Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, May 7 2021

In Washington:

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday called for the World Health Assembly (WHA), a decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), to allow Taiwan to participate as an observer in its meeting later this month. “Taiwan offers valuable contributions and lessons learned from its approach to [coronavirus] issues,” Blinken said in a statement. China opposes the move because it considers the island its sovereign territory, a stance Taiwan rejects. Taiwan’s early alarms about COVID-19 contrasted with China’s relatively slower public acknowledgment of the virus’s spread. 

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Friday of "repeatedly documented" instances of coronavirus spreading through the air to people more than six feet away under certain conditions. The risk of this kind of spread is highest indoors in places with "inadequate ventilation," when people are shouting or singing, or when people are exposed for long periods of time, the CDC said in a document. The agency continues to urge mask-wearing, physical distancing, avoiding crowded indoor areas, and adequate ventilation.

• The U.S. economy added only 266,000 jobs last month, way off the 1 million forecasters had predicted. It's a major setback for the hopes of a speedy labor-market recovery alongside America's great pandemic reopening. While the labor force grew significantly, the unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.1 percent.

• A senior CDC official who sounded an early alarm about the coronavirus pandemic said Friday that she will resign next week. Nancy Messonnier said her resignation is effective May 14 and that she will become executive director of pandemics and health systems at the Palo Alto-based Skoll Foundation. Messonnier garnered national attention last year when she contradicted the White House's efforts to downplay the virus’s severity. On Feb. 25, 2020, Messonnier warned that the U.S. should prepare for a "severe" disruption to everyday life.

In the News:

• On Thursday, the U.S. reported 47,366 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 789 deaths. New infections are now at seven-month lows. The U.S. averaged about 48,000 new cases per day over the past week. It’s the first time since October that average daily cases have dipped below 50,000. Rising vaccination rates are likely playing a role; 41 percent of adults are fully vaccinated.

• Pfizer and BioNTech on Friday said they will ask the FDA to fully approve their COVID-19 vaccine after having emergency use authorization for almost five months. The companies seek full authorization to give their vaccine to those 16 and older. With the FDA’s full approval, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be administered after the public health emergency is declared over. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would be the first in the U.S. with the FDA's full approval.

• On Thursday, Moderna says early data indicates that its vaccine is highly effective in adolescents between ages 12-17.  Initial analysis of a study showed a vaccine efficacy rate of 96 percent.  Moderna plans to apply for full FDA approval of the vaccine next month.

• There have been twice as many deaths from COVID-19 around the world as have been reported, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)s. The reported number is 3.2 million. But according to the analysis, the U.S. has undercounted by over 300,000 deaths, and Russia has undercounted by five times. "Many deaths from COVID-19 go unreported because countries only report deaths that occur in hospitals or in patients with a confirmed infection. In many places, weak health reporting systems and low access to health care magnify this challenge," the report notes.

• The European Union is urging the United States and other wealthy countries to expand their vaccine exports to curb new waves of COVID-19. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted Friday that the EU exports about half its doses. French President Emmanuel Macron also noted Friday that while “you can give the intellectual property to laboratories,” - referring to a potential international vaccine patent waiver - counties won’t be able to “produce it tomorrow,” thus fueling the need for a quick jump in vaccine exports. 

• The Alabama Department of Public Health is turning to Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban to help lead the charge to encourage people in Alabama to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Saban will be featured in a video along with other sports coaches in the state to talk about reopening sports stadiums as motivation for people to get their vaccines. “Please get your COVID-19 vaccine. We want Bryant-Denny Stadium loud again this coming season — and Roll Tide!,” Saban reportedly says in the video.

Authored by Ivan Zapien