WHO scientist hopes for 2B vaccine doses by end of next year

LONDON — The chief scientist at the World Health Organization says the agency hopes there will be about 2 billion doses of a vaccine against COVID-19 by the end of next year that would be reserved for “priority populations.”

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan told a press briefing: “It’s a big if because we don’t have any vaccine that’s proven.”

She said that because of the numerous vaccine candidates currently being tested, WHO hoped at least some might prove ready for use next year.

Swaminathan said that WHO recommends immunizing people at risk first, including the elderly and those with underlying conditions like diabetes or respiratory disease, as well as key workers.

But Swaminathan noted that there was still no strategy regarding any possible global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. “WHO will propose these solutions,” she said. “Countries need to agree and come to a consensus. That’s the only way this can work.”

Numerous developed countries including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. have already struck deals with pharmaceuticals to secure vaccine supplies for their citizens first.

WHO and partners have called for drugmakers to suspend their patent rights on any effective COVID-19 vaccine and for billions of dollars to buy vaccines for developing countries.

What you need to know about the virus outbreak

— China’s new outbreak wanes as US calls for answers on virus

— Is it safe to stay in hotels as reopenings get underway?

— Study ties blood type to COVID-19 risk; O may help, A hurt

— Vice President Mike Pence says the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic is “a cause for celebration,” but a new poll finds more than half of Americans calling it fair or poor. The Gallup and West Health survey out Thursday shows that 57% of U.S. adults rate the national response to COVID-19 as fair or poor, particularly because America has the world’s most expensive health care system. The poll found that only 23% rate the national response as excellent or very good, while an additional 20% rate it as good.

— As work on potential coronavirus vaccines intensifies, rich countries are placing advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens are immunized first. That is leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends.

— U.S. health regulators are issuing warnings to three companies selling at-home blood tests for coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration said the tests are illegal because they haven’t been federally reviewed to safely and accurately detect COVID-19. No tests are FDA-approved for consumers to test themselves at home.

Here’s what else is happening

The World Health Organization’s top scientist says it’s now been definitively proven that the cheap malaria drug hydroxychloroquine — the drug favoured by President Donald Trump — doesn’t work in stopping deaths among people hospitalized with the new coronavirus.

But Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said there could still be a role for the drug in preventing people from catching COVID-19 in the first place and noted that clinical trials testing hydroxychloroquine’s role in this are ongoing.

Swaminathan said in a press briefing on Thursday that there is still a gap in determining whether hydroxychloroquine has a role at all in prevention or minimizing the severity of the illness in early infection or even in preventing it.

She says: “We don’t know that as yet. And we need to complete those large trials and get the data,” she said, referring to several other trials not being conducted by WHO.

The U.N. health agency announced this week that it is suspending the hydroxychloroquine arm of its own trial testing various experimental therapies for COVID-19, referring to previous results from a large U.K. trial and a separate analysis of evidence on the drug. The other drugs being tested by WHO, including treatments used in the past for Ebola and AIDS, are still being pursued.

32 Superdome workers infected

Superdome officials say positive COVID-19 tests have come back for 32 workers contracted to perform stadium renovations.

A statement released by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District on Tuesday says affected workers have been “isolated away from the job site.”

“This post-Memorial Day increase is consistent with what 21 other states, not including Louisiana, are experiencing at this stage of the pandemic as more restrictions have been lifted for travel, shopping, and work,” the Superdome statement said.

Workers with positive tests will be required to complete a protocol compliant with Centers for Disease Control guidelines and document to general contractor Broadmoor LLC that they have had a negative test result before being permitted back at the job site, Superdome officials said. Remaining workers now are also under stricter rules including the required use of masks.

The state-owned Superdome currently is undergoing $450 million in renovations that have been deemed “essential” by Gov. John Bel Edwards. The dome is slated to host the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in 2022 and the Super Bowl in 2024. The work includes the replacement of original ramps with new stairs, escalators and elevators; more spacious concourses; and new concession areas and bathrooms.

Texas cases surge

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott insisted Tuesday that Texas’ health care system can handle the record-high number of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as the state aggressively pushes to reopen its economy.

At a news conference, Abbott acknowledged that many Texans have become lax about wearing masks and social distancing as coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, and urged them to take greater responsibility for stopping the spread of the virus and to stay home as much as possible.

“It does raise concerns, but there is no reason right now to be alarmed,” Abbott said of the recent spike in cases.

Tuesday marked the eighth time in nine days that the state set a new high for hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients, with 2,518, which was an increase of nearly 200 since Monday. That exceeded the number of hospitalized patients on Memorial Day, which at the time was the lowest in more than a month, by more than 1,000.

State health officials on Tuesday also reported 2,622 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, which was a single-day high. The state also reported 46 new deaths, doubling the state’s daily average for the last two weeks.

Texas began aggressively reopening its economy on May 1, and the business-friendly Republican governor has continued to relax restrictions despite the increase in infections.

Florida governor won’t close economy

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he has no intention of reclosing Florida’s economy as the state’s daily reported coronavirus cases rose sharply to a record level, saying many of the newly detected are young and healthy and unlikely to suffer serious illness or death.

DeSantis said much of the two-week spike in confirmed infections that pushed the daily total past 2,700 Tuesday can be traced to hot spots such as farm labor camps or particular businesses where a few positive cases leads to widespread testing that uncovers high percentages of asymptomatic or barely symptomatic cases.

Given those circumstances, DeSantis said it makes no sense to again severely restrict the state’s economy as it was from late March into May.

“We are not shutting down, we are going to go forward and we are going to continue to protect the most vulnerable,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee.

Hong Kong Disney opens

Hong Kong Disneyland has officially reopened after a major drop in coronavirus cases in the Chinese territory.

Advance reservations will be required and only limited attendance will be allowed at the park, one of the pillars of Hong Kong’s crucial tourism industry.

Social distancing measures including avoiding mixing together different families are being implemented in lines, at restaurants, on rides and at shops, while cleaning and disinfecting will be increased.

Visitors will have their temperatures checked at the entrance and be required to wear masks at all times inside the park, except when eating and drinking.

Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million, has recorded just 1,120 cases and four deaths from COVID-19, but the impact on the financial hub’s economy that relies heavily on international travel and visitors from China has been severe.

Most visitors from outside the territory are still barred from entering and Disneyland said anyone who has traveled outside Hong Kong within the previous two weeks will be asked to rescheduled their visit.

Vaccine meeting set for African nations

African nations next week will hold a high-level conference on coronavirus vaccines to “position ourselves to not be left behind” in access, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief says.

John Nkengasong says the World Health Organization director-general will attend the discussion that also will focus on “how we can manufacture a vaccine ourselves.”

He said countries including Senegal, Egypt and South Africa already have vaccine manufacturing capabilities.

Concern has been high among Africa’s 54 nations about access to testing and medical supplies amid intense global competition.

Africa’s virus cases are now above 260,000, with South Africa representing about 30% of infections.

More than 3.7 million tests for the virus have been conducted in Africa, where the WHO has said the pandemic is “accelerating” on the continent of 1.3 billion people. Ten African nations account for about 80% of testing, while the rest are “still struggling,” Nkengasong said.

Czechs to abandon masks

The Czech Republic is set to almost fully abandon its most visible tool of fighting the coronavirus pandemic — face masks.

Health Minister Adam Vojtech says that starting July 1, wearing masks on public transport and indoors such as in stores, theaters and cinemas is no longer mandatory.

Vojtech says masks will remain mandatory only in regions with local clusters and outbreaks. Those places will be determined later in June.

Currently, they include the capital of Prague and two eastern regions.

The country has registered several dozen new COVID-19 cases daily for a month while a total of 333 people have died.

Masks required in 3 Turkey cities

Turkish authorities have made the wearing of masks mandatory in three major cities to curb the spread of COVID-19 following an uptick in cases since the country allowed many businesses to reopen.

The governors of Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa announced the mask rule late Wednesday in line with a recommendation by the country’s scientific advisory council. Masks are obligatory in 47 out of 81 provinces. The statements said masks must be worn in all public spaces.

Turkey is seeing an upward trend in the daily number of infections after the government authorized cafes, restaurants, gyms, parks, beaches and museums to reopen, lifted inter-city travel restrictions and eased stay-at-home orders for the elderly and young at the start of June.

Turkey has reported 182,727 confirmed cases and 4,861 deaths from COVID-19 since March.

158 cases in Beijing market outbreak

BEIJING — A Beijing government spokesman says the city has recorded a total of 158 confirmed cases since the new outbreak was detected last week at a large wholesale market.

Hu Hejian says close contacts are being traced to locate all possible cases as quickly as possible amid strengthened testing and other prevention and control measures.

Anyone who has been near the Xinfad market since May 30, along with their close contacts, will be quarantined at home for 14 days and tested at least twice, said city government official Zhang Ge.

Beijing reported 21 cases Thursday, down from 31 a day earlier.

Beijing has barred entry to all confirmed and suspected cases, patients with fever and close contacts from abroad and other provinces, Zhang said. China also has barred most foreigners from entering and even foreign diplomats arriving from abroad must undergo two weeks of home quarantine.

All indoor public venues remain closed, Zhang said. Offices, restaurants and hotels in high risk area also will be shut down, he said.

India sets 1-day spike mark

India recorded the highest one-day spike of 12,281 coronavirus cases, raising the total to 366,946 even as the government ruled out reimposing a countrywide lockdown.

India’s death toll reached 12,237, a rise of 334 in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The number of recoveries touched 52% at 194,325.

India stands behind the United States, Brazil and Russia in the number of cases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday rejected media reports that the government was considering reimposing lockdown. India has to think about further unlocking, minimizing all possibilities of harm to people, he said.

The March 25 lockdown is now restricted to high-risk areas.

The worst-hit states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi.