COVID-19 Outbreak: Weekly Global Report for Friday, April 2, 2021
AdvaMed recognizes that its members, particularly those with global government affairs responsibilities, are tracking COVID-19 related developments around the world to assess the public health and economic impacts on their businesses. Knowing that companies are consuming information from a variety of sources, AdvaMed's global team would like to provide members with a weekly snapshot of the key statistics, policy developments and advocacy initiatives underway in our priority markets. If you have any suggestions, we welcome your feedback.
Global
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics: global cases topped 130 million. Deaths around the world have exceeded 2.8 million. The countries with the most reported cases continue to be the U.S. (30.5 million), Brazil (12.8 million) and India (12.3 million).
- U.S. cases exceeded 30.5 million with deaths increasing to 553,000.
- Staff Contact: Ralph Ives (rives@advamed.org).
China
- Overview: China’s vaccination campaign has been slower than other countries, largely due to effective containment measures and minimal cases of local transmission. Over 126 million Chinese citizens have received a COVID vaccine jab as of April 1. China aims to vaccinate 40% of its population by the end of June.
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics: China’s total COVID cases now stand at 101, 773, an increase of 91 cases over the previous week. Deaths reached 4,841, an increase of 1 over the previous week.
- Vaccine roll-out: in late February, China’s regulator approved for general use a third and fourth vaccine produced by CanSino Biologics and Sinopharm. This follows China’s approval of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Dec. 31 last year and Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine on Feb. 5. CanSino said its one-shot vaccine candidate is 65.28% effective 28 days after the dose is given. It can be stored at 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius, “making it more accessible especially to the regions with underserved public health,” it said in a statement.
- Vaccine diplomacy: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China is providing free vaccines to 69 countries and commercially exporting them to 28 more.
- Updated estimates on 2020 hospital visits: according to the National Health Commission, the total number of hospital visits/medical consultations in January through September 2020 reached 3.9 billion, a decrease of 15.3% over the same period in 2019. It is important to note that this percentage decrease has gotten progressively smaller since June, perhaps indicating Chinese patients have become more comfortable in visiting medical institutions in the second half of 2020.
- Traditional Chinese medicine: China last week approved the sale of three traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) drugs through a special approval procedure, offering more options for COVID-19 treatment, according to the National Medical Products Administration. The three medicines, namely Lung Cleansing and Detoxifying granules, Dampness Resolving and Detoxifying granules and Lung Diffusing and Detoxifying granules were reportedly proven effective in treating COVID-19 patients in central China's Wuhan last year.
- WHO report on COVID’s origins: The WHO team that investigated the origins of COVID-19 in China issued its 124-page report this Tuesday. The U.S. government has called into question the report’s completeness and accuracy, arguing that the Chinese government continues to conceal information. 60 minutes ran an interesting segment last Sunday that debates lingering questions about the virus’s origins: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-wuhan-origins-60-minutes-2021-03-28/
- Forecast for China’s economy: China’s ambitious plan to vaccinate 40% of its population by the end of June could pave the way for lifting the economy’s growth rate to 9.3% this year, Oxford Economics estimates. Business confidence and consumer spending will improve should China be able to achieve its targeted rate. If Beijing is able to maintain a steady vaccination rate in the quarter through September as well, it could translate into some form of herd immunity, with 60% to 70% of the population vaccinated. This would translate into a 0.4 percentage point gain to the gross domestic product growth rate from Oxford Economics’s 8.9% baseline scenario, which assumes five to six million doses are administered per day, according to its report released Tuesday. Household consumption this year could increase by 7% from its pre-Covid level in 2019, while export of tourism services will recover to about 50% of its 2019 level in the second half of the year, and imports of tourism services will recover around 70%.
- S.-China relations. The new administration is continuing to review the Trump-era inheritance, but some early indicators show it is doubling down versus reversing. Last week, the Biden administration intensified sanctions against officials in Xinjiang accused of committing genocide against the Uyghur minority.
- Staff Contact: Kyle Churchman (kchurchman@advamed.org)
India
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 12,220,669 total cases, 584,055 active cases/162,927 deaths/ discharged 11,474,683 (John Hopkins & MoHFW) as compared to 11,787,013 total cases, 395,192 active cases/160,692 deaths/ 11,231,650 discharged (John Hopkins & MoHFW) last week. 6,51,17,896 people have been vaccinated.
- Eight states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, have reported a high number of daily Covid-19 cases and account for 84.5 per cent of the 68,020 fresh cases recorded in the country in a day, the Union health ministry said on Monday, March 29.
- India's drug regulator has allowed the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to be used for up to nine months from its manufacture date, as opposed to the prescribed six months. The approval, given to a licensed version of the drug made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and exported to dozens of countries, could help health authorities minimise vaccine wastage and better plan their inoculation programmes.
- The state government slashed the rates for RT-PCR, rapid antigen and antibody tests further on Wednesday, March 31. Now, getting an RT-PCR test in a hospital or a laboratory will cost Rs 600 and home collection Rs 800 in Maharashtra. The public health department on Wednesday issued a notification announcing the new rates.
- With Covid-19 vaccination being opened to all citizens above 45 from April 1, the Centre on Wednesday, March 31 asked states not to conserve vaccines for the second dose, and instead ramp up inoculation by identifying low vaccine-coverage pockets, especially in districts reporting a surge in cases and take action.
- The Brazilian health regulator Anvisa has denied permission to import Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin into the country after its authorities found that the plant in which the vaccine is being made did not meet the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements.
- The current coronavirus situation in the country is going from bad to worse with the surge in cases and the trends showing that the virus is still very active, NITI Aayog's Member (Health) V.K. Paul cautioned on Tuesday. Addressing the weekly press conference, Paul said: "As you have noticed in the last few weeks, the situation is becoming bad to worse. It is a serious cause of concern.
- Mutations in coronavirus are sporadic and single mutations are not found to be dominant in any particular area in India, Indian Council of Medical Research director general Balram Bhargava said, clarifying that there was no Indian variant of coronavirus. Bhargava maintained that both Covaxin and Covishield were effective against the UK and Brazilian variants, while work against the South African strain was on.
- As a mark of friendship and strong ties between New Delhi and Kathmandu, India on Sunday, March 29 sent one lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines for the Nepal Army. The nine packages of Covishield vaccines, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) arrived in Kathmandu, via an Air India flight late in the evening.
- Staff Contact: Abby Pratt (apratt@advamed.org).
Japan
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 478,486 reported cases and 9,207 reported deaths compared to 463,727 reported cases and 8,984 reported deaths last week.
- Japan ended the State of Emergency in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, but not all curbs were lifted. Restaurants are being asked to close by 9 p.m. Infections have started to rise again over the past week.
- Japan has approved the Pfizer vaccine and began providing it to a health care providers. Vaccination of 36 million people age 65 or above is scheduled to begin April 12. People with pre-existing conditions and those working at elderly care facilities will be next in line, followed by the general population.
- Japan’s stated goal is to inoculate its entire population by the time the Olympics start in July 2021, although this appears unlikely.
- Japan has contracted with Pfizer for 120 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered in the first half of 2021, and for enough vaccine for 72 million people by the end of 2021. Japan has also contracted for 50 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 120 million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Astra Zeneca will manufacture 90 million of those doses in Japan. The company submitted its application for approval on February 8. The application for the Moderna vaccine was made on March 5 and is not expected to be approved until at least May.
- The central government has asked companies to reduce the number of workers going to the office by 70% and facilitate telecommuting and staggered commuting hours.
- The Japanese government has decided to maintain its controls for foreign nationals entering the country. Reciprocal business travel arrangements that were forged with China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam are expected to remain suspended in the near term. While Tokyo’s restrictions on foreign entries except for returning nationals remain in place, the government will make exceptions for athletes entering the country for the upcoming Olympic Games.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org).
Korea (No update this week)
ASEAN
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – ASEAN now has 2,841,482 reported cases and 58,806 reported deaths compared to 2,741,885 reported cases and 57,693 reported deaths last week.
- New COVID cases are rising rapidly in the Philippines. The country had well over 50,000 new cases last week, for a total of 747,288. It reported 13,297 deaths.
- Indonesia reported 1.51 million cases last week. Indonesia’s total COVID-19 deaths have reached 40,858, accounting for 69% of all COVID-related deaths in Southeast Asia.
- Myanmar is now reporting 142,434 total cases and 3,206 deaths. These numbers have barely risen since the February 1 military coup, indicating that there is almost certainly substantial under reporting.
- Cambodia reported 11 deaths. Laos reported zero deaths, while Brunei has reported 3 deaths, and Singapore has reported 30 deaths (despite having over 60,000 cases).
- Cases of COVID-19 infection have leveled off in Vietnam following an outbreak in late January. The total number of confirmed infections was 2,603.
- Thailand, which in mid-December had just over 4,000 cases of COVID-19, experienced a major surge that originated in a shrimp market southeast of Bangkok. It is now reporting over 28,863 cases ad 94 deaths. Thailand began vaccinations in late February, and reported cases and deaths are starting to level off.
- Indonesia is currently in the second stage of vaccinations following the vaccination of medical workers in the first stage. It is administering the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines.
- Indonesia has secured orders for 600 million doses of vaccine from four producers. This includes between 13.7 million and 23.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX system. The vaccines will arrive in two phases: 25-35% of doses in Q1 2021, and 65-75% in Q2. The Ministry of Health said this vaccine can be used for those who are over 60, unlike the Sinovac vaccine, currently in use in Indonesia. President Jokowi has set a target of finishing the vaccination process within this year.
- Indonesia authorized one of the world’s first private vaccination schemes to run alongside its national program so that companies can buy state-procured vaccines to inoculate their staff. The regulation stipulates that companies can buy vaccines and inoculate staff and their families for free at privately-run health centers with vaccines distributed by state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma. The vaccines in the scheme must differ from the current rollout, which includes China’s Sinovac Biotech and is slated to include the AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines. Indonesia’s private sector expects to receive 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine.
- Malaysia approved both AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines for emergency use on March 2. Mass vaccinations began on February 24 using the Pfizer vaccine and the government aims to vaccinate 80% of its 32 million population by next February.
- Malaysia has agreed to buy 25 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. It has also signed agreements for 18.4 million doses of vaccines produced by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute and China's Sinovac.
- The Philippines began its immunization program after receiving its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine (600,00 doses of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac, donated by China). It is due to receive another 25 million doses of CoronaVac this year.
- However, there is little public support for the inoculation drive. Polls show that less than a third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated due to fears of the potential side effects.
- Singapore began its vaccination program in January with seniors aged 70 and above and more than 50,000 active taxi and private-hire car drivers eligible for the shot. Those aged 60 and above became eligible at the end of March, with a forecast of 1.25 million individuals vaccinated by the end of April.
- Thailand's COVID-19 vaccination program began on March 1. Thailand has granted emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac vaccines, and the government has announced plans to administer over 60 million doses in 2021.
- Vietnam received its first batch of vaccines (117,000 doses from AstraZeneca) in late February. It aims to obtain 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year, including 30 million through COVAX, 30 million from AstraZeneca, and the rest from ongoing negotiations with Pfizer and Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese pharmaceutical company has begun second phase trials on a coronavirus vaccine. If trials are successful, it is expected to be approved for emergency use in May.
- Elective surgeries have resumed in Thailand and Vietnam.
- In Indonesia, provincial hospitals are resuming elective surgery with COVID-19 protocols in place.
- Malaysia maintains limits on elective surgery except in emergency cases.
- Singapore restricts most elective surgeries but allows certain procedures including cancer screening, surgical operations for advanced cataracts, flu vaccinations, and dental procedures.
- The Philippines has suspended the entry of all foreign nationals and returning citizens except for overseas Filipino workers until April 19, while capping international arrivals at 1,500 per day.
- Indonesia has closed its border to foreign nationals to mitigate the increased spread of COVID-19. The policy provides exemptions for holders of diplomatic visas and official visas related to foreign officials at the ministerial level, holders of limited stay permits, and permanent resident permits.
- As of February 1, Singapore suspended its Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) arrangements with Malaysia, Germany, and South Korea for three months due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Travelers who have already been approved to enter Singapore under these RGLs can continue to do so. The move does not affect Singapore’s Periodic Commuting Arrangement with Malaysia, which includes longer-term workers and business travel. Following this latest suspension, only the green lanes with Brunei and a few cities in China remain open.
- As of April, Thailand reduced its mandatory quarantine from 14 to seven days for foreigners arriving in the country who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel period and visitors will still be required to show negative COVID-19 test results within three days of their departure. Those not yet inoculated but with coronavirus-free certificates would be quarantined for 10 days.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org)
Europe (No update this week)
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