World Coronavirus Dispatch: Australia halts local vaccine over HIV concerns

Sanofi-GSK vaccine rollout delayed due to poor results for aged, ADB unveils $9-bn vaccine fund, Terror risks escalate in Africa and other pandemic-related news across the globe

US confronts record virus deaths

America reported more than 3,000 deaths on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic began as the virus rages out of control. The US recorded a new weekly death record for the seven-day period ending Thursday, and is reporting more new cases and hospitalizations than ever before. More than 290,000 people have died nationwide during the pandemic. With a current average of more than 2,200 deaths per day, Covid-19 is, for at least this moment, surpassing heart disease and cancer as the leading killer in the country. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 69,619,992

Change Over Yesterday: 663,876

Global deaths: 1,582,342

Nations with most cases: US (15,616,381), India (9,796,769), Brazil (6,781,799), Russia (2,546,113), France(2,391,643).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.

Sanofi-GSK vaccine rollout delayed by poor results for elderly

Pharma groups Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline have said the rollout of their vaccine against Covid-19 will be delayed at least until the last quarter of 2021 because the initial version failed to produce a strong immune response in the elderly. They said that they planned to conduct further studies with an improved antigen formulation, and that the product was now expected to be available in the fourth quarter of next year provided the development plan was completed successfully. Both companies said they were disappointed by the results of the early trials of the vaccine. Read here

Australia abandons local Covid vaccine over HIV test concerns

Australia has abandoned the development of a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine after several trial participants returned “false positives” for HIV. Canberra insisted on Friday that the setback would not delay its vaccination programme and announced it had bought 31m extra doses of rival vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Novavax. The University of Queensland and pharmaceutical company CSL said their Covid-19 vaccine candidate would not progress to phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, owing to concerns that it would interfere with HIV testing procedures and dent public confidence. Read here

ADB sets up $9-billion vaccine fund

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) unveiled a $9-billion coronavirus vaccine fund for member economies, many of which have been ravaged by the pandemic. Called Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, the bank said that the initiative offers rapid and equitable support to its developing members as they procure and deliver Covid-19 vaccines, which are crucial for economic recovery. The facility will be a welcome financial lifeline for economies in the region, which is projected to contract 0.4 per cent this year, as the pandemic reverses nearly six decades of growth. Read here

Terror risks escalate in Africa

Terror groups are expanding operations and scaling up attacks in Africa, straining governments ill-prepared to battle extremism as the coronavirus pandemic drains much-needed resources. Rising violence has made sub-Saharan Africa home to seven of the 10 riskiest countries in the world, according to the risk consultancy’s quarterly Terrorism Intensity Index published Friday. Nations including Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Mozambique had the biggest decline in the index, meaning the resource-rich region is falling behind the rest of the world and becoming more dangerous for investors. Read here

Specials

How the Pfizer vaccine works

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is studded with proteins that it uses to enter human cells. These so-called spike proteins make a tempting target for potential vaccines and treatments. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is based on the virus’s genetic instructions for building the spike protein. The vaccine uses messenger RNA, genetic material that our cells read to make proteins. The molecule — called mRNA for short — is fragile and would be chopped to pieces by our natural enzymes if it were injected directly into the body. To protect their vaccine, Pfizer and BioNTech wrap mRNA in oily bubbles made of lipid nanoparticles. Read here

Why testing won’t save the cruise industry

Is the Covid-19 negative bubble safe? That’s the question the rest of the industry has been asking for the better part of a year, even before global cruising shut down in March. While voyages have restarted in other parts of the world with some success, no mainstream cruises have left from the United States — and probably won’t for many more months as operators and health authorities continue to hammer out plans for what coronavirus-era cruising will look like. One thing has become clear: Pre-cruise testing does not guarantee a safe bubble. Read here