• China announces plans to vaccinate all of the country’s 160 million children ages 3 to 11 years by the end of 2021. Source
• The UK is expanding eligibility for coronavirus booster to include people ages 40 to 49 and recommending a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for 16- and 17-year-old at least 12 weeks after their first dose. Source
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns of a “new wave” of COVID-19, urging people to get coronavirus vaccines and booster to avoid additional restrictions. Source
• Adagio Therapeutics provides an update on ADG20, a single-injection monoclonal antibody. ADG20 is in ongoing phase II/III and phase III trials, which are assessing its safety and efficacy as pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis and treatment for COVID-19. The antibody was active against the Delta, Lambda and Mu variants in laboratory studies, and an exploratory analysis of data from a phase I trial found that a single 300 mg injection of ADG20 serum virus neutralization titers at six months after a 300 mg intramuscular dose of ADG20 induced neutralizing antibody titers that were similar to those elicited by Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. Adagio plans to seek US FDA Emergency Use Authorization in Q2 of 2022. Source
• Regulators in Spain signed off on a phase II trial of a protein-based coronavirus vaccine from Catalonia’s Hipra group, which received a government grant of 15 million euro. Source
• Outbreaks of bird flu – which can be transmitted to people – are spreading across Asia and Europe. China has reported 21 human infections with H5N6 avian influenza; South Korea culled 770,000 chickens after an outbreak was detected at a farm in Chungcheongbuk-do, and Japan reported an outbreak of H5N8 at a poultry farm. In Europe, Norway reported an outbreak of H1N1 in a flock of 7,000 birds; governments in France, the Netherlands and Belgium have ordered poultry to be kept indoors to protect them from avian influenza, while Great Britain has legally required all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures. Source
• Arkansas follows three other US states (California, Colorado, and New Mexico) which have expanded eligibility for coronavirus booster doses to all adults who received their second vaccine dose six months ago – ahead of US FDA authorization. Source