Our briefing for Thursday, October 21, 2021:

• The United States has provided its rollout plan for vaccinating children ages five to 11, pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The plan involves using pediatric offices, pharmacies and schools across the country as vaccination sites for those under 12. “We will be ready to get shots in arms,” Jeff Zients, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said during a briefing. “Kids have different needs than adults, and our operational planning is geared to meet those specific needs, including by offering vaccinations in settings that parents and kids are familiar with and trust." Children would be given two shots about three weeks apart and they will use a lower dosage than adults.

• In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the details of a proof-of-vaccination system for international travel. The standardized vaccine passport will include a person’s name, date of birth, and their Covid-19 vaccine history, and can be used within Canada or for travelling internationally. As of today, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and all of the territories are using the standardized proof of vaccination, the government said. In other news, Alberta reached a grim milestone in that it passed more than 3000 deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday. There were 18 new deaths reported, bringing the province’s total to 3006.

• In the United Kingdom, the government has come under fire from the British Medical Association, for not reinstating Covid-19 restrictions as case numbers continue to rise. Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, the association’s chair, says the government has been “willfully negligent” for not implementing their coronavirus “Plan B.”  On Wednesday Health Secretary Sajid Javid urged people to come forward for their booster shots and recommended people wear masks inside and get tested often. But he also said the government would not be bringing in any Plan B measures at this time – which include mandatory masking, working from home and the introduction of vaccine passports.

• India has administered its one billionth Covid-19 shot, an important milestone for the country as it continues to grapple with the highly infectious delta variant.  In honour of the achievement, the health minister said he would show a film and song as the Indian flag is raised at the Red Fort in New Delhi. So far India has fully vaccinated about 30% of its population, while about 75% have had their first dose. India is the second country to exceed one billion doses, as China already hit the target back in June.  

• New Zealand has hit a record number of new cases for the second time in three days, exceeding 100 daily cases for the first time since the pandemic began. The country reported 102 new infections, 94 of which were in Auckland while eight are in the neighbouring region of Waikato. Authorities have said that they expect case numbers to rise in the coming days and that its critical to accelerate inoculations. "We are facing this outbreak with a higher rate of vaccination than perhaps others have in other countries. We are in a strong position, but we do need to build on that and see more people be vaccinated," said Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson at a news briefing.

• Australia’s state of New South Wales (NSW) will send $250 to every family to thank them for homeschooling their children during the Covid-19 outbreak. The government made the announcement as NSW reported 372 new cases and one death, numbers that are relatively low for the country’s most populous state. Premier Dominic Perrottet said the vouchers will be made available through Service NSW beginning in March of next year. “It has been tough, it has been a challenge with close to three months of homeschooling, but you have been the primary educators to ensure none of our children get left behind," he said.

Wall Street Profits Surge and Bonuses Will Follow, DiNapoli Says

Brief: New York City’s securities industry reaped another windfall in the first half of the year as it benefited from the pandemic-induced boom in markets -- and that’s projected to boost Wall Street bonuses. The industry’s pretax profits surged about 13% from a year earlier to $31 billion, helped by strong trading, underwriting and advisory activities, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Thursday in a report. While it was the industry’s second-most profitable first half on record, DiNapoli cautioned that profits will subside as interest rates rise and monetary stimulus fades. “Wall Street’s success during the pandemic has benefited New York’s economy and finances during a difficult time,” he said in a statement. “As we prepare for an eventual slowdown in Wall Street’s record activity, we need to ensure New York’s Main Street, and its other vital sectors, are also recovering.”

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Weekly jobless claims fall to fresh pandemic-era low of 290,000

Brief: New weekly jobless claims held below 300,000 for a back-to-back week as labor market conditions trudged back toward pre-pandemic levels. The Labor Department released its jobless claims report Thursday morning. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg: Last week's initial unemployment claims fell by a greater-than-expected margin, bringing the number of new filings back to the lowest level since March 2020. The four-week moving average for new jobless claims also dropped by 15,250 to reach 319,750 as of last week, also marking the least since March of last year.

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