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Is Asia losing its edge?

May 26, 2021

Here's the latest news from the global pandemic. 

Is Asia losing its Covid edge?

The game-changing impact of vaccination is causing a reversal of fortunes in Bloomberg's Covid Resilience Ranking, a monthly snapshot of the best and worst places to be in the coronavirus era.

Last month's No. 1—Singapore—slipped in May after a new flareup, joining other Asian economies that had been lauded for nailing the virus. Taiwan and Japan dropped out of the top 10 amid sluggish inoculation drives and resurgent cases, while some of the world's fiercest outbreaks held down places in Southeast and South Asia.

Overall, the once mighty region accounted for seven of the biggest declines this month.

Singapore lost its top position.

Photographer: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP

In contrast, the U.S. and parts of Europe have been steadily climbing up the ranking as the pandemic slowly recedes there. With vaccine protection growing, they're reopening travel, scrapping mask mandates and looking to leave Covid-19 behind: The U.K. jumped seven spots to 11th, and the U.S. is now at No. 13.

The Covid Resilience Ranking uses a wide range of data to capture where the pandemic is being handled most effectively, with the least social and economic disruption—from mortality and testing rates to vaccine access and freedom of movement.

This month's changes highlight how some "Covid havens" that had previously eliminated virus transmission locally are having difficulty finding a path to reopening. After infections crept back through stringent border defenses, Singapore and Taiwan risk becoming stuck in new cycles of restrictions as they react aggressively to flareups that are mere fractions of those still being seen in some western countries that are already starting to reopen.

This zero tolerance for any cases—also seen in No.1 New Zealand, No. 3 Australia, China at No. 9 and Hong Kong at No. 10—may become an Achilles heel as other parts of the world accept that Covid is endemic, and move on.

Despite the growing euphoria in major western economies, the pandemic is far from over as the developing world still struggles with little access to vaccines.

The World Health Organization estimates that only 0.3% of vaccines are reaching low-income countries. Scenes of joyous social reunions in the U.S. are now a startling contrast to desperate images from places like India, which plunged 20 rungs to fourth-last of the 53 economies ranked.—Jinshan Hong

Track the vaccines

More Than 1.71 Billion Shots Given

Enough doses have now been administered to fully vaccinate 11.2% of the global population—but the distribution has been lopsided. Countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 30 times faster than those with the lowest. We've updated our vaccine tracker to allow you to explore vaccine rates vs Covid cases in a number of countries. See the latest here.

 

What you should read

Boris Johnson Former Aide Assails Response
Some officials went skiing instead of working the virus, he said.
Employees Are Returning to Some Weird Offices 
Flexible space and touchless elevators are among the changes to expect.
Burnout, Depression Spiral Among India's Doctors
High-risk exposure, never-ending flow of patients, sweat-drenched PPE.
A Nine-Day Wait for Covid Test Results in Taiwan
It's less prepared to handle a surge in cases than some other places in Asia.
EU Seeks Astra Court Order to Supply Vaccines
Its slow vaccination start is being partly blamed on the supply shortfall.

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