Covid-19 Digest: AstraZeneca Vaccine Trial on Children Halted

US president Joe Biden said that all adults in the US would be eligible to get vaccinated against the coronavirus by April 19, moving ahead of an original deadline of May 1. Biden said that by April 19, all adults will be able to sign up and get in a virtual line to get vaccinated.

Biden said that Americans should not be scared of the mutations of the coronavirus. He said that while the new strains were more virulent and dangerous, the vaccines would work on "all of them."

The US said that it wouldn't back any system that would require Americans to show that they have been vaccinated. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said that there would be "no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential."

Also read: Indonesia Delays AstraZeneca Vaccination, Waiting for WHO Review

Psaki said that the US government wants to protect the privacy and rights of Americans — signaling that the nation would not opt for a vaccine passport in the future. A form of vaccine passport is currently available in New York — which is a limited partnership of New York state with a private company.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president, spoke to Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about buying the latter country's Sputnik V vaccine and producing it domestically. "God willing, we will soon resolve this issue," said Bolsonaro on social media.

Brazil is reeling from rising deaths due to the coronavirus and its health regulator is yet to approve Sputnik V. About eleven state governments have already requested to import 66.6 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Bolsonaro's government plans to buy 10 million doses of Sputnik V and produce it domestically. The country is currently in talks to send a team to inspect Sputnik production facilities in Russia.

Mexico's health regulator has authorized the emergency use of COVAXIN, India's Covid-19 vaccine.

"Very timely decision by COFEPRIS to authorize the emergency use of the COVAXIN vaccine manufactured in India. The options for vaccination against Covid-19 in Mexico are expanding!," said Marcelo Ebrar, the country's foreign minister.

Asia and Oceania

India's capital New Delhi imposed an immediate night curfew on Tuesday due to a "sudden increase in Covid-19 cases" and a "high positivity rate."

Public movement is banned each night from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am local time. Only essential services or people traveling to and from vaccination centers will be allowed on the streets. The measures are set to remain in place until April 30.

Also read: Indonesia to Receive Consignment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccines

India also reported a record number of new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours — 115,736. The recent surge in cases has brought the number of infections above the previous spike of 97,000 a day in mid-September. The death toll also rose by 630, its greatest increase since November.