U.S. nears vaccine rollout with FDA under pressure

The U.S. may start vaccinations as early as Monday after the Food and Drug Administration said it was working toward rapid emergency-use authorization of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine.

The pace of inoculations may reach 20 million people in December, rising to 30 million in January and 50 million in February, Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir said on Fox News.

Two other vaccine developers suffered setbacks. Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc delayed advanced trials of their experimental Covid-19 shot after it failed to produce a strong enough response in older people, pushing its potential availability to the end of next year. The Australian government canceled an order for 51 million doses after trials by CSL Ltd. and the University of Queensland ran into difficulties.

European Union governments agreed to coordinate their vaccine rollout. Germany reported record new cases and deaths, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said urgent action was needed to avoid tightening lockdown restrictions. Switzerland restricted opening hours for shops and restaurants. Sweden neared intensive-care unit capacity limits in Stockholm.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 69.7 million; deaths surpass 1.59 million
• U.S. Hot Spots: December smashes records as deaths near 300,000
• New York’s surge is deep but less deadly this time
• FDA vows fast Pfizer vaccine action amid political pressure
• There’s still time to beat Covid without lockdowns
• Covid vaccine setbacks temper optimism after upbeat news
• Unsold U.S. hotel rooms near 1 billion as lodging crisis deepens
• Tracking coronavirus vaccines that will end the pandemic

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Portugal Deaths Rise to Record (10:23 a.m. NY)

Portugal reported a record 95 deaths on Friday, four more than the previous high on Nov. 16. Cases increased by 5,080, according to the Health Ministry, less than the daily record of almost 7,000 recorded three weeks ago. Patients in intensive-care units fell by two to 507.

Singapore Tightens Rules for Travelers From Hong Kong (10:16 a.m. NY)

Singapore is tightening border measures in light of the worsening outbreak in Hong Kong, according to the city-state’s health ministry.

All travelers entering Singapore from 11:59 p.m. on Sunday who have a travel history in the past 14 days to Hong Kong will be required to serve a 14-day stay-home notice at dedicated facilities.

New Mexico Bans Non-Essential Surgery (9:53 a.m. NY)

New Mexico officials are prohibiting hospital acute care facilities from performing non-essential surgery through Jan. 4 as Covid-19 cases stretch the state’s health care system, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The state also issued an emergency order on crisis care standards, which would permit hospitals to ration care, the newspaper said.

Swiss Shops, Stockholm Schools (9:27 a.m. NY)

Shops, sporting and cultural centers, and restaurants in Switzerland will need to close at 7 p.m. as part of a new set of restrictions announced by the federal government. The measures, in force until Jan. 22, were criticized by local officials and business across the country. One member of the Geneva government called the early closing of bars and restaurants “disrespectful.”

Stockholm officials advised secondary schools to close from Monday. Sweden was considering whether to ask Nordic neighbors for help in alleviating the pressure on its health-care system amid a shortage of intensive-care unit beds.

U.S. Vaccinations Could Start Monday, Azar Says (8:30 a.m. NY)

The U.S. may start vaccinations “Monday or Tuesday of next week,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

The FDA intends to proceed toward emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, he said.

Speaking separately on Fox Business, Azar said AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson U.S. trial data readouts may come in early to mid-January, with an FDA authorization process “hopefully” proceeding soon after that.

FDA Says Rapidly Working Toward Finalizing Pfizer Vaccine (7:05 a.m NY)

The FDA said it will “rapidly work toward finalization and issuance” of an emergency use authorization following Thursday’s advisory meeting on Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid vaccine.

The agency said it had notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Operation Warp Speed so they can execute plans for vaccine distribution.

Austria Survey Shows 5% of Population Possibly Infected (6:13 a.m. NY)

About 4.7% of all Austrians over 16, or around 349,000 people, have antibodies against the novel coronavirus, meaning they have probably been infected between the start of the pandemic and late October.

That implies three out of every five infected patient wasn’t recorded by health authorities, according to a representative survey conducted by the Austrian statistics office.

About half of the people found with antibodies who hadn’t been reported as infected experienced no or only one possible symptom, and most of them hadn’t suspected to have caught the virus, according to the survey.

London Mayor Khan Urges Action to Avoid Strict Lockdown (6:54 p.m. HK)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said urgent action was needed to avoid tightening lockdown measures after the city reported 4,144 new virus cases on Thursday, more than the 2,550 on Wednesday.

WHO Sees a Dozen Shots in Final Stages of Phase 3 Trials (6:45 p.m. HK)

About a dozen vaccines are in the final stages of phase III trials with more than 200 candidates in development, the World Health Organization said in a briefing on Friday.

EU Agrees on Synchronized Shot Deployment (6:22 p.m. HK)

The European Union’s member states agreed that they will all receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 at the same time and start administering it to their populations on the same day or week, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said after an EU summit in Brussels.

Czech Government May Reimpose Restrictions(6:07 p.m. HK)

The Czech Health Ministry said it will recommend reimposing stricter measures to curb the virus just weeks after starting to lift some restrictions. The country, which let schools, shops and most services open last week, had 5,864 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, up by 1,200 from a week ago.

The nation is in a “complicated situation” with the reproductive number rising to 1.1 and the impact of looser regulation likely only reflected in infection data next week, Health Minister Jan Blatny said in a televised press conference.

AstraZeneca To Test Combining Its Vaccine With Russia’s (5:45 p.m. HK)

AstraZeneca Plc will start clinical trials of a combination of its own vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik V inoculation, the company said in statement.

“Combinations of different Covid-19 vaccines may be an important step in generating wider protection through a stronger immune response and better accessibility.”

Hong Kong Signs Vaccine Deal (3:22 p.m. HK)

Hong Kong has struck deals for 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from two front runner companies and will receive the first shots beginning next month, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Friday.

The Asian financial city will buy 7.5 million doses of the mRNA shot developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer, and 7.5 million doses of a vaccine from Chinese developer Sinovac Biotech Ltd., she said. It’s also in talks with AstraZeneca Plc for a further 7.5 million doses, though that agreement has not been signed.

The Chinese company with the rights to market the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong is preparing to seek approval of the shot soon after the U.S. clears it, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sanofi, GSK Delay Vaccine After Elderly Get Little Boost (2:16 p.m. HK)

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, two of the world’s biggest vaccine makers, delayed advanced trials of their experimental Covid-19 shot after it failed to produce a strong enough response in older people, pushing its potential availability to the end of next year.

The partners will begin a new second-phase study with a more concentrated antigen in February after they said the current dosage failed to generate a good immune response in people 50 years and older. Younger adults showed a response similar to patients who have recovered from the disease.

German Cases, Deaths Hit Record (2:00 p.m. HK)

Germany’s daily coronavirus cases and deaths rose the most since the outbreak began, as the rapid spread of the disease is prompting authorities to consider a hard lockdown over the holiday season.

New coronavirus-related fatalities rose by 604 in the 24 hours through Friday morning, while cases jumped by another 32,734, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Both numbers exceeded previous highs reached in recent weeks.

Infections and deaths have moved higher in the past few weeks despite a partial shutdown that closed bars, gyms and cinemas but allowed schools and other business to continue operating.

Turkey Methodology Change Triples Case Count (1:55 p.m. HK)

Turkey’s total case count rose to 1.75 million on Thursday as it changed its reporting method and began announcing the cumulative number of cases. The new data, which once again include asymptomatic infections, put the country’s outbreak among the largest in the world.

Before the reporting changes, the number of Turkey’s symptomatic patients were 558,517.

Hong Kong Airlines Cuts 250 More Jobs as Covid’s Grip Tightens (12:20 p.m. HK)

Hong Kong Airlines said it’s making 250 flight attendants redundant due to the prolonged impact of the pandemic. “Hong Kong Airlines has been compelled to adjust our operations significantly in the past year due to travel restrictions,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Australia Cancels Order for CSL Vaccine as Trial Stumbles (8:32 a.m. HK)

The Australian government canceled an order for 51 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by CSL Ltd. and the University of Queensland after clinical trials ran into difficulties.

CSL stock declined the most in 10 weeks on Friday after the company said that following discussions with the government, it would not progress to phase 2/3 clinical trials of the V451 vaccine. It said a small component of the vaccine comes from the human immunodeficiency virus, and while that posed no risk of infection, some trial participants had false positive tests for HIV.