(Bloomberg) -- The Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot for children as young as 5 moved closer to U.S. regulatory approval after winning the backing of an advisory panel. Already, fewer American kids are ending up in the hospital with Covid-19.
Australian regulators approved a Pfizer booster for adults. Separately, travelers from that nation and Switzerland will be allowed quarantine-free entry to Singapore -- where ICU beds are filling up as serious cases rise.
Denmark, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, had an increase in infections after easing pandemic restrictions.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 244.3 million; deaths surpass 4.96 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.9 billion shots given
- How soon can you child get a Covid shot?
- Beer flows in Brussels as Covid rules and border measures fall
- Office return stalls in London’s financial hubs: Pret Index
- How the dead are helping the living (Podcast)
Australia Poised to Roll Out Booster Shots (6:45 a.m. HK)
Australia is expected to start a population-wide booster shot program starting no later than Nov. 8, Health Minister Greg Hunt said. The rollout of the program is subject to final approval by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
The decision follows Therapeutic Goods Administration approval being granted for a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people 18 and over. Moderna is expected to soon apply to the TGA to allow booster doses of its vaccine, the government said in a statement.
Louisiana Lifts Mask Mandate Except for Schools: NYT (6 a.m. HK)
Louisiana’s governor removed an indoor mask mandate for at least the next four weeks, citing “tremendous progress,” the New York Times reported.
“I stand here today optimistic, relieved that the worst of the fourth surge is behind us now,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat.
Edwards cautioned that the pandemic isn’t over, reminding residents who aren’t fully vaccinated to follow federal guidance and wear a mask.
Visa Slumps After Warning of Slow Cross-Border Travel (6 a.m. HK)
Visa Inc. shares sank as much as 4.1% in extended trading after it warned that widespread border closures are still a hindrance. Cross-border travel likely won’t reach pre-pandemic levels until the summer of 2023, said Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu.
“Cross-border travel is recovering well, but it’s still well below pre-Covid levels, with the pace of recovery depending on border openings,” Prabhu said Tuesday on a conference call with analysts. “Covid variants are still with us and vaccination rates remain low in large parts of the globe. With these factors as the backdrop, forecasting the trajectory of the return to normalcy remains difficult.”
Southwest Shot Mandate Can Proceed During Case (5 p.m. NY)
Southwest Airlines Co. can require its pilots to be vaccinated, while their union challenges the company’s requirement for the shot in court.
U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn in Texas rejected the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s request to temporarily block the company mandate.
The union claims Southwest illegally changed work rules during the pandemic instead of negotiating with pilots, violating the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline-labor relations, and its collective bargaining agreement.
Pfizer Shot for Kids 5-11 Backed by FDA Panel (4:16 p.m. NY)
The benefits of a vaccine for young children made by Pfizer and BioNTech exceed its risks, according to a panel of U.S. experts, putting a shot for the youngest school-age children on track for a likely clearance.
The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines advisory committee voted 17-0, with one abstention, to back the immunization, which is intended for children from 5 to 11 years old and is one-third the dose currently given to people age 12 and older.
If the FDA issues an emergency authorization, which is expected, it could pave the way for shots to start being administered at schools, pediatricians’ offices and pharmacies around the U.S. within weeks. The agency isn’t required to follow the panel’s recommendations, but it often does.
Belgium Extends Use of Pass to Flemish Region (1:40 p.m. NY)
Belgium will extend the use of a Covid pass (a proof of vaccination, recovery or negative test) to restrict access to bars, restaurants and fitness clubs in the northern Flemish region starting next week. The Brussels capital region and southern Wallonia already decided to use the pass in those venues.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also announced the reinstatement of a mask requirement in indoor public spaces as of Friday, less than a month after abolishing the nationwide rule. Finally, Belgians got a “strong recommendation” to work from home again.
Belgium has reported the highest daily number of infections of 2021 in recent days. Cases are currently doubling every nine days.
U.S. Pediatric Hospital Visits Plunge (11:10 a.m. NY)
Hospital admissions are declining sharply among U.S. children with Covid-19, even more than adults, quieting concerns for now that the return to school could trigger a major uptick in viral transmission.
Daily pediatric admissions with confirmed Covid have fallen 56% since the end of August to an average of about 0.2 per 100,000, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. Among adults, new admissions fell 54% to 2.1 per 100,000 in the same period, the data show.
H.K. Allows Young Travelers With 1 Dose (10:35 a.m. NY)
Hong Kong will allow travelers age 12-17 who hold a recognized record of one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to board flights to the city starting Oct. 29, the government said in a statement.
Vaccine Makers in Africa (9:30 a.m. NY)
BioNTech plans to start constructing its first start-to-finish vaccine plant in Africa in the middle of next year, aiming to build a manufacturing network that could eventually supply hundreds of millions of doses to the continent. The German company, which makes a vaccine in partnership with Pfizer Inc., is developing the plans with the governments of Rwanda and Senegal.
Separately, Moderna Inc. agreed to sell as many as 110 million doses to the African Union following months of pressure, though most of the shipments won’t arrive until the second quarter of next year. The purchase was made possible by the U.S. government giving up its place in the supply queue, African Union coronavirus envoy Strive Masiyiwa said at a briefing.
Danish Covid Rate Rises After Curbs End (9 a.m. NY)
Denmark, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, has registered a rise in cases, with several key indicators showing that the virus has accelerated in the past month.
The reproductive rate of the virus, known as the R rate, is now 1.2, up from 1 a week ago, which means the virus is spreading, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke tweeted on Tuesday.
Covid Worries Executives (8 a.m. NY)
Risks related to Covid-19 and the economic havoc it wreaked across the globe are keeping corporate executives up at night.
That’s the takeaway from an Aon Plc survey of 2,344 risk managers, chief risk officers and chief financial officers conducted in the second quarter. Cyber attacks were the No. 1 most-cited hazard, while more than half of the Top 10 risks executives say they face today are tied to the pandemic, according to survey results released Tuesday.
“One of the things Covid-19 demonstrated is that long-term risks are no longer a long way out on the horizon. They’re actually on many businesses’ doorsteps,” said Lambros Lambrou, chief executive officer for commercial risk solutions at Aon.
Mobile Hospital in Ukraine (7:35 a.m. NY)
In Ukraine, the State Emergency Service is setting up a mobile hospital to treat Covid patients including those needing intensive care. When assembled, 35 tents will add 120 beds in the Kherson region on the Black Sea. Ukraine broke another record Tuesday with 734 new deaths.
Swiss Regulator Approves Boosters (7:07 a.m. NY)
Switzerland’s drug regulator Swissmedic approved a third shot of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people at high risk.
“The latest study data indicate that an additional dose can increase the ability to form antibodies against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, particularly in patients with a weakened immune system,” it said in a statement.
17 Cases Reported in Beijing (7 a.m. NY)
China’s capital city Beijing has reported 17 confirmed local cases as of Monday. They are all over 57 years old and some have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a local government briefing. China hasn’t reported any deaths from Covid since February.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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