Against the backdrop of a fresh COVID-19 surge in Europe that has spread from east to west, putting cases at near-record levels, the Netherlands today became the first country to reimpose lockdown measures.
In US developments, Colorado—one of the states in the grips of a COVID-19 surge—opened up boosters to all adults, following in the footsteps of a recent measure in California.
Record cases, pressure on hospitals
Dutch government officials ordered a 3-week partial lockdown that begins tomorrow, requiring restaurants, supermarkets, and nonessential businesses to close earlier, according to Reuters. In a televised address, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said spectators will be barred from sports events, and social distancing measures will also be imposed, limiting household gatherings to no more than four visitors.
Also today, health officials said they would speed the launch of a booster shot campaign targeting seniors and health workers, according to ABC News. Yesterday, the Netherlands reported its highest daily case total of the pandemic, despite the fact that 84.4% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.
Earlier this week, doctors from a healthcare system in the south of the country said they were running out of staff and hospital beds and pushed for stronger government action to curb COVID-19 spread.
In a discussion on Europe's surge this week on the "Osterholm Update" COVID-19 podcast, Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, who directs the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, publisher of CIDRAP News, said Europe's experience is a warning to other countries that the virus can still wreak havoc and burn through protection gaps wherever it can. "You can't run out the game clock on this virus," he said of the more transmissible Delta variant.
So far, the Netherlands is the only country to order a lockdown, though other nations experiencing similar rises have imposed or are considering stronger measures.
For example, Latvia has banned unvaccinated lawmakers from voting, Norway is rolling out booster doses for all adults and is allowing cities leeway in using digital "corona passes" that limit indoor public spaces to vaccinated people or those who test negative. Earlier this week, Austrian officials said they were considering a lockdown for the unvaccinated.
WHO warns of vaccine overreliance
At a World Health Organization (WHO) media briefing today, the group's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said nearly 2 million COVID-19 cases were reported in Europe last week, the most in a single week since the pandemic began. He also noted that 27,000 deaths were reported from European countries last week, which made up half of the global total.
He said Europe's surges are occurring in both the eastern region, where vaccine uptake is lower, and in western countries that have some of the world's highest uptake levels.
"It's another reminder, as we have said again and again, that vaccines do not replace the need for other precautions," Tedros said. "Vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization, severe disease and death. But they do not fully prevent transmission."
Every country must continuously assess its risk, and with the right mix of measures, nations can balance keeping transmission down and keeping societies open, he said. "No country can simply vaccinate its way out of the pandemic. It's not vaccines or, it's vaccines and."
Meanwhile, Tedros pushed back on ramping up booster doses as a response. "Every day, there are six times more boosters administered globally than primary doses in low-income countries. This is a scandal that must stop now."
Some US states offer boosters for all
Through an executive order issued yesterday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said all adults in the state are allowed to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the Washington Post reports. Colorado is experiencing one of the worst COVID-19 surges in the country.
"Because disease spread is so significant across Colorado, all Coloradans who are 18 years of age and older are at high risk and qualify for a booster shot." said Polis in the order.
California Department of Public Health officials issued a similar recommendation yesterday, NPR reports, sending a letter to healthcare providers directing them not to deny booster shots to adults.
The letter reads, "Allow patients to self-determine their risk of exposure. Do not turn a patient away who is requesting a booster if: The patient is 18 or over and has met the 6-month original vaccination series time period for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or it has been at least 2 months since their J&J vaccine."
Other US developments
- Today President Joe Biden nominated Robert Califf, MD, a notable cardiologist, for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Califf previously served in the role in 2015 and 2016 for 11 months.
- Moderna's chief medical officer said on a conference call yesterday that the company's COVID-19 vaccine does appear to be linked to increased risk of myocarditis in young men but that the benefits continue to outweigh the extremely rare risk of the inflammatory heart condition, according to Bloomberg.
- US COVID-19 hospitalizations rose for the third straight day yesterday, ABC News reports. Fourteen states have reported a 10% increase in hospital admissions over the past week.
- According to the New York Times tracker, yesterday the nation logged 74,128 cases, including 1,158 deaths. Many states did not report case updates on Veteran's
CIDRAP news reporter Stephanie Soucheray contributed to this story.
