A body of a COVID 19 victim waits to be cremated in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 19, 2021. New Delhi has imposed a weeklong lockdown to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital's health system amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases. Authorities said Monday that hospitals have been pushed to their limit. India now has reported more than 15 million coronavirus infections, a total second only to the United States. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Boxers train outside as indoor gyms are still close due to the coronavirus, next to the beach in Bando,l south France, Monday April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
A Muslim vendor wearing protective mask waiting for customers at a Ramadan bazaar, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A woman receives free food at a makeshift stall called "Community Pantry" beside a road in Quezon city, Philippines on Monday, April 19, 2021. Donated food and other essential items from residents or volunteers are placed on makeshift stalls for people who need it as many have lost jobs due to quarantine measures set by the government to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. The "Community Pantry" which started in Maginhawa street has spread to several areas around the metropolitan to support people struggling to make ends meet. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People, some of them wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, are reflected in a marble wall of an underpass as they walk in Moscow, Russia, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Tyson Foods team members receive COVID-19 vaccines from health officials at the Joslin, Ill., facility on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. A growing number of companies and labor unions are directly securing coronavirus vaccines for their workers. Tyson also has expanded its on-site event to include eligible family members of employees. (John Konstantaras/AP Images for Tyson Foods)
A Nepalese Hindu priest wearing face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus performs evening rituals at Pashupatinath Hindu temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
A student holds the Spanish sign "We want to go back to school" as they protest outside the government residence amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 19, 2021. A late-night Sunday ruling by a city court reverted a presidential decree issued last week to suspend in-person classes, generating confusion. (AP Photo/Victor R.Caivano)
People play "shogi," a game similar to chess, before the parlor closes to follow the government measures against the coronavirus in Osaka, western Japan, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A pupil takes a Corona antigen rapid test before the start of lessons at the Katharina Henoth Comprehensive School in Cologne, Germany, Monday, April 19, 2021. After a week of lessons at home, many children and adolescents in North Rhine-Westphalia have been able to return to their schools for face-to-face lessons since Monday. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)
Traffic slows as police stop vehicles entering Ontario Monday, April 19, 2021 in Ottawa. Canada’s most populous province is limiting outdoor gatherings to those in the same household and will close playgrounds and golf courses amid a record wave of coronavirus infections fueled by variants, Ontario's premier announced Friday. The decision sparked widespread condemnation in a province already on lockdown. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
A man takes medicines, removing his face mask near tulips outside a commercial office building in Beijing, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A member of the medical staff tends to a patient affected by the COVID-19 virus in the ICU unit at the Charles Nicolle public hospital, Thursday, April 15, 2021 in Rouen, France. A renewed crush of COVID-19 cases is again forcing intensive care units across France to grapple with the macabre mathematics of how to make space for thousands of critically ill patients (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A boy wearing a face mask looks through the window of a train at a railway station in Gauhati, India, Monday, April 19, 2021. India now has reported more than 15 million coronavirus infections, a total second only to the United States. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)BALTIMORE — A key contract manufacturer for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine has stopped making bulk vaccine substance and is retaining what’s already been made at its Baltimore Bayview factory while U.S. regulators continue inspecting it due to quality problems.
The news was disclosed Monday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It raises questions about whether problems at the Emergent BioSolutions Inc. factory will prevent Johnson & Johnson from meeting its U.S. supply commitments.
Johnson & Johnson says it remains committed to providing 100 million doses of the single-shot vaccine pledged by the end of June. It says “it is premature to speculate on any potential impact this could have on the timing of our vaccine deliveries.”
Emergent says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began inspecting the factory April 12 and four days later asked Emergent not to resume manufacturing and to quarantine all vaccine material already produced there. Emergent said it was doing so until the inspection was completed and the company addresses any problems found.
The FDA declined to comment on how long its inspection will take.
Johnson & Johnson disclosed on March 31 that it had to throw out a batch of bulk vaccine manufactured at the Emergent plant because it didn’t meet quality standards.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— A jab on the job: Companies, unions offer COVID-19 vaccines
— Bitter experience helps French ICUs crest latest virus wave
— Billions spent on coronavirus fight, but what happens next?
— India’s capital to lock down amid explosive virus surge
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Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ANKARA, Turkey — Deaths from COVID-19 in Turkey have reached a new daily high.
The 341 deaths take the overall confirmed toll for the country to 34,267.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed a partial lockdown April 13, including an extended evening curfew on weekdays, a return to online education and a ban on unnecessary intercity travel. He has said the government will consider stricter measures if infection and death rates do not fall.
The Health Ministry has attributed the rising numbers on the faster-spreading coronavirus variants.
Turkey began making COVID-19 vaccines available for all people 55 and older as of Monday.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged everyone eligible to make appointments to get their shots. Previously people 60 and older were eligible, along with people with underlying health conditions.
So far, 20 million people in the country of 84 million have received at least one of dose of COVID-19 vaccines.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A major coronavirus test event, a music festival with a planned crowd of 10,000, has been scrapped after a Dutch city denied organizers a permit.
Breda Mayor Paul Depla says in a statement that Monday’s decision came after police picked up signals that opponents and supporters of lockdown measures could be drawn to the event “with all the risks that that entails.”
Tens of thousands of people had signed an online petition opposing the 538 Oranjedag festival, which was scheduled for Saturday.
The petition was started by a doctor at a Breda hospital that was swamped with COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic and is located about 400 yards (meters) from the planned festival’s site. It called the event “a slap in the face” for hospital staff.
The festival was intended as one of a series of government-backed test events to evaluate how society can safely reopen.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the Netherlands has risen slightly over the past two weeks, but the government is considering allowing cafes to reopen outdoor terraces under strict conditions.
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GENEVA — Climate activist Greta Thunberg says governments, vaccine developers and the international community must “step up their game” to fight global vaccine inequity.
The Swedish teen who inspired the Fridays for Future environmental movement cites estimates that one in four people in high-income countries have received coronavirus vaccines, compared with one in 500 in middle- and lower-income countries.
Thunberg says it is “completely unethical that high-income countries are now vaccinating young and healthy people if that happens at the expense of people in risk groups and on the front lines in low- and middle-income countries.”
Thunberg is directing 100,000 euros (about $120,000) from her charitable foundation to the WHO Foundation to help purchase COVID-19 vaccines where they are needed, whether in rich or poor countries.
The World Health Organization has announced 5.2 million new confirmed cases of the coronavirus over the last week, a new high.
Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says infections among people between 25 and 59 years old are “increasing at an alarming rate, possibly as a result of highly variants and increased social mixing among younger adults.”
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NEW DELHI — The Indian capital has imposed a weeklong lockdown seeking to prevent the collapse of the city's health system, which authorities say has been pushed to its limit amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases.
In an effort to combat the crisis, India announced that it would soon expand its vaccination campaign to everyone 18 and older starting May 1.
India began vaccinating health workers in mid-January and later extended the drive to people above 45 in two phases. The country has so far administered 120 million doses.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 88, was hospitalized in New Delhi on Monday after testing positive for COVID-19.
India reported 273,810 new infections Monday, the most it has seen in a single day since the pandemic began. It now has more than 15 million confirmed cases, second only to the United States.
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WASHINGTON — The White House says “it has never been easier” to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot as all people 16 and older are eligible for vaccines nationwide as of Monday.
President Joe Biden is encouraging people to book appointments immediately and to encourage family and friends to do the same.
Says Biden: “You need to be protected, and you need in turn to protect your neighbors and your family.”
On Sunday the country reached the milestone of having 50% of adults at least partially vaccinated.
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NEW DELHI — India says it will begin vaccinating everyone 18 and older for the coronavirus starting May 1 as the country battles a surge in infections.
A government statement says the goal is to ensure that as many people as possible may get the vaccine in the shortest possible time.
India began vaccinating health workers in mid-January and later extended the drive to people above 45 in two phases. The country has so far administered 120 million doses.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 88, was hospitalized in New Delhi on Monday after testing positive for COVID-19. He reported experiencing a mild fever the previous day.
India reported 273,810 new infections Monday, the most it has seen in a single day since the pandemic began. It now has more than 15 million confirmed cases, second only to the United States.
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JERUSALEM — Israel has signed an agreement with Pfizer to secure millions more doses of its coronavirus vaccine to meet the country’s needs through 2022.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office says in a statement that the agreement includes an option for future delivery of vaccines capable of dealing with new variants, and that similar negotiations with Moderna are underway. The announcement does not say how many new vaccines Israel would acquire or how much it was paying for them.
Israel has been a world leader in vaccinations per capita since launching its inoculation campaign in December. It secured a large supply of vaccines after striking a deal with Pfizer to trade medical data for doses.
More than 53% of Israel's 9.3 million people have received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and new infections have plummeted since a peak in January.
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MADRID — Spanish health authorities are launching a study of the effects of mixing different coronavirus vaccines.
The study involves a sample of 600 people of all ages who received an AstraZeneca shot and will be given a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Five major hospitals across Spain are involved and results are expected in four weeks.
Raquel Yotti, head of the Carlos III Institute, the country’s central health research body, says the idea is to “generate scientific evidence” before deciding on how to mix vaccines.
Authorities are also considering delaying the second dose given to those under 80 to reach as many people as possible in a shorter time with the first shot, El Mundo newspaper reported Monday.
That strategy is similar to that of the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe that consider that one shot provides sufficient immunization against the virus.
So far Spain has prioritized the full vaccination, with two doses, of people at higher risk from COVID-19.
The study comes as the country continues to restrict the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged 60-69, following a few rare cases of brain blood clots.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia is easing its tight lockdown amid a decline in new coronavirus infections.
Starting Monday all stores and services will be allowed to reopen at reduced capacity for people with a negative coronavirus test.
Religious services may resume, and hotels, zoos, botanical parks and libraries can reopen.
Groups of up to six people may exercise and play sports together outdoors.
New coronavirus infections and hospitalizations have been declining since early March.
The nation of 5.4 million has registered over 376,000 confirmed cases with 11,172 deaths.
Prime Minister Eduard Heger has said people still need to be cautious because “we haven’t won yet.”
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LONDON — Britain's prime minister has called off a trip to India amid surging coronavirus cases in the latter country.
The British and Indian governments said Monday that “in the light of the current coronavirus situation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not be able to travel to India next week” as planned.
The two governments said Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would speak later this month and meet in person later this year.
The long-planned trip would have been Johnson’s first foreign visit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago. It was originally scheduled for January but postponed when cases of the virus soared in Britain.
London is also adding India to its “red list” of countries with high coronavirus rates from which international travel is severely restricted. The designation means that starting Friday, people who have been in India within the previous 10 days will not be allowed into the United Kingdom, with an exception for returning residents who will face mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival.
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BERLIN — Pharmaceutical company BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer say they will provide 100 million more doses of their coronavirus vaccine to the European Union this year.
The two companies said Monday that the 27-nation group’s executive Commission exercised an option to purchase the additional doses, bringing the total number of shots to be delivered to the EU in 2021 to 600 million.
The announcement offers a much-needed boost to the EU’s sluggish and much-criticized vaccine rollout.
Sean Marett, the chief business officer of BioNTech, said deliveries of the company’s mRNA-based vaccine this year will cover two-thirds of the EU population.
The bloc has so far administered about 105 million shots to its population of some 450 million.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s minister for planning and development says authorities are struggling to maintain the much-needed supply of oxygen to hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
Asad Umar, who also oversees Pakistan’s response to the coronavirus, said on Twitter that hospitals were continuously receiving coronavirus patients amid a surge in new cases.
He said currently more than 4,500 COVID-19 patients need critical care at hospitals, but many people are still violating social distancing rules. Umar said citizens are “making a huge mistake by not following” social distancing rules.
His warning comes hours after Pakistan reported 73 fatalities in a single day from the coronavirus and 5,152 new cases.
The government has resisted calls from doctors to impose a nationwide lockdown.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that will determine who is eligible to receive more than $530 million in federal virus relief funding set aside for tribes more than a year ago.
More than a dozen Native American tribes sued the U.S. Treasury Department to keep the money out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations, which provide services to Alaska Natives but do not have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
The question raised in the case set for oral arguments Monday is whether the corporations are tribes for purposes of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which defines “tribes” under a 1975 law meant to strengthen their abilities to govern themselves.
Native Americans have been disproportionately sickened and killed by the pandemic and historically have had limited financial resources.
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