Pandemic Covid-19: Live updates and news for February 20, 2021

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

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Pfizer Inc. plans to ramp up U.S. coronavirus vaccine production. Snow and freezing temperatures have led to a backup of 6 million inoculations nationwide, the White House said.

Mexico, which has the third highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, expects 10 million doses of vaccine from China Sinovac Biotech Limited by the end of May. Australia are expected to start jabs on Monday. AstraZeneca Plc plans to make doses in Japan, broadcaster NHK said.

A group of seven countries donates a a major boost to Covax, the global campaign to fund vaccines in lower-income countries, marks a move toward a coordinated effort to tackle the pandemic.

Key Developments:

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from the Bloomberg Prognosis team here. Click on CVID on the end-tool for global data on cases and deaths.

Promoting signs

The number of new Covid-19 cases has dropped dramatically in the last few weeks

Source: Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg

Mexico expects Sinovac vaccines (10:29 am HK)

Mexico expects to receive 200,000 Sinovac vaccines on February 20, another 800,000 on February 28, and 3 million in March, April and May for a total of 10 million doses, said Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell.

Mexico reported a daily increase of 857 Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total to 178,965, the Ministry of Health said Friday.

AstraZeneca to make doses in Japan: Report (9:25 m HK)

AstraZeneca Plc plans to roll out vaccines in Japan and will begin distributing them locally as soon as it receives the approval of the government, the national broadcaster NHK statement, citing an interview with an officer at the drug dealer’s Japan unit.

The Japanese government signed a contract with the company to get enough vaccines for 60 million people, NHK said. AstraZeneca applied to the health ministry for a vaccine approval earlier this month, the Nikkei reported.

Argentine Minister in Vaccine Scandal (6:01 am HK)

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez told Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia to step down after a veteran journalist announced he received a Covid-19 vaccine ahead of schedule by asking the minister personally for help. Carla Vizzotti, who is currently secretary of health access replace Gonzalez.

Reporter Horacio Verbitsky told a radio station that he received a vaccine at the health ministry following a personal request to Gonzalez. Local newspaper Clarin reported that other government alliances had been vaccinated ahead of time.

Australia to issue vaccines on Monday (5am HK)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said authorities would begin issuing vaccines from next week.

“We’re ready to go,” Morrison said posted on Facebook early Saturday. “Our vaccination program is on the way and will be rolled out on Monday.”

Ireland reports on first cases of Brazilian difference (4:49 pm NY)

Irish authorities have identified the so-called Brazilian variable in the country for the first time, the latest strain appearing there. All three cases of the P1 variant found were all related to travel, the health ministry said in a statement.

Snoring B.1.1.7, often referred to as the UK variant, now accounts for about 90% of cases in Ireland, and authorities believe that increased emissions are contributing to a slow decline. in case numbers.

Biden blames Trump on vaccines (4:21 pm NY)

President Joe Biden Friday he shook Donald Trump for not getting enough Covid-19 pictures while he went on a trip to a facility in Michigan where Pfizer Inc. manufacturing his vaccine.

“My ancestor – as my mother used to say, God loves him – has failed to prescribe enough vaccines,” said Biden, echoing his repeated criticism of his ancestor. “The attempt to move the images to transfer has failed. Vaccination centers failed to be set up. ”

In comments delivered at the facility, Biden sought to reassure the public that the sights are safe and outlined efforts by his administration to increase vaccine supply and sites.

Dutch Curfew backed by lawyers (4:14 pm NY)

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte won parliamentary support for a an overnight curfew struggling to contain the coronavirus, ending a week of roller-coaster testing of its popularity less than a month before a general election.

Legislation passed by the Senate late Friday in The Hague means an overnight curfew, which began on January 23 and sparked unrest in Dutch cities, can remain in place in early March. The vote pushes a court order to lift the curfew after a judge ruled the situation was not a real emergency, such as a breakdown in the country’s dike system.

Pfizer Head says it will produce a double (4:01 pm NY)

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Friday that the company will expand manufacturing and work with new suppliers to ramp up the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech SE.

Appearing at the Pfizer base in Michigan with President Joe Biden, Bourla said the company will hire additional capacity at their site in Kalamazoo to produce the image shape in addition to part of the vaccine, called lipids, which help deliver the genetic material into the body. The drug giant will increase lipid production capacity at its plant in Groton, Connecticut, and will increase the so-called filler-finishing capacity at its site in McPherson, Kansas.

He said he expects the number of doses, which will take an average of 5 million a week, to “more than double.”

Texas Blackouts lead to highest vaccine drop (3:27 pm NY)

Winter weather and cold power affected the Texas vaccination effort, one large enough to slow inoculation movements across the country.

On Thursday alone, the state delivered 118,417 fewer doses than on the same week a week earlier, according to the Bloomberg vaccine detector. The seven-day average fell 31% last week to 89,324, the strongest drop of the pandemic, the data show. At its peak of February 12, Texas averaged 134,688 doses per day.

South Africa passes 1.5 million cases (3:10 pm NY)

Diseases in South Africa surpassed 1.5 million on Friday, with nearly 50,000 dead, the health ministry said. The country began rolling out its first vaccines this week – single-dose doses from Johnson & Johnson – with 6,524 people circulating in the first three days of the release.

California focuses on vaccines at school opening (3:03 pm NY)

California will set aside 10% of first vaccine doses for teachers and childcare staff in a bid to accelerate school reopening, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

The decision means the start of March 1, at least 75,000 doses a week for educators, whose unions are largely opposed to personal classes so that their members can vaccine. Newsom, which opposes the threat of a recall election over its handling of the pandemic, is pushing for schools to reopen soon, with the youngest levels starting first .

Toronto Extended Lockdown (2:58 pm NY)

The Ontario government is on they scrapped plans to allow more businesses to reopen in Toronto after city officials warned it would be a fatal mistake.

Home stay orders stay until at least March 8 in Canada’s largest city and financial center, as well as two other provinces of the province. Toronto was expected to return to less stringent measures on Feb. 22, allowing limited opening of some retail businesses that have been closed to personal activity since November.

G-7 Leaders to help fund vaccine access (2:30 pm NY)