With cases in China at their highest level in 2 years due to the more transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant, officials in China's biggest city, Shanghai, yesterday announced a two-part lockdown to do mass testing.
In US developments, White House momentum supporting second booster shots gained steam, but details on timing and funding are still murky.
Shanghai lockdown comes with mass testing
China today reported 6,215 new cases, including 4,996 asymptomatic infections, which reflect different situations in different parts of the country. About 70% of the asymptomatic cases are in Shanghai, where city health officials had been trying to forego a larger lockdown by doing district-by-district mass testing.
The lockdown, thought to be the most extensive in China since the Wuhan lockdown early in the pandemic, will consist of two phases, according to the Associated Press. First, the financial district and surrounding areas of the city of 28 million people will begin a lockdown today that will be in effect until Apr 1.
Then the downtown area west of the Huangpu River will begin a lockdown. Media reports over the weekend showed residents panic-buying and store shelves picked clean.
Of the new symptomatic cases, in contrast, 89% are in Jilin province, mostly in two of its largest cities, Jilin City and Changchun.
Elsewhere, cases continue to decline in Hong Kong, with 7,685 cases reported, according to the Centre for Health Protection.
And in South Korea, cases have declined for 4 days in a row, with health officials estimating that the country's cases may have peaked on Mar 16, according to the The Korea Herald. They noted that the drop-off could be slower and more gradual than post-peak phases of earlier waves, because of the more transmissible BA.2 subvariant.
White House eyes 4th shot
Ahead of next week's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory meeting on fourth booster doses, the White House is signaling it will offer a fourth dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to adults ages 50 and older.
The fourth dose will be only a recommendation, and experts disagree on the timing: Any shots administered this spring may already suffered waning efficacy if another surge of virus activity happens in the fall or winter months.
In the fall, all Americans will likely be encouraged to get a booster shot, sources close to the White House told the New York Times. Currently, 44.7% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.
Last week, the White House said there was not enough funding to offer fourth vaccine doses to all Americans. Today President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget, which includes $10.675 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"CDC's FY 2023 President's Budget request is designed to address some of the most profound public health challenges we face today, while continuing the Administration's goal of revitalizing our fragile public health system to protect the health of all Americans and alleviate the substantial human and economic costs we’ve endured during this pandemic," said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH.
The country reported 8,321 new COVID cases yesterday, plus 50 deaths, per the Johns Hopkins tracker.
The 7-day average of new daily cases is 29,947 with 782 daily deaths, per the Washington Post analysis
Hawaii drops mask mandate
Hawaii became the last US state to drop a mask mandate over the weekend. Cases and hospitalizations have dropped significantly since the Omicron surge, and 78% of the state's population is fully vaccinated.
In addition to dropping indoor masks, the state let its Safe Travels program expire, which required Americans from the continental United States to prove vaccination status or a recent COVID-19 test before the state.
