U.S. Decline Levels Off; J&J Shot Gets Panel’s Nod: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

The recent decline in U.S. cases and deaths appears to be leveling off, and cases have begun to rise across a swath of states. A panel of government advisers backed Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, paving the way for authorization of a third U.S. immunization against the virus.

Italy tightened restrictions in Milan and Turin and other areas to counter an acceleration of the virus, while Portugal will keep travel curbs on flights from the U.K. and Brazil.

Brasilia will enter a broad lockdown on Sunday, after Covid-19 patients brought the Brazilian capital’s hospitals to the breaking point.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 113.6 million; deaths pass 2.5 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 231 million shots given worldwide
• U.S. Spotlight: February cases set to show just a fraction of the winter holiday surge
• Biden’s pledge of equitable vaccines awaits boost by more shots
• UN Security Council calls for cease-fires to speed vaccinations
• Is news of U.S. virus variants too much, too soon?: 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.

Brasilia Heads for Lockdown (3:14 p.m. NY)

Brasilia will enter a broad lockdown on Sunday, including a daily 8 p.m. ban on alcohol sales, after Covid-19 patients brought the Brazilian capital’s hospitals to the breaking point.

Amid a vaccine shortage and with 98% of beds in intensive-care units occupied, Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha decreed the 15 days of restrictions almost a year after Brasilia first entered a lockdown. It’s a sign that the pandemic is worsening again in Brazil, which never imposed a national lockdown and has the second-most Covid-19 deaths after the U.S.

Mexico Receives More Sinovac Doses (3:11 p.m. NY)

A shipment of 800,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Mexico City airport on Saturday from China, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry press office.

Mexico, which has now imported a total of 1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from China after a first batch of 200,000 a week ago, expects 10 million doses of Sinovac in all.

The country has also received 1.77 million doses of the Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SE vaccine, 870,000 AstraZeneca Plc doses, and 200,000 of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

California’s Hospitalizations at 3-Month Low (2:53 p.m. NY)

The number of Covid patients in California hospitals slumped to 5,897, the lowest in more than three months, as new cases in the state continued to decline from the recent peak in mid-January. The number of available ICU beds increased to 1,868, one of the highest levels since the end of November.

The state has been easing restrictions as the pace of new infections dropped. Deaths increased 439 to 51,821. Earlier in the week, it became the first U.S. state to pass the milestone of 50,000 fatalities.

Virus Falls Among Florida’s Seniors (2:50 p.m. NY)

Virus cases among Florida’s senior citizens have fallen 56% in the last four weeks, the Sun Sentinel reported, as the state has targeted vaccinations at those 65 years and older. The report said that 45% of seniors -- a group that suffered the most fatalities in the state -- have received at least one dose.

Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa, compiled the data and said the decline for all age groups in the last four weeks has been 47%.

France Cases Slow But Curbs Loom (2:07 p.m. NY)

France reported on Saturday 23,996 new cases, slightly less than the previous days, yet still at high levels, prompting the government to mull additional anti-Covid restrictions in specific locations, such as Paris and its region. A decision to implement measures such as local lockdowns during weekends as is currently the case in the Cote d’Azur and the Dunkirk region is expected during the coming week.

U.S. Cases Are Rising in Some States (1:30 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases have risen across a swath of U.S. states from Texas to Connecticut in recent days after a steep decline, according to the Covid Tracking Project. In all, the rolling one-week average of cases are rising in 14 states, the data show.

In Connecticut, the weekly average number of cases has jumped by more than 150 a day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg, while Texas data show an uptick in the weekly average over the last few days in both confirmed and probable new cases.

Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, expressed concern about new variants and a generally high level of infection. “We may be done with the virus but clearly the virus is not done with us,” Walensky said.

Maine to Open Vaccinations by Age (12:01 p.m. NY)

Maine will shift to an age-based rollout for the vaccine starting next week, when people 60 years and older will be eligible. In April, it will open to people 50 years and older; in May, 40 years and older; and in June, 30 years and older.

“Age is a significant predictor of whether someone will become seriously sick or is more likely to die if they contract Covid-19,” Governor Janet Mills said in a statement Friday. “I believe this approach is the best option to save lives and ensure the vaccine can be administered to as many people as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”

Maine has administered more than 300,000 doses, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker. It began with health-care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, later opening eligibility to groups including those 70 years and older.

U.K. Cases Stay Under 10,000 (11:21 a.m. NY)

The U.K. reported fewer than 10,000 new cases for a fifth straight day, with 7,434 reported on Saturday. The last time infections were so low was early October. Another 290 people died, compared to an average of 356 over the previous seven days.

J&J Supplier Hit by Production Glitch: FT (11:18 a.m. NY)

Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine supplier Catalent Inc. had to check vials by hand for two weeks following a production setback, the Financial Times reported.

The New Jersey-based firm was forced to perform manual inspections after suffering a setback when attempting to accelerate automated checks, the FT said, citing people familiar with the situation who it didn’t identify.

Catalent moved staff from other operations to work on the checks, according to the newspaper, which said the U.S. will get millions fewer doses than expected this month as a result of the glitch and other issues.

N.Y. Hospitalizations Fall Further (11:20 a.m. NY)

New York reported a continuing decline in hospitalizations, though the state still has the nation’s highest rate of Covid-19 patients in hospitals. The number of virus patients in hospitals dropped to 5,445, a decline of 532 in the last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

The state reported 8,141 new cases on Saturday, in line with recent increases. The positive test rate remained little changed at 2.85%. Another 85 people died, in line with the recent trajectory of daily fatalities of fewer than 100.

Anti-Lockdown Protest Hits Ireland (11:15 a.m. NY)

Anti-lockdown protesters clashed with police in Dublin’s city center on Saturday. Social media footage showed objects being hurled at police on Grafton street, one of the Irish capital’s main thoroughfares after hundreds of protesters gathered. Ireland’s lockdown has been extended until at least April 5, with polls showing most people back the curbs against the pandemic.

Deadly Fire in Ukraine Covid Hospital (9:16 a.m. NY)

One person was killed and one injured in a Covid hospital in Ukraine’s western city of Chernivtsi after an oxygen pipe caught fire on Saturday, according to the State Emergency Service website. Twenty people were evacuated.

On Feb. 3, three patients and a 26-year old doctor in a coronavirus ward were killed by a fire in Zaporizhzhya in the south of Ukraine.

Italy Tightens Restrictions (8:20 a.m. NY)

Italy’s government has decided to tighten coronavirus restrictions in Milan, Turin and their surrounding areas, as well as in three other regions, in an attempt to counter an acceleration in the spread of the pandemic. The Lombardy, Piedmont and Marche regions in the North and Center of the country will be classified as medium-risk “orange” zones starting on Monday, while the Molise and Basilicata regions become high-risk “red” zones.

This will trigger curbs including the closing of bars and restaurants, and strict limits on people’s movements barring them from leaving their city or town. Some of the hardest hit regions like Basilicata have already announced that they will close schools as well, Ansa newswire reported.

Italy reported 18,916 new cases Saturday and 280 daily deaths versus 253 on Friday.

German Leaders Support Vaccine Privileges (8:20 a.m. NY)

German politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party have spoken in favor of certain privileges for people who agree to get a Covid-19 shot and even raised the idea of making vaccination mandatory at some point, F.A.S. reported ahead of a March 3 meeting of federal government and regional authorities to discuss the pandemic.

It would make sense for people who are vaccinated to receive faster access to gyms and restaurants, Erwin Rueddel, head of the health committee in Germany’s Bundestag, told F.A.S.

Portugal to Maintain Travel Curbs (7:46 a.m. NY)

Portugal on Saturday extended an existing suspension of commercial and private flights to and from Brazil and the U.K. until March 16, the government said in an emailed statement.

Steep U.S. Covid-19 Declines Level Off (7:43 a.m. NY)

The recent sharp decline in new cases and deaths in the U.S. appears to be leveling off, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The nation added 75,194 new cases on Friday, compared with the weekly average of almost 69,000. The week-over-week decline was 6%, compared with a more than a 20% weekly drop mid-month.

Another 2,344 deaths were recorded Friday, above the weekly average of about 2,100. Fatalities this week were down about 1% from the previous one.

On Friday, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that states should maintain Covid-19 restrictions such as mask wearing and capacity limitations as case numbers halt their decline, citing the circulation of new variants and infection rates that remain alarmingly high.

Germany May Extend Transport Ban (5:52 p.m. HK)

Germany plans to extend a transport ban for people entering the country from areas with a high proportion of Covid-19 mutations to March 17, Funke Mediengruppe newspapers reported, citing a government document. The government also plans to discuss on Monday whether border controls with the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol state should be prolonged.

Germany’s total confirmed cases climbed to 2,436,506 on Saturday, a rise of 0.4% from a day ago with 9,437 new cases recorded. Deaths increased to 69,939, with the reported 596 new mortalities the highest number since Feb. 18.

FDA Advisers Back J&J Vaccine (5:08 p.m. NY)

Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine won the backing of a panel of U.S. government advisers, paving the way for authorization of a third U.S. immunization against the deadly virus.

Experts advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 22-0, with no abstentions, that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks in adults 18 and older, a decision that could help bolster the vaccine supply as new variants continue to spread. The FDA usually follows the non-binding recommendations of its advisory panels and could authorize the shot within days.

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With assistance from Bloomberg