Ships at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt on March 29, while work continued to free the Ever ... [+] Given container ship which ran aground in the canal on March 23 (Photo: Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images)
The Middle East and Africa are set to be the laggards when it comes to economic growth this year, according to the latest forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In its World Economic Outlook report, released earlier today, the Washington D.C.-based organisation said the global economy should grow by 6% this year, following a 3.3% contraction in 2020.
Asian economies are set to lead the way, with growth of 8.6% across the region. The U.S. is also expected to perform strongly, with 6.4% growth. Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to expand by 4.6%, while the Euro area will grow by 4.4%. However, the Middle East and Central Asia region is expected to grow by 3.7%, while sub-Saharan Africa will post a growth rate of just 3.4%.
Gita Gopinath, director of the IMFs research department, said in a blog post that the IMF was now projecting a stronger recovery for the global economy compared with its January forecast, helped by the rollout of vaccines this year, the evolution of new ways of working and large financial commitments by some governments, notably the U.S.
Last year, only 27 countries posted any economic growth, as the coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns and recessions. This year, almost everywhere will rebound to some extent. Only 14 countries are expected to see their economies contract further this year mostly small island states in the Caribbean or the Pacific, as well as Myanmar which is suffering from an increasingly brutal military coup.
The benefits of the rebound this year are not being evenly spread in other parts of the world though. The upgrades the IMF has made to its global growth projections are mainly due to improvements among advanced economies, including the U.S. and the eurozone countries. Low-income and emerging economies are expected to face greater difficulties, with larger losses in per capita GDP. These divergent recovery paths are likely to create wider gaps in living standards across countries compared to pre-pandemic expectations, wrote Gopinath.
This trend is true within regions as well as on the global level, with the outlook for individual economies dependent on factors including the severity of the pandemic, the success of vaccine rollout programmes, dependence on tourism, oil price developments and the varying ability of governments to enact policies to support their economies and societies.
The IMF report notes that, within the Middle East, countries that started vaccinations early on, such as the affluent Gulf Cooperation Council countries, face relatively better prospects, while fragile and conflict-affected states have seen their outlook darken. Among sub-Saharan African countries, it says that tourism-reliant economies will likely be worst affected.
International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath speaking at a virtual press briefing in ... [+] Washington D.C. on October 13, 2020, on the release of a previous edition of the World Economic Outlook report. Photo: Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images
A total of 293 students and staff at 73 K-12 school districts and two colleges have been infected by coronavirus in new school-related outbreaks, according to data released Monday, April 4, by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The data was collected on Thursday, April 1, and includes preschools and daycares in those buildings
Last week, state reported 296 infections in new outbreaks at 69 K-12 school districts and two colleges.
The biggest new outbreak involves 22 students and staff at Bay City Central High School.
The two colleges with new outbreaks involve 14 students at Northwood University in Midland and two students at Dorsey School in Detroit.
K-12 school outbreaks were identified in 28 counties. Below are those outbreaks listed by county.
A cumulative total of 9,807 individuals have been sickened in ongoing outbreaks, the April 4 report says. Ongoing outbreaks include clusters identified earlier but that had at least one additional case in the past 28 days.
Last week, there was a cumulative total of 9,166 cases in ongoing outbreaks.
Most of those ongoing outbreaks involve college communities, and most of those outbreaks occurred outside classroom settings. A total of 7,895 infections linked to ongoing outbreaks have occurred in and around 22 college communities. That compares to 7,545 cases on 22 campuses reported last week.
Among K-12 schools, there were 1,912 staff and students infected in ongoing outbreaks at 203 schools serving pre-K through high school. That compares to 1,626 infected at 182 schools in ongoing outbreaks in last weeks report.
The latest list includes buildings with at least one case in the past 28 days.
The largest ongoing outbreaks in K-12 schools: 58 infected Madison Middle School in Lenawee County; 53 at Lapeer High School; 47 at Ruth Fox Middle School in Lapeer; 43 at East Grand Rapids High School and 41 at Portage Central High School.
Outbreak data for K-12 schools includes only cases in which the student or staff was infected at school or at a school-related function. Those who caught the virus outside of school are not included.
A COVID-19 outbreak is defined as two or more cases with a link by place and time indicating a shared exposure outside of a household.
Below is an online database that allows readers to search outbreak data by school name or by city or county. The number of those infected is a cumulative total since the original outbreak. (Note: Washtenaw County only reports cumulative totals for the past 28 days.)
Below is an interactive map showing both new and ongoing outbreaks listed in the Monday, March 29, report. It shows outbreaks reported as of April 1. You can put your cursor over a dot to see the underlying data.
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OTTAWA - Canada's hospitalizations are surging and its intensive care beds are filling up, as COVID-19 variants and a third wave of the pandemic sweeps across much of the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
"Around the world, countries are facing a very serious third wave of this pandemic," Trudeau told a news conference. "And right now, so is Canada."
Canada has averaged nearly 5,200 new coronavirus cases per day over the past week, and has recorded a total of more than a million positive tests and 23,000 deaths.
The Canadian province of Ontario - the nation's most populous - entered a limited lockdown on Saturday, but some local health officials are calling for more drastic measures. Trudeau said he would speak with Ontario Premier Doug Ford later on Tuesday, without providing further details.
At a separate briefing on Tuesday, Ford said more restrictions were coming.
"We're going to have further restrictions moving forward very, very quickly," Ford told reporters in Toronto. "We'll discuss that tomorrow."
He expressed frustration at seeing people in Toronto allegedly "going into the mall, doing their little wander 'round, and coming out with no bags," Ford said. "That tells me they were just out for a daily jaunt. You can't do that."
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Toronto will close in-person learning in schools starting Wednesday.
Canadian provinces from Quebec westward to British Columbia, with the exception of Manitoba, are struggling against surging numbers of coronavirus infections.
The federal government has delivered more than 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccines so far, and provincial health agencies are in the process of administering shots. Trudeau has said everyone among the 38 million Canadians who want to be vaccinated will be by the end of September.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; additional reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Aurora Ellis)
More of Pennsylvanias counties are now showing substantial spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolfs office said Monday.
Across Pennsylvania, 45 of the states 67 counties have demonstrated substantial transmission of COVID-19, Wolfs office said. Last week, the Wolf administration said 35 counties were showing substantial transmission of the coronavirus, so 10 more counties have joined that list.
The Wolf administration uses three categories to gauge the transmission of COVID-19: low, moderate and substantial. Each week, the Wolf administration offers a report on the number of counties with substantial spread of COVID-19.
In February and March, the number of counties with high transmission of the coronavirus had been dropping. In mid-March, only 21 counties were designated as having substantial transmission. But since then, that number has more than doubled and now two-thirds of Pennsylvanias counties are considered to have substantial spread of COVID-19.
The positive test rate for the coronavirus rose to 9.4% for the week of March 26 through April 1, up from 7.6% during the previous week. Its the third straight week the positive rate has risen in Pennsylvania. At one point, the rate had dropped for 12 straight weeks.
For context, the rate of positive coronavirus tests remains well below the peak of 16.2% in December, but health officials have said a positive test rate higher than 5% is a source of concern. The rate had been 5.7% just three weeks ago.
More than 2,200 people are being treated in hospitals for COVID-19, an increase of more than 800 since mid-March, according to data from the Pennsylvania Health Department. Hospitalizations remain well below the peak of about 6,300 in December, but the states hospitals are admitting more people for COVID-19 treatment.
The rising number of counties with substantial spread and the uptick in hospitalizations comes as the state is easing restrictions on restaurants and other businesses. Under the new rules, restaurants can move up to 75% of indoor occupancy, resume bar service and serve alcohol up until 2 a.m.
New guidance for schools
State officials have urged school districts to evaluate the spread of COVID-19 in determining whether students should be in school, educated remotely or with a mix of distance learning and face-to-face instruction. Most school districts are offering at least some in-person instruction but some of Pennsylvanias schools continue to operate remotely.
On Monday, the Wolf administration offered some revised guidance for schools.
Even in counties with substantial spread of COVID-19, schools are advised they can continue offering at least a blended learning model mixing remote instruction with in-person classes, Wolfs office said. Previously, the state advised middle and high schools to consider shifting toward remote instruction in counties with substantial transmission.
In counties with moderate transmission, the states new guidance says schools can continue with face-to-face instruction full-time, or schools can opt for a hybrid approach.
We remain committed to doing everything we can to create the conditions for a return to in-person instruction as soon as safely possible, Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said in a statement. Our updated instructional model recommendations create additional flexibilities for school leaders to make decisions at the local level consistent with best practices and with public health and safety at the forefront.
The Wolf administration stresses the guidance for schools is not a mandate.
Only five counties are showing low transmission of COVID-19, while 17 counties have moderate spread of the virus, the Wolf administration said. All of the counties in the Harrisburg area are now showing substantial transmission.
Heres the full breakdown of COVID-19 transmission levels in each county.
Low: Cameron, Forest, Fulton, Potter and Sullivan
Moderate: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Snyder, Somerset, Tioga, Union, Venango and Warren
Substantial: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming and York
Vaccine rollout
The state is also expanding its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Beginning Monday, all residents in Phase 1B are now eligible for the vaccines and can begin scheduling appointments. This phase includes mass transit employees, manufacturing workers, postal employees and clergy. They join key front-line workers who became eligible for the vaccine last week, including law enforcement, firefighters, grocery store employees and food and agriculture workers.
Starting April 12, all residents in Phase 1C can start scheduling appointments. Phase 1C covers more critical workers including those in the energy sector, legal services, housing construction, federal, state and local government workers, financial services, bank tellers and information technology workers.
On April 19, everyone will be eligible for the vaccines, Gov. Wolf said last week.
More than 3.7 million Pennsylvanians have received at least one shot and more than 2 million have been fully vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department. The state data doesnt include the city of Philadelphia, which is handling its own rollout.
In Philadelphia, more than 530,000 people have been given at least one dose and more than 278,000 are fully vaccinated, according to city health department data through April 1.
Combining the city and state data, heres the vaccination picture in Pennsylvania: More than 4.2 million have had at least one shot and nearly 2.3 million are fully vaccinated.
More than 1 million people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Pennsylvania and more than 25,000 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department.
Most of those who are infected suffer relatively mild symptoms and many dont even get sick, health officials say. But doctors say the virus poses serious risks to everyone, particularly for seniors and those with chronic medical conditions.
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As epidemiologists have said from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a vaccine is the only true way to eventually resume much of life as we knew it.
Now, more than a year later, there are several vaccines against COVID-19 circulating rapidly through the U.S. population.
As more people get vaccinated against the coronavirus, research continues to show the shots are safe for people and effective at preventing them from developing severe cases of COVID-19, namely those that end in death.
While access may still be an issue for some, the expected increase in production, as well as distribution by agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard, will make COVID-19 vaccination for many people a reality soon.
We have a ways to go, Dr. Jonathan Leizman, chief medical officer at Premise Health, told Healthline.
People are sighing in heavy relief after getting their shots. Even pins and T-shirts are available on popular websites to proudly declare the wearer is fully vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keep updating its guidelines to let people who are fully vaccinated know that, yes, you can now hang out indoors with fully vaccinated people without social distancing or wearing masks and the risk is very low.
Still, some people are convinced the shots arent for them and say they wont get them when its their turn. Although surveys show vaccine hesitancy is going down, it remains a concerning issue.
Its something federal authorities are attempting to tackle through a new ad campaign.
Vaccine skepticism has been seen in some religious communities, such as in white evangelical Christians. In response, some congregations are combating vaccine hesitancy from their pulpits, and even hosting vaccine clinics in their parking lots.
Some people simply have a fear of needles or are concerned with how quickly the COVID-19 vaccines were developed.
But with more shots going into more arms, Leizman said theres more real-world data coming in to show the vaccines are safe, effective, free to anyone regardless of health insurance, and that vaccines are the best tool to protect yourself and others.
Communication and education go a long way, he said.
While it largely remains a personal choice, those who are eligible to get the vaccine but chose not to for whatever reasons run the risk of not only getting the virus and transmitting it to others, but also of prolonging the pandemic, contributing to spikes in cases, and giving the virus more opportunities to mutate.
Medical experts say were currently in a crucial part of the pandemic. We need to get enough people to have antibodies against the coronavirus whether through vaccination or prior infection to prevent it from mutating into strains (or variants) that may be more lethal.
Thats a vital point in controlling a viral or bacterial threat known as herd immunity.
For COVID-19, experts are estimating between 70 and 90 percent of the population need to have antibodies to reach herd immunity.
However, experts still arent sure when well reach that level of protection or exactly how many vaccinations well need to make it happen.
Dr. William Lang estimates it wont be until mid to lay May before we can reach 75 percent herd immunity, with the current vaccination rates of 3 million shots per day.
Lang is the medical director of WorldClinic and former deputy White House physician and director of the White House medical unit under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
medical director of WorldClinic and former deputy White House physician and director of the White House medical unit under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, estimates it wont be until mid to late May before we can reach 75 percent herd immunity, with the current vaccination rates of 3 million shots per day.
The thing is, you dont know when you hit herd immunity, he said. Whats dangerous right now is that its clear theres an expectation of, yeah, we made it.
But we havent.
With an expected fourth wave just ahead, efforts to vaccinate people are going well but its still too early to know if weve gained enough ground, or were about to lose even more of it.
Its still unclear where and when people might have to show their vaccination status.
The vaccines currently being used in the United States are authorized by the FDA under emergency use, meaning they havent met full approval standards.
Experts doubt companies would require employees to do something that doesnt have full FDA approval.
As Stat News reports, the FDA has never before approved something on an emergency basis for use in the entire population, so theres some legal gray area about when it can be mandated.
But as more people get the vaccines, widening the base of test subjects, its becoming much more likely the FDA will approve the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the three currently being used in the United States.
However, while the U.S. government might not be outright mandating vaccination, some private businesses are demanding proof of vaccination before welcoming patrons to their business.
For example, San Francisco Giants fans will need proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to see games in person.
Rutgers University is requiring all students receive COVID-19 vaccines before arriving for classes in the fall, the first in the country. Northeastern University has followed suit.
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced this week that theyll require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated 2 weeks before ships set sail.
Because they and other private businesses operate on private property, they have the same legal right to make these rules as businesses that refuse to serve people who dont wear masks, shirts, or shoes.
Still, Lang said without full FDA approval, many places of business think its too early to make a policy to require someone to be vaccinated, as it could have some liability issues.
Its going to be an individual decision on risk, Lang said.
Dr. Ray Fabius, president and chief medical officer of HealthNEXT, said businesses will have better luck incentivizing employees to get vaccinated rather than punishing them for not, including awarding bonuses to employees who get their shots.
But places like airlines could soon require vaccination for people to fly, as airplanes are confined spaces youre in for a long time a ripe environment for the coronavirus to spread.
Fabius said cruise lines may require vaccination in their best interest, and indoor entertainment venues like movie theaters and dance clubs could also require the same.
At the end of the day, individuals have to decide if something like this would increase confidence, he said.
Lang said that societies have great interest in keeping the virus spread as low as possible to prevent more variants from emerging, but the pandemic and vaccination have turned into political issues, not medical ones.
Were so close to where we want to be that we dont want to move ahead too fast, Lang said. This isnt something thats going to be over and done.
At this stage, we would not like to see vaccination passports as a requirement for entry or exit because we are not sure at this stage that the vaccine prevents transmissions, said WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris, just ahead of World Health Day on 7 April 2021.
Dr. Harris added that vaccine passports may not be an effective strategy as not everyone has access to vaccines and there are groups in society who are excludedWe are still waiting on adequate supplies to provide the vaccines to all the countries that need them.
Highlighting how COVID-19 has impacted some people more than others, Dr. Harris said that the virus has really exposed the stark inequities in access to and coverage of health servicesGroups who already faced discrimination, poverty, social exclusion, difficult living and working conditions were the hardest hit by the pandemic.
For this years World Health Day, the UN agency has urged countries to build a fairer, healthier world post-COVID-19. Dr. Harris called for action to put in place policies and allocate resources so the most vulnerable groups can see their condition improve faster.
This means improving living conditions for all, tackling poverty and health inequities, building sustainable societies and strong economies, and promoting a more equitable sharing of resources, ensuring food security and nutrition and turning the tideon climate change. There is so much work to do, she said.
Latest WHOdatafromTuesday 6 April, at the time of posting,indicates that there have been 131,309,792 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2,854,276 deaths globally, reported to WHO.
By the end of 5 April, a total of 604,032,357 vaccine doses have been administered.
Regionally, infections and deaths remain highest in the Americas, with 56,880,123 confirmed cases, followed by Europe (46,085,310), South-East Asia (15,438,907), Eastern Mediterranean (7,785,717), Africa (3,126,037) and Western Pacific (1,992,953).
As essential workers, farmers and ranchers need quick access to the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure a stable food supply chain. Micheal Clements shares how the American Farm Bureau Federation is helping promote vaccine acceptance.
Clements: The American Farm Bureau Federation is helping farmers and ranchers, and farm workers, get the COVID-19 vaccine. AFBF Congressional Relations Director Allison Crittenden says they are doing so through the COVID-19 Community Corps.
Crittenden: So, its a group of organizations organized by the White House that are committed to fighting COVID-19 by promoting COVID-19 vaccination and making sure that the members of the different organizations understand the benefits and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Clements: Crittenden says Farm Bureau is working at the grassroots level to get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated.
Crittenden: We are making sure that these farmers and ranchers understand the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and have the appropriate tools to handle any sort of issues with vaccine hesitancy or concerns and questions about the vaccine. Through our work in the COVID Community Corps we have all kinds of messaging available to us that we plan to share with our state Farm Bureaus and all of our members in order to get the word out about the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Clements: Deemed essential workers, Crittenden says it is important those in agriculture get the vaccine as soon as possible.
Crittenden: Farm workers and farmers are an essential part of our critical infrastructure. They never had the option to work from home. So, its important that they have access to the vaccine to ensure that they are protected while they are still going to work each day and still farming.
Clements: Micheal Clements, Washington.
A new vaccine for Covid-19 that is entering clinical trials in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam could change how the world fights the pandemic. The vaccine, called NDV-HXP-S, is the first in clinical trials to use a new molecular design that is widely expected to create more potent antibodies than the current generation of vaccines. And the new vaccine could be far easier to make.
Existing vaccines from companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson must be produced in specialized factories using hard-to-acquire ingredients. In contrast, the new vaccine can be mass-produced in chicken eggs the same eggs that produce billions of influenza vaccines every year in factories around the world.
If NDV-HXP-S proves safe and effective, flu vaccine manufacturers could potentially produce well over a billion doses of it a year. Low- and middle-income countries currently struggling to obtain vaccines from wealthier countries may be able to make NDV-HXP-S for themselves or acquire it at low cost from neighbors.
Thats staggering it would be a game-changer, said Andrea Taylor, assistant director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center.
First, however, clinical trials must establish that NDV-HXP-S actually works in people. The first phase of clinical trials will conclude in July, and the final phase will take several months more. But experiments with vaccinated animals have raised hopes for the vaccines prospects.
Its a home run for protection, said Dr. Bruce Innis of the PATH Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access, which has coordinated the development of NDV-HXP-S. I think its a world-class vaccine.
Vaccines work by acquainting the immune system with a virus well enough to prompt a defense against it. Some vaccines contain entire viruses that have been killed; others contain just a single protein from the virus. Still others contain genetic instructions that our cells can use to make the viral protein.
Once exposed to a virus, or part of it, the immune system can learn to make antibodies that attack it. Immune cells can also learn to recognize infected cells and destroy them.
In the case of the coronavirus, the best target for the immune system is the protein that covers its surface like a crown. The protein, known as spike, latches onto cells and then allows the virus to fuse to them.
But simply injecting coronavirus spike proteins into people is not the best way to vaccinate them. Thats because spike proteins sometimes assume the wrong shape, and prompt the immune system to make the wrong antibodies.
This insight emerged long before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2015, another coronavirus appeared, causing a deadly form of pneumonia called MERS. Jason McLellan, a structural biologist then at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and his colleagues set out to make a vaccine against it.
They wanted to use the spike protein as a target. But they had to reckon with the fact that the spike protein is a shape-shifter. As the protein prepares to fuse to a cell, it contorts from a tulip-like shape into something more akin to a javelin.
Scientists call these two shapes the prefusion and postfusion forms of the spike. Antibodies against the prefusion shape work powerfully against the coronavirus, but postfusion antibodies dont stop it.
Dr. McLellan and his colleagues used standard techniques to make a MERS vaccine but ended up with a lot of postfusion spikes, useless for their purposes. Then they discovered a way to keep the protein locked in a tulip-like prefusion shape. All they had to do was change two of more than 1,000 building blocks in the protein into a compound called proline.
The resulting spike called 2P, for the two new proline molecules it contained was far more likely to assume the desired tulip shape. The researchers injected the 2P spikes into mice and found that the animals could easily fight off infections of the MERS coronavirus.
The team filed a patent for its modified spike, but the world took little notice of the invention. MERS, although deadly, is not very contagious and proved to be a relatively minor threat; fewer than 1,000 people have died of MERS since it first emerged in humans.
But in late 2019 a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged and began ravaging the world. Dr. McLellan and his colleagues swung into action, designing a 2P spike unique to SARS-CoV-2. In a matter of days, Moderna used that information to design a vaccine for Covid-19; it contained a genetic molecule called RNA with the instructions for making the 2P spike.
Other companies soon followed suit, adopting 2P spikes for their own vaccine designs and starting clinical trials. All three of the vaccines that have been authorized so far in the United States from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech use the 2P spike.
Other vaccine makers are using it as well. Novavax has had strong results with the 2P spike in clinical trials and is expected to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization in the next few weeks. Sanofi is also testing a 2P spike vaccine and expects to finish clinical trials later this year.
Dr. McLellans ability to find lifesaving clues in the structure of proteins has earned him deep admiration in the vaccine world. This guy is a genius, said Harry Kleanthous, a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He should be proud of this huge thing hes done for humanity.
April 7, 2021, 6:41 a.m. ET
But once Dr. McLellan and his colleagues handed off the 2P spike to vaccine makers, he turned back to the protein for a closer look. If swapping just two prolines improved a vaccine, surely additional tweaks could improve it even more.
It made sense to try to have a better vaccine, said Dr. McLellan, who is now an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
In March, he joined forces with two fellow University of Texas biologists, Ilya Finkelstein and Jennifer Maynard. Their three labs created 100 new spikes, each with an altered building block. With funding from the Gates Foundation, they tested each one and then combined the promising changes in new spikes. Eventually, they created a single protein that met their aspirations.
The winner contained the two prolines in the 2P spike, plus four additional prolines found elsewhere in the protein. Dr. McLellan called the new spike HexaPro, in honor of its total of six prolines.
The structure of HexaPro was even more stable than 2P, the team found. It was also resilient, better able to withstand heat and damaging chemicals. Dr. McLellan hoped that its rugged design would make it potent in a vaccine.
Dr. McLellan also hoped that HexaPro-based vaccines would reach more of the world especially low- and middle-income countries, which so far have received only a fraction of the total distribution of first-wave vaccines.
The share of the vaccines theyve received so far is terrible, Dr. McLellan said.
To that end, the University of Texas set up a licensing arrangement for HexaPro that allows companies and labs in 80 low- and middle-income countries to use the protein in their vaccines without paying royalties.
Meanwhile, Dr. Innis and his colleagues at PATH were looking for a way to increase the production of Covid-19 vaccines. They wanted a vaccine that less wealthy nations could make on their own.
The first wave of authorized Covid-19 vaccines require specialized, costly ingredients to make. Modernas RNA-based vaccine, for instance, needs genetic building blocks called nucleotides, as well as a custom-made fatty acid to build a bubble around them. Those ingredients must be assembled into vaccines in purpose-built factories.
The way influenza vaccines are made is a study in contrast. Many countries have huge factories for making cheap flu shots, with influenza viruses injected into chicken eggs. The eggs produce an abundance of new copies of the viruses. Factory workers then extract the viruses, weaken or kill them and then put them into vaccines.
The PATH team wondered if scientists could make a Covid-19 vaccine that could be grown cheaply in chicken eggs. That way, the same factories that make flu shots could make Covid-19 shots as well.
In New York, a team of scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai knew how to make just such a vaccine, using a bird virus called Newcastle disease virus that is harmless in humans.
For years, scientists had been experimenting with Newcastle disease virus to create vaccines for a range of diseases. To develop an Ebola vaccine, for example, researchers added an Ebola gene to the Newcastle disease viruss own set of genes.
The scientists then inserted the engineered virus into chicken eggs. Because it is a bird virus, it multiplied quickly in the eggs. The researchers ended up with Newcastle disease viruses coated with Ebola proteins.
At Mount Sinai, the researchers set out to do the same thing, using coronavirus spike proteins instead of Ebola proteins. When they learned about Dr. McLellans new HexaPro version, they added that to the Newcastle disease viruses. The viruses bristled with spike proteins, many of which had the desired prefusion shape. In a nod to both the Newcastle disease virus and the HexaPro spike, they called it NDV-HXP-S.
PATH arranged for thousands of doses of NDV-HXP-S to be produced in a Vietnamese factory that normally makes influenza vaccines in chicken eggs. In October, the factory sent the vaccines to New York to be tested. The Mount Sinai researchers found that NDV-HXP-S conferred powerful protection in mice and hamsters.
I can honestly say I can protect every hamster, every mouse in the world against SARS-CoV-2, Dr. Peter Palese, the leader of the research, said. But the jurys still out about what it does in humans.
The potency of the vaccine brought an extra benefit: The researchers needed fewer viruses for an effective dose. A single egg may yield five to 10 doses of NDV-HXP-S, compared to one or two doses of influenza vaccines.
We are very excited about this, because we think its a way of making a cheap vaccine, Dr. Palese said.
PATH then connected the Mount Sinai team with influenza vaccine makers. On March 15, Vietnams Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals announced the start of a clinical trial of NDV-HXP-S. A week later, Thailands Government Pharmaceutical Organization followed suit. On March 26, Brazils Butantan Institute said it would ask for authorization to begin its own clinical trials of NDV-HXP-S.
Meanwhile, the Mount Sinai team has also licensed the vaccine to the Mexican vaccine maker Avi-Mex as an intranasal spray. The company will start clinical trials to see if the vaccine is even more potent in that form.
To the nations involved, the prospect of making the vaccines entirely on their own was appealing. This vaccine production is produced by Thai people for Thai people, Thailands health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said at the announcement in Bangkok.
In Brazil, the Butantan Institute trumpeted its version of NDV-HXP-S as the Brazilian vaccine, one that would be produced entirely in Brazil, without depending on imports.
Ms. Taylor, of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, was sympathetic. I could understand why that would really be such an attractive prospect, she said. Theyve been at the mercy of global supply chains.
Madhavi Sunder, an expert on intellectual property at Georgetown University Law Center, cautioned that NDV-HXP-S would not immediately help countries like Brazil as they grappled with the current wave of Covid-19 infections. Were not talking 16 billion doses in 2020, she said.
Instead, the strategy will be important for long-term vaccine production not just for Covid-19 but for other pandemics that may come in the future. It sounds super promising, she said.
In the meantime, Dr. McLellan has returned to the molecular drawing board to try to make a third version of their spike that is even better than HexaPro.
Theres really no end to this process, he said. The number of permutations is almost infinite. At some point, youd have to say, This is the next generation.
The state will receive a much lower number of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines next week after the company reported production problems, and the supply issue could affect clinics.
The state Department of Public Health warned in Tuesday's COVID Vaccine Provider Bulletin that for the week of April 12 the state's allocation is only 6,400 doses. In comparison, last week's allocation was 53,900. DPH also warned that future allocations could be even lower.
Though the state will try to work with providers to find alternative options, clinics that require Johnson & Johnson may be delayed.
Last week, Johnson & Johnson had to discard a batch of vaccines after a key ingredient didn't meet quality control standards at a Baltimore facility. While that issue did not affect any shipments that came to Connecticut, it has delayed an anticipated increase in the supply of the company's vaccine.
COVID-19 Vaccination in Your State and County
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports daily numbers on the percent of people fully vaccinated based on a person's county of residence.
State and local leaders have said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a key part of their strategy in reaching vulnerable populations because it takes only one shot to complete a vaccination. The city of Hartford is using it at walk-up clinics specifically targeting residents who may have barriers to accessing a vaccine otherwise, and it is also being used strategically in some mobile clinics.
A spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont released the following statement:
"While the recent events at the J&J manufacturing plant have not affected any shipments that have already come into Connecticut and none of the J&J product currently in the state is compromised in any way, our J&J allocation for next week will be significantly lower than in past weeks. Last week, our State allocation was 53,900 doses. Next week, our allocation will be just 6,400 doses of J&J, and we have been told to anticipate that future weeks could be even lower before supply levels rebound. We are working with our providers to avoid disruption, and we believe that disruptions will be minimal."
CLEVELAND -- According to data from the Kaiser Foundation, Black people made up 12% of Ohios total population and 13% of total COVID-19 cases but as of March 29, had only received 7% of vaccinations.
This is an issue, as Black and Hispanic people are about three times more likely than white people nationally to become hospitalized due to COVID, and about two times more likely to die from it. When minorities are more at risk for deadly outcomes, equality does not equate to equity.
COVID-19 vaccine rollout plans should have been heavily targeted toward these populations from the beginning, and they were not. However, due to recent efforts like the federal mass vaccination site at Cleveland State Universitys Wolstein Center, numbers are beginning to reflect our population. Nearly 17% of Black people in Ohio have now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccine hesitancy is a concern. In the United States, many Black people rightfully have deep-rooted feelings of mistrust with the health care system, reflecting historical atrocities, such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. Truthfully, disparities today, including the alarming number of Black women dying related to pregnancy and childbirth complications, show that we dont have to take a trip down memory lane to remind ourselves that this mistrust is valid, and warranted.
I spoke with Dr. Emmitt Jolly, chair-elect of the Case Western Reserve University Department of Biology, and an alum of Tuskegee University, about these problems.
Dr. Jolly said: We cant let the issues of our past limit the success of our future. Unfortunately, most of what people in Cleveland know about Tuskegee University is its connection to the syphilis testing. But as a student there, I refused to let those dark days of the past limit my present chances to get a top-notch education and to achieve a successful career studying infectious diseases. Be aware of the past, but take all the steps you can to protect yourself and your friends and family today.
In fact, we have found that vaccine hesitancy is not the root problem -- lack of access and misinformation are. A study last fall found that 41% of Black adults knew little to nothing about how vaccines are created, and 30% knew little to nothing about how they actually work.
A step in the right direction would be providing more education on herd immunity and how, similar to the historic election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, we cant achieve it without Black people. A recent article by Debra Furr-Holden, associate dean for public health integration at Michigan State University, lays it out clearly: For herd immunity to serve as a layer of protection for the United States, at least 70% of the population must get vaccinated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60% of the population is white; therefore, even if every white person in the United States received the vaccine, minority buy-in is absolutely necessary for the country to regain some kind of normalcy.
So, with all this in mind, as a Black woman, who works on vaccine development for infectious diseases and closely with the actual SARS-CoV-2 virus as part of my work, I decided to get the vaccine because of the facts: The fact that I am at risk of contracting the virus and of having poorer outcomes because of my race and health care access. The fact that I have seen too many people who look like me afflicted by this virus. And the fact that, by getting this vaccine, Im doing my part to return to normalcy.
Do Black Americans have a reason to be hesitant due to our countrys current infrastructure? Of course. But those odds stacked against us, the ones producing health disparities, make it that much more imperative that we protect ourselves. And that health care professionals and officials put in the work to ensure we have access to the resources.
Kyla Johnson is studying for a masters in public health degree at Case Western Reserve University and is a technician in the Flow Cytometry Core, which provides analysis and sorting of cells.
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