25th Feb 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=608 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters As COVID19 rages across Hong Kong at the start of a sensitive political year for China and President Xi Jinping Beijing is determined not to be embarrassed and undermined as it was by the oftenviolent protests that rocked the city in 2019. In the past week since Xi told the city its overriding mission was to control the worsening crisis Hong Kong has stepped up antiCOVID measures including plans for mass testing buttressed by equipment testing vehicles and personnel from the mainland. Foremost for Beijing some advisers to Chinas government say is a fear that unless Hong Kong contains the virus and prevents a lot of people from suffering the city could see a return to the instability of 2019 when antigovernment protests posed a major crisis for Xi.. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-steps-steer-hong-kongs-covid-crisis-risks-loom-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The European Unions health regulator on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTechs COVID19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and over as well as the expanded use of Modernas shot in children ages six to 11. The recommendations by the European Medicine Agencys EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use will be followed by final decisions by the European Commission. The moves come after several EU countries already started to offer booster doses of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine to teens. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/ema-recommends-approval-pfizers-covid-vaccine-12-over-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Lockdown Exit

Evening Standard Serco is preparing to live with Covid19. CEO Rupert Soames said today that around 60 million of profit linked to Covid19 contracts is likely to disappear this year as governments around the world roll back controls. The UK government this week announced an end to free testing and contact tracing. Outsourcer Serco has been a major beneficiary of the billions spent on NHS Test and Trace a programme dubbed muddled overstated and eyewateringly expensive by MPs last year. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/serco-covid19-nhs-test-and-trace-rupert-soames-b984390.html 24th Feb 2022

Lockdown Exit

Sky News People in England who test positive for COVID are no longer legally required to selfisolate. From today all remaining restrictions have been replaced by the governments living with COVID plan. This comes just days after guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing was scrapped. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-all-remaining-coronavirus-restrictions-lifted-in-england-12549571 24th Feb 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Canada Colombias government will no longer require the use of face masks outdoors in areas where more than 70 of the population has been vaccinated against COVID19 President Ivan Duque said. The move is a further softening of measures adopted by the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus as well as an incentive for people to get vaccinated. Colombia is aiming to vaccinate at least 80 of its 50 million inhabitants https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-will-not-require-face-masks-outdoors-areas-with-70-covid-vaccination-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID19 vaccination with the Johnson Johnson shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The JJ shot which has not been approved in Japan will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for nonresidents to enter after a nearly twoyear ban on such travellers. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/japan-accept-jj-covid-vaccine-border-entry-next-month-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Switzerland will donate up to 15 million COVID19 vaccine doses to other countries by the middle of this year having secured more than enough to cover its own population of around 8.7 million the government said on Wednesday. Around 34 million doses of vaccine will be available to Switzerland in 2022 20 million in the first half of the year and 14 million in the second the cabinet said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/swiss-donate-up-15-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Business Standard In a major update to Covid19 protocols Google will no longer mandate vaccines as a condition of employment for US workers. Based on current conditions in the Bay Area were pleased that our employees who choose to come in now have the ability to access more onsite spaces and services to work and connect with colleagues a Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNET. We are giving employees who welcome the chance to come into the office the option to do that wherever we safely can while allowing those who arent ready to keep working from home. https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/google-drops-coronavirus-vaccine-requirement-for-us-office-workers-122022400485_1.html 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Japan said on Thursday international travellers showing proof of a COVID19 vaccination with the Johnson Johnson JNJ.N shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The JJ shot which has not been approved in Japan will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for nonresidents to enter after a nearly twoyear ban on such travellers. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/japan-accept-jj-covid-vaccine-border-entry-next-month-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The Italian government will end the COVID19 state of emergency on March 31 Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday promising a gradual return to normal after more than two years of the health crisis. Coronavirus cases and deaths have receded in recent weeks and the government has come under pressure from businesses and some political parties to roll back the restrictions that have been progressively introduced since early 2020. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/italy-will-exit-covid-state-emergency-end-march-draghi-says-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Singapore will push back plans to ease limits on home gatherings and other pandemic curbs as a resurgent Covid19 outbreak tests the countrys pivot to living with the virus. The plans to ease and simplify some virus rules in phases originally due to happen on Feb. 25 and March 4 will be delayed according to a statement from the Ministry of Health on Thursday. This is because of the current surge in daily cases and the extensive work needed to go through detailed rules that have accumulated across different settings over the past two years it said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-24/singapore-says-planned-easing-of-some-virus-curbs-to-be-delayed 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg The African Unions public health agency urged Covid19 vaccine donors to help ensure that the distribution of shots is aligned with takeup so that all of them are used. We have not asked them to pause the donations but to coordinate with us so that the new donations arrive in a way so that countries can use them John Nkengasong director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a webinar Thursday. This is very different from saying dont donate at all. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-24/africa-cdc-urges-vaccine-donors-to-stagger-deliveries-of-shots 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Moderna Inc. posted betterthanexpected profits for the last three months of 2021 as the companys Covid19 vaccine continued to power its yearoveryear growth while executives mulled plans to roll out an additional booster shot. In the latest quarter Modernas revenue reached 7.21 billion with nearly all of that coming from vaccine sales. The Cambridge Mass. company said it distributed a total of 807 million doses of the vaccine Spikevax last year. For all of 2021 Moderna posted revenue of 18.5 billion nearly all of it from Covid19 vaccine sales. That figure could rise this year The company said it has signed advanced purchase agreements from national governments to supply 19 billion worth of vaccines for fullyear 2022 with options for more. https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-beats-profit-estimates-fueled-by-vaccine-sales-11645707646 24th Feb 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press The vaccination drive in the U.S. is grinding to a halt and demand has all but collapsed in places like this deeply conservative manufacturing town where many werent interested in the shots to begin with. The average number of Americans getting their first shot is down to about 90000 a day the lowest point since the first few days of the U.S. vaccination campaign in December 2020. And hopes of any substantial improvement in the immediate future have largely evaporated. About 76 of the U.S. population has received at least one shot. Less than 65 of all Americans are fully vaccinated. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-us-news-alabama-4c0026679a346ea83a6a04f475a518ef 23rd Feb 2022

Partisan Exits

Belfast Telegraph Most women are still shunning Covid19 vaccines in pregnancy despite an increased chance of stillbirth premature birth and risks to their own health analysis shows. Data from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford shows 73 of Asian women 86 of black women and 65 of white women were unvaccinated at the time of giving birth in October 2021. The charity Wellbeing of Women which funded the study with the National Institute for Health Research called for urgent action to address stark racial and social inequalities among pregnant women. The study found that severe Covid19 infection in pregnant women particularly in the third trimester significantly increased the risk of giving birth early having an induction or a Caesarean having a stillborn baby or a baby that needed intensive care. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/most-women-still-shunning-covid-19-vaccines-in-pregnancy-research-shows-41379048.html 24th Feb 2022

Partisan Exits

The Guardian A group of shouting protesters have chased the New Zealand prime ministers van down a driveway as she visited a Christchurch primary school amid tensions over increasingly volatile antivaccine mandate protests. Jacinda Ardern who was visiting a primary school in Christchurch was met by a crowd of people shouting shame on you and traitor. Some held signs saying that the prime minister would be put on trial and held responsible and one man brandished a fabricated arrest warrant references to conspiracy theories that a cohort of world leaders and powerful people are secretly using vaccines to commit a genocide and would soon be put on trial and hanged for treason. Police officers formed a barrier to allow the prime minister to pass through. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/anti-covid-vaccine-mandate-protesters-chase-new-zealands-jacinda-ardern-outside-school 24th Feb 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was rushed out of a school event in Christchurch on Thursday after protesters opposed to COVID restrictive measures thronged the venue and chased her car while daily infection numbers hit record levels. New Zealand reported over 6000 new cases of COVID19 with 250 hospitalisations and the government expects the outbreak to peak in midMarch. Having been lauded earlier for her success in keeping the country COVIDfree Ardern has been fiercely criticised recently for the slow unlocking of restrictive measures. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/covid-surges-new-zealand-protesters-against-mandates-chase-away-ardern-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera Modelled after recent trucker protests in Canada truck drivers in the United States are planning on setting off on a massive crosscountry drive towards Washington DC to protest against coronavirus restrictions. Organisers of the Peoples Convoy say they want to jumpstart the economy and reopen the country. Their 11day trek that is estimated to be 4000km 2500 miles long will approach the Beltway which encircles the US capital on March 5 but will not be going into DC proper according to a statement. Separate truck convoys have been planned through online forums with names like the Peoples Convoy and the American Truckers Freedom Fund all with different starting points departure dates and routes. Some are scheduled to arrive in time for President Joe Bidens State of the Union address on March 1 though others may arrive afterwards. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/23/us-anti-covid-truckers-peoples-convoy-to-begin-heading-to-dc 23rd Feb 2022

Continued Lockdown

The Guardian Livein domestic workers in Hong Kong have been left homeless after they were diagnosed with Covid19 and their employers fired them or refused their return to the residence support groups have said. Many of the workers who are mostly women from Indonesia and the Philippines were also left without insurance to cover their medical bills. Hong Kong is in the midst of its worst ever outbreak with the Omicron variant infecting thousands of people a day overwhelming hospitals and government isolation facilities. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/hong-kong-domestic-workers-left-homeless-after-being-fired-for-contracting-covid-19 24th Feb 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters As COVID19 rages across Hong Kong at the start of a sensitive political year for China and President Xi Jinping Beijing is determined not to be embarrassed and undermined as it was by the oftenviolent protests that rocked the city in 2019. In the past week since Xi told the city its overriding mission was to control the worsening crisis Hong Kong has stepped up antiCOVID measures including plans for mass testing buttressed by equipment testing vehicles and personnel from the mainland. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-steps-steer-hong-kongs-covid-crisis-risks-loom-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Hong Kong rolls out a vaccine passport on Thursday that requires people aged 12 and above to have at least one COVID19 vaccination and also tightened restrictions in a city that already has some of the most stringent rules in the world. Residents will have to show their vaccine record to access venues including supermarkets malls and restaurants. They will also have to wear masks for all outdoor exercise and will not be allowed to remove masks to eat or drink on public transport https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-rolls-out-vaccine-passport-tighter-covid-measures-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Continued Lockdown

AlJazeera Hong Kong has invoked emergency powers so that doctors and nurses from mainland China can join its efforts to fight what it said was a dire epidemic situation as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the denselypopulated territory. Authorities on Thursday morning reported 8674 new cases nearly all of them locally acquired. Hong Kong is now facing a very dire epidemic situation which continues to deteriorate rapidly the government said in explaining its need for the emergency powers. The outbreak is expected to continue to escalate exponentially and go beyond the epidemic control capacity of the territorys administration meaning Hong Kongs healthcare system manpower antiepidemic facilities and resources etc will soon be insufficient to handle the huge number of newly confirmed cases detected every day. The Chinese territory is one of the worlds most denselypopulated places with many families living in tiny highrise apartments that make it impossible for people to isolate themselves. It has been hit hard by the Omicron wave which slipped through the defences of its stringent quarantines and contact tracing that had kept the virus at bay since the pandemic began two years ago. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/hong-kong-china-help-covid-surge 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

PharmiWeb ConserV Bioscience Limited ConserV a clinicalstage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines that protect against endemic and emergent infectious diseases has been awarded UK Aid funding to advance development of its pancoronavirus vaccine candidate UNICORv. The project was selected by the UK Vaccine Network UKVN for the award under the competition Vaccines for epidemic diseases Readiness for clinical development and regulatory submission. This is one of twentytwo projects funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the UKVN a UK Aid programme to develop vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in low and middleincome countries LMICs. ConserV specialises in identifying broadly protective antigens for highly mutable viruses. The grant will fund preclinical development of an intradermal formulation of UNICORv which consists of twelve antigens from conserved regions of internal viral proteins that include clusters of reactive Tcell epitopes for multiple human leukocyte antigens HLAs 2-02-24/conserv-bioscience-pan-coronavirus-project-has-been-awarded-uk-aid-funding-by-the-uk-vaccine-network-delivered-by-innovate-uk 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN The interval between first and second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid19 vaccines may be as long as eight weeks for certain people the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in vaccine guidance updated Tuesday. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/23/health/covid-vaccine-interval-cdc-guidance/index.html 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Atlantic Last June as the Delta variant sat poised to take the globe by storm Pfizers CEO Albert Bourla promised the world speed. Should an ultramutated version of SARSCoV2 sprout he said his company could have a variantspecific shot ready for rollout in about 100 daysa pledge he echoed in November when Omicron reared its head. Now with the 100day finish line fast approaching and no clinicaltrial data in sight the company seems unlikely to meet its mark. I asked Pfizer about this superspeedster timeline when we have the data analyzed we will share an update the company responded. Moderna which started brewing up an Omicron vaccine around the same time is eyeing late summer for its own debut. Not that an Omicron vaccine would necessarily make a huge difference even if Pfizer had made good. In many parts of the world the variants recordbreaking wave is receding. Having a bespoke vaccine in 100 days would have been an unprecedented accomplishment but Omicron was simply too fast for a cookedtoorder shot to beat it says Soumya Swaminathan the chief scientist at the World Health Organization. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/02/covid-vaccine-new-variants/622903/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

South China Morning Post Immunity wanes six months after three doses of the Sinopharm Covid19 vaccine are given but a fourth shot will not provide more protection against the Omicron strain a study has found. Researchers from Sun Yatsen University in Guangzhou said their study suggested that urgent use of inactivated vaccines like the Sinopharm one as a fourth booster shot against variants of concern such as Omicron was feasible but not ideal. Recombinant spike protein or mRNA vaccines based on the variants of concern would be good alternatives for a fourth booster they said. The study suggested that immune response could not be endlessly boosted and there would be a turning point after repeated vaccination. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3168133/coronavirus-fourth-shot-sinopharm-vaccine-wont-boost-protection 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian When the announcement came last week that all children aged five to 11 in England will be offered a Covid vaccine emphasis was placed on parental decisionmaking. But with factors to consider including disease severity transmission long Covid and vaccine sideeffects for many parents and guardians this may not be an easy choice. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Adam Finn about how the evidence stacks up and what parents should be thinking about when deciding whether to vaccinate their five to 11yearolds against Covid19 https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2022/feb/24/covid-19-whats-the-evidence-for-vaccinating-kids 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ Severe covid19 infection in pregnant women significantly increases the risk of harmful outcomes for mothers and babies a study has found. The study led by researchers at Oxford Population Health examined data from the UK Obstetric Surveillance System2 which holds records for the 1.1 million women who gave birth in UK hospitals between 1 March 2020 and 31 October 2021. Results published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica show that in this period 4436 pregnant women were admitted to hospital with confirmed covid19 infection. Some 14 616 had severe infection 21 917 had moderate infection and 65 2903 had mild infection. Marian Knight Wellbeing of Women researcher and professor of maternal and child population health at the University of Oxfords National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit and lead author said Most women give birth safely and have healthy babies but we know that pregnant women are at greater risk of developing severe covid19 infection particularly in the third trimester. This can lead to tragic outcomes including premature birth and stillbirth. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o480 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Negotiations on new rules for dealing with pandemics will begin at the World Health Organization on Thursday with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty to be adopted by the U.N. health agencys 194 member countries. A new pact is among more than 200 recommendations for shoring up the worlds defences against new pathogens made by various reviewers following the COVID19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.2 million people in two years. The WHO itself is facing calls for reform after an independent panel described it as underpowered when COVID19 struck with limited powers to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/how-world-health-organization-might-face-future-pandemics-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The Omicron BA.2 subvariant of COVID19 appears to be more infectious than the original BA.1 subvariant but does not cause more severe disease the head of Africas top public health body said on Thursday citing data from South Africa. South Africa is reporting that it is more transmissible than the BA.1 variant but interestingly and very encouragingly the severity seems to be the same said Dr John Nkengasong head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. South Africa was one of the first countries to detect the Omicron variant of COVID19 which has since swept around the globe and become dominant in most places. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-ba2-sub-variant-more-infectious-no-more-severe-africa-cdc-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters AstraZeneca plc signed an agreement with Canada for 100000 doses of its antibody therapy for prevention of COVID19 in some highrisk patients the countrys government said on Wednesday. AstraZenecas Evusheld is under review by Health Canada for use as a preventive treatment against the disease in those who are immunocompromised. While vaccines provide excellent protection people who are immunocompromised may need additional protection against COVID19 said Canadian health minister JeanYves Duclos. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-signs-deal-with-canada-100000-doses-covid-drug-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Novavax Inc said on Wednesday it had started shipping doses of its COVID19 vaccine to European Union member states with France Austria and Germany expected to be the first to receive the shots in the coming days. Shipments of Nuvaxovid to additional EU member states from the companys Netherlands distribution center are expected to quickly follow adding to the stockpile of the region as it struggles with a surge in infections due to the Omicron variant. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novavax-starts-shipping-covid-vaccine-eu-states-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Moderna Inc MRNA.O executives said on Thursday they believe a fourth COVID19 vaccine shot will be needed late this year due to waning protection from earlier doses which could push up sales in the second half of 2022. Chief Executive Stephane Bancel stressed that the companys current sales projections for its Spikevax COVID19 shot 19 billion in 2022 up from its prior estimate of 18.5 billion does not include any additional sales to the United States this year. What is not clear today is what will the U.S. government decide to do for 2022. Will it be a private market or a mix of private and free vaccines Bancel said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-raises-2022-covid-vaccine-sales-forecast-19-billion-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Some people getting Pfizer or Moderna Covid vaccines should consider waiting up to eight weeks between the first and second doses instead of the three or four weeks previously recommended US health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday quietly changed its advice on spacing the shots. CDC officials said they were reacting to research showing that the longer interval can provide more enduring protection against the coronavirus. Research suggests that 12 to 64yearolds especially males ages 12 to 39 can benefit from the longer spacing the CDC said. They also say the longer wait may help diminish an already rare vaccination side effect a form of heart inflammation seen in some young men. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/23/cdc-advises-longer-wait-between-first-and-second-vaccine-doses 23rd Feb 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children MISC is rare among 12 to 20yearolds who have received COVID19 vaccination a study yesterday in The Lancet Child Adolescent Health suggests. The study was based on 9 months of followup data on US children and young adults ages 12 to 20 who had received at least one dose of the PfizerBioNTech COVID vaccine from Dec 14 2020 to Aug 31 2021. Only 21 cases out of more than 21 million vaccinated adolescents developed the rare disorder which mimics Kawasakis during the followup period. Fifteen of the 21 were diagnosed as having COVID19 despite vaccination while 6 developed MISC for unknown reasons. Our results suggest that MISC cases following COVID19 vaccination are rare and that the likelihood of developing MISC is much greater in children who are unvaccinated and get COVID19. COVID19 vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 5 years and older in the United States for the prevention of COVID19 said Anna R. Yousaf MD the lead author and a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC in a Lancet press release. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/02/mis-c-rare-covid-vaccinated-teens-study-finds 23rd Feb 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN Plummeting Covid19 case counts across the United States are leading to lifted mask mandates and more conversations about steps toward normalcy but more people are dying of the coronavirus now than during most points of the pandemic. More than 2000 Covid19 deaths have been reported in the United States each day for the past month. Average daily deaths are falling but from a very high point. They dipped just below that mark in recent days to about 1900 on Monday the federal holiday may have delayed reporting. Before Omicron became the dominant coronavirus strain in the US there were only about 100 other days when there were more than 2000 Covid19 deaths according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The only other time that deaths have been this high for this long was during the first winter surge before vaccines were available. The Omicron wave has also been deadlier for longer than the Delta surge In September when Delta was dominant average daily deaths topped 2000 for half as long. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/health/covid-deaths-now-younger-unvaccinated/index.html 24th Feb 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Thailand reported on Thursday a record daily increase of 23557 new coronavirus infections as the country deals with an outbreak driven by the Omicron variant. The Southeast Asian country also reported 38 new deaths according to the countrys COVID19 centre. The daily death toll from the virus however was well below the 184 fatalities reported on Aug 13 last year when Thailand recorded its previous daily record of 23418 infections. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-reports-record-23557-new-coronavirus-cases-2022-02-24/ 24th Feb 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The Pan American Health Organization PAHO warned on Wednesday that the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight COVID19 as only 63 of its eligible population was vaccinated and large regional discrepancies persist. Out of 13 countries and territories in the Americas that have not yet reached the World Health Organizations WHO goal of 40 coverage 10 are in the Caribbean PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said. The region registered 2.2 million new COVID cases last week down 28 compared with the previous week. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/caribbean-falling-behind-covid-fight-paho-warns-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Englands COVID19 prevalence fell to 1 in 25 in the week ending Feb. 19 Britains Office for National Statistics ONS said on Wednesday down from 1 in 20 recorded the previous week. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/englands-covid-19-prevalence-falls-ons-2022-02-23/ 24th Feb 2022