December 23 coronavirus news

AstraZeneca has summited the full data package for the vaccine it has developed with Oxford university to Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed during a news conference on Wednesday. 

“Amid all this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is of course the vaccine,” he also said.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks at a press conference in London on December 23.

British Health authorities have detected two cases of yet another new variant of Covid-19, originally identified in South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday. 

The Health Secretary announced new restrictions for travelers arriving in the UK from South Africa and also told those who have been in contact with people arriving from South Africa, in the past 15 days, to go into quarantine immediately. 

“These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain which is shortly to be analyzed at Porton Down,” he said.

Kelly Green said she has a roof over her head only because of the CDC eviction moratorium.

Millions of struggling renters will likely be protected from eviction — at least for another month.

The stimulus bill that was passed by Congress late Monday night would extend a national ban on evictions until Jan. 31. The package would also provide $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. But the relief bill still needs to be signed by President Trump.

But, should the package go through, neither of the measures will likely be enough to keep the most at-risk renters in their homes past January. 

Struggling to stay afloat

Kelly Green, who lives in a $1,429-a-month apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, has not been able to pay rent since September. 

Green makes her living selling rhinestone- and sequined-biker apparel at motorcycle rallies and other festivals. 

After the shutdown in March, there were no festivals, no events and she had no income. Still, she cobbled together her savings, stimulus payment, rent relief and unemployment insurance payments and managed to get current on her rent through July. But she didn’t know how she’d make ends meet after the $600 a week supplemental unemployment support ended. 

Green heard about a coronavirus-related rent relief fund offered by Volusia County, where she lives. She applied for assistance and was awarded $4,500 for three months’ rent. 

But there was a snag: The Volusia County rent assistance program requires tenants to have been current on rent as of March 13, 2020. Green was behind on her rent in February and, as a result, her apartment complex wouldn’t accept the aid.

Without that money, Green was unable to pay full rent for October, November or December. And since she overstayed her lease in November, she’s now on a month-to-month lease that is $500 more expensive a month.

“Even if the moratorium is extended, money is piling up against me,” she said. “What would help me the most is if I receive a check for rental assistance for three months, that they take it.” 

Read the full story here.

A health care worker at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon receives a Covid-19 vaccination on December 16.

With two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use and politicians, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities rolling up their sleeves, but when will you be able to get the vaccine?

The answer depends on each person’s health, what they do for a living and where they live.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, Biden’s nominee for surgeon general, said he believes it may take until late spring to finish vaccinating high-risk populations, if all goes according to plan. That means mid-summer may be a “realistic” timeline for the general public to begin vaccinations, he told NBC.

Here are key things to know:

Who is first in line?

Who is an essential worker?

Who is making decisions at the state level?

Read more here.

Age, pregnancy, allergies: Is the vaccine right for you?

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A respiratory therapist cares for a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in California on December 21.

As the holidays quickly approach, the US reported a record high number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and a surge in new cases and deaths.

This comes as the Transportation Security Administration is reporting record-high pandemic travel and said that it screened more than 4 million air travelers between Friday and Monday.

If Americans disregard the dire situation and continue with holiday travel plans, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that it “could be a very difficult January.”

Here’s a look at where things stand right now in the US:

Vaccinations

Hospitalizations

New Cases

Deaths

Here’s a look at where cases are rising across the country:

The New York City Health Department is reporting the first serious adverse allergic reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a statement.

At this time it is unclear if this adverse reaction is a result of the Pfizer vaccine, but the health department says reactions like this are rare, but note they have been reported with the Pfizer vaccine.

Nearly 30,000 vaccinations have been administered in the city, according to the release and the city along with CDC will continue tracking more severe side effects.

“We will continue to move forward with the coronavirus vaccine distribution to ensure that health care workers and nursing home staff and residents are protected against COVID-19,” according to the release.

US stocks rose modestly on Wednesday amid a mixed bag of economic and political news.

President Trump expressed his displeasure with the stimulus deal Congress painstakingly negotiated, upping the risk for more economic turmoil and a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell from the prior week. That said, nine months into the pandemic, first time claims for unemployment benefits are still nearly four times that of the same period last year.

On top of that, personal income fell 1.1% in November, more than economists had expected.

Here’s where things stood at opening:

This is a shortened trading week ahead of the Christmas holiday, ending Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.

Sweden has extended its ban on travel from the United Kingdom to Sweden until Jan. 21 following the detection of a new variant of coronavirus in England, a spokesperson for the Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration told CNN Wednesday.

According to the Minister’s spokesperson, Swedish nationals living in the UK will be permitted to return to Sweden during this period, as well as British nationals living or working in the country. 

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde initially announced the travel restrictions in a tweet on Sunday, confirming that a temporary ban would be introduced in response to the outbreak.

Sweden has also imposed a ban on travel from Denmark to Sweden until Jan. 21 in order to “reduce the risk of congestion and the spread of the virus in shopping centers and restaurants in Skåne County,” according to the press release.

People from Denmark living or working in Sweden may still enter the country, in addition to Swedes living or working in Denmark.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, receives his Covid-19 vaccine in Bethesda, Maryland, on December 22.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN’s Erica Hill that he was “feeling great” a day after receiving the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

“Come on Americans, roll up your sleeves,” Collins said. 

Collins received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine Tuesday at an NIH event, alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, on December 23.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN’s Erica Hill on Wednesday that he was concerned about what is being missed with coronavirus surveillance and that “this has been a concern of mine for several months.” 

Collins said US surveillance “is going to get beefed up now, and we will be able to determine this.” 

 “It’s unlikely that this mutant is not already here, given that it was first detected in the UK back in September and there’s been a lot of people going back and forth,” he said. “So, it would be surprising if it has not arrived on our shores.” 

Watch:

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, on December 23.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN’s Erica Hill on Wednesday that the data on the new coronavirus variant and its transmissibility in children is “still very early.”

He said he is “not yet convinced that the discussion about children is necessarily undergirded by rigorous science.” 

Collins added that he thinks he believes that the variant is more transmissible among adults, but “we need more data on the kids to be sure that that signal is there.” 

If it is, he said, it wouldn’t be surprising, “if this is a virus that’s particularly good at transmitting in adults, why not with kids as well.” 

He pointed out that very importantly, “nobody has seen any evidence that this causes more severe illness, only that it spreads more rapidly. Very important distinction.” 

Some context: Experts in the UK suggested this week there was a “hint” that the new coronavirus strain could have “a higher propensity to infect children,” compared with earlier strains, although it has not been shown to be more dangerous than others strains, or more dangerous for children than adults.

More information is needed, the experts said.

When asked about the Trump administration’s deal to purchase an additional 100 million doses of Covid-19 from Pfizer, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, incoming director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said this is a “good thing,” but more money will be needed to get the country vaccinated. 

“I certainly think more vaccine is better than less vaccine … but we can’t let up on the measures that we have right now,” Walensky told CNN’s John Berman Wednesday. 

Walensky said money for vaccine distribution in the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress this week is just a “just a down payment” for what’s actually needed.

Remember: Congress voted Monday evening to approve a far-reaching $900 billion Covid relief package that promises to accelerate vaccine distribution and deliver much-needed aid to small businesses hit hard by the pandemic, Americans who have lost their jobs during the economic upheaval and health care workers on the front lines of the crisis.

Read more about what is in the second stimulus package here.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on December 12 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

President Trump’s surprise Tuesday night video cataloging his complaints about the massive — and painstakingly negotiated — $900 billion coronavirus relief bill immediately raised the specter of a government shutdown and economic turmoil at a time when aid is desperately sought for millions of Americans.

The President didn’t explicitly threaten to veto the bill, and his White House said earlier in the night that he would sign it, but in a video released on Twitter, he added a layer of confusion to a delicate process that includes not only Covid-19 relief but a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package that funds the federal government.

Here are some key things to know:

First, some facts: The White House explicitly told Senate Republicans weeks ago that it supported pursuing the omnibus (all 12 appropriations bills tied into a single big package) and those negotiations took place for weeks.

The White House was fully aware of what was in the bill and what was agreed upon, though White House officials acknowledged late Tuesday that Trump himself had not received a detailed briefing on the package before its passage.

Most of the items the President listed off as problematic in his Tuesday night video weren’t from the Covid relief piece of the package. They were from the omnibus. Most, if not all, of those items were similar to items in past spending packages the President has signed.

Most notably, two people involved with the matter say, the President is fired up about the foreign aid in the package. Again, that has been part of each spending package he’s previously signed — but Trump was riled up in part by commentators on conservative media who complained about the aid, according to people familiar.

There is no appetite for changes on Capitol Hill: As for his request to “amend” the bill, well, both chambers have passed the legislation, and at this point, aides on both sides say, there’s no plan to make any move to acquiesce to the President’s request on the cleared package. Early talk is that both sides may just ignore it and see if he cools off. The government is operating under a seven-day continuing resolution, so there’s some time here. The real deadline is December 28.

“Maybe he’ll become obsessed with something else and forget about this whole episode,” one senior Democratic aide told CNN. “Or maybe he’ll just blow the thing up. Perfect coda to his time in office.”

But at the moment, aides on both sides of the aisle are mostly just dumbstruck.

“It’s a weird thing where I’m not at all surprised because of course he’d do this, but also kind of stunned because he’s been so preoccupied with everything else that this seemed in a good place,” one senior Republican aide told CNN.

Read the full story here.

Another 803,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

That was a drop off from the week before but still a high number and yet another sign that the US job recovery has run into serious trouble.

On top of that, 397,511 workers filed for benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides aid to groups that aren’t usually eligible for jobless benefits, such as the self-employed. That number is not adjusted for seasonal swings.

Added together, 1.3 million Americans filed initial jobless claims last week on an unadjusted basis.

Continued claims, which count workers who have applied for benefits for at least two weeks in a row, stood at 5.3 million, up from the prior week.

Congress agreed on a new round of stimulus to combat the fallout from the pandemic over the weekend. It would include an extension of the unemployment benefits that millions of Americans need to make ends meet.

However, President Trump’s complaints about the bill, delivered on video via Twitter on Tuesday, raised the risk of more economic turmoil, not to mention a government shutdown. Trump asked Congress to amend the bill and up the amounts paid in stimulus checks.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, incoming director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on December 23.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, incoming director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday that communication is key and she is “very much” planning to go back to having regular CDC briefings. 

During past major health events, CDC has typically provided regular updates to the media. During the coronavirus pandemic, briefings from experts at the United States’ major public health agency have been rare.

Walensky also told CNN that said she hasn’t had much contact with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since being nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to be the agency’s next director.

 “I had a very pleasant conversation with the current CDC director the night I was named, and I’ve had no, no yet conversations with anybody in the CDC, so far. Our transition team has been working toward that and has been updating me and briefing me on a regular basis as to what they have learned,” Walensky told CNN Wednesday. 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, incoming director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on December 23.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CNN’s John Berman Wednesday there have already been “numerous meetings” around a new coronavirus variant identified in the UK.

If Walensky, the incoming director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were advising the President today, she said the conversation would involve limiting mobility.

The real question now, she said, if there is concern about a specific strain, is what is the best way to control it so that it doesn’t explode in other places?

One way “might be to ban travel,” Walensky said, but there are other strategies as well, including quarantines upon arrival, testing around arrival or some combination.

I think it’s really important to understand which of those strategies or combinations of those strategies is going to limit the spread,” she said. “It’s not clear yet that banning travel is going to be the one, especially since we’ve been saying limit your mobility already.” 

Watch the interview:

A nurse practitioner from Broward Health Medical Center prepares a Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on December 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Trump administration will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.

Pfizer will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30, and the rest will be delivered no later than July 31, according to a news release.

With this agreement, the total doses of Pfizer vaccine purchased by the federal government is 200 million for $4 billion. 

The agreement includes an option for an additional 400 million doses of the vaccine, the release said. 

“As part of ongoing coordination, the government and Pfizer are also continuing to discuss potential approaches to further strengthen our partnership and safely expand output and accelerate production,” the release said.

America has gone from having the strongest job market in decades to the very opposite during the pandemic. For older workers who have lost their jobs this year, the state of the labor market makes it harder to get rehired as the economy recovers, forcing many Americans to retire early.

The US economy shed more than 22 million jobs in the spring but recovered more than half of them in the following months. But just like the economic recovery, the job market’s bounce-back has been uneven.

“Young workers’ participation in the labor force has nearly fully recovered – likely reflecting both lower health risks from the virus and a decline in college enrollment – while the participation of older workers and women has recovered more slowly,” wrote Joseph Briggs, economist at Goldman Sachs (GS), in a note to clients earlier this month.

Briggs estimates that there were some 830,000 “excess retirees” in October, representing about a quarter of the difference between the pre-pandemic workforce and the current workforce.

“We are not ready, financially or mentally, to retire,” said Rachel E. from Virginia, who asked that her last name be omitted to protect her’s and her husband’s privacy.

The 66-year-old former government contractor was furloughed in April.

“Six figures a year to instant poverty with two words…. ‘you’re furloughed.’ It’s more like forced early retirement,” Rachel told CNN Business in an email.

Returning to work is a daunting prospect because of the health risks for workers of advanced ages. Employers are also hesitant to hire older workers who could be more susceptible to getting the virus, Rachel added.

Read the full story:

Related article The pandemic is forcing older workers to retire early

Vehicles queue at the blocked entrance to the Port of Dover in England on December 23.

British military personnel will be supporting efforts to carry out coronavirus tests, beginning Wednesday, for hauliers currently stranded in Kent, near the Port of Dover, the UK Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

“Starting today, 170 personnel will support COVID-19 testing for hauliers travelling to France from Kent,” the MOD said in a tweet. “The support from our Armed Forces personnel will help to get hauliers moving again.”

Police at the port told a CNN team there that some form of mobile coronavirus testing is also expected to arrive at the port in the next few hours, however they could not confirm where the testing would take place. 

The announcement comes hours after the UK and France agreed to allow truck drivers to travel across the English Channel from the Port of Dover – the UK’s main gateway to France and the Continent for freight transportation – providing they have proof of a negative coronavirus test result.

Despite trucks now being allowed to cross, UK business groups are warning that there could still be shortages of fresh food in supermarkets.  

“It is good news for consumers as the French borders have now reopened, however it is essential that lorries get moving across the border as quickly as possible,” said Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium. “Until the backlog is cleared and supply chains return to normal, we anticipate issues with the availability of some fresh goods.”

The Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation, Ian Wright, said: “Even working extremely quickly and with Calais possibly shut for Christmas Day, it is clear it could take until the New Year to return to normal operations.”

Earlier on Wednesday, UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the government is hopeful that the situation will begin to ease, but cautioned that it could take some time.

“There’s going to be quite a lot of work to do in the next few days and this isn’t going to be an issue which will be resolved immediately,” he told Sky News.

A volunteer receives an injection on June 24 at a hospital in Soweto, South Africa, as part of a Covid-19 vaccine trial developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has submitted additional data to Indian regulators for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and is waiting for the government to make a decision, a source has told CNN.

India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had requested more data from SII earlier this month as it continues to analyze applications submitted for emergency use authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine.

The source says SII has submitted all the data required for the authorization for the emergency approval to the Indian regulators.

“We have submitted everything they have asked for… The announcement of rollout of the vaccine will be the government’s call,” said the source, who is not permitted to speak on ongoing approvals and was granted anonymity by CNN.

At the weekly press briefing Tuesday, officials announced that three applications from Pfizer, Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech are pending before the Drugs Controller General of India – the main regulatory body.

“Pfizer has not yet submitted data. The other two companies have presented the data and the regulator sought additional data. This is a normal process.”

A 90-year-old woman has become the first Swiss citizen to get vaccinated.

The unnamed nonagenarian was vaccinated Wednesday morning in a care home in the canton of Lucerne. In the coming days, more elderly people living in care homes will be vaccinated.

“I am very satisfied that we have now been able to start vaccinations in the canton of Lucerne,” said government councilor Guido Graf, Health and Social Affairs Director of the canton (or state). “These vaccinations are an important element in the fight against the coronavirus.”

“Thanks to the great commitment of all those involved, it was possible to start this vaccination before Christmas.”

The wider population will be able to get vaccinated by late spring 2021, according to the canton’s Twitter account.

Switzerland authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Saturday, a day after announcing new coronavirus measures that closed restaurants as well as cultural, sports and recreation centers from December 22.

People stand at the blocked entrance to the Port of Dover in Kent, England, on December 23.

Germany’s Lufthansa is operating a special cargo flight to airlift fruit and vegetables to England on Wednesday as shortages of food and other vital supplies loom because of continuing chaos at the UK-French border.

A Lufthansa (DLAKY) spokesperson told CNN Business that a Boeing 777 freighter carrying 80 tons of perishable goods would depart Frankfurt at 6:30 a.m. ET and arrive at Doncaster-Sheffield airport about 90 minutes later. The airline is working with freight forwarders to supply produce from Egypt, Spain and other countries.

The move comes as UK supermarkets and other businesses struggle to cope with the impact of Sunday’s closure of vital freight arteries between southern England and France, triggered by the British government’s warning that a new, more infectious variant of Covid-19 was out of control in London and the surrounding areas.

France and the UK agreed late Tuesday to reopen ferry ports and the Eurotunnel rail link, but at least 3,000 trucks remained stranded Wednesday morning with their drivers waiting for the negative Covid-19 tests they need to travel. Just two trucks had arrived in Calais from the English port of Dover, a spokesperson for the Calais Port told CNN.

Read the full story:

04 November 2020, Brandenburg, Schönefeld: A Lufthansa passenger aircraft is parked on the apron of Berlin Brandenburg Airport "Willy Brandt" (BER). Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Related article Lufthansa airlifts fresh food to England as UK border chaos continues

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Parliament building in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 15.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has apologised after she was photographed at an indoor event without wearing a face covering, in contravention of national coronavirus regulations.

The photo was published Wednesday in the Scottish edition of the Sun newspaper.

“Last Friday, while attending a funeral wake, I had my mask off briefly. This was a stupid mistake and I’m really sorry,” Sturgeon said Wednesday in a statement sent to CNN.

In Scotland, it is compulsory to wear face coverings in most indoor venues – a rule which Sturgeon has reiterated during her daily press briefings on multiple occasions.

“I talk every day about the importance of masks, so I’m not going to offer any excuses. I was in the wrong, I’m kicking myself and I’m sorry,” Sturgeon added.

Truckers are stopped by police officers at the Port of Dover on December 23, in Dover, England.

Drivers stranded in miles of traffic at Kent in the southeast of England are still not moving, according to the French National Road Haulage Federation.

A spokeswoman,Vanessa Ibarlucea, told CNN that drivers haven’t been given covid tests, water, or food and are “crammed on top of each other.”

Ibarlucea says her federation and other French haulage associations will gather later this morning and prepare a joint statement calling for action.

The German Haulage Association says it is trying to lift driving hour restrictions for truckers over the coming Christmas holidays in an effort to get the drivers – a lot of them from Eastern Europe driving through Germany – home quickly. There is a ban on truckers driving over public holidays and Sundays in Germany.

The BGL-EV also reminded its members that the Port of Dover, as well as Eurotunnel, ask for a negative coronavirus test before drivers present themselves at those terminals on the UK side.

“Both operators are urgently pointing out that drivers should under no circumstances try to drive up to the terminals without a negative test result,” the BGL-EV says in a notice sent out to its members.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn, speaks during a press conference, on December 18, in Berlin, Germany.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn tweeted Wednesday that 1.3 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses will be distributed in the country by the end of 2020 in preparation for a mass vaccination of the population next year.

“We will be able to distribute 1.3 million vaccine doses through BioNTech to the federal states by the end of this year”, the tweet reads, adding that the rollout of the vaccine will start Sunday, “particularly in care homes”.

Last week, Spahn said that every second person dying in Germany due to Covid-19 is over 80 years old. Therefore, vaccination would go to over-80s and care home residents and staff as he called on fellow citizens to be patient with the vaccine rollout on 27 December.

In his tweet Wednesday, Spahn added that subject to all regulatory approvals for three vaccines, he is hoping that all residents could receive vaccinations against Covid-19 by summer 2021.

He did not go into detail on how the ambitious rollout would be achieved.

On Monday, the European Union authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with the first phase of the bloc’s mass vaccination program to begin later this month.

The move finalizes the recommendation of the European Union drugs regulator, who, just hours before, had granted the vaccine a conditional marketing authorization and paved the way for it to become the first Covid-19 shot distributed in the bloc.

Tony Blair during the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on November 8, in London, England.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the UK should aim to vaccinate millions in January and February as part of a “radically accelerated” program.

Writing in the Independent newspaper, the premier for ten years between 1997 and 2007 said the government should consider giving “as many people as possible” a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines, both of which need to be administered via two shots a few weeks apart.

“We should continue to prioritise frontline health staff and the most vulnerable, but let this not hold up vaccinating others,” he wrote.”The aim should be to vaccinate as many people as possible in the coming months.”

Pfizer’s vaccine requires two doses administered several weeks apart to reach 95% efficacy. AstraZeneca’s has not been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency yet, and has 70% efficacy on average.

“As it is now, much of the country will not be vaccinated until spring or summer. The economic and health damage, physical and mental, caused by such a timetable will be colossal,” he wrote.

Blair also told Britons to prepare for “a form of health passport”, adding that it will be the “only way the world will function.”

Downing Street declined to comment.

A man undergoes antibody testing before receiving an injection of Gam-COVID-Vac (marketed as Sputnik V) during COVID-19 vaccination at an outpatient clinic in Grozny, Russia on December 19.

News of the first takers of the desperately awaited Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine spurred some hope and excitement amid new lockdowns and spiraling infections in much of the US and the UK. But in Russia, one of the few countries already offering vaccines to a wider segment of the general public, the turnout in the first two weeks of “large-scale” vaccination has been less than enthusiastic. 

Moscow opened the doors of Russia’s first 70 vaccination centers two weeks ago, offering healthcare workers and other crucial groups a shot of Russian-developed vaccine Sputnik V.

Since then, only 15,000 people have been vaccinated, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. It means that on average, each clinic inoculated about 15 people a day, a fraction of the at least 271,000 people from priority groups vaccinated in the US in the first week. 

Online sign-up forms for nine Moscow clinics reviewed by CNN showed plenty of free slots – even when signing up to get the shot the next day. In two clinics visited by CNN last week, there was no queue for the vaccine, and both institutions had only filled one slot, with five people showing up by midday. 

Empty waiting halls in Moscow clinics and wasted shots could be the symptoms of a larger issue Russia will have to face as the vaccination program expands nationwide: widespread mistrust in its vaccine. 

Read the full story:

MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 28, 2020: A medical worker prepares to administer the Russian Sputnik V vaccine at the COVID-19 vaccination center at the Domodedovo central city hospital. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)

Related article Every country has vaccine skeptics. In Russia, doctors are in their ranks

Lufthansa passenger planes sit on the runway at Frankfurt Airport in Germany on December 17, 2020.

German airline Lufthansa is sending a Boeing B777 freighter to the UK with 80 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables on board. The flight will land at Doncaster airport this afternoon.

It comes after big delays at UK ports following the closure of borders due to fears of a new Covid variant.

France and the UK have now reached an agreement to reopen ports but no trucks or truck drivers had crossed into France from the main port of Dover early Wednesday morning. UK supermarkets had warned that supplies of fresh food could be hit if the issues were not resolved soon.

Lufthansa said it is looking at whether it can send additional cargo flights in the coming days. It may even send a passenger aircraft to carry cargo.

A man shouts at police officers at the Port of Dover on December 23, in Dover, England

Coronavirus testing is beginning for truckers stranded at the United Kingdom’s border with France, along the English Channel, after French authorities initially blocked and then reopened travel from the UK over fears of a new coronavirus variant.

Thousands of trucks and other vehicles are currently stranded at the border, unable to cross the Channel into France. Under an agreement between the two governments, drivers will be tested and those found to be negative for coronavirus will be able to cross.

According to a press officer for the Kent Resilience Forum, testing has begun as of Wednesday morning. The Kent Resilience Forum is a partnership of organizations working together to support emergency planning in the county with the local government.

The tests will be done at the M20 Brock contraflow system and then be widened out to Manston Airport, where trucks are also parked, the press officer said.

Some confusion remains on how many trucks are actually affected: While the Kent Resilience Forum estimates there are more than 4,800 trucks in Kent, the UK Road Haulage Association (RHA) believes the overall number is 8,000-10,000 trucks stranded in and around the UK county, Paul Mummery from the RHA told CNN.

The pilot use of ICC AOKpass marks the first ever digital authentication of health records that is verified officially at Singapore immigration.

A Singaporean citizen returning to the country from Japan on December 21 became the first person in the world to use a digital Covid-19 health certificate while crossing the border, the companies behind the pass said in a statement. 

According to International SOS, the International Chamber of Commerce, and AOKpass, an unidentified passenger on Singapore Airlines flight SQ637 was able to use the ICC AOKpass to officially present a negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival at Changi Airport’s immigration counters. 

“Following the successful pilot program, all travelers, starting with Malaysia and Indonesia will now be able to use ICC AOKpass to digitally authenticate their COVID-19 test results, as well as any other necessary health credentials during immigration at Changi Airport,” the statement said, adding that digital certificates were a major leap forward compared to the paper passes that have been used previously. 

In the statement, Chester Drum, cofounder of AOKpass, said “as we look towards the revival of widespread international travel and trade, there is an urgent need for a common framework in certifying, authenticating and securing the results of a Covid-19 test for air transport stakeholders and local health authorities.”

Many countries require passengers to demonstrate proof of a negative Covid test before traveling, and as vaccines are rolled out worldwide, immigration authorities may begin to ask for certification that people have been vaccinated against the infection.

Police officers direct lorry drivers at the Port of Dover on December 23 in Dover, United Kingdom.

UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick hopes that a vehicle pile-up at the country’s border with France can be resolved soon, he told Sky News on Wednesday.

France and the United Kingdom have agreed to reopen their border – closed due to fears of a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the UK – but with strict stipulations including that those crossing must have tested negative for Covid-19 in the previous 72 hours.

Jenrick added he hoped that “this morning, you’ll see people and HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) crossing the Channel.”

NHS Test and Trace staff and the military will be deployed for a mass testing program across parts of Kent where thousands of heavy goods vehicles are currently stuck, PA Media reported earlier.

“We’re putting in place the infrastructure. So the armed forces will be doing that in the first instance to help us to set that up and to get through some of the (testing) backlog that you’ve seen, they will then in turn hand over to civilians who will take this forward,” Jenrick said.

As of 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, there were almost 3,000 heavy goods vehicles parked at Manston Airport in Kent, and up to 800 more in other areas across the county, Jenrick added.

Nepal has become the latest country to ban entry to passengers traveling from or transiting through the United Kingdom, in response to fears over a new variant of coronavirus detected in Europe.

“There are no direct flights from Nepal to the UK, so we are not concerned about passengers who would be traveling from Nepal to the UK. We have banned only incoming traffic so that the virus doesn’t enter Nepal,” said Bikram Gautam, the authority’s deputy director.

The restrictions come into force from 11:59 p.m. on December 23, and will be valid until further notice.

International flights to Nepal resumed in September, but at a reduced capacity, and tourists’ entry into the country remains restricted, Gautam added.

A man and a woman look at the floating Olympic rings along Tokyo Bay on December 1.

The opening and closing ceremonies for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games will be carried out with a “simpler, more restrained approach,” the organizing committee announced on Wednesday.

The ceremonies will be designed to “reflect the overall simplification of the Games” with Covid-19 countermeasures in place.

Tokyo 2020 was originally due to take place this summer, but was postponed to next year as a result of the pandemic.

The organizing committee made no announcements about how the ceremonies’ formats would be different or modified.

New cases: Japan on Wednesday reported 2,683 new coronavirus infections and 50 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 3,007.

Tokyo, the worst-hit city, reported 563 cases in the past 24 hours.

The word "Corona" is written in chalk on a coffin containing a deceased person who died of or with the coronavirus at the crematorium in Meissen, Germany on December 22.

Germany’s disease control agency reported 962 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday – the country’s highest single-day total since the pandemic began. The previous record was 952, recorded on December 15.

The European nation is currently experiencing a major surge in coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths, and entered a hard national lockdown last week in an effort to bring the winter spike under control.

Other parts of the continent are also experiencing similar increases in cases amid the colder weather, and many countries have closed off travel to the United Kingdom after a new variant of the virus was detected there, which may be more infectious than previously-spreading forms.

On Wednesday, Germany reported an additional 24,740 coronavirus cases, bringing the national total to 1,554,920. At least 27,968 have died as a result of the coronavirus in Germany so far.

The United States reported 195,033 new coronavirus cases and 3,401 deaths on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

That’s the second-highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in the US reported in a single day and also marks the fifth time since the pandemic began that the country has added more than 3,000 Covid-19 fatalities in a day.

The top five worst days for new deaths are:

At least 18,230,242 cases of coronavirus and 322,765 deaths have been reported in the US, according to JHU data.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

At least 4,624,325 vaccine doses have been distributed and at least 614,117 doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN is tracking US cases:

Japan has announced stricter controls on arrivals from the United Kingdom, imposing tighter measures on Japanese returners and business travelers, but will not ban travel from the European country.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Japanese citizens returning from the UK must submit a negative PCR test result 72 hours before traveling and enter 14-day mandatory quarantine on arrival.

Some foreign business travelers that are residents of Japan can travel to and from the UK for up to seven days but must submit a negative test result 72 hours before travel and enter 14-day quarantine on arrival in Japan.

Kato said that the government would monitor the situation in other European countries where a new – potentially more infectious – coronavirus variant was discovered and would make changes to border control measures as necessary.

The chief cabinet secretary urged Japanese citizens against traveling to the UK.

A vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is seen during a vaccination clinic at the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health and Wellbeing Centre on December 15 in Stratford, England.

Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices (ANMAT) has authorized emergency use of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.

The authorization will be good for one year starting on Tuesday and the vaccine can be sold by prescription only, according to the statement.

Pfizer must comply with the “the Risk Management Plan established to closely monitor the safety and efficacy of the drug and submit the corresponding progress reports, modifications and updates to the National Institute of Medicines (INAME).”

Separately on Tuesday, an Argentinian Airlines flight departed to Moscow to pick up a first shipment of the Russian Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine.

Argentina has recorded 1,555,279 cases of coronavirus and 42,254 virus-related deaths as of Tuesday, according to official government data.

South Korea will suspend flights from the United Kingdom starting Wednesday until December 31 due to the new Covid-19 variant spreading in that country.

There are currently around four flights between the UK and South Korea per week.

Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho announced during a Wednesday briefing that the country will also suspend issuance of quarantine exemptions at consulates in the UK.

All travelers from the UK will need to abide by the standard 14-day quarantine requirement and take an extra PCR test when exiting quarantine. Any traveler from the UK who tests positive for Covid-19 will also be tested for the new variant, the Health Ministry said.

New cases: South Korea reported 1,060 local cases and 32 imported infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 52,550, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a news release.

Of Tuesday’s cases, 718 were found in the Seoul metropolitan area. The country’s death toll now stands at 739, with 17 additional fatalities recorded Tuesday.

Wheelchairs for Covid-19 patients are seen at the Alberto Sabogal Sologuren Hospital, in Lima, Peru on December 11.

Peru on Tuesday announced the country had reached a total of 1,000,153 confirmed coronavirus cases.

A total of 37,218 people have died because of the virus in Peru, according to official data.

Peru has the fifth highest Covid-19 case count in Latin America, after Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

CNN is tracking worldwide cases:

Drivers of freight lorries and heavy goods vehicles are illuminated by the lights inside their cabs as they are parked at a truck stop off the M20 leading to Dover, near Folkestone in Kent, south east England on December 22.

France and the United Kingdom have agreed to reopen their border – closed due to fears of a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the UK – but with strict stipulations including that those crossing must have tested negative for Covid-19 in the previous 72 hours.

Admittance to France will only be granted to those traveling “for urgent reasons,” and will include freight truck drivers, French citizens and British citizens with French residency, according to a UK Department for Transport statement.

In Dover, a coastal town in England’s southeastern county of Kent, row after row of freight trucks could be seen standing idle Tuesday after moving from the port to an unused airfield to await more guidance from UK officials on what to do next.

NHS Test and Trace staff and the military will be deployed for a mass testing program across parts of Kent where the almost 3,000 heavy goods vehicles are currently stuck, PA Media reported.

The French government will also conduct sample testing on incoming freight to the UK, the statement from the UK Department for Transport added.

The United States reported more than 3,000 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – the fifth time since the pandemic began that the country has added more than 3,000 Covid-19 fatalities in a day.

Tuesday marked the fourth-highest number of deaths in the country from Covid-19 reported in a single day, according to JHU data.

The top five days for new deaths are:

The US Capitol at dawn in Washington, D.C. on December 21.

Like many of his own aides, Republicans on Capitol Hill were not given a heads up that US President Donald Trump was going to rail against the stimulus bill tonight on Twitter.

A Republican leadership aide told CNN “no” when asked if this was expected. The aide pointed out that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had negotiated this bill. He was the White House’s voice in the room, everyone assumed. Another aide said Trump seemed to be “coming unhinged.”

The President is upset about several provisions that were actually in the omnibus spending bill, not the Covid relief bill.

The omnibus spending bill that appropriates money for all the federal agencies for the rest of the fiscal year was combined with the stimulus bill, meaning there are numerous provisions unrelated to the pandemic relief that has also been voted on by Congress.

Multiple sources in Congress told CNN the President’s threats would not lead to a renegotiation, given the measure was passed with big veto-proof majorities.

How this plays out is uncertain. It’s possible Trump could veto the bill, but if he waits the full 10 days, it could push it into the new Congress when the Democratic majority is smaller in the House. The bill hasn’t even been sent to the White House yet for his signature.

At the moment, the hope on the Hill is he doesn’t veto the bill since he never explicitly said he will.

Some opposition lawmakers reacted approvingly to Trump’s calls for greater stimulus checks, and House Democrats will try to pass by unanimous consent on Thursday a bill to increase direct payments, though any one member can scuttle that effort.

It’s unclear what will happen when or if such a bill is blocked.

Government funding runs out on December 28.

Medical staff members work to extract muscle sample from a patient for muscle biopsy examination in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on December 22, in Houston, Texas.

The United States reported 117,777 current Covid-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, setting a new record high since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

This is the 21st consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.

The highest hospitalization numbers according to CTP data are:

U.S. President Donald Trump appears on a video posted on his Twitter account on the evening of December 22.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is asking for changes to the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress, leaving the future of the $900 billion stimulus in question.

The extraordinary message came after he largely left negotiations over the measure to lawmakers and his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the bill, but said he was dissatisfied with its final state.

The statement was filmed by the White House and was not open to the press. Reporters did not have a chance to ask the President questions. It’s unclear when the message was recorded.

The President has in the past said he would sign the bill, and earlier Tuesday the White House publicly defended the bill. But many of his allies have spoken out against the agreement passed.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Read the full story:

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 12: U.S. President Donald Trump departs on the South Lawn of the White House, on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to the Army versus Navy Football Game at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Related article Trump throws Covid relief bill in doubt by asking Congress to amend it

Scientists from the UK’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) say they are now “highly confident” the new variant of coronavirus is more infectious than others, with a “hint” that it could be more transmissible in children. 

According to NERVTAG, the new variant – which is believed to have originated in southeast England – could be around 71% more transmissible than other variants. 

“As of last Friday, we felt we had moderate confidence because the data was coming in, but some of the analysis had been done very quickly,” Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University Oxford and chair of NERVTAG, said during a virtual news briefing on Monday.

Speaking alongside Horby, Professor Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London noted that there is a “hint” that this variant “has a higher propensity to infect children,” compared with earlier strains. But he cautioned that “we haven’t established any sort of causality on that, but we can see that in the data,” he added.  

Another NERVTAG member, Wendy Barclay, head of the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, said earlier strains of the virus may have had a “harder time” getting into human cells using a receptor called ACE2. Adults, who have a lot of this receptor in their noses and throats, are “easy targets” compared to children. But under this hypothesis, a virus that can more readily use this receptor to enter cells may make children just as susceptible to the virus as adults, she said. 

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some research suggests the UK strain may “bind more tightly” to the ACE2 receptor, but “it is unknown whether that tighter binding, if true, translates into any significant epidemiological or clinical differences.”

Read more about the new Covid-19 variant:

Mandatory Credit: Photo by James Veysey/Shutterstock (11654901d) People queue outside a Waitrose supermarket in Harrow, London. New tier 4 covid restrictions have threatened supplies to shops, and have forced many to change plans for Christmas. Coronavirus Outbreak, London, UK - 21 Dec 2020

Related article What does this new coronavirus strain mean for you?

Antarctica has recorded its first Covid-19 case after 36 people tested positive on a research base, according to a statement released by the Chilean Army.

The news marks an unfortunate milestone in the global fight against coronavirus, as until this week, Antarctica was the last continent free from the virus’ grip.

On Sunday, the General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme Base, a Chilean research base located on Antarctica’s northernmost Trinity Peninsula, confirmed that 26 army personnel and 10 civilians working as contractors on the base tested positive with Covid-19.

The outbreak comes after at least three people tested positive for Covid-19 on a military vessel that had been supplying logistical support to the O’Higgins base between November 27 and December 10.

Read more:

Related article Covid-19 is now on every continent as Antarctica records its first outbreak