Texas Cruise Outbreak; CDC Panel Backs Third Shot: Virus Update
Track the global Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination efforts here.
(Bloomberg) -- A panel of CDC advisers unanimously backed a recommendation that people in the U.S. with weakened immune systems should get three shots of Covid vaccine. A group representing emergency physicians said they should be prioritized as booster shots are considered.
Houston’s main school district defied Texas Governor Greg Abbott and voted for a mask requirement when classes resume in less than two weeks. Chicago Public Schools, the third-largest U.S. school district, will require all employees without a medical or religious waiver to get vaccinations.
The Belize Tourism Board said that 27 vaccinated people tested positive this week on Carnival Corp.’s Carnival Vista, which sailed from Galveston, Texas.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 205.7 million; deaths pass 4.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.6 billion doses administered
- School mask rule clash puts heat on courts to steer policy
- NYC region confronts patchwork of virus rules as delta spikes
- B-School over Zoom got better during the pandemic, students say
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
Mississippi Breaks Records (3:52 p.m. NY)
Mississippi broke daily records for new cases, hospitalizations and intensive-care patients, state data show. New infections reported Friday rose to 5,023, while hospitalizations reached 1,497 and intensive care cases hit 395. Another 31 deaths were reported, one of the highest-ever tolls.
Mississippi has the U.S.’s lowest rate of vaccination, and Governor Tate Reeves on Thursday extended a state of emergency and requested federal help in dealing with the worst outbreak of the pandemic. He said Friday he would not mandate masks or impose vaccine mandates for state employees.
Mississippi had a 22% positive-test rate during the week that ended Monday, the nation’s third-highest after Oklahoma and Alabama, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Friday.
Schlumberger Withdraws from Conference (3:15 p.m. NY)
Schlumberger is pulling out of one of the biggest U.S. oil-industry conferences due to rising Covid-19 cases in the Houston area.
The annual Offshore Technology Conference, which is scheduled to start Sunday, draws visitors from around the world to Houston and is one of the largest oil confabs to resume in-person attendance since the global pandemic began last year. About 18% of hospital beds in the county that includes Houston were dedicated to coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, up from 14% on Aug. 5, Texas state health data show.
“As local hospitalization rates increase rapidly, Schlumberger has taken the decision to withdraw from the OTC 2021 event,” the world’s biggest oilfield services provider said Friday in a statement.
Emergency Doctors Ask for Booster (2:58 p.m. NY)
A group representing emergency physicians urged the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize frontline doctors as it considers the distribution of Covid-19 booster shots.
“The increased exposure to the delta variant adds a level of risk to the daily lives of thousands of frontline health professionals, many of whom received the vaccine in the beginning of the year,” Mark Rosenberg, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said in a statement Friday.
Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Friday in favor of a recommendation that people with weakened immune systems should get three shots of Covid vaccine. But federal health officials say other groups do not need one now.
Illinois Cases Jump (2:30 p.m. NY)
Illinois’s new infections jumped 27% over the past week, rising to 21,334 new confirmed and probable cases, the state’s department of public health reported on Friday. The number of deaths in the last week from the virus also increased to 92 from 64 a week ago, according to the data. At least one Covid-19 vaccine dose has been given to 76% of Illinois adults so far and more than 59% are fully vaccinated, the state said citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of all tests for the week through Aug. 12 is 5.1%, up from under 2% in early July.
Dutch to Lift Social Distancing Rules (2:25 p.m. NY)
The Netherlands is planning to lift its national social distancing rules from September 20 as coronavirus cases continue to fall and the number of vaccinations rises. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said an earlier peak of cases after restrictions were lifted in July was a “learning experience” and stressed that no step towards easing restrictions is without risk. Nightclubs are to remain closed and the government continues to advise people to take preventative action by self-testing for the virus.
The Formula 1 race in Zandvoort was given the green light to go ahead at the start of September with certain audience restrictions in place, Rutte said. It was also announced that students can physically attend universities from August 30 with some restrictions on class sizes.
CDC Signs Off on Third Dose for Some in U.S. (2 p.m. NY)
Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted in favor of a recommendation that people with weakened immune systems should get three shots of Covid vaccine, a key step for protection of the vulnerable population.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorizations for vaccines from Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE late Thursday to include the extra dose. Organ transplant recipients and patients considered to be similarly immunocompromised will be eligible for the extra shots.
Canada Mandates Shots for State Workers (1:10 p.m. NY)
Canada’s government announced plans to require vaccinations for employees in the federal government and the transportation sector, as well as for travelers.
The plan will begin “early fall” for public sector workers, it was announced at a press conference with Dominic LeBlanc, minister for intergovernmental affairs, and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Alghabra said air, rail and cruise ship passengers will have to be vaccinated. The plan is to implement regulations no later than the end of October.
Oklahoma City Schools to Mandate Masks (12:40 p.m. NY)
Resisting a new law, Oklahoma City Public Schools, the largest school district in the state, announced Friday it is requiring masks on school property as Covid-19 cases increase, the Oklahoman newspaper reported. It’s the second Oklahoma school district to defy the state law. In the first three days of school this week, active cases in the Oklahoma City district rose four to 119, Superintendent Sean McDaniel said.
Judge Rules In Favor of Evictions Ban (11:50 a.m. NY)
A federal judge in Washington ruled that a temporary U.S. ban on evictions in parts of the country hit hardest by the coronavirus can continue, a major victory for the Biden administration’s efforts to extend protections as the delta variant spreads.
In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected a plea by two landlord groups to block a moratorium by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was set to last until Oct. 3. The decision extends protections against eviction that expired July 31 and were in doubt after the Supreme Court indicated in June that only Congress could continue the policy.
Outbreak on Carnival Cruise in Belize (11:38 a.m. NY)
The Belize Tourism Board said that 27 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Carnival Corp.’s Carnival Vista this week, according to a statement on its website.
They were all vaccinated and were mostly asymptomatic or had “mild” symptoms, according to the statement, which said that 99.98% of crew and 96.5% of passengers were vaccinated on the vessel with 2,895 guests and 1,141 crew. The Carnival Vista sailed from Galveston, Texas, a coastal city near Houston.
The most recent surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows at least 25 cruise ships have recently reported Covid-19 cases.
Chicago Schools Require Shots for Employees (11:32 a.m. NY)
Chicago Public Schools will require all employees who do not have a medical or religious exemption to get Covid-19 vaccinations and provide proof by Oct. 15, the third-largest U.S. school district said in a statement Friday. Students are due back full-time in-person on Aug. 30 and testing will continue during the school year for staff with a documented exemption, according to the statement.
“This new policy enhances the district’s comprehensive reopening plan and ensures that students and staff can confidently learn in-person,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in the statement. “Taking this step will further our citywide vaccination efforts and build on our progress in slowing and stopping the spread of Covid-19.”
Moscow Hit Record Deaths in July (11:02 a.m. NY)
Moscow reported a record 6,583 deaths linked to the coronavirus, according to the Russian capital’s Health Department.
The city’s Covid-19 mortality rate as of Aug. 1 was 4% when accounting for all fatalities where the virus was detected, it said.
Even so, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin dropped restrictions limiting the number of workers allowed in offices Friday, saying the number of hospitalizations has dropped by more than half since peaking in late June.
Alabama Hospital Reports Record Sick Kids (10:50 a.m. NY)
An Alabama children’s hospital reported 22 Covid-19 inpatients, the most since the pandemic began, including five on ventilators. Children’s of Alabama said its previous peak was 13 virus patients, during the last surge in January.
“This marked increase is due to the community spread of the delta variant that is impacting younger people, including children,” the Birmingham hospital said in a statement on Thursday. “The threat to Alabamians is serious.”
Alabama has the lowest rate of vaccination in the U.S. after Mississippi, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Houston Schools Vote for Masks (9:56 a.m. NY)
The board of the Houston Independent School District, the seventh-largest U.S. school system with nearly 200,000 students, voted Thursday to require masks for students and teachers in class and on buses when classes begin Aug. 23. The vote came in defiance of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order barring officials from requiring masks.
“There are teachers out there who go home every day and think, ‘What are we bringing home to our families?’” school board member Elizabeth Santos said.
About three dozen people lined up outside the meeting with signs both protesting and supporting the mandate. One sign said, “Stop Tyranny,” and a person dressed as the Grim Reaper appeared with a sign saying, “Unmask Your Kids.”
Four Florida Educators Die in a Week (9:50 a.m. NY)
Three teachers and a teacher’s assistant in Florida’s Broward County have died of Covid-19 this week, South Florida’s NBC 6 reported, citing teachers’ union president Anna Fusco. They were infected over summer break and at least three of the four were not vaccinated.
The news comes as Broward is defying Governor Ron DeSantis to require masks in schools and as the district prepares for the start of classes next week. Fusco didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Germany Says U.S. Among High-Risk Countries (6:52 a.m. NY)
The German government has elevated Turkey, U.S. and Israel to high-risk status, Funke media group reported, citing unidentified officials. Germany also raised Montenegro and Vietnam to high-risk.
Portugal is no longer classified as a high-risk area, except for Lisbon and the Algarve. People entering Germany from affected countries must quarantine for 10 days if they can’t show proof of vaccination or recovery from illness.
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