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(Bloomberg) -- A doctors’ group in the U.K. has urged the government to review the 12 weeks allowed for people to receive a second dose of the vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. The manufacturer suggests 21 days.Meanwhile, France’s top health authority recommends doubling that three-week gap as a way to stretch supplies and speed inoculations.Sweden’s prime minister said his government’s response to the pandemic fell short, contributing to a disproportionately high number of deaths. Norway locked down the Oslo area, imposing the strictest measures since March.American broadcaster Larry King has died. Though no cause was given, he had recently received treatment for Covid-19.Key Developments:Global Tracker: Cases exceed 98 million; deaths pass 2.1 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 60.3 million shots given worldwideTo revive Manhattan, Wall Street offers help with vaccinationsBiden’s 100-day vaccine goal was nearly met before he arrivedHong Kong has imposed its first Covid lockdown in KowloonThese five factors will determine whether the Olympics go aheadWhy the mutated coronavirus variants are so worrisome: QuickTakeSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.New York Reports 144 Deaths (10:19 a.m. NY)New York state reported 144 fatalities and 8,802 total Covid hospitalizations, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a daily update on Twitter. About 5% out of 262,106 tests reported yesterday were found to be positive.Portugal Reports Record Cases, Deaths (10:15 a.m. NY)Portugal on Saturday reported 15,333 new cases of Covid-19, surpassing the previous daily record announced Wednesday and bringing the country’s total to 624,469. The government also reported a record 274 daily fatalities, bringing the total 10,194. The number of patients in intensive-care units rose by five to 720. The country’s national health service has a capacity of about 1,200 intensive-care beds.While confinement measures are in place, travel will be allowed on Sunday for voting in the presidential election. In Portugal, the president is mainly a figurehead and policy is set by the prime minister and his government.Germany Sees 3m Vaccine Doses in Feb. (9:20 a.m. NY)German Health Minister Jens Spahn said he expects 3 million vaccine doses to be delivered to the country in February, despite production problems by AstraZeneca Plc. “Unfortunately, this will be less than expected”, Spahn told the Sunday edition of the tabloid Bild. He re-affirmed his pledge that all German citizens will be offered a vaccine by the end of summer.Doctors Seek U.K. Review of Shot Delay (8:39 a.m. NY)The British Medical Association said the U.K. should “urgently review” its decision allowing a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as much as 12 weeks after the first, instead of the shorter gap recommended, the Associated Press reported.The doctors’ group said there was growing concern in the medical profession about the delay, noting that no other nation has adopted the U.K.’s approach, the AP said, citing a statement.The U.K. has administered 5.38 million first doses of vaccines overall and 467,000 second doses through Jan. 21, according to its Covid dashboard. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that a new variant of the virus that has emerged in the country may be deadlier than initially thought.Broadcaster Larry King Dies (8:20 a.m. NY)Larry King, the broadcast interviewer who became the star of a top-rated U.S. cable talk show, has died at age 87 in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his Twitter account. The cause of death wasn’t provided, but he had recently undergone treatment for Covid-19.LSE Chief Proposes Lifeline for Firms: Sky (8:19 a.m. NY)David Schwimmer, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, is leading discussions to create a fund that would invest in companies hit hard by the coronavirus, Sky News reported. The fund’s size would initially be 300 million pounds ($411 million), though that could be increased to as much as 1 billion pounds.Mauritius Gets 100,000 Doses of Astra Shot (7:47 a.m. NY)Mauritius will use its first 100,000 Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate 50,000 front-line workers as part of a plan the government said will contribute to a revival of crucial industries. The shots, which are being produced under license from AstraZeneca Plc, are a donation from the Indian government.While Mauritius has just 28 active cases, according to a statement from the health ministry on Jan. 18, the country’s economy is heavily dependent on a return of tourists from places where the virus is far more widespread.France Mulls Extending Dosage Interval (7:09 a.m. NY)France’s top health authority is recommending a doubling of the time between the two required Covid-19 vaccine shots as a way to stretch supplies and inoculate as many people as possible. Giving the second injection six weeks after the initial one would allow at least 700,000 more people to be protected during the first month. The French advice follows guidance two days ago by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that said follow-up doses could be given up to six weeks later if it’s not feasible to get them in the recommended interval.Parts of Sweden Halt Moderna Vaccine (6:57 p.m. HK)Several regions in Sweden will temporarily stop using the Moderna vaccine, after a shipment was delivered below the recommended storage temperature, Radio Sweden reported. Around 1,000 shots already had been administered. Authorities don’t think there’s a risk of side effects, but will be monitoring to ensure the medicine triggers an immune response.Swedish PM Admits Strategy Fell Short (6:56 p.m. HK)Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his government should have taken more aggressive steps and moved more quickly to stop the spread of the pandemic, and he takes full responsibility for the initial strategy that led the country to suffer a disproportionately high number of deaths.In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Lofven said the government’s response to the spread of the virus among the elderly was inadequate, and that testing should have begun earlier.“As prime minister, I take full responsibility for the strategy that we have,” Lofven said.Oxford Plans ‘Wonder Drug’ Trial (6:50 p.m. HK)Oxford University researchers are planning a large-scale trial of an inexpensive drug that could help dramatically reduce Covid-19 deaths globally, according to a report in the Times of London.The goal is to find treatments that could be used at home, shortly after symptoms appear, to catch the disease early and prevent serious illness.Iran Deaths Drop to Lowest Since June (6:37 p.m. HK)Iran recorded its lowest daily number of deaths from Covid-19 since June 5, with 69 fatalities in the last 24 hours. The number of new cases rose by 6,207 overnight, down from 6,305 on Friday, the Health Ministry reported. The country now has seen a total of 57,294 coronavirus deaths and 1,367,032 known infections.France Aims for 15m Inoculations by June (6:20 p.m. HK)France is sticking to a goal of inoculating 15 million people by June, despite hiccups with the roll-out of vaccines, French Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Saturday in an interview on France Inter radio.“I am reasonably confident that we will surpass this target,” she said. “We aren’t experiencing delays in deliveries of Pfizer dosages.”The EU is facing fewer deliveries from Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE after the companies said they needed to modify a factory in Belgium. Another supplier, AstraZeneca Plc, on Friday said deliveries to the EU of its vaccine will initially be slower than expected due to lower production at a manufacturing site. France passed the threshold of 3 million Covid-19 cases on Friday.Norway Locks Down Oslo (5:27 p.m. HK)Norway is imposing the strictest measures since March 12 in the area around the capital in an attempt to suppress infections of the more contagious coronavirus variant.All shops, cinemas, restaurants and churches will be closed and the service of alcohol banned until Jan. 31, Health Minister Bent Hoie announced in a webcast speech on Saturday. Amateur sports and leisure activities won’t be allowed.Ireland Mulls Further Travel Restrictions (4:44 p.m. HK)The Irish and the British prime ministers, Micheal Martin and Boris Johnson, have discussed the new strain of the coronavirus that emerged in the U.K., Ireland’s RTE reported on Saturday.Ireland’s cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19 will discuss a further tightening of travel restrictions at its scheduled meeting on Monday, RTE also said. A full cabinet meeting on Tuesday is also due to decide on the measures.South Africa Backs Distribution of Astra Shots (4:36 p.m. HK)South Africa’s regulator granted the health department permission to distribute the vaccine from AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford in its first nod for Covid-19 inoculations.The National Department of Health has been recognized by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority as a supplier of The Serum Institute of India Ltd., Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement late Friday.Hong Kong Cases Top 10,000 (4:35 p.m. HK)Hong Kong reported 81 new coronavirus cases Saturday, the most in five days. 78 of the cases were locally transmitted, with 35 of them were untraceable.Finnair to Resume Flights to U.K., Ireland (4:26 p.m. HK)Finnair Oyj says it will resume flights to Finland from the U.K. and Ireland on Jan. 25, after aviation authorities lifted a temporary ban. The airline will require passengers flying from Jan. 28 to present a certificate of a negative Covid-19 test or certify they’ve had the virus, in line with recommendations from national health authorities. The requirement doesn’t apply to passengers flying through Finland, according to a Jan. 22 statement.German Infections Drop Week-on-Week (4:19 p.m. HK)Germany saw 16,366 new infections, which is lower than last week with 19,817 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The total number of cases is now at 2,125,261. The reproduction rate number is 0.97, government figures show.Tokyo’s New Cases Slow (2 p.m. HK)Tokyo found 1,070 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the smallest daily increase since Jan. 12. The drop comes as Japanese officials next week are set to examine the effectiveness of the nation’s strategy to contain the spread of the coronavirus.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration earlier this month put more than half the economy under a state of emergency following a sharp jump in Covid-19 cases to records. Nationwide daily case numbers have been around 5,000 in recent days.CDC Says Vaccine Doses May Be Spaced Further (1:39 p.m. HK)Follow-up doses of the Covid-19 vaccines could be given up to six weeks later if it’s not feasible to get them in the recommended interval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also offering some flexibility for “modest delays.”The guidance posted in a Jan. 21 update to the CDC website said a second dose should be administered as close to the recommended schedule as possible, either three weeks for the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine or four weeks for the Moderna Inc. shot.Separately, the U.S. reported 191,897 new coronavirus cases. Deaths climbed by 3,902, dropping below 4,000 for the first time in three days.OECD Warns Over Post-Covid Austerity (1 p.m. HK)Governments should avoid an early return to austerity if they want to prevent a repeat of the political tension that followed the global financial crisis, according to a senior official at the OECD.Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and a candidate for the top job at the Paris-based group, said it’s important to learn from past crises, which made clear that an early end to state aid programs fanned income inequality, fueled division and spurred a populist backlash against globalization.Hong Kong Imposes First Lockdown (8:06 a.m. HK)Hong Kong is locking down thousands of residents for the first time over the weekend in a bid to contain a worsening outbreak. The unprecedented step for the Yau Ma Tei and Jordan areas -- known for their night markets -- was announced in a government statement early Saturday morning.The lockdown affects about 10,000 residents, Hong Kong Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui said at a briefing, adding 162 cases were found in the district since the start of 2021 through Wednesday. More than 3,000 government officers were deployed in the action, Tsui said.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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