India reported its highest-ever daily tally of 412,262 new virus cases and also a record 3,980 deaths. Indian drugmakers warned that halting some cargo flights from China could disrupt the global supply chain. China supplies 60% to 70% of the raw materials used by Indian pharmaceutical firms as well as ingredients for finished medicines sent worldwide, said Mahesh Doshi, national president for the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association.
Asia authorities are taking steps to prevent an Indian-like wave of infections happening in their countries. Tokyo will ask the Japanese government to extend a virus emergency, Jiji Press reported, with the request expected later on Thursday. Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia also toughened restrictions.
Moderna Inc. said mid-stage trials showed its booster shots were effective against virus strains that emerged in Brazil and South Africa. Canada may allow patients to receive two different types of vaccines as it deals with a shortage of shots. The U.S. will support a proposal to waive intellectual-property protections for vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and access to the shots as the gap between rich and poor nations widens.
Key Developments
- Global Tracker: Cases near 154.8 million; deaths exceed 3.23 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 1.21 billion doses have been given
- Moderna Covid booster shots prove effective against variants (Video)
- India’s struggle to track new Covid variants could worsen crisis
- Vaccines work on this India variant. Experts fret about the next
- Here comes the Covid-19 community corps and they want you
- What are vaccine passports and how would they work?: QuickTake
Subscribe 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.
Tokyo May Extend Virus Emergency (11:08 a.m. HK)
Tokyo will ask the Japanese government to extend a virus emergency, Jiji Press reported, a request likely to be approved by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as he seeks to stem infections ahead of the capital hosting the Olympics from July.
The official decision to make the request will come later Thursday, the news agency said, citing sources close to the matter. The length of the extension and details of the rules to be applied are to be discussed, Jiji said.
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.
Philippines Could Get 7 Million Doses in May (8 a.m. HK)
A vaccination center in Makati, Metro Manila on May 4.
Photographer: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
The Philippines’ coronavirus inoculation drive could leap this month, with the possibility of increasing vaccine supplies to about 7 million shots from 4 million, which could lead to a further reopening of the economy.
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-18 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.
The nation has reported 3,030 virus infections, including 64 local cases from April 27 when the country confirmed the first domestic patient in a month, and 35 deaths as of May 6 morning, the newspaper reported.
Vietnam has ordered a 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.
Family members place the body of a deceased Covid-19 patient in an ambulance in New Delhi, on May 4. Photographer Sumit Dayal/Bloomberg
Argentina Has Record Number of Daily Deaths (6:45 a.m. HK)
Argentina reported a record 663 deaths in the last 24 hours for a total of 65,865, according to the country’s evening report.
There were 24,079 new Covid-19 cases reported, bringing the total to 3,071,496.
Novavax Shows Efficacy Against Variant (5:41 p.m. NY)
Novavax said initial primary analysis of Phase 2B results for its vaccine showed efficacy against a South African variant of the coronavirus.
Among healthy adults without HIV, the Novavax vaccine showed efficacy of 60% in the initial analysis and 55% in the subsequent complete analysis, the company said. Novavax may have lost the race on vaccinating millions of Americans but a successful trial can still help developing nations like India and Brazil where shots are in high demand.
Canada May Mix Vaccines Amid Supply Crunch (4:47 p.m. NY)
Canada is considering allowing patients to receive two different types of vaccines as the country deals with shortages of shots from AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc.
Federal health officials are closely watching a U.K.-based trial in which participants received two kinds of shots. Results are expected in the next month or so, said Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada.
If adopted, the new protocol would mark another major deviation from original vaccine guidelines. Canada has opted to extend the length of time between mRNA vaccines from the recommended three to four weeks to as long as four months, in order to stretch supplies.
Moderna Booster Effective on Variants (4:08 p.m. NY)
Moderna Inc.’s booster shots gave positive results against immune system-evading strains that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, according to early results from a mid-stage trial.
Two types of booster shots studied spurred higher levels of virus-halting antibodies, Moderna said in a statement. One of the boosters is an additional low-dose shot of its existing vaccine, while the other type is customized against the South Africa strain.
“We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants,” Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We will continue to make as many updates to our Covid-19 vaccine as necessary to control the pandemic.”
U.S. to Back Waiver of Vaccine IP Protections (3:25 p.m. NY)
The U.S. will back a proposal to waive intellectual-property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and access to the life-saving shots as the gap between rich and poor nations widens.
“We are for the waiver at the WTO, we are for what the proponents of the waiver are trying to accomplish, which is better access, more manufacturing capability, more shots in arms,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an interview on Wednesday.
The Biden administration will now actively take part in negotiations for the text of the waiver at the World Trade Organization and encourage other countries to back it, Tai said. She acknowledged the talks will take time and “will not be easy,” given the complexity of the issue and the fact that the WTO is a member-driven organization that can only make decisions based on consensus.
Biden Touts Relief Funds for Restaurants (3 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden visited a Washington restaurant owned in part by Mexican immigrants on Wednesday to highlight $28.6 billion in federal aid for restaurants that struggled during the pandemic.
Under the Covid-19 relief measure Biden signed in March, restaurants can apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $5 million per location, or $10 million for those with 20 or fewer locations.
Joe Biden carries a takeout from Las Gemelas restaurant in Washington, D.C., on May 5.
Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg
U.S. Cases Could See ‘Sharp Decline’: CDC (11:20 a.m. NY)
U.S. Covid-19 cases could see a sharp decline by July if nationwide vaccination efforts continue to be successful, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers used scenario modeling techniques to show long-term projections of potential trends in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in data released Wednesday in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A Covid-19 vaccination site set up at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, on April 30.
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Canada Clears Pfizer Shot for Teens (10:39 a.m. NY)
Canadian public health officials authorized the use of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid vaccine for teenagers, making Canada one of the first nations to do so. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser with Health Canada, made the announcement Wednesday at a press conference. The department determined the vaccine was “safe and effective” for the younger age group, Sharma said. The U.S. is considering similar action.
G-7 Meeting Goes Ahead in U.K. (7:06 a.m. NY)
The U.K. insisted a meeting of top Group of Seven diplomats in London should go ahead after India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus.
The news risked derailing a high-profile event that marked the G-7 debut of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Britain is hosting the gathering, which began on Tuesday.
— With assistance by Andrew Janes, Kevin Dharmawan, Felix Tam, Rebecca Jones, and Go Onomitsu
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