• The US CDC posts data on rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths by vaccination status. During September 2021, unvaccinated people were nearly six times more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 14 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated people. Source
• Pfizer issues a press release with topline results from a longer-term analysis of the safety and efficacy of its coronavirus vaccine among 2,228 children and teenagers ages 12-15 years, who participated in a phase III trial. The vaccine was 100 percent effective against COVID-19 at seven days through over four months after the second dose, and no serious safety concerns arose during more than six months of follow-up. Source
• The UK announces that it will grant entry to visitors who were fully vaccinated with shots from Bharat Biotech, Sinopharm and Sinovac, all of which have received WHO emergency use listing. Travelers who are not fully vaccinated are required to quarantine for 10 days and undergo testing for SARS-CoV-2. Source
• Coronavirus cases in South Africa are on the rise, and a wastewater analysis reveals that prevalence has increased in some areas of Gauteng province. Scientists predict that the country will face a fourth wave in December, which they hope will be less severe because 30 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated and 60 to 70 percent have already been infected. Source
• Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, Partners in Health and Public Citizen are working to remedy vaccine inequity in low-income countries, where only five percent of the population have been fully vaccinated. They have asked President Biden to increase pressure on the World Trade Organization to grant a waiver on intellectual property for coronavirus vaccines – which would allow countries to produce their own versions without legal consequences. “The stakes could not be higher,” the groups wrote in a letter to the White House, “Failure to enact a waiver will prolong the pandemic leading to more death, illness, economic hardship, and social and political disruption.” Source