Biden Tells Governors of Florida, Texas to Lead: Virus Update
Track the global Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination efforts here.
(Bloomberg) -- Tyson Foods Inc., America’s biggest meat company, is requiring workers at U.S. offices to be fully inoculated by Nov. 1. New York City will require anyone dining indoors at restaurants or exercising at gyms to show proof of their inoculation.
The spread of the delta coronavirus variant has pushed the threshold for herd immunity to well over 80% and potentially approaching 90%, according to an Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing.
U.S. President Joe Biden singled out Florida and Texas, where cases are surging, criticizing the pandemic response by the Republican governors in those states. The two states are responsible for about one-third of all new cases in the U.S. in the past week, the administration said Monday.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 199.3 million; deaths pass 4.24 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.16 billion doses administered
- Apathetic U.S. youth shrug off vaccines as delta variant spreads
- Covid disguises chronic scarcity of workers for U.K. recovery
- Are Covid shots working? What the real world tells us: QuickTake
- Here’s what major U.S. companies have said about latest policies
Idaho Sees Surge Among Babies, Toddlers (5:40 p.m. NY)
Idaho is suffering a surge in Covid-19 infections among babies and toddlers, prompting an urgent call for unvaccinated adults to get shots and “cocoon these kids.”
The current pace is 53 per 100,000 children from newborn to age 4, up from 16 per 100,000 two weeks ago, Kathryn Turner, deputy state epidemiologist at the Idaho Division of Public Health, said during an online briefing Tuesday. The most likely cause is circulation of the delta variant, Turner said.
Biden Says CDC to Issue New Eviction Ban (5:40 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden said U.S. authorities plan to announce new measures aimed at protecting struggling renters after an eviction moratorium lapsed days ago, setting off a firestorm of criticism from fellow Democrats and housing advocates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new moratorium would apply to counties with high rates of coronavirus infections, according to two people familiar with the matter. The move shows the extent to which the spread of the delta variant of coronavirus has upended the administration’s agenda.
Quest Diagnostics Feels Delta Strain (5:25 p.m. NY)
The delta-fueled surge could mean strains for the largest diagnostics maker, as Quest Diagnostics indicated it’s looking at increasing capacity to an uptick in demand for tests.
“Our average positivity rate has also steadily increased over the past six weeks, making it more difficult to pool specimens,” a method of screening multiple samples at once as a way of turning test results around more quickly while using fewer resources, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Quest said its tests can pick up infections with the delta variant as well as other strains and is still turning around most Covid-19 tests within a day. But the company is “currently evaluating measures to increase capacity should cases and positivity rates continue to surge.”
Biden Blasts Florida, Texas Governors (5:05 p.m. NY)
U.S. President Joe Biden singled out Florida and Texas, where cases are surging, criticizing the pandemic response by the Republican governors in those states. The two states are responsible for about one-third of all new cases in the U.S. in the past week, the administration said Monday.
“We need leadership from everyone,” Biden said at a briefing. “Some governors aren’t willing to do the right things to make this happen. I say to these governors, please, if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way for people who are doing the right thing.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to withhold funding to local school districts that have mask requirements, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott has banned vaccine mandates.
Vanguard Offers $1,000 Vaccine Incentive (5:05 p.m. NY)
Vanguard Group Inc. is offering $1,000 to employees who get vaccinated by October, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The asset manager is extending the payments to all workers who can prove they’ve gotten a Covid-19 vaccine, even if they were inoculated before the firm extended the offer. A Vanguard spokeswoman confirmed the company is offering an incentive.
Brazil Lifts Restrictions as Cases, Deaths Ease (4:35 p.m. NY)
Brazilian states and cities are preparing to suspend most limitations on businesses and gatherings as Covid cases and deaths drop to the lowest in months while vaccinations pick up speed.
In Sao Paulo, many schools have reopened at full capacity for in-person classes this week, and the state will end restrictions on opening hours and capacity for most businesses starting Aug. 17. Rio de Janeiro also has plans to ease rules as of Sept. 2, including on the use of masks. The reopening will include a four-day celebration, Mayor Eduardo Paes said, adding that New Year’s festivities will be the largest in the city’s history.
Denver Schools Require Indoor Masks (3:05 p.m. NY)
Public schools in Denver will require indoor masks for students, teachers, staff and visitors when classes resume Aug. 9 “regardless of vaccination status,” Will Jones, a spokesman for the school system, said in an e-mail. On Monday, the city announced all municipal workers, including teachers, must be vaccinated by the end of September.
U.S. Preparing for Future Pandemics, Fauci Says (3 p.m. NY)
The U.S. government is in “active” and “sensitive” discussions about investing in a comprehensive pandemic preparedness program, said Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert.
Speaking at a Tuesday event with the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, Fauci said the U.S. is continuing to plan for the future, ever-focused on how vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics might be used to combat future pandemics.
In June, the Biden administration announced it would invest $3.2 billion in a new “antiviral program for pandemics” that would focus on developing medicines to combat Covid-19 and other viruses with pandemic potential. Fauci said the new program is already working with companies such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. to aid with the trials of antiviral pills the companies have in late-stage development. He added the U.S. would start deploying capital to discover other antivirals in 2022.
The program is but one pillar of a more comprehensive effort to combat viruses and other threats, Fauci said. “It’s a really good start.”
Florida Schools Retreat on Masks Under Threat (2:25 p.m. NY)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s move to bar school mask mandates is already working even as the state reports a record number of people hospitalized with Covid-19.
Less than a week after the Republican governor threatened to withhold state funding to school districts that require masks, two schools are backing down on such mandates. Broward County Public Schools reversed its masking rule, which the school board mandated just a week prior, in an effort to comply with the governor’s executive order that schools should leave masking decisions to parents, according to a statement Monday.
Gadsden County School District had also planned a mask requirement for the coming year, but has reversed the order, according to WTVT in Florida.
Argentina to Get 3 Million Sputnik Doses (11:20 p.m. NY)
The Russian Direct Investment Fund said it’s reached agreement to produce 3 million doses of the second shot of its Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina this month, after a presidential adviser in the Latin American country criticized delays in deliveries.
Laboratorios Richmond SA will start making Sputnik vaccines available in Argentina starting this week with an initial batch of 150,000 doses, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is in charge of Sputnik’s international rollout, said by email on Tuesday.
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Florida Hospitalizations Hit Record (10:55 a.m. NY)
The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 in Florida climbed to a record 11,863, even as Governor Ron DeSantis reaffirmed his stance against against new public-health mandates.
Speaking at an event Tuesday in Everglades National Park, DeSantis said the wave has so far been 70-75% less deadly than the previous ones.
He also said trends in emergency room visits with Covid-like illness showed signs of starting to “stabilize.”
“We’ve basically been plateau,” he said. “When that levels off or goes down, all the other indicators follow that.”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- which is available only through July 30 -- shows Florida’s emergency department visits with confirmed Covid continue to rise, but the pace of increases had begun to moderate somewhat.
NYC to Require Vaccination Proof Indoors (9:46 a.m. NY)
New York City will require proof of vaccination for workers and customers at indoor restaurants and gyms, according to Bill Neidhardt, the mayor’s press secretary. Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce the mandate at his Tuesday virus briefing, Neidhardt said.
The move by de Blasio is the latest step to encourage New Yorkers to get vaccinated. City workers must get the Covid-19 shots or be tested weekly.
Vaccine Stocks Rise (9:46 a.m. NY)
CureVac and Arcturus Therapeutics rose after Sanofi agreed to buy Translate Bio Inc. for $3.2 billion. Sanofi and Translate were partnered on Covid-19 vaccine development before the French drugmaker made a bid for the Massachusetts-based biotech.
Arcturus also said it got the go-ahead in Singapore to advance two mRNA candidates to a Phase 1/2 study.
Weekly Dutch Cases Drop 44% (9:22 a.m. NY)
Weekly cases in the Netherlands continue to fall with 21,005 infections reported on Tuesday, down from 37,343 in the previous week. The national health service said the country appears to have reached a peak in Covid-19 hospitalizations, with 541 new admissions reported in the past week, down by 23.
Scotland to Proceed With Lifting Restrictions (9:15 a.m. NY)
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the country will lift most virus restrictions on Aug. 9, in line with the government’s plan and after a drop in infections.
Tyson Foods Requires Shots for U.S. Workers (8:15 a.m. NY)
Tyson Foods Inc. is requiring all of its U.S. workers to be fully vaccinated no later than Nov. 1. The move by Tyson, America’s biggest meat company, is among the most aggressive yet to prevent another wave of infections that shuttered food-production plants in 2020.
Tyson in a statement Tuesday said all company leadership must be vaccinated by Sept. 24, all in-office workers by Oct. 1 and all other employees by Nov. 1.
Walmart Inc., the biggest private employer in the U.S., and Walt Disney Corp. announced vaccination requirements for some employees last week.
Sinopharm Shot Falls Short on Antibodies (7:18 a.m. NY)
The Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine has failed to produce sufficient antibodies in a quarter of elderly people who were voluntarily tested in Budapest, according to a study by the opposition-led Budapest City Hall.
The results were published just as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, which has faced opposition criticism for having widely given Sinopharm shots to older people, started offering third shots this week for anyone who requests them.
Hungary, which has had the highest level of Covid-19 deaths per capita after Peru, was the only European Union country to have deployed the Sinopharm vaccine.
Lilly Cuts Covid Drugs Sales Forecast (7:01 a.m. NY)
Eli Lilly & Co. reported second-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as the drugmaker narrowed its 2021 revenue outlook, saying that Covid therapy sales won’t reach the high end of an earlier forecast.
Indonesia Looks to Speed Rollout (6:42 a.m. NY)
Indonesia called on local health officials to work with disability organizations, indigenous peoples and other groups representing vulnerable populations to administer vaccines to those who lack national ID numbers.
The government seeks to quicken the rollout to 2.5 million doses a day in August, more than double the rate last month. Just 8% of the country’s population of 270 million is fully inoculated. Indonesia has topped the world’s tally of daily Covid-19 deaths recently, reporting 1,598 fatalities on Tuesday, with 33,900 new cases.
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