Category: Corona Virus

There were five further deaths and 461 new cases of Covid-19 reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Saturday.

A quarter of eligible adults in the State have now had their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine rollout reached a new record on Thursday when 41,337 additional doses of the vaccine were administered.

Biggest day yet in the #CovidVaccine rollout yesterday with 41,500 doses given out, the Taoiseach tweeted.

It amounts to more than the equivalent of 1 per cent of the adult population of 3.8 million receiving a dose in a single day.

Michel Martin said 25 per cent of eligible adults have so far received their first dose (948,000) while 10 per cent were fully vaccinated with two doses (381,000).

The number of vaccines administered has steadily increased during the week from 11,028 on Monday, 21,478 on Tuesday and 34,863 on Wednesday and 41,337 on Thursday.

The vaccines, vaccinators, and volunteers are making a real difference, Mr Martin tweeted.

The latest figures released by Nphet bring the total number of people who have died with Covid-19 to 4,872 and the total number of cases to date is 246,204. The five-day moving average of daily Covid cases is at 460. Of the cases notified on Saturday 75 percent are under 45 with a median age of 28.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital has fallen to 162, with 46 in ICU, the figures show. There have been nine additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. It is the lowest number in hospital with Covid-19 since October 8th last year.

Commenting on the hospitalisation figures, HSE chief Paul Reid said it was important that we continue this dual approach and we can all soon get back to much of what we value.

Elsewhere there has been one further death of a patient who previously tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland. Another 80 people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24-hour reporting period. On Saturday morning, there were 64 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital, six of whom were in ICU.

There was also boost the the vaccine programme last night with news of improved supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The State is set to receive a large delivery of 165,000 AstraZeneca vaccines next week that had earlier been postponed until May.

AstraZeneca now expects to hit its European delivery target of 20 million doses this month, and 70 million in the second quarter, with Ireland receiving a pro rata share of about 1 per cent.

The Health Service Executive, which has complained about repeated changes to the companys delivery schedule, said last night it was more hopeful than we were of supplies arriving next week.

The latest change in the supply plan for the AstraZeneca vaccine has been made possible after the European Medicines Agency licensed the manufacture of its vaccine in a plant in Asia.

The European Medicines Agency has reiterated that the benefits of AstraZenecas vaccine outweigh any risks, as part of a detailed guidance into rare blood clots to help individual nations determine the shots use.

On Saturday the HSE opened its online vaccination bookings for 63 year olds, who will be offered the AstraZeneca doses.More than 170,000 people have registered since the portal went live last week.

The AstraZeneca shot has been limited in the State to people aged over 60 due to reports of rare blood clots connected with the vaccine.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is considering whether to broaden its use in the population. .

There is an expectation in Government that the Niac will also authorise the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine for use next week, paving the way for a further acceleration of the programme. Sources drew encouragement from Germanys decision not to impose limits on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while last night, the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the use of the vaccine should resume following a 10-day pause.

Mr Reid said that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved the HSE would begin administering the shots next week. He said the organisation would have 40,000 doses of the single-dose vaccine by next week.

Mr Martin said that approval to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the Niac would really advance the programme of vaccinations.

There are concerns in Government that a restrictive decision would hit public support for the vaccine programme and damage the wider effort to suppress the virus.

Meanwhile, momentum continues to grow towards reopening economic and social life and officials are working on options for Ministers to consider next week. There was significant relief among Ministers at the broadly positive outlook presented by chief medical officer Tony Holohan after his return to frontline duties this week, according to sources.

It is expected that the Government will unveil the reopening measures next Thursday or Friday, after a special Cabinet meeting.

Monday will bring several changes in Covid restrictions including that underage non-contact outdoor training can recommence in pods of 15 or fewer. Many outdoor sports facilities can reopen, such as pitches, golf courses and tennis courts. While the reopening of zoos, open pet farms and heritage sites will be allowed. The maximum attendance at funerals will increase to 25.

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Coronavirus: Five further deaths and 461 new cases reported as a quarter of adults get first vaccine - The Irish Times

Over the last two weeks, Massachusetts reported another 24,036 COVID-19 cases, down from the 26,717 confirmed over the prior 14 days, according to the latest Department of Public Health community-level data.

The latest totals are based on data analyzed between April 4 and April 17.

Percent positivity also declined over the last two weeks, to 2.3% from the 2.48% recorded during the last 14-day update.

If you are having trouble viewing this chart, click here.

And as of data available Thursday, there are now 48 communities at high risk for COVID spread. Last week, the number of cities and towns at high risk was 59.

Officials began releasing the number of confirmed cases among children and teenagers several weeks ago. On Wednesday, 1,223 cases were confirmed in children younger than four over the last 14 days, down from 1,235 reported last week. Officials reported 1,400 infections in children between the ages of 5 and 9, down from 1,469 since the last update.

And 1,696 infections were confirmed in children between the ages of 10 and 14, which is down from 1,816 reported on April 14, according Wednesdays data. There were also 2,481 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 infected with COVID over the last two weeks, down from 2,696 since the last update.

This week, 5,046 cases were confirmed among 20-somethings, down from the 5,942 reported last week.

While the distribution of new cases varies week-to-week, the slight reduction in cases among younger age groups follows what for several weeks now has been overall decline in COVID activity statewide. Hospitalizations, active infections and percent positivity have declined over the past seven days after several weeks of heightened concern over whether vaccinations are keeping pace with the rising numbers.

The decline in infections also suggests progress is being made in vaccinating elderly populations, which have seen fewer and fewer new infections and far fewer deaths in recent days. As of Thursday, nearly 2.2 million Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated, and 5.4 million doses have been administered to date.

State health officials confirmed another 1,431 new COVID-19 cases and 17 virus-related fatalities on Thursday. On Monday, Massachusetts opened COVID vaccinations to all residents ages 16 and older.

Here is a breakdown of the cities and towns at high risk by county:

Barnstable County: Brewster, Dennis, Harwich, Yarmouth

Berkshire County: Adams

Bristol County: Berkley, Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Swansea, Taunton, Westport

Dukes County: Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury

Essex County: Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Methuen, Peabody

Hampden County: Chicopee, Hampden, Holyoke, Ludlow, Palmer, Southwick, Springfield

Middlesex County: Ayer, Dracut, Lowell, Townsend

Nantucket County: Nantucket

Norfolk County: Bellingham, Plainville

Plymouth County: Brockton, Carver, Plymouth, Wareham, West Bridgewater

Suffolk County: Revere

Worcester County: Sterling, Sutton, Templeton, Upton, West Boylston, Winchendon

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LONDON Plans to play some matches in the European soccer championship this summer in Dublin and in Bilbao, Spain, have been abandoned after the local authorities were unable to guarantee that enough fans could attend the games in each city because of coronavirus restrictions.

Munichs role in the tournament, called Euro 2020, had also been in doubt, but its place was confirmed in an emergency meeting of members of the executive committee for UEFA, soccers governing body in Europe. The tournament, which was postponed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, is soccers No. 2 most-watched competition, after the World Cup. This summer it is being played continentwide, in 11 cities, for the first time in its history.

Dublin and Bilbao were set to stage three group games and one round of 16 match. Dublins group-stage schedule will move to St. Petersburg, Russia, which had already been selected to host four games. Londons Wembley Stadium, where the tournaments semifinals and final will be played, will pick up Dublins knockout-round game. Three previously scheduled group games are also being played at Wembley.

Seville will take on the games slated to be played in Bilbao, despite opposition from the authorities in Bilbao, who said they would seek compensation from UEFA after working on hosting the tournament for six years.

We wont allow Bilbao or the Basque institutions to be taken for a ride, the authorities in Bilbao said before UEFA made its official announcement confirming the moves.

Munich survived the cull after telling UEFA that despite social distancing measures in place, the city could accommodate a minimum of 14,500 spectators at its matches.

We have been working diligently with the host associations and local authorities to ensure a safe and festive environment at the games and I am really pleased that we are able to welcome spectators at all matches for a celebration of national team football across the continent, UEFAs President Aleksander Ceferin said in statement.

A final decision on the host cities was originally expected to be made last Monday, but organizers gave cities more time to determine if they could meet the cutoff for allowing fans, an essential requirement for UEFA despite the pandemic. Coronavirus restrictions vary widely across Europe, and the tournament was set to stretch from Glasgow and London to Bucharest, Budapest and Baku.

Doubts about the viability of a sprawling tournament had stalked organizers for more than a year, even after UEFA announced the tournament had been pushed back a year. At one point, speculation had mounted that more than half of the host cities would no longer be able to participate, raising hopes in England that the entire tournament might be played there.

Almost all of the stadiums will be operating at reduced capacity, and fans will be required to submit to rapid testing before attending games, Ceferin said in a speech earlier this week.

The final determination of the host cities ended a fraught week for UEFA, which successfully faced down a threat from 12 of Europes leading clubs to create an elite breakaway club competition, a tournament that would have destroyed the prestige and value of the Champions League, UEFAs biggest moneymaker.

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Dublin and Bilbao Lose Euro 2020 Games Over Virus Restrictions - The New York Times

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More new coronavirus cases were reported around the world last week than in any seven-day period since the beginning of the pandemic, according to new data published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

Last weeks figure 5.24 million new cases broke the previous record set at the beginning of 2021, when 5.04 million new cases were reported in the week ended Jan. 4.

The latest surge is being driven largely by an outbreak in India, where the authorities reported nearly 300,000 new cases on Wednesday alone. The countrys health care system is showing signs of buckling under the countrys second major wave of coronavirus infections, and an accident this week at a Covid-19 hospital in India killed more than 20 people.

India accounts for almost one-third of all new cases worldwide, according to the W.H.O. data. New cases are rising in all regions tracked by the organization except Europe, where they declined by 3 percent last week.

The rate at which new coronavirus-related deaths are being reported is also accelerating, according to the W.H.O. More than 83,000 deaths were reported last week, compared with 76,000 the week before.

By the organizations reckoning, the overall death toll for the pandemic surpassed 3 million last week. A spokeswoman for the W.H.O., Margaret Harris, noted that it took nine months for the world to reach 1 million pandemic deaths, then four months to pass 2 million, and now three months to reach 3 million.

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In his remarks on Wednesday afternoon, President Biden will say the United States will reach over 200 million vaccine shots this week, according to a White House official, shared by the White House press pool. As of Wednesday morning, 51.1% of U.S. adults had received at least one vaccine dose and 33.3% were fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions data. Here are some of the other recent headlines you might have missed.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday that the department had delivered vaccines to all of its posts abroad, as of Sunday. This announcement represents over 190,000 doses distributed to 220 postings around the world, allowing us to offer the vaccine to all direct-hire employees, locally engaged staff, and eligible family members, he said. Thanks to the work of countless people our diplomatic couriers, post representatives, logisticians, and clinicians both here in the United States and around the world not a single dose was lost in transit since we began our vaccine rollout in December of last year.

The Defense Department said on Tuesday it expects to start receiving 390,000 vaccine doses weekly, which is up from an average of 155,500 per week. [Eighty-three] percent of vaccines received by the Defense Department have been administered, exceeding the U.S. average of 78%, and more than 28% of our total force is now vaccinated, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirbysaid during a briefing on Monday.

The Defense Department inspector general published a quarter two update on its 2021 coronavirus oversight plan on Tuesday. One of its ongoing audits is looking at how effective the departments vaccine distribution and administration was.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis launched an investigation earlier this week into the $628 million contract the manufacturing plant Emergent received in June 2020 to produce Johnson & Johnson and AstraZenecas vaccines. Specifically, we are investigating reports that Emergent received multi-million-dollar contracts to manufacture coronavirus vaccines despite a long, documented history of inadequately trained staff and quality control issues, the committee chairs wrote. Dr. Robert Kadlec, who served as Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response under President Trump and previously worked as a consultant for Emergent, appears to have pushed for this award despite indications that Emergent did not have the ability to reliably fulfill the contract.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a report on Wednesday morning about its inspection of the Emergent facility that finished on Tuesday. Observations from the FDA included, failure to conduct thorough investigations into unexplained discrepancies; cleanliness, sanitary and operational issues; and inadequate written procedures to handle drug substances, lack of employee training and improper equipment. At the request of the FDA the facility has paused production while it works with the agency to fix the issues and vaccines that have already been manufactured there will undergo further review before being distributed, said acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. They also reiterated that the FDA has not authorized this facility to manufacture or distribute any of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine or components and, to date, no COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at this plant has been distributed for use in the United States.

A year ago the Trump administration awarded almost $1.3 billion in contracts and loans to a Connecticut company for vaccine syringes, and none have been produced, NBC News reported on Wednesday. As the U.S. vaccine rollout hits full stride, with about half of adults in the U.S. having already received at least one injection, the need for ApiJect's device has waned, leaving the contracts and loans in question, said the report. According to ApiJect, two vaccine makers have requested FDA approval to use its syringe with their products, but neither federal regulators nor any of the vaccine makers would confirm any approval requests. The company didnt give the names.

The Government Accountability Office said in a report released on Tuesday that the Small Business Administration is making progress on curbing potential fraud in its pandemic relief programs and oversight of them. The watchdog noted its review of the Paycheck Protection Program and of Economic Injury Disaster Loans is ongoing.

Due to the ongoing risks from the pandemic, the State Department announced earlier this week that it strongly recommends not traveling abroad. This update will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of countries worldwide, said the department. This does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country, but rather reflects an adjustment in the State Department's Travel Advisory system to rely more on CDC's existing epidemiological assessments.

Many in the federal acquisition community hope the governments procurement changes for the pandemic remain permanent, Federal News Network reported on Tuesday. We have a lot of young people, theyre comfortable with this, and theyre going to continue to want to move and use these tools to procure these things, Andrew Jernell, Food and Drug Administrations director of information technology acquisitions, said during a panel. Theres now a new level of expectation. Its like, Well, you guys did an acquisition in a month during the pandemic, and now youre gonna tell me it takes nine months? Thats just not going to fly as we move forward.

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Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor or military member with information, concerns, etc. about how your agency is handling the coronavirus? Email us at newstips@govexec.com.

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Coronavirus Roundup: Vaccines Sent to All State Department Posts Abroad; SBA Makes Progress on Oversight and Fraud Detection for Pandemic Programs -...

Coloradans who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus are more than 90% less likely to develop COVID-19 and vastly less likely to be hospitalized, state health officials said on Tuesday.

The numbers provide local confirmation of data seen in the vaccines clinical trials and also support officials oft-repeated statements that the vaccines will end the coronavirus crisis.

Vaccination is going to be our ticket out of this pandemic, Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the states top epidemiologist, said.

Through Monday, 1,489,481 people in Colorado were reported to be fully immunized against the coronavirus. Of the 106,965 positive cases for COVID-19 since Jan. 21 in Colorado, 819 of them occurred in people who were fully immunized.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment conducted two analyses to estimate the vaccines efficacy.

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In the first, the agency looked at case rates during the week of April 4. Vaccinated people were 94.6% less likely to be a reported case during that week.

In the second analysis, the agency examined two-week incidence rates among the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated populations. Herlihy said the analysis showed full vaccination corresponds to about 93% protection against becoming a reported COVID-19 case. Partial vaccination have only the first shot of a two-shot series, for instance corresponds to about 66% protection, according to the analysis.

A very small percentage of the cases in the state are occurring among fully vaccinated individuals, Herlihy said. This is very consistent with the studies that were seeing nationally.

Its also highly unlikely that fully vaccinated Coloradans who catch COVID-19 will be hospitalized because of the disease. Colorado has seen an increase in people hospitalized with the disease in recent weeks. But fully vaccinated people make up a tiny fraction of those hospitalized. On a typical day, Colorado might see 40 or 50 people hospitalized with COVID-19, but at most only one of those would be someone who is fully vaccinated.

The vaccine is working exactly as it is supposed to in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis said.

Colorado remains in the throes of the pandemic as more transmissible coronavirus variants drive an increase in cases across the state. There are more people hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Colorado now than there have been since January.

Polis encouraged all Coloradans to get vaccinated even those who have held off because they thought finding an appointment was too difficult or because they didnt want to take a spot from someone more at risk from the virus.

For those of you who have been putting it off, now is the time to get it, Polis said. Maybe youve thought: Hey, Im 24. Im healthy. I want to let my elders get it. Well, guess what? Now its your turn.

The state is opening up three of its mass vaccination sites to walk-in appointments.

Its easier than ever before and we want to get that message out, Polis said.

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How effective has the coronavirus vaccine been in Colorado? - The Colorado Sun

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday, as the countrys medical system groaned under an unrelenting rise in coronavirus infections, reporting record jumps in both daily cases and deaths.

A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, December 11, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.32% to 14,251.15 by 0430 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex slid 0.44% to 47,494.41.

Both the indexes fell as much as 1% to hit their lowest in nearly three months, as concerns about a halt in the countrys nascent economic recovery intensified after it reported over 300,000 new cases on Thursday.

Indias tally of COVID-19 cases soared by 314,835 over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily increase recorded anywhere. The previous record one-day rise in cases was held by the United States, at 297,430, in January.

There is selling pressure on the market on fears that virus led restrictions will now extend beyond the bigger cities and to smaller towns and states as cases continue to rise, Siddharth Purohit, research analyst at SMC Global Securities said.

Meanwhile, the chief executive officer at Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, said it will not be able to raise its monthly output to 100 million doses until July, possibly slowing the countrys immunisation drive.

Consumer goods stocks dropped 0.9%, on track to fall for the third straight session, with Hindustan Unilever falling 2.6% to drive the losses on the benchmark index.

Private banks fell 1.2%, with heavyweight HDFC Bank Ltd losing 0.9%.

Auto stocks declined 0.9%, with Maruti Suzuki India falling 1%.

Pharmaceutical stocks, meanwhile, rose 1.3% as demand for medical supplies and hospital beds continued to soar.

Metal stocks also rose, as Chinese steel futures hit a record high on strengthening demand.

Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V

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Indian shares fall after biggest ever rise in COVID-19 cases - Reuters