and you need that second dose to get up to 95 per cent,” Dr Ramers said.
“You hear health practitioners being very optimistic about it being the beginning of the end, but it’s going to be a slow roll, weeks to months as we roll out the vaccine.”
Meanwhile, a nursing home resident in Switzerland who was among the first in the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19 later died.
But officials did not indicate whether the death was related to the jab, the New York Post reports.
“We are aware of the case,” an official in the canton of Lucerne told Reuters, adding that the matter has been referred to Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic.
Lucerne was the site of the first shot by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech being administered in Switzerland primarily to the elderly.
A doctor at the nursing home had not been contacted by the vaccination team, according to a local news outlet.
The resident, who received the coronavirus vaccine on Christmas Eve, had previously reacted negatively to the flu shot, according to the report.
US HITS NEWS GRAVE MILESTONE
The United States surpassed 18 million reported COVID-19 cases on Monday, local time, as figures from Johns Hopkins University confirmed the virus is still surging nationwide.
More than 121,000 Americans are currently hospitalised with coronavirus, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The figure includes 22,592 ICU patients, which is an increase of 40 per cent since September figures.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has received her COVID-19 vaccine.
The Vice President-elect was injected by Registered Nurse Patricia Cummings at the United Medical Centre with the first of two doses of the Moderna vaccine which was given emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration less than two weeks ago.
But as America reels from the pandemic and US President Donald Trump called for $2000 ($A2627) COVID-19 stimulus cheques to be sent to qualifying American taxpayers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked the unanimous passage of the $2000 amounts.
Mr McConnell objected after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked for unanimous passage.
Mr Trump requested the $2000 payments last week, saying the $600 ($A788) cheques approved as part of a $A3 trillion pandemic relief and government funding bill was too small.
It comes as vaccination programs accelerate around the globe.
The first person in the world to be given the Pfizer vaccine, Margaret Keenan, has now received her second dose.
She was given the booster jab at the University of Coventry three weeks after the first dose.
The grandmother received her first injection a week before her 91st birthday.
Official figures show the UK has recorded 414 new COVID-related deaths and 53,135 new cases as of Tuesday, local time.
Belarus and Argentina have started rolling out mass vaccinations using the Russian-developed Sputnik V shot.
They are the first countries to use the Russian vaccine. Argentina, with a population of 45 million, has recorded 1.6 million cases and 43,000 deaths.
WHO WARNS: WORSE THAN COVID OUT THERE
Coronavirus is set to become “endemic”, but it may not be the most severe pandemic the world will ever see, the World Health Organisation has warned.
Chair of the WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, Professor David Heymann, said while the world had hoped for herd immunity, it may not be possible.
“This concept has been widely misunderstood, and still cannot be predicted because of our lack of understanding of immunity and its duration,” he said.
“It appears the destiny of SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] is to become endemic, as have four other human coronaviruses, and that it will continue to mutate as it reproduces in human cells, especially in areas of more intense admission.”
WHO emergencies program boss Dr Mark Ryan, warned the next pandemic may be more severe.
“This pandemic has been very severe … it has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one,” he said.
“This is a wake up call. We are learning, now, how to do things better, science, logistics, training and governance, how to communicate better. But the planet is fragile.
“We live in an increasingly complex global society. These threats will continue. If there is one thing we need to take from this pandemic, with all of the tragedy and loss, is we need to get our act together. We need to honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do every day.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 2021 would have new challenges.
“New variants of COVID-19, and helping people who are tired of the pandemic continue to combat it,” he said.
“New ground has been broken not least with the extraordinary co-operation between the private and public sector in this pandemic and in recent weeks, safe and effective vaccine rollout has started in a number countries, which is an incredible scientific achievement.
“This is fantastic, but WHO will not rest until those in need everywhere have access to the new vaccines and are protected.”
CHANGES TO QUARANTINE IN NZ
Tough new measures to prevent the spread of so-called “mutant” strains of COVID-19 are being taken in New Zealand’s hotel quarantine program.
The country will soon require high-risk travellers arriving from the US and UK to undergo three coronavirus tests – up from two previously – during their 14 day stint in a hotel.
The new policy is being enforced from midnight on December 31, and will require them to be tested on day one, three and 12 of hotel quarantine, according to Radio New Zealand.
“This means if the result is positive they will be transferred to a quarantine facility effectively several days earlier than under the standard two-test regime,” NZ’s Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins said in a statement.
“This means if the result is positive they will be transferred to a quarantine facility effectively several days earlier than under the standard two-test regimen,” Hipkins said.
“We’ve been monitoring overseas developments very closely, and, like many other countries, New Zealand has heightened concerns about the new variants of the virus and their potential to spread more rapidly, and the ongoing high rates of infection in some countries.”
The NZ government is considering a new measure where return travellers would need to display a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding a plane to New Zealand.
Meantime, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is to supply Europe with 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses by September 2021.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is “scheduled to be completed by September 2021,” a European Commission spokesman said on Monday, local time.
“The Commission and the Member States are working to activate the additional 100 million doses,” the spokesman told CNN.
The European Commission concluded a contract with Pfizer for 300 million doses in November and rolled out the first batches the day after Christmas.
The deliveries of this vaccine “will continue in December and on a steady weekly basis during the following months,” the spokesman added.
Iceland has received its first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to CNN on Monday.
According to the spokesman, an aircraft carrying Iceland’s first shipment of the vaccine landed at Keflavík International Airport Monday morning. It arrived from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
The shipment included 10,000 doses of the vaccine, which are expected to be rolled out from Tuesday.
Vaccine supplies are expected to increase over time with the EU’s approval of additional vaccine candidates.
The majority of delivery is foreseen to be completed in 2021 with first deliveries to the most vulnerable expected to start in the first quarter of 2021.
It comes as more countries identify the more contagious UK virus strain.
South Korea announced that it has detected the new COVID-19 variant in three visitors travelling from London, the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday.
The three visitors were from the same family who arrived from London on December 22, the agency said.
They tested positive for COVID-19 when entering South Korea and have since been placed under quarantine.
South Korea has extended a ban on flights from the UK until January 7.
Five cases of the same UK COVID-19 variant have been detected in southern Spain among travellers who returned to Andalusia after being in the UK.
Madrid’s health Adviser Antonio Zapatero said on Saturday that the city had also detected four cases of the variant.
One of the cases is a person who arrived from the UK, and the three others are family members, he said.
Russia reported almost 26,000 coronavirus-related deaths for the month of November alone. It has extended a ban on flights to and from the UK until 12 January.
GREG NORMAN IN HOSPITAL
Australian golfing legend Greg Norman has returned to hospital again, revealing his COVID-19 symptoms had “kicked the crap” out of him.
The Shark, who lives in America and is being treated at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Florida, told fans he went back to hospital after a second test came back positive.
Just yesterday, Norman told his 191,000 Instagram followers he was back quarantining at home after he was first hospitalised.
“I am fit and strong and have a high tolerance for pain but this virus kicked the crap out of me like nothing I have ever experienced before,” Norman said.
“Muscle and joint pain on another level. Headaches that feel like a chisel going through your head scraping little bits off each time, fever, muscles that just did not want to work like yesterday walking my dog Apollo my quads and hip flexors just did not want to work due to fatigue.
“Then my taste failed where beer tastes bad and wine the same. And finally at times struggling with memory of names and things. Then there is irritation.”
Norman described the virus as “hideous”, and told followers to take it seriously.
“So please take care. And for those doubters out there, do not judge or cast unwarranted comments and opinions I would not want anyone, even you, to experience this hideous virus,” he said.
“So I ask, do what is right, not just for you, but your family, friends, co-workers and other people around. I am luckier than most and for that I am thankful and blessed.”
He also thanked his medical team and those working on the frontline to develop a vaccine.
“Getting an infusion of Bamlanivimab antibody. The path to full recovery. Hoping to be out later today,” he said.
“Also the world is blessed and science has acted and performed like never before in getting a vaccine/s for all to eventually receive. Thank you to those people.
“We need to get our world back in healthy harmony so we can get healthy economically and prosperously with millions and millions people getting their lives back.
“God bless those infected and who may fall unwittingly to this virus. My prayers and thoughts go out to you all. Once out of here today back to quarantine.”
Norman admitted himself to hospital in Florida on Christmas Day with coronavirus symptoms.
He was self-quarantining after returning home from a golf tournament in Orlando, when he began experiencing headache, joint and muscle pain and fever. He revealed he had tested negative to the virus while in the PGA Tour bubble for the tournament.
However he was concerned when the symptoms appeared, saying they were “very suspicious to what I have read about relating to COVID.”
“These are what made me admit myself on Christmas Day as I wanted to know my status to COVID for the health and safety for all around me,” Norman said in his Instagram post.
“I had a chest x-ray and blood test where two markers showed up leading the doc to say, assume you are positive with these symptoms and markers.
“They released me to continue quarantining at home on medication in our guesthouse away from the main house.”
Norman offered his thanks for the messages of concern, love and support and urged people to “stay healthy and be smart.”
“And let’s put this 2020 in our rearview mirrors and look to 2021 and beyond where we can get back to life in whatever the new normal will be,” he wrote in his post.
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