An August prayer report looking at the opportunities and challenges of vaccinations, Covid-19 Hot Spots and some suggested Prayer Pointers with links to resources: 

As of 6^th August, the total global figure for people infected by Covid-19 stood at 201 million according to Johns Hopkins University. In addition to this, the recorded number who have died totalled 4,268,853.  Cases have risen steadily since mid-June, although have yet to reach the peak of mid-April. The are early signs that cases may have started to decline since the start of August.

Covid-19 hot spots 

Here are those countries / regions which are currently showing high levels of infection. 

The devastating wave of infections that overwhelmed India has passed. Nonetheless India remains the second worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic after the United States. The overall case count officially now stands at 31,484,605 cases, and 422,022 deaths although many fear it may be 5 or 6 times higher than this. A recent study has estimated that as many as 4 million people may have lost their lives in India.

In Brazil, cases and deaths have thankfully started to decline since June, albeit at a relatively slow rate.  The current daily cases of 41,411 is lower than peak of 115,000 in mid-June, however daily deaths continue to number more than 1000.   Total cases have exceeded 19.7 million with 551,835 deaths.  Whereas many countries have seen sharp declines following a peak, Brazil has been much slower at reducing cases and deaths over time.   

Indonesia continues to see the most daily cases and deaths as it experiences it current devastating wave of infections.  Daily cases have declined slightly since a peak in Mid-July, with daily cases standing at 45203 on 27^th July.  Deaths continue to rise and now total 88659, the majority of which have occurred in the last 5 weeks.

Although there has continues to be improvement, four of the top 10 countries with the most COVID-19 deaths per capita in the past week are from South America: Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay and Suriname; for most of the past month and a half, Brazil and Peru were also in this group.   Antonio Trujillo, PhD., an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, writes that South America has been so ravaged by the pandemic — and its suffering is so invisible — because of poor leadership, high poverty and bad luck. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has denied scientific facts, advocated for worthless remedies and turned down offers to purchase effective vaccines. “I regret the deaths, but we have to live," was the quote from Bolsonaro that people will remember. The failure in leadership extends to all the heads of state who have neglected to come together to produce a regional solution to the world’s biggest challenge of this century.  Even countries with capable national leadership have struggled under the weight of regional poverty and underdeveloped health systems.  To save the most lives today and decrease the global impact of COVID-19, the world must acknowledge the severity of the crisis in South America. Regional planning efforts must generate a response that reaches everyone regardless of race, income and social standing. And wealthy nations and donors must make many millions of vaccines available in the next few months to prevent more catastrophic surges.

Covid Variants

The Delta variant poses a threat to us all – not just those countries with larger numbers of unvaccinated people. This is because unlike the Alpha variant, which first emerged in the UK, the first dose of the vaccine does not offer enough protection against it, meaning people are at risk in the interval period between the two doses.

According to a Public Health England study published on May 22, a single dose of either Oxford-AstraZeneca’s or Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine only reduces a person’s risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms caused by the Delta variant by 33 percent, compared to 50 percent for the Alpha variant. A second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine boosts protection against Delta to 60 percent (compared to 66 percent against Alpha), while two doses of Pfizer’s jab are 88 percent effective (compared to 93 percent against Alpha).

The US is also grappling with a rise in cases attributed to the Delta variant, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting on July 21 that the Delta variant now accounts for 83 percent of new cases of COVID. That makes it more urgent than ever that unvaccinated Americans get their shots as this cohort accounts for the vast majority of new cases, hospitalisations and deaths. And all three of those are increasing again, with new COVID cases on the rise in all 50 states.

It is a situation reflected globally. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) weekly COVID-19 update on Tuesday last week reported cases of the Delta variant in 124 countries, along with 3.4 million new cases of COVID-19 around the world, 12 percent higher than the previous week.

Since first appearing in India in late 2020, the Delta variant has become the predominant strain in much of the world. Researchers might now know why Delta has been so successful: people infected with it produce far more virus than do those infected with the original version of SARS-CoV-2, making it very easy to spread.

According to current estimates, the Delta variant could be more than twice as transmissible as the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.  Researchers report that virus was first detectable in people with the Delta variant four days after exposure, compared with an average of six days among people with the original strain, suggesting that Delta replicates much faster. Individuals infected with Delta also had viral loads up to 1,260 times higher than those in people infected with the original strain.

The combination of a high number of viruses and a short incubation period makes sense as an explanation for Delta’s heightened transmissibility, says epidemiologist Benjamin Cowling at the University of Hong Kong. The sheer amount of virus in the respiratory tract means that superspreading events are likely to infect even more people, and that people might begin spreading the virus earlier after they become infected.

And the short incubation makes contact tracing more difficult in countries such as China, which systematically tracks each infected person’s contacts and require them to quarantine. “Putting it all together, Delta’s really difficult to stop,” Cowling says.

It has also been noted that there is a potential risk as countries begin to emerge from restrictive measures such as lockdown.  In the UK, while infection rates have declined in recent days, the relaxation of lockdown rules will likely lead to an increase in transmission, says Emilia Skirmuntt, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Oxford.  “I think there will be more infections than we have seen in the last days. With more infections, there is a bigger chance that we will see a new variant which might be even more infectious,” Skirmuntt told VOA.

The Lambda variant, which some scientists fear may be resistant to vaccines, has yet to be classed as a variant of concern which is encouraging given early fears.

This New York Times article provides a useful and detailed analysis of the nature and scientific understanding of variants. 

Vaccines

As of 29^th July, 27.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 14.1% is fully vaccinated. 3.97 billion doses have been administered globally, and 34.32 million are now administered each day. Only 1.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

The ongoing worldwide disparity regarding vaccine rollout remains, with richer nations grappling with a slow-down in vaccination rates as some young people appear less willing to accept the vaccine, whilst poorer nations just want a guaranteed and steady supply to vaccines.  Additionally, as vaccines become available, so logistical problems are coming to the fore.

Amid a third wave of the pandemic in Africa, only 1.3% of the population have so far been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, with 1.35 billion people still at risk of contracting the virus. A World Health Organisation survey has revealed the struggle of African countries in the race against the pandemic: some countries still lack the capacity to store and distribute vaccines to residents who need them the most.

The WHO Africa regional office has called for ‘a lot of work’ to be done in Africa if the continent is to catch up in the race against the Covid-19 pandemic, citing a survey which found that many districts in some African countries are still not fully prepared to store vaccine doses.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, told a media briefing on 22 July that African countries need to “ramp up significantly three to five times their capacity to roll out the vaccine”.

"We have carried out a WHO survey of 34 countries to see how ready they are in terms of cold-chain capacity and we found that about 30% of countries have over 50 or half of their districts, with gaps in cold chain, refrigerating capacity,” she said. “That means there is a lot of work to do in the next few weeks.”

What this means is that there are just a handful of African countries that can get vaccine doses to residents who need them the most: rural dwellers, who mostly include the aged and those with little access to equipped medical and isolation centres.

Let’s Pray… Let us continue to declare that the novel coronavirus is defeated by the blood of Jesus.

We pray for divine intervention and for God's name to be glorified even as each nation and government tries its best to prevent or control the emergence of new waves of infection and finally arrest this epidemic.

We pray that individuals, leaders and nations focus on the needs of others rather than themselves, and that cooperation and compassion lie at the heart of the world’s response to the crisis.

We pray for our scientists.  In particular we pray for those assessing and communicating risks associated with vaccines, that they be filled with wisdom and understanding. We pray too for those investigating, sequencing and analysing new variants.

We pray especially for the nation of Indonesia.  We stand with our brothers and sisters who are living amidst this uncertainty.  We pray in particular for those providing medical support in the most difficult of times. 

We release wisdom, skill, and integrity upon our leaders, particularly as they grapple with the complexities, challenges and many voices that seek to influence them.

We pray that leaders and nations will see their moral duty to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and back this up with action not just words.

We pray for protection, wisdom and strength, for those working to bring treatment and comfort to the sick and their families.

We pray for individuals struggling to decide whether to receive the vaccine.  We ask that their fears be settled and that the information they receive be truthful and honest. 

 We pray special grace and help for the vulnerable and lesser-developed nations.

We pray for a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine to be released soonest and the continued development of a range of vaccines to supply the whole world

We continue to release faith, hope, and love over the peoples of the world. May the Church seize this opportune time to manifest Jesus our Lord and Savior to those who are seeking answers and peace.