COVID-19 Outbreak: Weekly Global Report for Friday, June 25, 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 (No update this week)
China (No update this week)
India
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 30,410,577 total cases, 523,257 active cases/399,459 deaths/ discharged 29,488,918 (John Hopkins & MoHFW) as compared to 30,082,169 total cases, 627,057 active cases/391,981 deaths/ discharged 29,063,740 (John Hopkins & MoHFW) last week. 335,716,019 people have been vaccinated.
- The government is in discussions with the pharma and medical devices industry to create a “national stockpile” of life-saving drugs and vital equipment to combat the third Covid wave. This could prevent the massive shortages of critical drugs like Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, key antibiotics, and devices like oxygenators and pulse oximeters, as witnessed during the brutal second wave with a huge daily case-load.
- The Centre has devised a formula to decide the 'maximum monthly limit' of stocks that a private vaccination centre can purchase to ensure a level-playing field. Private hospitals have to place orders for vaccines on CoWin and cannot directly procure it from manufacturers, July 1 onwards.
- Serum Institute of India is confident of receiving approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield in a month, the company's CEO Adar Poonawalla informed on Wednesday, June 30. This comes after reports that travellers vaccinated with Covishield, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine manufactured in India by the SII, may not be eligible for the European Union's 'Green Pass'.
- The Brazilian government, which agreed to purchase 20 million doses of Bharat Biotechs Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, on Wednesday announced suspension of the contract following allegations of irregularities in the deal. "According to CGU's preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract, but, due to compliance, the @minsaude opted to suspend the contract for further analysis," Brazil Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tweeted.
- With Covid variants likely to define the next phase of the pandemic, scientists at Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) have said a Covaxin booster dose may offer a solution against the virus and offer “long-term protection”.
- Johnson & Johnson will not be undertaking local trials for its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in India. While the US-based pharmaceuticals company had sought approval for conducting bridging trials here, it says it wouldn't have to do that now since India has lifted that requirement.
- India's drug regulator may soon grant restricted emergency use authorisation for Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, official sources said on Tuesday, June 29. Moderna has also informed that the US Government has agreed to donate a certain number of doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine through COVAX to the government of India for use and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for these vaccines.
- India's drug regulator DCGI has granted permission to Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Cipla to import Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in the country, official sources said on Tuesday, June 29.
- Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. on Monday, June 28, announced the commercial launch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), which it will supply to major Government as well as private hospitals across India, under the brand name 2DGTM.
- Amid rising concerns over the Delta plus variant of the virus, Paul, who is also a Niti Aayog member, asserted that there is no scientific data so far to establish that the new variant is highly transmissible or reduces vaccine efficacy.
- CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and Nosch Labs have entered into a non-exclusive agreement for transfer of the process knowhow for synthesis of anti-Covid-19 drug 2-DG (2-Deoxy -D - Glucose).
- Zydus Cadila Covid-19 vaccine for children above 12 years is expected to be available by August as its trials are likely to be completed by July-end, said Dr N K Arora, Chairman, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
- A single dose of the Covishield vaccine has been found sufficient to protect Covid-infected people who have attained immunity after recovering from the infection, revealed a study by researchers at the ICMR, northeast, and the Assam Medical College (AMC), Dibrugarh.
- Staff Contact: Abby Pratt (apratt@advamed.org).
Japan
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 802,265 reported cases and 14,821 reported deaths compared to 791,699 reported cases and 14,618 reported deaths the previous week.
- The number of new infections in the Tokyo metropolitan area is trending upward as Japan prepares to host the Olympics later this month. There is a possibility that Tokyo will be subject to emergency measures in some form when the Olympics open on July 23.
- After a very slow start, Japan is substantially accelerating its pace of vaccinations. Over 10 million Japanese are fully vaccinated (out of a total population of 126 million) and over 34 million total doses have been administered. Japan is now administering 1 million shots daily. Prime Minister Suga said that his goal is to complete all vaccinations by November.
- Japan provided final approval to the Moderna vaccine and the Astra Zeneca vaccine on May 21. The Pfizer vaccine was approved in February. J&J submitted its application for approval of its vaccine on May 24. It is expected to be approved and available for use around the beginning of 2022.
- Moderna will provide 50 million doses of the vaccine by September. It is being used at mass vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as elsewhere. AstraZeneca has contracted to provide 120 million doses, which the government will stockpile for later use.
- 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.
- Prefectural governments are urging hospitals to open up more Covid-19- dedicated beds, which is putting further pressure on patients to avoid elective surgeries.
- The Japanese government continues to maintain its controls on foreign nationals entering the country. Reciprocal business travel arrangements that were forged with China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam remain suspended. 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
- South Korea’s numbers are up from last week (last week’s number is in parens), with 762 new daily cases (610). The country’s numbers are stable with a slight increase, albeit at a reasonably low level. Korea is now reporting 3 COVID deaths per day, but continues to avoid the dramatic spikes that many other countries are experiencing.
- South Korea has 157,723 total cases, 7,678 active cases (a significant increase in active cases from last 6,359), with 2,021 deaths. Total cases per million population have remained low compared to most of the world but Korea is now above the 3k threshold with 3,074 cases per million. (S. Korea ranks as one of the lowest among the more highly populated countries). Deaths per million remain comparatively low as well at just 39.
- South Korea’s top health agency said Thursday that effective immediately, people under 50 will be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, as it raised the eligible age in response to a rare but possible risk of serious blood clots.
- The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong told a news briefing that for people in their 50s and above, the benefits of receiving an AstraZeneca vaccine were “clearly greater” than for younger people. As such, people younger than 50 who had the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first doses will receive Pfizer as their second. There are some 1.6 million first-dose recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine who will be vaccinated under the “mix-and-match” schedule. Thursday’s announcement comes after the health advice issued in mid-April said the “benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the potential risks for anyone aged 30 and older.”
- 80 percent of South Koreans will receive 250,000 won ($220) each in the latest COVID-19 cash handout program, officials said Thursday. After a pan-governmental meeting, officials said they have decided to earmark 10.4 trillion won for the nation’s fifth cash relief program. The money will be funneled from the nation’s 33 trillion-won second COVID-19 extra budget for this year, which the ruling party and government jointly unveiled Tuesday. The bottom 80 percent income bracket will be the beneficiaries of the program.
- South Korea just had the best June ever in terms of export performance on strong global demand, as vaccine rollouts in major economies raise hopes for a recovery. According to the Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure and Energy, the country’s total volume of exports last month came in at $54.8 billion, up 39.7 percent from a year earlier. It was the best export performance that Asia‘s fourth-largest economy has ever recorded in June, and the third-best performance for any month of a year.
- The current ban on outdoor rallies of 10 or more people in Seoul will remain in place until next week, the metropolitan government said Thursday, scrapping its earlier plan to ease the restrictions at the beginning of this month. Earlier this week, the Seoul city government announced a decision to lift its ban on rallies of 10 or more and allow rallies of fewer than 50 people throughout the capital, in line with the central government's eased social distancing rules against COVID-19.
- However, confronted with a recent spike in new coronavirus cases, the city government decided to delay the plan to loosen restrictions on outdoor rallies at least until next Wednesday. Seoul's daily new virus cases remained in the 300s for the second consecutive day Thursday after surging to a yearly high of 375 the previous day. The city government also said that the outright ban on outdoor rallies of any size in public squares in the city center, including Seoul Plaza, Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul Station Plaza and Cheonggye Plaza, will also remain in effect until next Wednesday.
- The government explained that its decision to extend the outdoor rally restrictions and ban for one week was made in consideration of public safety and welfare. Violators will be fined up to 3 million won ($2,660).
- Currently, the greater Seoul area is under Level 2 distancing in the five-level scheme, while the rest of the country is under Level 1.5. Private gatherings of five or more are banned nationwide.
- Under a newly implemented four-tier system, restaurants and cafes in the capital area will be permitted to operate until midnight under Level 2, an extension from the current restrictions of 10 p.m. The nationwide ban on gatherings of five or more people will be lifted under the renewed guidelines, with the ceiling set to be raised to eight under Level 2. No restrictions are applied under Level 1.
- Over 19 million people of the country's 51.3 million population have received at least their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines since the vaccine rollout in late February. 9.8 percent of the population are fully inoculated as of Thursday. The country aims to inoculate 36 million with at least one jab by September to achieve herd immunity in November.
- July will mainly focus on delivering first doses to 60- to 74-year-olds and essential workers whose June appointments got canceled or delayed due to a supply shortage. First-dose recipients due for second doses will be given priority as well. “Mid-June to July will be a time for preparing the full-scale rollout that’s set to begin in August,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, told a news briefing. “This summer most Koreans will be able to access vaccinations in due turn.”
- South Korea has secured enough vaccines to inoculate some 100 million people in a country of 52 million. The vaccines are made by five pharmaceutical firms -- AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, Moderna and Novavax. "Experts say the COVID-19 outbreak will not end immediately and will continue for some time, and numerous variants are expected to proliferate," Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae said. "The government is thoroughly preparing to secure vaccine bottles for next year."
- The Ministry of Health and Welfare has indicated that two weeks after receiving a first dose of either one of the vaccines offered in the country -- from AstraZeneca or Pfizer -- people will be able to relax on social distancing and face mask-wearing. Semi-vaccinated (1 of 2 doses) people can engage in larger family get-togethers and religious events from June, and go maskless outside from July, the ministry said. They will also be exempt from limits on the number of people that can gather at one time in cafes, restaurants and other public spaces.
- Fully vaccinated people, meaning two weeks have elapsed since the second dose, can also forgo masks in outdoor settings and socialize without restrictions. They won’t be subject to quarantine after traveling overseas or coming into close contact with an infected individual either.
- Korea’s children will be the last group to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Schools will be among the last places to emerge from social distancing.
- Foreigners arriving at South Korean airports face a mandatory 14-day quarantine procedure and must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their departure to the nation. However, starting July 1, some people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in countries other than Korea will be exempt from the 14-day self-quarantine requirement, meaning they can move around freely as soon as they enter the country. A similar exemption has been in place since May for those who were vaccinated in Korea.
- The new exemption applies only to people who were fully vaccinated at least two weeks before traveling to Korea. It also applies only to those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization. The list includes those from Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Covishield. All international arrivals still have to show a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departing for Korea. Without one, you can still be refused entry.
- The exemption also only applies to those visiting Korea for business or academic purposes, for the public interest or to visit immediate family members. Otherwise, you still have to self-quarantine for two weeks upon entry. Immediate family members are defined as spouses, lineal ascendants or descendants, and lineal ascendants or descendants of spouses. You will have to fill out forms and prove your intent to visit them. The necessary forms are available online from Korean embassies and consulates abroad or other government agencies.
- Those coming from countries experiencing the spread of certain COVID-19 variants are also ineligible for this exemption. As of June, those countries were South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Suriname, Paraguay and Chile. The list could change depending on the global situation.
- Resources: http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/.
- Staff Contact: Joseph Gatewood (jgatewood@advamed.org).
ASEAN
Cases
- ASEAN now has 4,934,870 reported cases and 95,185 reported deaths compared to 4,655,178 reported cases and 90,336 reported deaths last week.
- ASEAN recorded a record number of new cases for the fourth week in a row.
- Indonesia: Indonesia is suffering from a major wave in COVID-19 cases driven by a surge in travel following the post-Ramadan holidays. Authorities plan to increase hospital capacity by 40% in Jakarta, while hotels will be converted into isolation centers. The government announced stricter social restrictions from July 3 until July 20, to include tighter restrictions on movement and air travel, the closure of malls, a work-from-home policy for non-essential workers, reduced public transportation capacity, and requirements for vaccines or COVID-19 tests for domestic air travelers. Indonesia is now reporting 2,203,108 total cases, up from 2,053,995 total cases last week. It is reporting 58,995 total deaths, up from 55,949 the previous week. Indonesia accounts for 62% of total deaths in ASEAN since the start of the pandemic.
- Malaysia: Malaysia extended its nationwide lockdown indefinitely amid a continuing high caseload. Only essential businesses, such as supermarkets and medical clinics, may operate. Schools and shopping malls are closed and only two people per household may venture out to buy essentials or for medical services, with movement limited to a 10km radius. Reported cases have grown from 716,847 to 758,967 over the past week. Total deaths have grown from 4,721 5,254 over that timeframe.
- Thailand: The number of cases reported by Thailand has grown more than 9-fold since April 1. The country is experiencing new daily records of COVID fatalities, and beds designated for patients in critical condition at all state-run hospitals in Bangkok are now fully occupied with COVID-19 infected patients. Thailand adopted new restrictions around Bangkok, including a ban on restaurant dining, earlier closing hours for malls, and a ban on gatherings of over 20 people. Reported cases grew from 232,647 to 264,834 over the past week and reported deaths have increased from 1,775 to 2,080 over that time.
- Philippines: The Philippines is now reporting 1,418,337 total cases, up from 1,378,260 last week. Total reported deaths have increased from 24,036 to 24,997 over that time.
- Cambodia: The number of reported cases has grown more than 20-fold in Cambodia since April 1. Reported cases increased to 50,385 from 44,711 over the past week. Reported deaths grew from 475 602 over that period.
- Vietnam: Cases of COVID-19 infection grew from 13,989 to 17,052 over the past week. The total number of deaths grew from 70 to 81.
- Singapore: Singapore slightly relaxed COVID precautions amid low infection rates. The relaxed measures include a reopening of gyms and in-restaurant dining in groups of two. Working from home remains the default. Reported cases increased from 62,470 62,579 over the past week. The total number of deaths increased from 35 to 36.
- Laos: Laos reported a growth in total cases from 2,076 to 2,121 over the past week. It has reported 3 deaths from COVID since the outset of the pandemic.
Vaccinations
- Indonesia is currently in the second stage of vaccinations following the vaccination of medical workers in the first stage. It reportedly has 76 million doses of the vaccine on hand. 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. President Jokowi has set a target of finishing the vaccination process within this year.
- 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. So far, it has fully vaccinated less than 3% of its population.
- 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 fewer than one third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated due to fears of the potential side effects.
- Singapore is on track for two-thirds of its population to have received their first vaccine dose by early July, and aims to have two-thirds fully vaccinated by August 9.
- Thailand began a mass vaccination program using the AstraZeneca vaccine on June 7. Prior to this new effort, only 1.5% of its citizens had been vaccinated. Thailand has granted emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac vaccines, although only the latter two are actually available. Thailand announced it is on track to receive six million AstraZeneca vaccine doses this month.
- Thailand's Food and Drug Administration has approved Siam Bioscience as a manufacturing facility for the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine. Thailand plans to export the vaccines to eight Southeast Asian countries.
- Vietnam’s health ministry said the country will have nearly 125 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines this year. The total includes 5 million doses from Moderna, 20 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, and 31 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer. Vietnam will also acquire 30 million AstraZeneca doses and 38.9 million doses through the Covax initiative. The country has fully vaccinated less than 1% of its population to date. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese pharmaceutical company has begun second phase trials on a coronavirus vaccine.
- Cambodia has fully vaccinated over two million people, or 16% of the population, making it the second-highest country with total inoculation in Southeast Asia, after Singapore. All other ASEAN countries are in the low single digits.
Travel
- Singapore has suspended its Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) arrangements with Malaysia, Germany, South Korea, and Brunei due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. The move does not affect Singapore’s Periodic Commuting Arrangement with Malaysia, which includes longer-term workers and business travel.
- Singapore and Hong Kong agreed to postpone their travel bubble that had been scheduled to start May 26 due to an outbreak of cases in Singapore.
- 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.
- Thailand’s Prime Minister announced in mid-June his goal of fully opening the country to foreign visitors within 120 days to pave the way for economic recovery. 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.
- Vietnam has temporarily restricted the entry of foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to focus on COVID-19 preventative measures. It has also increased the quarantine period for incoming travelers and close contacts of confirmed cases to 21 days.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org)
Europe
- The story in Europe this week is the dramatic spikes in daily cases that are being seen in the UK and Russia and to a lesser extent in Spain. Positive trends are continuing in many of the larger European countries, including France, Italy and Germany. Daily fatalities in the UK are increasing but are still at a relatively low level. Russia daily fatalities are spiking dramatically. In contrast, Italy, France and Germany are all showing very significant improvement in daily case rates.
- Increases in new cases per day (New Daily Cases) tend to benchmark increasing COVID incidence. We’ve put the new daily case numbers in the chart below. Additionally, here are the current figures with prior week figures in parentheses. France 2,457 (2,320); Spain 9,227 (4,341); Russia 21,042 (17,594); UK 25,923 (16,135), Italy 773 (951); Germany 831 (1,136); and Belgium 1,072 (395).
- In terms of total cases, see chart below for the specific numbers. France remains in the lead but Russia has closed the gap. UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ukraine Netherlands and Czech Republic round out the top 10 countries with the largest number of total cases in Europe.
- In terms of cases per million in Europe, Czech Republic remains 3rd highest in Europe with 155,403, but the rate of increase appears to be slowing. Sweden is 8th with 107,317. Belgium is 12th with 93,176, France is 13th with 88,284. Spain is 18th with 81,435, Italy is 26th with 70,560, and the UK is 27th with 70,346.
- Russia's reported numbers on COVID remain problematic at 5,514,599 and are continue to move closer to France, which has the most cases in Europe. Russia reports one of the lowest death rates in the world at just 926 per million. By comparison, Germany, with almost 2 million fewer cases, reports 91,459 deaths and a death rate of 1,088 per million. Russia has authorized a one-shot Sputnik Light version of its Covid vaccine.
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