Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, April 19 2021

In Washington:

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday proposed a rule ordering debt collectors to inform tenants about their rights under a federal eviction ban if they’ve been unable to pay rent during the pandemic. The rule would require any firm attempting to collect owed rent to tell tenants that they may be protected from eviction under the CDC eviction moratorium. The rule is set to take effect May 3.

• All adults in the United States are now eligible to register for a coronavirus vaccine. People age 16 and older in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are eligible to receive a vaccine as of Monday, meeting the April 19 deadline set by President Biden for states to make appointments available to all adults. 

• Roughly half of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Across the country, more than 128 million people ages 18 and older have received at least one shot, with more than 82 million fully vaccinated as of Saturday, the CDC said. About a third of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated.

• About 0.007 percent of the approximately 84 million Americans who are fully inoculated against coronavirus subsequently reported a COVID-19 infection, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Monday. That’s about 6,000 infections. She added that although the 6,000 figure may be an underestimate, “it still makes a really important point, these vaccines are working. Of the nearly 6,000 cases, approximately 30 percent had no symptoms at all,” Walensky noted. 

• National Institutes of Health official Dr. Anthony Fauci said he expects a decision on resuming the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Friday after a CDC panel meets to discuss the issue. Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press, "[m]y estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form. I doubt very seriously if they just cancel it,” he said. He added, "I do think that there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment...I think it'll likely say, 'Okay, we're going to use it but be careful under these certain circumstances.'"

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered the embattled Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore to stop producing new Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses pending a completed inspection, the company said Monday. The company has come under fire from regulators after 15 million doses of the vaccine were ruined last month after being contaminated by ingredients from AstraZeneca's vaccine.

• The White House on Monday launched a media campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination as states open up doses to all Americans over the age of 16. Top administration health officials are participating in both national media interviews as well as a combined roughly 30 local news interviews across the country, according to a White House official, focusing on markets that have lower vaccination rates. 

In the News:

• The global toll of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 3 million on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has seen more deaths, at 566,238, than any other country. The actual number is believed to be higher due to possible data concealment and cases that were overlooked in 2019, the Associated Press reports. The AP also noted that "[t]he number of lives lost...is about equal to the population of...Philadelphia and Dallas combined[.]”

• A World Health Organization (WHO) panel last week recommended against any requirements that travelers show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter certain countries. The WHO Emergency Committee cited concerns about inequity as the vaccine remains less available in poor nations. The debate over “vaccine passports” has flared in recent weeks in the U.S., with Republicans arguing that such mandates would infringe individuals’ rights to privacy and to decide whether to get vaccinated. 

• Zimbabwe on Saturday released more than 300 prisoners to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the country's overcrowded prisons, The New York Times reports. The releases comes as the country experiences another coronavirus wave, driven in part by the more contagious B.1.351 variant first discovered in South Africa. Zimbabwe has recorded 1,552 COVID-19 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. 

• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked Pfizer for more COVID-19 vaccine doses as Japan’s vaccine drive lags, the Associated Press reports. Japan started vaccinating in mid-February, but has only covered about 1 percent of the country so far due vaccine shortages caused by the European Union's export controls, according to the AP. 

• India's capital imposed a one-week lockdown on Monday as cases of COVID-19 in the New Delhi region surge. The lockdown, which went into effect Monday night local time, is meant to prevent the total collapse of India's health system, according to the AP, which reported bodies stacked outside of crematoriums and hospitals shuttling patients around the city looking for open ICU beds. Fewer than 100 hospital beds with ventilators remain available in Delhi, according to the AP. The city is home to nearly 30 million people.

Authored by Ivan Zapien