Ovedrview: Hong Kong, various vaccine-related developments

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Reuters Reuters

 -- Hong Kong residents braced for a city-wide lockdown, emptying supermarkets and pharmacies, even as leader Carrie Lam called for calm on Tuesday and appealed for the public not to worry over a compulsory mass COVID-19 testing plan.

The Chinese-ruled territory reported 32,597 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday and a record 117 deaths in the past 24 hours. It has seen daily infections surge over 30 times from just over 100 at the start of February. ...

-- Indonesia has extended the shelf life of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to nine months, as nearly six million doses it received in donations were in danger of expiring, a health ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday. read more

The decision underscores challenges many developing countries face in their slow inoculation campaigns, as vaccines donated by wealthy countries arrive with a relatively short shelf life of just a few months or even weeks.

-- The European drug regulator extended the shelf life of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine to 11 months from 4.5 months, updated product information showed on Monday. read more

 -- Novavax said on Monday it would pursue full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in the second half of this year.

The company late last month filed for emergency use authorization of the shot in U.S. adults, a much-awaited step following months of struggles with development and manufacturing problems. read more

Novavax also said on Monday an extended analysis of a late-stage study conducted in Britain showed that its vaccine provided long-term protection against the coronavirus. read more

-- Arbutus Biopharma on Monday sued Moderna in Delaware federal court, claiming Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine infringes its patents.

Arbutus and Genevant Sciences said in the lawsuit that Arbutus' technology for delivering mRNA was responsible for Moderna's ability to get its vaccines out in record time. read more

 --The White House told federal agencies late on Monday they can drop COVID-19 requirements that employees and visitors wear masks in federal buildings in much of the country, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The White House-led Safer Federal Workforce Task Force said in new guidance that the mask requirement could be ended by federal facilities in counties with low or medium COVID-19 community levels, regardless of vaccination status. Counties accounting for 72% of the U.S. population are listed as having low or medium levels. read more

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