U.S. Outbreak Slows; NYC Teachers Go to Top Court: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- New York City public school employees are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the city’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, which will be enforced Oct. 1. New York state must temporarily allow exemptions from a mandate vaccinations for health-care workers with religious objections, a judge ruled. 

Idaho doctors see an alarming trend -- maternal deaths, stillbirths and sicker babies -- in a state where hospitalizations keep setting records, health care is rationed and vaccination rates are low, the Idaho Statesman reported.

New U.S. cases slowed by a third this month, from a seven-day average of more than 161,000 on Sept. 1 to about 107,000 on Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Key Developments:

• Global Virus Tracker: Cases pass 233.5 million; deaths exceed 4.77 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.25 billion shots given
• China vaccine diplomacy wavers as nations seek western shots
• Singapore’s reopening resolve tested as Covid deaths hit record
• Drop in Japan output, retailing shows breadth of delta damage
• South America gets Covid break from vaccines after deadly wave

Giving Covid and Flu Shots Together Is Safe: Study (5 p.m. NY)

It’s safe for people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and the flu at the same time, which could help reduce the burden on health systems during the colder months, according to a U.K. study.

Results showed that side effects were mild to moderate, with no negative impact on the immune response produced by either vaccine. The study involved 679 adult volunteers at 12 National Health Service sites in England and Wales who were due for their second dose of either the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE or AstraZeneca Inc. Covid vaccines. They were divided at random into two groups to blindly receive different combinations of shots or a placebo in opposite arms over two visits between April and June.

“This is a really positive step which could mean fewer appointments for those who require both vaccines, reducing the burden on those who have underlying health conditions and would usually be offered the influenza vaccine,” said Rajeka Lazarus, a consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology and chief investigator for the study.

N.Y. Ordered to Allow Religious Exemptions (3:24 p.m. NY)

New York state must temporarily allow exemptions from a mandate on Covid-19 vaccinations for health-care workers with religious objections, a judge ruled. 

A federal appeals court in Manhattan granted a temporary restraining order while the matter is being argued in court. The judge will hear arguments on the vaccine mandate on Oct. 14.

NYC Teachers Petition Supreme Court (3:17 p.m. NY)

New York City public school employees are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the city’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, which will be enforced Oct. 1.

“Absent intervention from this Court, in less than two days, thousands of public-school employees will be forced out of work,” the workers said in their emergency request to the justices Thursday.

They note that while other municipal employees are allowed to opt-out of the vaccine requirement by agreeing to weekly Covid testing, that option is not available to public-school staff.

U.S. Infection Trend Slows in September (3 p.m. NY)

New U.S. cases slowed by a third this month, from a seven-day average of more than 161,000 on Sept. 1 to about 107,000 on Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Daily deaths, which peaked at more than 2,000 in mid-September, have declined 12% since then by the same measure. The number of patients hospitalized with confirmed Covid-19 fell to about 73,000 from a peak in early September, a 22% decline, according to data on the CDC’s website.

While all U.S. states except California are still listed as “high transmission” areas in a CDC update published Thursday, a majority showed a week-on-week decline in new cases. Alaska, Maine and North Dakota led the nation in the percentage increase in infections.

South Africa Eases Restrictions (2:48 p.m. NY)

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa relaxed coronavirus restrictions after infections abated and inoculations increased, scrapping almost all curbs on alcohol sales and easing limits on the size of public gatherings.

The move to virus alert level 1 from level 2 will help shore up an economy that’s grappling with record-high unemployment and bruised investor confidence. It will also make it easier for political parties to campaign for municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 1. 

Greek City Goes Under Curfew (2:43 p.m. NY)

Greece imposed a night time curfew on Thessaloniki, the country’s second largest city, as the number of cases rose in the past few days the city and area around it. The curfew will start at 1am to 6am and will apply from Friday, Oct. 1. Bars, restaurants and cafes won’t play music. Authorities also ban any event, in the whole country, with more than 20 people.

U.S. School Staff Face More Threats (1:30 p.m. NY)

Escalating threats to teachers and school board members over campus mask mandates and quarantines are raising alarm among national K-12 groups.

“It’s not something we signed up for,” said Teresa Hill, a principal of Walden Grove High School in Tucson, Arizona. “We had no idea that becoming an administrator meant you were going to have to deal with angry people like this.”

School leaders, teachers, and staff, carrying out guidance to reduce the spread of Covid 19 as students returned to classrooms, are encountering harassment and threats of violence online and in person. The frayed tempers and threats follow more than a year of lockdowns that forced many parents to supervise their children’s learning online from home, while other campuses remained open with Covid mitigation policies.

Idaho Outbreak Hits Mothers, Newborns (12:59 p.m. NY)

Idaho doctors see an alarming trend -- maternal deaths, stillbirths and sicker babies -- in a state where hospitalizations keep setting records, health care is rationed and vaccination rates are low, the Idaho Statesman newspaper reported.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” said Stacy Seyb, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls.

EU Area at Risk of Autumn Surge (12:55 p.m. NY) 

European countries with lower vaccination rates could see a surge in Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths over the next two months, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The EU agency, in its latest Rapid Risk Assessment, said the virus’s high level of circulation within the population puts poorly inoculated countries in the EU and European Economic Area at risk between now and the end of November. The group also cited the concern that even vaccinated people can experience severe outcomes from infection.

Los Alamos Lab Workers Sue (11:40 a.m. NY)

At Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a hub of of vaccine research, three dozen employees are suing over an order by the lab’s primary contractor, Triad National Security LLC, requiring workers to be immunized or face possible dismissal, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Jonathan Diener, an attorney representing the employees, said the mandate “is invalid because people have the right to make their own medical choices” and argued the vaccine causes adverse reactions already infected by Covid-19.

Disney’s Aladdin Musical Halted by Outbreak (9:10 a.m. NY)

The Broadway musical Aladdin was temporarily canceled a day after it reopened after some of the company members tested positive, the Washington Post reported, citing a company statement.

The statement came hours after Disney had tweeted with the hashtag “Broadway is Back.” Disney said tickets would be refunded.

Most African Nations Missed Vaccine Milestone (7:35 a.m. NY)

About 70% of African nations missed a target of vaccinating one out of every 10 people by today, the World Health Organization said. The delivery of shots needs to double in order for the continent to meet the next target of inoculating 40% of the population by year-end.

The slow rollout in many parts of the world illustrates the problems that the Covax distribution program has faced, potentially prolonging the pandemic and increasing the risk more worrisome variants will emerge.

Bulgaria Offers Vaccine Incentives (6:46 a.m. NY)

The EU’s least vaccinated country is starting a lottery game to boost jabs. The Health Ministry in Bulgaria, where institutional distrust and doubts about the vaccines has slowed down inoculation, will give out 102 smartwatches to people who get vaccinated in the next month. About 20% of the population in the Balkan country has been vaccinated so far -- and its Covid death rate over the last 14 days is 8 times as high as the EU average.

Neighboring Romania reported a record number of cases, as more than 12,000 people tested positive in the past 24 hours and 176 died. Romania is one of the nations worst hit in Europe by a fourth wave of the pandemic and ranks second-last in vaccination in the EU. 

EU to Phase Out of Pandemic Support (6 a.m. NY)

The European Commission wants to phase out state support next year that’s seen governments pledge or give companies about $3.5 trillion to keep them going during the pandemic. 

The EU’s executive branch is asking governments to back a phasing out of crisis support which will end many support programs by June 30. Governments can comment on the proposals and demand tweaks before they become final.

Delta Turned Covid Into Contagion Champion (5:24 a.m. NY)

The delta variant may have turned SARS-CoV-2 into “one of the most transmissible respiratory viruses we’ve ever seen, far more transmissible than influenza A,” according to Neil Ferguson, the Imperial College epidemiologist whose modeling is used by the U.K. government. The reproduction rate of the virus may be between 6 and 9 if one takes literally the idea that delta is at least 50% more transmissible than the alpha variant, which was itself about 50% more contagious than the original strain.

Roche Antibody Cocktail Shows Promise (1:34 pm. HK)

Roche Holding AG and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s antibody cocktail reduced the viral load in hospitalized Covid-19 patients in a clinical study, supporting the prospects of a drug that could possibly relieve pressure on health-care systems.

Roche said the results of the study support data from a larger clinical trial in the U.K. called Recovery that shows a benefit to hospital patients who receive Ronapreve plus the standard-of-care treatment.

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With assistance from Bloomberg