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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, May 6-7

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, May 6-7

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Unused COVID-19 vaccines in Japan are set to reach tens of millions of doses, as the country is poised to approve two more shots in coming weeks and the pace of its inoculation campaign remains slow due to manpower and logistical bottlenecks.

Japan imported 28 million doses of Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine through late April, but has so far used only 15% of the stockpile, with the remaining 24 million doses sitting in freezers.

Japan’s vaccine supply is set to increase sharply as regulators are preparing to decide on May 20 on approval of the shots developed by Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L), national broadcaster NHK reported late on Thursday.

The first batch of the Moderna vaccine had already arrived and an estimated 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot are being prepared by its local domestic partners.

Pfizer shipments are also due to accelerate to more than 35 million doses this month and next…

Japan began its vaccination push in February, later than most major economies, and logistical hurdles, mainly manpower, has also slowed the pace of its campaign…

The government tasked the Defense Ministry to set up a mass inoculation site in Tokyo and Osaka by May 24. But there is still no timetable for when the general population will receive the shots and some health experts expect it could take until the winter or longer…

I understand people sometimes make less-than-optimal choices for what seem like good reasons, but: What could *possibly* go wrong?

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Reader Interactions

35Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY stats:

    277 new cases – 70% were people under 40, including 45 children under 11
    4818 active cases
    1249 COVID deaths since March 2020
    2.8% test positivity

    220 people in the hospital and 56 in the ICU, up from 46 in the ICU yesterday

    51.3% with at least one vaccination
    41.4% totally vaccinated

    Things are not looking any better yet.

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    Public health people are often accused of “enjoying” the pandemic.

    What the? What slapdicks are making these accusations?

  4. 4.

    Matt McIrvin

    Holy shit, Steve Doocy did a decent and sensible thing for once in his life? Was it an accident?

  5. 5.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Holy shit, Steve Doocy did a decent and sensible thing for once in his life? Was it an accident? 

    My money’s on Fox fearing a  massive class action lawsuit or something like that because of Fucker Carlson’s big, stupid, lying, murderous mouth.

  6. 6.

    WereBear

    On top of all of this, I’ll never get over the massive selfishness and sheer rotten bullying exhibited by the MAGAts.

    My outlook on my fellow humans has taken a serious dip. Because… they’re dips.

  10. 10.

    satby

    @WereBear: never get over is putting it mildly for me. My hatred burns white hot, and I deliberately don’t talk to most people anymore just so I don’t feed it. Maybe it would rage less in a less red area. Not that I have that choice in the foreseeable future.

  11. 11.

    Matt McIrvin

    @rikyrah: Before the pandemic, we were planning on doing a big trip to Japan, and I was still kind of hoping we could get it in for 2022. But it increasingly looks like 2022 could be when Japan has its turn in the barrel, unless they can get cracking on vaccination. They’ve got gigantic stocks of unused vaccine doses sitting around.

  13. 13.

    Fair Economist

    The Seychelles result is bad news for the Chinese vaccine, and thus for China. 60% vaccination and they’re still having a bad outbreak, and 1/3 of those infected are fully vaccinated. A strong contrast to the UK and Israel, which seem to have gotten control with lower vax rates – but better vaccines. Sinovac certainly helps, based on those numbers (1/3 of cases in 60% of the pop), but maybe not enough to fully control the disease even with 100% vaccination.

  14. 14.

    WereBear

    @satby: Happily, we are in a blue dot in a red area… much like Athens GA or Austin TX, on a smaller scale.

    For years I worked in a sensitive local position which required me to be deliberately non-partisan. Now, being unemployed, I have a head of steam built up!

    Unleashed it on one of those clowns who wears their mask under their nose in the grocery store the other day.

    Me: “Hey, why don’t you wear your mask right?”

    He: “Mind your own business.”

    Me: gesturing to the entire deli area, “It IS my business! You’re spreading your germs everywhere in here.”

    Then, my mother’s patented glare. He pulled the mask up. Sure, he said something to my back as I turned away, but I was too busy getting happy looks from the essential workers to care.

  15. 15.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 5/6 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered, at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province. There are currently 29 domestic confirmed & 7 domestic asymptomatic cases in Yunnan Province.

    Imported Cases

    On 5/6 China reported 13 new imported confirmed cases, 17 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Shanghai Municipality – 5 confirmed cases, Chinese nationals returning from Gabon (via Paris CdG) & 1 each from Spain, Germany & Israel
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 5 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals each returning from Malaysia & Nepal, & 1 from Cambodia; 6 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the DRC & 1 each from Iraq, the UAE, Nigeria & Malaysia
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from the Philippines
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the Sudan (via Frankfurt); 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning form the UAE & Kazakhstan (via Tashkent)
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Chad, the Sudan & Cameroon
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Nanjing in Jiangsu Province – 2 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 asymptomatic case, a Filipino crew member off a cargo ship with last port of call in the Philippines
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Uganda (via Amsterdam Schiphol)

     

    Overall in China, 19 confirmed cases recovered, 11 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & none were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 295 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 308 active confirmed cases in the country (279 imported), 3 in critical/serious condition (all imported), 318 asymptomatic cases (311 imported), 1 suspect cases (all imported). 5,578 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 5/6, 297.734M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 8.107M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 5/7, Hong Kong reported 3 new cases, 1 imported & 2 domestic (1 of whom does not have source of infection identified, an employee at the BGI testing lab in the city).

  16. 16.

    WereBear

    @Fair Economist: That’s my assessment, too, though I am far from a professional at it.

    Despite me fast approaching my 2 shot/2 weeks end date, I am still masking up and getting takeout.

  17. 17.

    debbie

    @WereBear:

    Just once, I’d like those clowns to explain why their rights supersede ours. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the Constitution about this. //

  19. 19.

    Mousebumples

    My husband hit 2 weeks past 2nd shot yesterday. We’re currently Up North for his birthday (as of yesterday afternoon) and doing all sorts of things I had said no to before. Staying in a hotel, dining inside at a restaurant…

    So far I’ve felt mostly safe – the restaurant workers and hotel workers seem to be taking appropriate precautions. But it just feels strange.

    Almost like I’m moving out into deeper water in a lake but the water is murky, and I can’t see the bottom, and I’m wondering if I’m going to lose my footing.

    And now I’m anxiously waiting for my daughter to be vaccine eligible. Looks like September ish is Pfizer’s goal for ages 2 and up…

  20. 20.

    burnspbesq

    Stopped briefly at a Walmart in Bellmead, TX (just outside Waco) the other day (it’s where the Electrify America charging station is). I’d say barely more than half the customers I saw were masked.

    We’re so fucked. We will never be rid of this thing, and the jackalopes responsible will blame everyone but themselves.

  21. 21.

    burnspbesq

    @debbie:

    There is an early 20th Century Supreme Court case, which as far as anyone knows is still good law, that stands for the proposition that vaccination mandates don’t infringe any constitutionally protected rights.

    Man up, Joe.

  22. 22.

    Cermet

    @WereBear: And when I left the doctor’s office (a test where I had to de-mask), I went to the waiting room w/o my mask and no one said anything … wish they had. Ditto for my girlfriend at a store (forgot to put on her mask) and no one said anything. We both caught our mistakes but would have liked people telling us.

  23. 23.

    Ben Cisco

    Welp, Gov. Meemaw has decided to heed the siren call of the “open for bidness” community:

    MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Monday announced that Alabama’s COVID-19 public health order will end Monday, May 31, 2021, and the state of emergency will end Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

    “For over a year now, Alabamians, like people around the globe, have made sacrifices and adjusted to a temporary ‘new normal.’ We have learned much since last year, and this is absolutely now a managed pandemic. Our infection rates and hospitalizations are in better shape, and over 1.5 million Alabamians have had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Governor Ivey said. “Alabamians have consistently stepped up to the plate over the course of this pandemic, and I know they will continue to do so. I am pleased that we have shown the rest of the country that we are gritty and determined. We are signaling loud and clear that Alabama is open, and we are moving forward.”

    Why do some humans always have to have the opportunity (which they NEVER take) to learn the hard way?

  24. 24.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Heath Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 4,498 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 432,425 cases. He also reports 22 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,632 deaths — 0.38% of the cumulative reported total, 0.41% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 34,789 active and contagious cases; 375 are in ICU, 211 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 3,449 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 396,004 patients recovered – 91.58% of the cumulative reported total.

    19 new clusters were reported today: Persiaran Perpaduan USJ, Jalan Nouvelle, and Pulau Ketam in Selangor; Jalan Manjalara Idaman, Jalan Udang Harimau, and Jalan Midah Besar in Kuala Lumpur; Jalan Besar Pasir Mas and Kampung Kochang in Kelantan; Blok D Jalan Pending, Penurin, Jalan Limbang, and Beladin in Sarawak; Jalan Kempas-Pagoh and Jalan Pahlawan Empat in Johor; Ladang LSP in Sabah; Jalan Perusahaan Empat in Perak; Jalan PKAK Ayer Keroh in Melaka; and Dah Lengkuas and Dah Utama in Kedah.

    Pulau Ketam, Penurin, Kampung Kochang, and Dah Lengkuas are community clusters. Jalan Limbang, Beladin, and Dah Utama are religious clusters. Jalan Pahlawan Empat is an education cluster at a Ministry of Education school. Jalan Midah Besar is an education cluster at a non-Ministry school. The rest are workplace clusters.

    4,493 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports a massive 1,424 cases: 69 in older clusters; 22 in Jalan Nouvelle, Persiaran Perpaduan USJ, and Pulau Ketam clusters; 1,074 close-contact screenings; and 259 other screenings. Sarawak reports 748 local cases: 62 in older clusters; 72 in Beladin, Blok D Jalan Pending, Jalan Limbang, and Penurin clusters; 544 close-contact screenings; and 70 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 433 local cases: eight in older clusters; 17 in Jalan Manjalara Idaman, Jalan Midah Besar, and Jalan Udang Harimau clusters; 246 close-contact screenings; and 162 other screenings.

    Johor reports 327 cases: 33 in older clusters, 74 in Jalan Kempas Pagoh and Jalan Pahlawan Empat clusters, 133 close-contact screenings, and 87 other screenings. Penang reports 313 cases: 60 in existing clusters, 116 close-contact screenings, and 137 other screenings. Kelantan reports 297 cases: 35 in older clusters, 13 in Jalan Besar Pasir Mas and Kampung Kochang clusters, 168 close-contact screenings, and 81 other screenings. Kedah reports 209 cases: 72 in older clusters, 16 in Dah Lengkuas and Dah Utama clusters, 78 close-contact screenings, and 43 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports 188 cases: 46 in existing clusters, 90 close-contact screenings, and 52 other screenings. Sabah reports 153 cases: 91 in older clusters, 10 in Ladang LSP cluster, 34 close-contact screenings, and 18 other screenings. Perak reports 148 cases: 45 in older clusters, 17 in Jalan Perusahaan Empat cluster, 40 close-contact screenings, and 46 other screenings.

    Terengganu reports 87 cases: 44 in existing clusters, 31 close-contact screenings, and 12 other screenings. Pahang reports 78 cases: 24 in existing clusters, 40 close-contact screenings, and 14 other screenings. Melaka reports 74 cases: 35 in older clusters, seven in Jalan PKAK Ayer Keroh cluster, 21 close-contact screenings, and 11 other screenings.

    Putrajaya reports eight cases: five close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. And Labuan reports two cases: one in an existing cluster, and one other screening.

    Five new cases today are imported: three in Kuala Lumpur, and two in Sarawak.

    The deaths reported today are a 78-year-old man in Sarawak with hypertension and chronic kidney disease; a 75-year-old man in Sarawak with hypertension; a 63-year-old woman in Kelantan with hypertension and dyslipidaemia; a 62-year-old man in Selangor with hypertension and asthma; a 69-year-old man in Perak with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; a 59-year-old man in Sarawak with no co-morbidities listed; a 71-year-old man in Kuala Lumpur with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and gout; a 72-year-old man in Kelantan with hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Tubercuosis; an 80-year-old man in Sarawak with hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and gout; a 68-year-old woman in Johor with diabetes and hypertension; a 60-year-old womn in Sarawak with hypertension, dyslipidaemia, heart disease, and asthma; an 82-year-old man in Kelantan with no co-morbidities listed; a 78-year-old man in Srawak with no co-morbidities listed; a 56-year-old man in Selangor, DOA with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and obesity; a 53-year-old man in Selangor with hypertension; a 38-year-old woman in Johor with hypertension and obesity; a 60-year-old woman in Perlis with diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and gout; a 71-year-old woman in Kuala Lumpur with diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease; a 50-year-old woman in Perak with diabetes; a 37-year-old man in Kedah with dibetes, chronic kidney disease, and tuberculosis; a 67-year-old non-Malaysian man in Kuala Lumpur with hypertension and stroke; and an 87-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah with asthma.

  25. 25.

    Matt McIrvin

    The Seychelles has a massive COVID spike despite being over 60% fully vaccinated:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/06/seychelles-vaccines-covid-cases/

    It’s one of those articles that has a “why” headline but doesn’t 100% explain why. The leading explanations seem to be that vaccination is very clumpy, with significant subpopulations that aren’t vaccinated at all (I wonder if geography plays a role here–it’s an archipelago of scattered islands); and the vaccines they’re using there (Sinopharm and AZ) aren’t the most effective against infection, as opposed to serious illness (but the AZ seems to be working well at keeping the spread down in the UK). 2/3 of the cases are unvaccinated people. The Seychelles never had a COVID wave in 2020, so there wasn’t a lot of resistance from prior infection among the unvaccinated.

    Still, it’s a useful warning that a high vaccination rate by itself won’t prevent a lot of COVID from happening.

  26. 26.

    Soprano2

    @burnspbesq:  We will never be rid of this thing

    Here’s the thing – I’ve figured this was true since this time last year. It spread way too far for us to ever get rid of it. You might as well try to get rid of the common cold. I honestly don’t see how it could have been any other way, because even if we’d had better leadership and cooperation other countries didn’t

    I also think that people who are still being more cautious need to be a little more tolerant of those of us who are willing to take more risks. I’m going to take my fully-vaccinated mother out to dinner for Mother’s Day, and I think that’s OK and doesn’t merit a  bunch of finger-shaking and shaming about what an asshole I am. We’re all fully vaccinated and follow the rules, so people should also back off on telling us that what we’re doing is wrong.  This situation has made what other people do a lot more important to everyone, and I think that’s brought out the worst in some people.

  27. 27.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Matt McIrvin: (For perspective, the Seychelles COVID wave is comparable in scale to the one that happened over the past few months in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where I live–Haverhill has about 2/3 of the population of the Seychelles. But we had very little vaccination until February or March.)

  28. 28.

    Soprano2

    One more thing – when you see how poorly the vaccine rollout has gone in countries like Germany and Japan, it makes what we’ve had here all the more amazing.  We could have easily been like Japan, but instead last night I told several people about CVS and WalMart offering vaccinations without an appointment, and that one of our fire stations is having a vaccination event today that’s also walk-in. Who thought that we’d be able to get a Covid vaccination by just walking into a CVS on May 7th? It’s really almost a miracle, one that our country needed badly since we handled the pandemic so poorly.

  29. 29.

    Buckeye

    @burnspbesq:

    They’re still on emergency authorization, which is why I think there has been some hesitancy on mandating them right.now. It’s why the Pentagon hasn’t made it mandatory.

  30. 30.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Ben Cisco: Alabama has THE lowest percentage vaccinated in the country. They’ve got a relatively low case rate right now, which (as usual) is probably why they figure they’re in the clear. (But their positivity is north of 10%, so they’re not testing.)

  31. 31.

    Scout211

    I posted an article about the bar owner in California who is charged with selling fraudulent vaccine cards (in the last frame) a few days ago.  That little town is only about about 10 miles from where we live.  Yes, the surrounding area is mostly Republican.  That little town is only a blip on the highway and I imagine the bar owner thought no one would ever notice that he had a little side job of selling CDC cards to own the libs or Newsom or something. But locals stepped up and turned the guy in to authorities who then conducted a sting operation were able to purchase the fake CDC cards in the sting.

    The fact that locals turned him in is the shocker to me.  And gave me a little hope for my neck of the woods.

  32. 32.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 236 new cases of COVID-19 reported, 1 death. The test positivity rate is 1.2%.

    There’s a reported increase in cases in the Moray region in the Highlands which may have been triggered by a school outbreak. The Test and Trace teams are working on tracking down contacts and getting them to isolate, a realistic possibility now that numbers are low enough to target individuals and hopefully prevent more widespread infections.

    There were about 40,000 vaccinations in total in Scotland yesterday, pretty much the normal number for the past few days. The majority are still second vaccinations but there are more first vaccinations occurring than previously. According to the government figures over 90% of all over-70s have received both jabs now although it’s a bit fuzzy since the exact number of people of that age is not precisely known (the group aged 75-79 had reportedly received 102% of first vaccinations…)

  33. 33.

    J R in WV

    Actually, if everyone was willing to  — or required to — double mask properly going forward, we probably would put the common cold and Flu down and out in the masked population. There was no flu outbreak last winter to speak of, and the number of deaths usually attributed to Flu was markedly lower.

    All of which is why I intend to wear masks going forward. I have had major cases of the Flu in the past, even tho vaccinated, and I do not want another at my age, ever.

    My good friend and next door neighbor who is a public health inspector has benefited from her position by virtue of getting vaccinated early on, and being tested when she caught a cold recently, while attending an unmasked gathering of vaccinated folks. Not Covid, just a cold. Miserable for 3 or 4 days, typical spring cold… because we didn’t wear masks and hugged old friends one day for W’s 74th birthday. A real learning experience… you can hug old friends while masked, after all~!!~

  34. 34.

    Sloane Ranger

    So, Thursday in the UK we had 2613 new cases. This is a decrease of 9.5% in the rolling 7-day average. Cases by nation, Robert Sneddon has a more up to date number for Scotland above,

    England – 2194 (up 108)

    Northern Ireland – 102 (up 3)

    Scotland – 283 (up 198)

    Wales – 34 (down 20).

    Deaths – There were 13 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 48.4% in the rolling 7-day average. New deaths by nation, England – 12 and 1 in Wales, none in either Northern Ireland or Scotland.

    Testing – The number of tests conducted on 5 May was 1,214,689. This is a decrease of 10.6% in the rolling 7-day average. The PCR testing capacity estimated by labs on 5 May was 653,611.

    Hospitalisations – There were 1289 in hospital on Tuesday, 4 May and 182 people on ventilators on Wednesday 5th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is down by 18.1%.

    Vaccinations – As of 5 May, a total of 34,934,171 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 16,291,719 had received both. In percentage terms this means that 66.3% of all adults in the UK had received 1 shot and 30.9% were fully vaccinated.

    In response to Matt McIrvin, I have to point out that we are currently doing well and our vaccination programme is going great guns but, although there has been some easing, we also still have significant restrictions in place. The real test will be when these are eased further later this month and lifted entirely (currently planned for 21 June).

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