Category: Health

Patrick Pleul / Image Alliance via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s opposition to a $ 900 billion coronavirus bailout package, largely passed by U.S. lawmakers late Monday, jeopardizes the first major climate change piece of legislation to have received Congress approval in about a decade.

Trump has threatened a veto of the stimulus package, which includes $ 600 direct checks for individuals and $ 35 billion to fund clean energy projects, and plans to reduce the use of chemicals to warm the planet.

The climate regulations included in the deal come after the Trump administration slashed more than 80 key environmental regulations in four years and just before President-elect Joe Biden took office.

Biden plans to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and use executive orders to expose many of Trump’s environmental setbacks. He’s also pushing for a $ 2 trillion plan, which needs Congressional approval, to move the country from fossil fuels to clean energy and green jobs. Trump officially withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement in November.

Although Biden’s legislation is likely to face immense hurdles if the GOP controls the Senate, which will be decided with two crucial runoff elections in Georgia in January, policy experts and environmental groups say the bipartite-backed climate action in the stimulus package signals that Biden can achieve this could make significant strides in combating global warming. It is also a sign that the US will join a wider global effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions to warm the planet.

“The spending bill just passed by Congress, with support from both Democrats and Republicans, points the way ahead,” said Michael Mann, climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University. “It’s a positive sign that 2020 could be the year we turned around the corner on climate action in the US.”

The stimulus plan will cut the production and consumption of fluorocarbons (HFCs), which warm the planet, by 85% in the US over a 15 year period.

The ozone-depleting chemicals are often found in air conditioners and refrigerators. While they make up a smaller percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, fluorocarbons pack 1000 times the heat storage capacity of carbon dioxide.

More from CNBC Environment:
Rethinking Stimulus: How Covid’s Economic Recovery Can Combat Climate Change
Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Here’s what happens next

HFCs are used by nations around the world in a targeted manner to curb global warming. In October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, a landmark agreement was reached by delegates from 197 nations around the world to phase out HFCs.

So far 72 countries have ratified the Kigali Agreement. Despite the support of US manufacturers and chemical companies, the Trump administration did not accept the pact and instead proposed to reset the Obama-era standards to reduce the use of HFCs.

The stimulus package also includes bipartisan renewable energy legislation, which will provide approximately $ 35 billion in government funding for clean energy projects.

“This bill is the most important step we have taken to improve the climate of this Congress, and its passage is strong evidence that both parties support cooperation in creating climate solutions and investing in advanced energy technologies, while at the same time the our country’s most vulnerable citizens are cared for, “Senator Chris Coons, D-Del. said in a statement earlier this week.

The legislation includes tax credits for solar and wind power that would fuel Biden’s plan to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. The broader bill also includes investments for more sustainable transport and re-approves a program that provides funding for low-income homeowners to upgrade equipment, heat pumps and other household items to clean energy products.

The stimulus package also includes measures to capture and store carbon from production and power plants, reduce diesel emissions from some vehicles, and finance oil exploration projects.

“Congress has made an unprecedented downside to tackling climate change in this legislation by agreeing to phase out effective HFCs, invest in renewables and extend much-needed tax incentives for wind and solar,” said Grant Carlisle, senior Policy Advisor at Natural Resource Defense Council.

“But that’s just a start,” said Carlisle. “In order to cope with the climate crisis, the federal government must accelerate its efforts to convert our economy to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels.”

Snow falls as people wearing face masks walk through the Asakusa district on March 29, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Towards the end of 2020, many investors are viewing Asia as the region with one of the best economic prospects for the next year as the coronavirus outbreak can be relatively better controlled.

However, a recent surge in Covid cases in some countries threatens to dampen the region’s economic outlook, some analysts have warned.

“For some of the Asian giants, this year’s problems with Covid-19 are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve,” said research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics.

However, many parts of Asia – where the virus first appeared – remain lower than in Europe and the US, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.

For some of the Asian giants, this year’s Covid-19 problems are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve.

But some countries are now struggling with a far worse resurgence than they did earlier in the pandemic. Even areas that have made great strides in containing the virus may not be spared. Taiwan this week reports its first locally transmitted case since April 12 – underscoring the difficulty in eradicating Covid.

Here’s a look at the Asian economies grappling with a renewed spike in coronavirus infections and how that would affect their economic prospects.

Japan

• Covid-19 balance sheet: 207,007 cumulative confirmed cases and 2,941 deaths as of Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The number of daily reported coronavirus infections in Japan rose again in November and topped 3,000 for the first time last week, Hopkins data showed.

According to Reuters, medical groups in the country warned the pandemic will put a significant strain on the health system. However, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has failed to declare a state of national emergency – although he said he was suspending a travel subsidy program to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the news agency reported.

Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a Wednesday report that the Japanese government’s “relatively soft” rules on social distancing don’t appear to be working and that this could lead to tougher measures in the coming months.

“Therefore, a second and more effective nationwide state of emergency in Japan early next year cannot be ruled out,” the economists said. That would weigh on Japan’s economy in the first quarter of 2021, they added.

South Korea

• Covid-19 Record: According to Hopkins, there were 53,533 cumulative confirmed cases and 756 deaths on Wednesday.

As in Japan, the daily incidence in South Korea reached unprecedented levels this month – above 1,000 for the first time since the outbreak.

But unlike in Japan, the government in South Korea has taken a tougher stance in response to the new wave of Covid cases.

The government on Tuesday announced a nationwide ban on gathering five or more people and ordered the closure of tourist attractions such as ski slopes and other winter sports facilities, Yonhap news agency reported.

This move, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics, would allow most of South Korea’s economic damage to be contained, for the most part, in the fourth quarter of this year.

Malaysia

• Covid-19 balance sheet: 98,737 cumulative confirmed cases and 444 deaths on Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The Southeast Asian country kept Covid cases to a minimum before the recent surge from October, Hopkins data showed. This prompted the government to impose a new round of partial closure measures in some parts of the country.

Economists with consulting firm Capital Economics said the outlook for the Malaysian economy had become “less optimistic” this quarter, particularly in the area of ​​consumer spending.

“A second wave of the virus and the reintroduction of many restrictions on movement have reversed the sharp recovery in home consumption in the third quarter. Google’s high-frequency mobility data suggests social distancing continues to weigh on activity,” a report said Tuesday.

But the other parts of the economy – like exports – should continue to perform strongly, so the macroeconomic success of the recent resurgence is likely to be “much less” than the previous wave, the economists said.

A visitor tries a plant-based meat substitute at the Restaurant & Bar and Gourmet Asia Expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong on November 11, 2020.

Peter Parks | AFP | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – The demand for meat alternatives has increased and will continue to increase, but the industry still has hurdles to overcome in various parts of the world, analysts said.

According to Google Trends, global search interest for the term “plant-based meat” skyrocketed in early 2019 months before Beyond Meat went public.

The global meat substitute sector is valued at $ 20.7 billion and is expected to grow to $ 23.2 billion by 2024, market research firm Euromonitor told CNBC.

This growth is being fueled by concerns ranging from animal welfare to food security to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In times of shock and instability, building a low-risk value chain means focusing on opportunities, and the shift towards plant-based meat is showing no signs of slowing,” said Elaine Siu, executive director of The Good Food Institute Asia -Pacific.

However, obstacles remain for the burgeoning market.

Cultural barriers

The plant-based meat market in Asia could be constrained by established perceptual issues, Siu said.

For example, pig meat, or vegetarian meat, used to be mainly eaten by Buddhist practitioners in China, she said.

“The replication of the taste and texture of meat has never been pushed beyond relatively basic levels,” she said, adding that these traditional products serve a specific purpose and “are considered to be of limited appeal to certain groups.”

“In order for plant-based meat to develop its full market potential in Asia, the sector must continue to break away from its association with traditional fake meat, which is expected to be sold at a low price and which carries historical image baggage.” said Siu.

Objections from the traditional meat industry

Ranchers could also stand in the way of the alternative protein sector, particularly in the US, said Simon Powell, global head of thematic research at the American bank Jefferies.

The US Cattlemen’s Association filed a petition in 2018 calling for an official definition of the terms “beef” and “meat” to keep vegetable proteins out of the description.

A herd of cattle gathers in the shade of an old barn in Owings, Maryland on May 4, 2020.

Mark Wilson | Getty Images News | Getty Images

“Incumbent producers will be working hard with their governments to change labeling and play around with consumer advertisements to say it can’t be called meat,” Powell told CNBC of Zoom. “I think that’s possibly one of the biggest obstacles.”

The European Union rejected proposals in October to ban restaurants and shops from using words such as sausage or burger to describe meat alternatives.

Consumer confidence, consumer fatigue

Powell added that if any of the vegetable meat companies had “an accident” or an issue with their recipe that resulted in a “massive recall”, customers could fear consuming these alternatives.

“This is a big ‘if’ … but if they have a big recall of products, it could hurt consumer confidence,” he said. “Eventually you will get these events. It will set the industry back a little.”

Separately, Powell said the “instagrammability” of plant-based foods is one reason the market is growing “all over the world”. The market’s growth could be hampered as the novelty of meat alternatives wears off or wears off, he said.

A view of the signage leading to one of the testing centers at Heathrow Airport on December 22nd, 2020 in London, England.

Joseph Okpako | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The United States will require people traveling from the UK to test negative for Covid-19 no later than 72 hours prior to departure, the CDC said in a statement late Thursday.

The announcement comes after the UK announced earlier this week that it had identified a new strain of Covid-19 that appears to be spreading faster. The CDC said President Donald Trump will sign the ordinance on Friday, Christmas Day, and the measure will take effect on Monday.

The CDC said passengers would be required to provide airlines with documentation of their laboratory results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antigen testing.

The airlines would also have to confirm that the passengers tested negative before boarding, the agency said. They would also have to prevent passengers from boarding if they refuse to take a test.

Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways urged passengers to conduct negative tests before boarding flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. United Airlines also requires negative test results for passengers flying from London Heathrow to their hubs in Newark, New Jersey, Washington DC or Chicago.

The new strain prompted dozens of countries to quickly restrict travel from the UK to prevent the strain from invading their own borders. The US had already restricted entry from the UK in March, with the exception of foreigners who had been in the country in the past two weeks.

However, the World Health Organization said the new variant was also discovered in Australia, Denmark, Italy, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Earlier this week, the CDC suggested that the new strain could already be circulating undetected in the US. While the variant has not yet been found in the country, the CDC found that the US has only sequenced a fraction of Covid infections.

A person holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on Monday, December 14, 2020.

Scotty Perry | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The US states are eagerly awaiting billions of federal funds to fund their vaccine distribution plans, which are currently being implemented in Washington and threatened with veto threats by President Donald Trump.

After weeks of legislative silence, the outgoing President shocked Washington Tuesday night by calling the bill a “disgrace” and urging lawmakers to increase direct payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000. The package also includes more than $ 8 billion to fund government vaccine distribution programs, which are currently suspended as House Democrats scramble to meet Trump’s demand.

“We are concerned because this is the money we needed in the spring. It is now late December,” said Adriane Casalotti, the top lobbyist for the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Now that the first doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine hit the arms of the first million Americans, public health experts are concerned about how they will pay for the historic vaccination campaign. Time is of the essence – the US wants cans to be available to all 331 million Americans by summer.

Trump’s attack raises $ 8.75 billion in much-needed funding that states believed could help pay for vaccine distribution, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, Chief Medical Officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, in a telephone interview.

“It’s one of those things we started celebrating too early,” he said, adding that his organization has been pushing for funding for vaccine distribution for months.

Congressional approval for funding “came a little late in the game but I think it will be okay. It will get where it needs to be on time,” he said. “If this is further delayed, it will be a problem.”

Walk slowly

Vaccine distribution will require additional staff for vaccination clinics, adequate resources for the safe storage of cans at extremely low temperatures, needles and other critical consumables, and increased communication efforts to convince people of the safety of the drugs, among other things, experts say. To fund their pandemic responses, the country’s states and counties have already had to cut spending and suspend capital infrastructure projects to balance their budgets, experts said.

“We have two vaccines that are approved for use in the field and yet we have no money to distribute,” said Casalotti. “Every minute of delay affects how many people can get the vaccine and when. So we urge the President to sign the bill as soon as possible.”

So far, vaccination efforts have been slow. Around 9.5 million doses have been distributed and just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 19 million doses, falling short of previous December forecasts, and officials have a little over a week – about 8 days – to try to fill that void.

“Just how fast the ramp-up of vaccinations and gun shots is slower than we expected,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, tsar of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus vaccine, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And as I told you, we are here to help states accelerate appropriately,” he said, adding that the target of 20 million vaccinations “is unlikely to be met.”

The vaccines have reached a crucial point in the nation’s response to the pandemic. New coronavirus cases in the US have risen to a weekly average of 212,142 cases per day, and the virus is currently killing an average of more than 2,669 people per day, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. Department of Health announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would allocate an additional $ 227 million to 64 states and jurisdictions for vaccine preparation and response, bringing the total federal government contribution to nearly 430 Million US dollars. But states say they need billions of dollars, not millions, to distribute the shots.

While every dollar helps, HHS money is “a drop in the bucket” compared to what it will take to fund the states’ comprehensive immunization plans, Casalotti said. For months, state and local health departments have been asking Congress to allocate an additional $ 8.4 billion in funding to carry out its vaccine distribution plans, which were finalized in October and presented to the CDC.

The Trump administration proposed $ 6 billion for state funding, but Congress approved the states, allocating $ 8.75 billion for state vaccination plans in the latest coronavirus relief package. Even then, additional funding may be needed for widespread vaccinations over the next year, Casalotti said.

“We really see this as a sign of hope, but as a down payment,” said Casalotti. A spokesman for HHS did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

US officials said Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccination program, will pay some of the cost. The US will pay for the dispensing of the cans and will provide kits of adjuncts to administer the vaccinations, including needles, syringes, diluents and other supplies.

However, some supplies, including hand sanitizer and gloves, are not from the federal government. Other expenses, like tents or staff to set up vaccination clinics, will have to be borne by states, said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), which represents state health officials who lead vaccination planning.

Personnel issues

“The staffing is very important because to get this in place for all Americans in a short time – about six months – and to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated, you really need all hands on deck,” said Hannan.

States are also needing money to get more vendors to offer the shots, but the process is taking longer than expected because some health departments don’t have the staff to answer their questions and verify their credentials, she said.

“I think it’s more of a problem for the broader scale, but we could also see delays in phase one when the public health needs to be vaccinated and they can’t stop vaccines,” Hannan said.

The bill for vaccination programs could get bigger over time and more people are reluctant to make the vaccine safe, requiring greater coverage for these communities, said Casalotti of the county and city’s health department. As the dependency on the Pfizer vaccine becomes greater than on others, there is an additional cost to store the cans in ultra-cold temperatures.

“All of this work would have been hard enough beforehand to scale up the largest mass vaccination campaign we’ve ever tried,” said Casalotti. “You are now doing all of this in a reduced timeframe with very few resources while battling a pandemic at the same time.”

Program cuts

The funds distributed by HHS so far went directly to 64 jurisdictions, including the 50 states, territories and some of the country’s largest cities. When it comes to most counties, the size of the funding will depend on whether the money goes to them, which it doesn’t always, said Blaire Bryant, a lobbyist who specializes in health issues with the National Association of Counties.

“This is a big problem for us because none of our health departments really see these funds,” said Bryant.

States, counties and local governments have already had to cut other programs to offset lost revenue from their Covid-19 response, said Teryn Zmuda, chief economist for the county group. According to an August report by the group, the country’s counties will see a $ 30 billion hole in un-budgeted Covid-19 response costs by the end of fiscal 2021.

“We are seeing a lot of cuts in investment projects, economic development and repair of investment infrastructure,” said Zmuda. “Those projects that are seen as less important or of secondary importance to public health are being cut to keep up with future developments.”

People walk past the closed entrance of the Eurostar terminal at Brussels South Station after the UK’s European neighbors closed their doors to travelers from the UK on December 21, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.

Yves Herman | Reuters

LONDON – Afraid, angry and alone. So many people in the UK are feeling just two days before Christmas when a new variant of Covid that appears to be transmitting faster is spreading across the country.

The UK government said Saturday it had no choice but to ban around 18 million people from visiting other households on Christmas Day in order to realize festive plans for people across the country.

Since then, dozens of countries around the world have closed their doors to the British to keep the new variant from spreading among their own populations.

Jon, from the London suburb of Surbiton, who refused to share his full name, told CNBC that it felt like March when the coronavirus first hit Europe, just with no sunshine and long days. “I think there was more hope then,” he said.

Jon said he was “very concerned” about the new variant of the coronavirus. “If it keeps changing, will these vaccinations work?” he said. “Will it keep changing?”

Experts believe Covid vaccines are likely to protect against the new strain, but the WHO and others are conducting studies to confirm whether this has any effect on the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Jon said he had “enough” personally, but it is the younger generation that he really feels sorry for, including his 24-year-old daughter.

“Maybe they should give the vaccine to those who can get the economy back on its feet before they give it to older people who are isolated in private households,” he said.

A bright spot for the country is that vaccines are already being introduced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that over 500,000 people have already received the first two-dose dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Even so, Jon isn’t particularly optimistic about 2021 – especially the first half of the year. “We can only go on,” he said. “On the positive side, the street and the neighbors are moving closer together.”

International routes cut off

More than 40 countries around the world have restricted travel from the UK since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s press conference on Saturday.

In Europe, this includes Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium and outside the continent Canada, Argentina and Israel.

France also closed its borders with Great Britain and blocked freight traffic accompanied by drivers. Over 1,000 trucks were secured across Kent in the move, although the borders are due to reopen to passengers from England on Wednesday.

A drive sits in the cab of his truck while parked on the M20 in Kent after the Port of Dover closed after the French government announced it would not accept passengers from the UK.

Steve Parsons | PA pictures | Getty Images

“Aside from the items that might be missing from our Christmas dinners due to the closed border between France and Great Britain, the truck queues in Dover show how much we depend on good relationships with our European partners,” said Kate Baldwin. a communications professional in London.

“As much as we all want an end to the terrible year we have seen, I can’t help but believe that Britain will simply move from one crisis to another with Brexit in 2021.”

Travel plans ruined

George Blackwell, a 28-year-old British expat who lives in Dubai, told CNBC he flew to London on December 18 to be with his family on Christmas Day. He was supposed to stay until December 28, but flew back to the United Arab Emirates on December 21, just three days after landing.

“The departure board at the airport on the way back was a long list of cancellations and Dubai appears to be the only open destination,” said Blackwell, manager at a home appliance manufacturer. “The decision to return was a difficult family decision, but I felt like I had to return to my country of residence for fear of another global lockdown.”

During his brief stay in the UK, Blackwell said there was a complete lack of understanding of the importance of the new strain of the virus.

“It was like being in a Hunger Games movie,” said Blackwell. “The total lack of understanding by the public about how serious the virus really is for an annoying atmosphere that has made me nervous all along.”

The moment it was announced that London would join Tier 4 – the strictest lockdown beast in England – thousands of people were trying to escape the city.

The trains from St. Pancras train station in central London were full of people trying to flee a city with one of the highest rates of coronavirus and potentially spreading the virus to other parts of the country.

Lynne Harvey, 71, told CNBC that she was “not too concerned about the mutated virus,” adding that she understood that “its transmission is faster but not more virulent”.

“We just need to keep masking, keeping our distance and washing hands. I have always worn disposable gloves when shopping because I am classified as extremely vulnerable,” she added.

Harvey said she would also like to see law enforcement step up with those who break the rules. “I think a lot of people are way too complacent and not socially distant compared to March … I think this country is way too gentle on people who flaunt the recommendations and bring in the army.”

– Natasha Turak contributed to this report

UPS package handlers Jesirae Elzey and Demeatres Ralston unload boxes of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky on December 20, 2020.

Michael Clevenger | Pool | Reuters

Coronavirus vaccine distribution has been slower than US officials had hoped, as the number of vaccinations is well below the US government’s target of 20 million by the end of the year, health officials said Wednesday.

Just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 19 million doses, falling short of previous December projections, and officials have less than two weeks – roughly eight days – to try to fill that void.

“Just like how fast the start of vaccinations and gun shots is slower than we expected,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, tsar of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus vaccine, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And as I told you, we are here to help states accelerate appropriately,” he said, adding that the target of 20 million vaccinations “is unlikely to be met.”

US officials said they are still resolving some issues in the distribution system after some can deliveries went to the wrong destinations and others on the wrong day.

Army General Gustave Perna, who oversees the logistics for Operation Warp Speed, said the US government has “done a good job so far” distributing millions of Covid vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna to states, territories and major cities across the country . But he added that US officials are still “learning” with the sales process getting “better” and “stronger” day by day.

“We had a handful of packages that we were trying to deliver that weren’t destined for the right location, but we captured them before they were dropped off and we diverted them to the right location,” Perna told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon . “And we had a couple … shows that didn’t go out on the right day.”

This isn’t the first hiccup since the distribution began. Perna said last week that several thousand doses of Pfizer’s vaccine traveling to California and Alabama had to be quarantined and returned to the company after the vials somehow got too cold. It’s unclear why the temperature dropped, but Pfizer said in a statement that it was able to intercept the shipments and “seamlessly trigger subsequent delivery to these customers.”

Global health experts had said distributing the vaccines to around 331 million Americans within a few months could prove to be much more complicated and chaotic than originally thought. Not only do states and territories make enough doses, they also need enough needles, syringes, and bottles to vaccinate people. People also need training in the storage and administration of the vaccines. (Pfizer’s vaccine requires a storage temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Despite the missteps, CDC Director Robert Redfield on Wednesday praised the US milestone of 1 million vaccinations and called it an “achievement” as vaccination protection will help frontline health workers continue to treat sick patients.

“As we celebrate this historic milestone, we also recognize the challenging path that lies ahead,” he said in a statement. “There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the US, but the supply will increase in the coming weeks and months. The goal is to make it easy for everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once enough is available are available. “

Perna said on Wednesday that it expected vaccine distribution to improve. More than 7,800 deliveries should be completed by the end of Thursday. The US plans to ship 2.67 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 2 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine to states next week, Perna said. The government distributed 2 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine this week. A total of 15.5 million vaccines have been allocated, he said.

A notice informing people of Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions illuminates a digital advertising screen on Oxford Street in London, England on December 21, 2020.

David Cliff | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The UK has identified a new variant of the coronavirus that appears to be spreading faster, raising new fears that the Covid-19 pandemic could accelerate even if governments start giving the first vaccine shots.

Scientists and experts in infectious diseases are still putting together what they know about the new strain SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represents the first variant examined in December 2020. It has not yet been discovered in the US, but the CDC said it could already be spread across the country unnoticed.

While the virus appears to be easier to transmit, there is “no evidence” that the new variant makes people sick or increases the risk of death, the CDC said Tuesday. The new coronavirus “mutates regularly,” the CDC found, but the vast majority of the mutations are insignificant.

More than 40 countries, not including the US, have since suspended transport connections with the UK after the new variant of the coronavirus was found. France activated a 48-hour border closure on Monday and 1,500 trucks were stuck in Kent Tuesday morning that couldn’t leave the UK, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said Tuesday.

Here’s what you need to know:

1.) How many cases were found?

The World Health Organization said the mutation was found in 1,108 cases on December 13 in the UK. However, this is likely to be an undercount, as scientists need to do additional testing to confirm which strain of virus a patient is infected with, including sequencing the genetic code.

The WHO said the variant was traced back to Kent in southeast England, where it was found on Sept. 20 based on retrospective analysis.

It wasn’t until October that the variant began to spread rapidly across the region, the WHO said, adding that cases continued to increase at an unexpected pace through November, leading to an investigation and discovery of the mutation earlier this month. Between October 5 and December 13, it was found that more than 50% of the virus samples sequenced from south east England were the variant strain.

2.) How contagious is it?

The UK has said the variant could be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the virus.

Based on early data from the UK, the new strain “could potentially be more rapidly transmissible than other circulating strains,” said the CDC.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of emerging diseases and zoonosis, said Monday that British officials estimate the mutation increased the virus’ reproductive rate from 1.1 to 1.5. This means that each person infected with the variant is estimated to infect another 1.5 people.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said it was unclear whether the increase in spread in the UK was due to the mutation or human behavior.

“We saw an estimate of a small increase in the number of reproductions in the UK,” he said, which means the virus is spreading faster, which could mean it is more contagious or easier to spread in colder months. It could also mean people are becoming careless when it comes to following public health protocols. “It remains to be seen how much of this is due to the specific genetic change in the new variant. I suspect some.”

3.) How are you tracking it?

Officials in the UK are conducting epidemiological and virological studies to see if the variant is more contagious, if it makes people sick, if it can re-infect people who previously had Covid-19, and what type of antibody the new variant will respond to prompts .

The UK is also conducting genomic surveillance to understand the extent of the spread of the new variant across the country. The UK has also put affected areas under Tier 4 restrictions, the toughest Covid rules in the country.

In the United States, “viruses were only sequenced from around 51,000 of the 17 million US cases,” so the new strain may no longer be considered, according to the CDC.

The CDC started a new program in November, the national SARS-CoV-2 strain monitoring program, to sequence additional virus samples. It is scheduled to be fully up and running in January, with each US state sending at least 10 samples to the CDC every other week for sequencing and further testing.

4.) What does this mean for vaccines?

According to the WHO, laboratory studies are currently ongoing to determine whether the new virus has different biological properties or could alter the effectiveness of the vaccine. The mutations involve changes in the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells.

Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines, approved for use in the United States, use messenger RNA or mRNA technology. It’s a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material – in this case a harmless piece of spike protein – to trigger an immune response against the virus.

Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, said Tuesday that he was confident that the company’s coronavirus vaccine with Pfizer would work against the new strain, but added that more studies are needed to be completely safe.

The coronavirus vaccine zone of President Donald Trump, Dr. Moncef Slaoui also said he expected Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 shots to be effective against the new mutation.

Both vaccines induce an immune response against multiple structures around the spike protein, the multifunctional mechanism that allows the virus to invade the host, Slaoui, scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed, told reporters Monday during a press conference. The likelihood that a set of mutations will completely change these structures “is extremely small,” he added.

5.) Is it coming to the USA?

The CDC announced on Tuesday that the new strain could already be in circulation in the United States without notice.

“Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant in current infections in the United Kingdom, increases the likelihood of imports,” said a CDC statement. “Given the low proportion of US infections sequenced, the variant could already be in the US without being discovered.”

Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people informed of the decision, that despite the new variant of the virus, the Trump administration has no plans to conduct Covid-19 screenings for passengers arriving at US airports from the UK.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LONDON – European stocks closed higher Tuesday afternoon, trying to bounce back from a brutal sell-off in the previous session despite concerns over a new strain of coronavirus in the UK

The pan-European Stoxx 600 temporarily closed 1.3% higher, with the German DAX and French CAC indexes rising 1.3% and 1.6% respectively. The UK FTSE 100 closed after an initial decline of 0.5%. Bank stocks were among the top winners, up 1.8%, with Barclays and Lloyds both gaining over 3% to lead the sector. Elsewhere, technology increased 2.5% as European markets closed.

European markets came under heavy selling pressure on Monday as they had concerns about a rapidly spreading Covid mutation, first identified in the UK. The new variant forced the British government to shut down London and other parts of south-east England and to trace the confusion of households over the Christmas break.

The variant, which scientists say is up to 70% more transmissible than previous strains in the UK, has also been identified in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Australia. It has resulted in several countries around the world closing their borders with the UK, disrupting travel and raising concerns about possible food shortages as the deadline for the Brexit transition approaches.

Meanwhile, the UK and EU remain bogged down on post-Brexit trade relations as the December 31 deadline draws nearer and disputes over issues such as fisheries plague talks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday the country could still collapse without a deal.

“The position is unchanged, there are problems,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday. “It is important for everyone to understand that Britain needs to be able to fully control its own laws and that we need to be able to control our own fisheries.”

“The case remains that the WTO terms are more than satisfactory for the UK and we can certainly face any difficulties that come our way.”

Sterling extended Monday’s losses on Tuesday and fell another 1% to around $ 1.33.

Official data showed that UK GDP grew a record 16% in the third quarter, but still didn’t make up for an 18.8% decline in the previous quarter when much of the economy closed.

On Wall Street, major U.S. stock indices around the flatline opened as a litany of Covid-related headlines kept an otherwise impressive rally under control in the fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened just under 40 points, or around 0.15%. Losses at Visa, Nike and 3M more than offset the gains at Boeing, Apple and Salesforce.

The muted move came when Congress passed a coronavirus aid and government spending package on Monday evening. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk.

On the individual stock market, UK supermarket stocks came under pressure Tuesday after warning that disruption from international travel bans could create gaps on store shelves. Sainsbury fell by 1.1% while Tesco and B&M European hovered around the flatline.

Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned that the highly contagious new mutation of Covid-19 found in the UK was “already in the US” with more than 40 countries banning entry and exit to the UK for 48 hours or more.

“I don’t think a travel ban will currently prevent this mutated strain from reaching the United States,” said Gottlieb. “We’re going to have an epidemic and it’s going to spread over the next three or four weeks. We’re going to peak and then infection rates will go down when the vaccinations are introduced.” “”

The new variant of Covid-19 is forcing parts of the UK back into lockdown. The government has placed the toughest restrictions in London and other areas of south-east England, and families can no longer gather as planned for Christmas. In an interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” Monday night, Gottlieb stated that the new mutation is likely due to selective pressure on the virus itself.

“As the virus continues to spread around the world, we will see more of these variants. It is therefore important that the population is vaccinated and that these infections are eradicated,” said Gottlieb. “The more infections you have, the more likely these variants are to spread.”

Scientists in the UK suggested that the variant of Covid makes the virus 50% more transmissible. However, there is currently no evidence that it is making the disease worse. Both Eli Lilly and Regeneron, who make the antibodies to treat Covid, said their drugs should be effective against the variant. Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, said his company would investigate the mutation, but viewed the situation with “a certain degree of sobriety,” according to Reuters. BioNTech is Pfizer’s partner for the Covid vaccine. Gottlieb explained to Shep Smith why he believes vaccines will have to adapt at some point.

“The question is whether this virus will alter surface proteins in such a way that either the vaccines or previous immunity can be avoided, and there is no evidence that it currently does, but over time it will develop a way that it probably can avoid previous infections or vaccines to some extent so we will likely have to adjust our vaccines over time, “Gottlieb said.

The first deliveries of Moderna’s Covid vaccine hit hospitals in the United States today. Moderna’s vaccine is the second after Pfizer to be approved by the FDA. Moderna’s rollout is expected to double as the company plans to ship six million doses this week, compared to Pfizer’s 2.9 million doses last week. Pfizer’s vaccine requires a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 70 degrees Celsius. Moderna can store its vaccine at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months.

Gottlieb said the current logistics for vaccine distribution are “good” but that some challenges may arise as the population receiving the vaccine expands.

“I think the challenge will be the last mile when trying to get these vaccines out into the community,” said Gottlieb. “Right now, in December, we are largely distributing these vaccines to healthcare workers through medical facilities, academic hospitals, and community hospitals. They know how to distribute a vaccine and how to find their healthcare workers.”

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the boards of directors of Pfizer, the genetic testing startup Tempus, and the biotech company Illumina. Pfizer has signed a manufacturing agreement with Gilead to manufacture Remdesivir. Gottlieb is also co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean’s Healthy Sail Panel.