• In Germany, where 67 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, coronavirus cases have reached a record-breaking seven-day average of 201.1 new cases per 100,000. Source
• As the Delta variant continues to spread through China, authorities have expanded the definition of a close contact – who may need to be tested and/or to quarantine – to include “spatial-temporal overlap.” Spatial overlap occurs when a person’s mobile phone appears to be within the same 800-meter (2,600 feet) grid square as the phone of a person with SARS-CoV-2 infection for more than 10 minutes; temporal overlap occurs if either person’s phone was in the same city for over 30 hours during the past two weeks. Source
• Although Denmark’s vaccination rate is among the world’s highest, new coronavirus cases there have doubled over the past two weeks, leading health officials to consider implementing restrictions. Source
• Regeneron issues a press release to announce results from a 1,683-person phase III trial it ran in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The trial found that a single dose of casirivimab and imdevimab was 81 percent effective for preventing COVID-19 over an eight-month period. During this period, there were no hospitalizations for COVID-19 among people who received casirivimab and imdevimab, versus six among placebo recipients and seven cases of COVID-19 among people given casirivimab and imdevimab, versus 39 in the placebo group. Notably, around 35 percent of people in both groups had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine during the follow-up period. Source
• The Washington Post reports that Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to seek US FDA authorization for their coronavirus booster shot in people ages 18 and over during the coming weeks. Source
• The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that during the period between 4 September and 1 October, unvaccinated people in the state were 13 times more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and 20 times more likely to die than fully vaccinated people. Source