• AstraZeneca, which pledged not to profit from sales of its coronavirus vaccine during the pandemic, announced that it will now begin to generate “modest profits” from new orders of the vaccine – although developing countries will still be able to purchase it at cost. As many countries struggle with continued outbreaks and surges of COVID, CEO Pascal Soriot said COVID is moving into an endemic phase, and the move is in line with the company’s plan early in the crisis. Source
• Appili Therapeutics Inc issued a press release to announce results from its 1,231-person, phase III trial of the oral antiviral favipiravir; the drug did not improve time to recovery among people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Source
• The Austrian region with the highest coronavirus infection rate plans to impose a lockdown for unvaccinated people, as worsening outbreaks force authorities across central Europe to seek stronger incentives to get inoculated.
State leader Thomas Stelzer announced plans to lockdown unvaccinated residents of Upper Austria, a coronavirus hotspot. They will be allowed to leave home only for work and to buy necessities. A similar measure is being considered for Salzburg. Source
• After a 33 percent increase in coronavirus cases in just a week, the Netherlands imposed the first recent lockdown in Western Europe for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents. During the three-week partial lockdown, restaurants, bars and cafes will have to close at 8 p.m., as will “essential shops” like supermarkets, and sporting events will be held without spectators. Residents will not be allowed to invite more than four guests into their homes, and social distancing rules will be reinstated. Source
• Although the US FDA has yet to authorize coronavirus booster for all adults, Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, announced that all adults in the state would become eligible for boosters, due to their high risk of exposure; he urged boosters for any adult at least six months past the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two months past the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Source