“Be patient and learn how to sit on your hands.” — Doug Kass

1. Fully Vaccinated Tourists Can Visit Europe This Summer — fully vaccinated travelers will be allowed to visit 27 European Union nations this summer under a travel proposal the European Commission. If approved, the policy would allow visitors from countries with low infection rates and proof of vaccination. The EU is creating a “Digital Green Certificate” to help governments more easily verify a completed vaccination, a negative test, or Covid recovery. Certificates will be in digital or paper form, include a QR code for authenticity, and contain limited personal data.
Canada is also considering a vaccine passport for travelers, perhaps as an upgrade to its ArriveCAN app for visitors to report their contact information, quarantine and travel plans, and symptoms. In one poll, 78% of Canadians said vaccine passports should be required of all inbound travelers.
2. U.S. to Back Waivers for Covid-19 Vaccine Patents — The U.S. government signaled Wednesday that it would support a temporary waiver for intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines, as advocated by the World Health Organization, in spite of the strong objections of the global pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry has argued that waiving patents would not address the current manufacturing bottlenecks that explain vaccine shortages, and that it could hand crucial sensitive technology and scientific secrets to countries like Russia or China.
3. U.S. Births at Lowest in 41 Years on Pandemic Worries and Economic Uncertainty — the U.S. birthrate fell 4% in 2020, the sixth straight year of decline and the lowest since 1979, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The birthrate was hurt by pandemic worries, economic uncertainty, and postponed pregnancies. The average number of children American women might have over their lifetimes is 1.64, a record low. Fewer babies are being born than the number needed to replace people who are dying, the CDC said.
4. India’s Covid-19 Cases Top 400,000 Again, as Vaccinations Decline — India reported another 412,262 coronavirus cases, the second time in a week it has recorded more than 400,000 cases in 24 hours, per Johns Hopkins University data. India is home to 18% of the world’s population but accounted for 46% of new Covid-19 cases globally and one in four deaths this past week, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. India has vaccinated more than 30 million people, or 2.2% of its population. President Joe Biden supports sharing Covid-19 vaccine patents, but the European Union and other World Trade Organization nations would need to approve waiving intellectual property protections. Other countries would also need the facilities, techniques and ingredients to make vaccines.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: