World Coronavirus Dispatch: WHO seeks data on Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

The WHO is in discussions with the Russian institute that developed the Sputnik V candidate vaccine against Covid-19 over its potential application for emergency use listing, the UN agency said. “We look forward to receiving the data for their Sputnik V candidate vaccine. If a product submitted for assessment is found to meet the criteria for listing, WHO will publish the results widely,” WHO said in a statement.

By granting the vaccine emergency use listing, the WHO would effectively be recommending its use to member states.

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Let’s look at the global statistics:

Total Confirmed Cases: 52,733,290

Change Over Yesterday: 605,595

Total Deaths: 1,293,183

Total Recovered: 34,149,223

Nations hit with most cases: US (10,552,821), India (8,728,795), Brazil (5,781,582), France (1,915,282) and Russia (1,843,678)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Israel to get Pfizer’s Covid vaccine in January: Israel will start receiving the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Inc in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Larger deliveries of the drug will arrive in the following months, and the government’s also working to get vaccines from other companies, the premier said in a statement on Thursday. Restrictions on the economy will be lifted gradually. Read more here

Federal Reserve Chair says US economy in for challenging few months: “We do see the economy continuing on a solid path of recovery, but the main risk we see to that is clearly the further spread of the disease here in the United States,” ederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday. “With the virus now spreading, the next few months could be challenging.” Fed officials made no changes to their policy stance last week at a meeting following the US election, sticking with near-zero interest rates. Read more here

Fauci says end to pandemic is in sight, thanks to vaccines: Covid won’t be a pandemic for “a lot longer” thanks to rapid progress in vaccine development, according to Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official. The coronavirus could nonetheless circulate for years, and people need to recommit to inexpensive public health measures like wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing as cases surge, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. Read more here

US data suggests economic recovery may be weakening: Red flags are appearing across a range of high-frequency measures of retail foot traffic, small business hiring and other data, and even previously bullish forecasters are increasingly concerned consumers may buckle in the face of rising health risks. In comments on Thursday Fed chair Jerome Powell said that while he still sees the US recovery on a “solid path,” the turn for the worse in the pandemic could deal the economy a blow. Read more here

UK first EU nation to cross 50,000 deaths: Those figures only include deaths in hospitals. Another British agency, the Office for National Statistics, records an even higher toll, based on a review of death certificates: upwards of 57,000. PM Boris Johnson said that the milestone showed the country was “not out of the woods,” and that “every death is a tragedy.” But he said the country had reached a new phase of handling the outbreak and would fight it with new restrictions, more testing and use of a vaccine when it was available. Read more here

Fans attending Olympics next year may be asked not to cheer to limit coronavirus: Fans attending next year's rearranged Tokyo Olympics may be asked not to cheer in order to limit the risk of spreading coronavirus. Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said organisers were considering asking spectators to refrain from "shouting or talking in a loud voice". However, he added the "practicality and feasibility" must be considered. Read more here

Specials

Central bank chiefs cautiously optimistic on vaccine breakthrough

Three of the world’s top central bankers predicted the breakthrough on a coronavirus vaccine would lift the uncertainty weighing on the global economy, while calling for more short-term public support to bridge the gap to a recovery. Read their comments here

Covid vaccine presents pharma with shot at redemption and profits

Pfizer and Merck were among those initially hesitant to get involved, according to Peter Hale, executive director of the Foundation for Vaccine Research in Washington, which regularly works with the industry’s biggest participants. Hale described an atmosphere of “extreme reluctance” in the early weeks of the pandemic. Faced with the need to develop a vaccine on an accelerated timeline, under immense public scrutiny and possibly at no profit, the road ahead looked fraught with risk. Ten months later, 202 companies are developing inoculations, 47 products are in clinical trials, and the commercial benefits of what once seemed like a purely altruistic endeavour are clearer. Read more here

The children never had the coronavirus. so why did they have antibodies?

A provocative study suggests that certain colds may leave antibodies against the new coronavirus, perhaps explaining why children are more protected than adults. Read more here