Jill Biden leaves isolation after twice testing negative and Novavax vaccine allowed for teens

The news comes as U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people are testing at home, where the data are not being collected.

The daily average for new cases stood at 95,156 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 19% from two weeks ago to the lowest level seen since mid-May. Cases are rising in Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Maine and are flat in Missouri. They are falling in all other states.

The daily average for hospitalizations was down 7% at 40,375, while the daily average for deaths is down 7% to 460. 

See also: Polio and monkeypox demonstrate a ‘heightened focus’ on viruses

In medical news, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Novavax Inc.’s NVAX, -2.87%  COVID vaccine for use in teenagers late Friday. Novavax’s recombinant protein-based vaccine uses different technology than the mRNA shots developed by Moderna Inc. MRNA, -1.88%  and Pfizer Inc. PFE, -0.21% and BioNTech SE BNTX, +0.92%,  and received an emergency-use authorization by the FDA for adults in July.

The vaccine still requires a policy recommendation for use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which followed the FDA by about a week when authorizing the Novavax shot for adults. 

Moderna said Monday that it will supply the Canadian government with a total of 12 million doses of its bivalent COVID vaccine, which targets the original strain of the virus and the omicron variant.

Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and canceled his planned travels while he isolates, the Associated Press reported. Kishida developed a slight fever and cough late Saturday and a PCR test for the coronavirus was positive, said Noriyuki Shikata, the cabinet secretary for public affairs at the prime minister’s office. Cases of coronavirus infections have been surging recently in Japan, although most people — including Kishida — have been vaccinated. 

• A federal judge has dismissed a complaint from a group of healthcare workers who said they were unfairly discriminated against by Maine’s COVID vaccine requirement, the AP reported separately. The plaintiffs sued Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and other Maine officials along with a group of healthcare organizations in the state. The workers argued that the vaccine mandate violated their right to free exercise of religion because it did not provide an exemption for religious beliefs. Jon Levy, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, wrote Thursday that the vaccine mandate was “rationally based” and that “no further analysis is required.”

• China’s Zero-COVID policy has created a headache for many holidaymakers and tourists caught up in sudden lockdown, the South China Morning Post reported. Many visitors to popular destinations have found themselves stranded at short notice, often because of just a handful of cases. The moves have shattered hopes that an easing of travel restrictions would revive the tourism industry and help economic growth. Instead, many have been trapped in lockdowns that have occurred from Xinjiang in the West to the tropical island of Hainan.

• Apple Inc. AAPL, -1.84% employees have launched a petition to protest the company’s back-to-the-office policy, saying the move risks stifling diversity and staff well-being, the Guardian reported. The petition is in response to an all-employee memo from Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, who last week said workers would have to come into the office for at least three days a week from September, including Tuesdays, Thursdays and a third day to be determined by individual teams.

Here’s what the numbers say

The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 596.2 million on Tuesday, while the death toll rose above 6.45 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. leads the world with 93.6 million cases and 1,041,169 fatalities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 223.7 million people living in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, equal to 67.4% of the total population. But just 108.2 million have had a first booster, equal to 48.4% of the vaccinated population.