New coronavirus variants could lead to a rapid rise in the numbers of Covid-19 cases, according to two new reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be slower than US federal health officials initially anticipated, CNN has learned.
The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK has now been found in 94 countries. The variant first identified in South Africa has been found in 46 countries, and the variant first identified in Brazil in 21, WHO said.
Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
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Paraguay to start Covid-19 vaccinations next week
From CNN’s Tatiana Arias
A batch of Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines is unloaded from a plane at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque, Paraguay, on February 18.
Norberto Duarte/AFP/Getty Images
Paraguay received its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines Thursday through a government purchase of 4,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
The country will roll out its vaccination campaign Monday by immunizing front-line health workers in the ICU, according to health authorities.
Paraguay approved the emergency use of the Russian vaccine on January 15. The country also expects to receive 4.3 million doses of the AstraZenaca vaccine purchased via COVAX, an initiative to provide equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Paraguay has recorded 148,622 confirmed cases and 3,008 coronavirus related deaths, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University.
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More than 1,500 reported cases of concerning variants in the US, CDC says
From CNN Health’s Michael Nedelman
At least 1,549 cases of coronavirus strains first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the United States, according to data updated Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vast majority of these cases are the more contagious variant which was originally detected in the UK. This variant has been found in 41 states and Washington, DC. More than a quarter are in Florida.
In addition, there are 21 total cases of a strain initially seen in South Africa, in nine states and Washington, DC. Five total cases of the strain first linked to Brazil have been discovered among four states.
CDC says this does not represent the total number of such cases circulating in the US but rather just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples.
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Pregnant women are at a 70% higher risk for Covid-19 infection, study finds
From CNN's Andrea Diaz
This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Pregnant women appear to be at a higher risk of Covid-19 infection, researchers reported.
The study, which was published Tuesday, shows the Covid-19 infection rate among pregnant women in Washington state was 70% higher than in similarly aged adults in the state. It also found that rates of infection among pregnant women of color were two to four times higher than expected.
For the study, the research team gathered data from 240 pregnant Covid-19 patients in 35 hospitals and clinics, which account for 61% of the state’s annual births, from March through June 2020.
“Our data indicates that pregnant people did not avoid the pandemic as we hoped that they would, and communities of color bore the greatest burden,” said Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, an ob-gyn with the University of Washington School of Medicine and the report’s senior author.
According to the study, the Covid-19 infection rate in pregnant women in the state of Washington was 13.9 out of every 1,000 deliveries, compared to an overall rate for 20- to 39-year-olds in the state of 7.3 out of 1,000.
The researchers suggest that pregnant people should be broadly prioritized for Covid-19 vaccination.
“Pregnant women are written out of the allocation prioritization in about half of U.S. States. Many states are not even linking their COVID-19 vaccine allocation plans with the high-risk medical conditions listed by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] —which include pregnancy,” Waldorf said.
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US pharmacies see high Covid-19 vaccine demand "outweigh inventory"
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Ashley Ahn
A pharmacist administers a Covid-19 vaccine at a Walmart Pharmacy in Danvers, Massachusetts, on February 1.
Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Demand for coronavirus vaccines is outstripping supply in the federal retail pharmacy program for the United States, CNN finds, appointments filling up quickly.
Many pharmacies told CNN this week that they can receive and administer far more vaccine doses than are arriving so far. Albertsons Companies Inc., a US grocery company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is using less than 10% of its capacity, according to Albertsons spokesperson Andrew Whelan.
“We have the capabilities to administer 150,000 doses every single day and can take on about 90% more supply within our network,” Whelan told CNN.
Hy-Vee, a chain of supermarkets in the Midwest, told CNN that having more vaccine doses to administer to the public would be beneficial.
Meanwhile, Meijer Inc. has administered 66,000 doses since mid-January with an anticipated additional 30,000 this week, company representative Frank J. Guglielmi told CNN. Most doses have been administered in Michigan, where Meijer is both a state and federal vaccine partner.
“As far as support, we just need more vaccines,” Guglielmi said.
Walgreens, one of the first pharmacies to begin administering Covid-19 vaccines in December through a separate partnership with long-term care facilities, has administered more than 3 million vaccines as of Monday, with an allotment of 180,000 doses per week through the federal program, company spokesperson Kelli Teno told CNN.
“As we roll out to broader populations, vaccine demand has continued to outweigh inventory,” Teno said. “We share the enthusiasm of the nation in vaccinating people as quickly as possible, but patience is needed as vaccine inventory continues to build in the coming weeks and months and we’re able to vaccinate more communities.”
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TSA says there's been "fewer than 1,000" violations since mask directive took effect
From CNN's Greg Wallace
A traveler wearing a protective mask walks in San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Transportation Security Administration said it has received “fewer than 1,000” reports of violations in the more than two weeks since it began enforcing a federal requirement to wear masks when traveling.
The agency declined to provide a more specific number of reported incidents on Thursday. It is the first update on the number of violations since the order took effect this month.
But it interpreted the numbers as evidence of widespread “voluntary compliance” with the masking orders from TSA, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and President Biden.
The agency reports screening at least hundreds of thousands of air travelers daily, and said “millions of individuals” ride on bus, train and transit systems daily.
TSA said it is reviewing the reported incidents for possible citations and fines. That process allows individuals to request a formal or informal hearing to dispute the fine. It has said fines begin at $250 for a first offense and can grow up to $1,500 for repeated violations.
TSA said none of the incidents occurred at a TSA checkpoint. The reports include incidents “in aircraft, airports, on buses, passenger rail and in transportation hubs.”
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UK Prime Minister will call on G7 leaders to support 100-day target to create new vaccines
From CNN’s Sarah Dean in London
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the South Wales Police Headquarters in Bridgend, Wales, on Wednesday.
Alastair Grant/AP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on world leaders to back a bid to cut the time it takes to develop new vaccines to 100 days, as he chairs the first G7 leaders’ meeting of the UK’s presidency on Friday, Downing Street said in a statement.
Johnson has asked the government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, to work with international partners, including the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to advise the G7 on speeding up the process for developing vaccines, treatments and tests for common pathogens, Downing Street said in a statement.
“Perhaps more than ever, the hopes of the world rest on the shoulders of scientists and over the last year, like countless times before, they have risen to the challenge,” Johnson said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
“The development of viable coronavirus vaccines offers the tantalising prospect of a return to normality, but we must not rest on our laurels. As leaders of the G7 we must say today: never again.
“By harnessing our collective ingenuity, we can ensure we have the vaccines, treatments and tests to be battle-ready for future health threats, as we beat Covid-19 and build back better together,” he added.
During the virtual meeting, the UK will also reiterate that it will send the majority of any future surplus vaccines to the COVAX scheme to support developing countries, Downing Street said.
The leaders of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA and the presidents of the European Council and the EU Commission will meet virtually at 9 a.m. ET on Friday.
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Brazil tops 10 million coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Shasta Darlington and Tatiana Arias
Cemetery workers sit on graves in January during a funeral at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cemetery in Manaus, Brazil.
Lucas Silva/picture alliance/Getty Images
Brazil surpassed 10 million cases of coronavirus Thursday, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
Brazil reported 51,879 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 10,030,626.
Additionally, Brazil reported 1,367 new Covid-19 related deaths, bringing the death toll to 243,457.
Brazil has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases after the US and India; it also has the second highest coronavirus-related deaths in the world after the US, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
On Wednesday, Brazil’s Butantan Institute kicked off a campaign to vaccinate the entire adult population of Serrana, a city in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, to test the efficacy of mass vaccination on Covid-19 infection rates. However, vaccine shortages and a recent variant discovered in the Amazon is putting a strain on Brazil’s fight against the virus.
Brazil began vaccinating frontline health workers on Jan. 17 with CoronaVac, a vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac in conjunction with Brazilian Butantan Institute.
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Johnson & Johnson should have results from its two-dose vaccine trial by second half of 2021
From CNN's Jen Christensen
Pharmacy technician Sara Berech prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for a clinical trial in Aurora, Colorado, in December.
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it has more than 21,000 people enrolled in its study to evaluate a two-dose series of its Covid-19 vaccine.
This late-stage trial is complementary to the one it submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for an emergency authorization of its single-dose regimen.
This parallel two-dose trial should produce interim data by the second half of 2021, the company said. It is dependent on how much infection is in the community. If there is a lot of disease circulating, the trial could see results sooner.
The company launched the two-dose trial in November. It plans to enroll 30,000 people worldwide.
The FDA could decide on the authorization of the single dose J&J vaccine in the next couple of weeks. The single-dose vaccine met all primary and key secondary endpoints, the company said. Clinical trial data showed the single vaccine was 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease, but 85% effective against severe disease and 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations.
More on the vaccines: Johnson & Johnson’s single dose vaccine has its advantages. Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine requires two doses. Logistically, a single shot is easier to manage. The J&J vaccine also can be kept at regular refrigerated temperatures, as opposed to the Pfizer vaccine that needs a special deep freezer.
“A one-dose vaccine is considered by the World Health Organization to be the best option in pandemic settings, enhancing access, distribution and compliance,” a statement emailed by the company Thursday said.
All the vaccine makers are looking into whether booster doses would provide better protection against coronavirus variants, according to Andy Slavitt. The White House’s senior adviser for Covid response told the Washington Post Thursday that Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech “have plans to continue to update their vaccines and if need be, create boosters down the road if there continue to be additional mutants, as there likely will be.”
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Pfizer-BioNTech will start additional vaccine studies in children as young as 5 soon
From CNN’s Amanda Sealy
Pfizer-BioNTech said they are expecting to start Covid-19 vaccine studies in children aged five to 11 in the next couple of months, according to a company news release.
The companies said they also have plans to study the vaccine in children younger than five later this year.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s current trial – for children aged 12 to 15 – began enrolling participants in October of last year. That trial is now fully enrolled and the companies say “the relevant data are planned to be submitted to the regulatory authorities in the second quarter of 2021.”
Currently, Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for those who are aged 16 and above. There is currently no FDA authorized Covid-19 vaccine for children.
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Nevada detects state’s first case of Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa
From CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian
Health officials in Nevada detected the state’s first known case of the B.1.351 coronavirus variant, first identified in South Africa, in a sample collected in Reno, according to a statement from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med).
The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) located at UNR Med said it first sequenced the specimen on Saturday, and through further analysis of data detected the B.1.351 strain and confirmed it on Wednesday.
The sample came from a person who had traveled from South Africa and became symptomatic after arriving in Reno.
Some more context: The NSPHL has been analyzing positive Covid-19 virus samples for variants since mid-December 2020 through whole genome sequencing, the statement reads.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 19 cases of the B.1.351 variant have been identified in 10 states. This doesn’t represent the total number of such cases circulating in the US, but just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples.
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About 57.7 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the US
From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips
Carolyn Fowler of the Los Angeles Unified School District receives a Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
About 57.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported that 57,737,767 total doses have been administered, about 79% of the 73,377,450 doses distributed.
That’s nearly 1.5 million more administered doses reported since yesterday. The seven-day average of doses administered has been ticking down slightly since Tuesday, from about 1.7 million doses per day to about 1.6 million.
More than 41 million people have now received at least one dose of the vaccine and more than 16 million people have been fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.
Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported.
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Participants in global Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine trial for pregnant women receive their first doses
From CNN’s Amanda Sealy
A pharmacy technician prepares doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on January 30.
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Pfizer-BioNTech announced Thursday that the first participants of its global Covid-19 vaccine trial for pregnant women have received their first doses.
The Phase 2/3 trial will enroll about 4,000 healthy pregnant women age 18 or older, according to a news release from the company. They will be vaccinated during 24 to 34 weeks of gestation and receive two doses of the vaccine or placebo 21 days apart.
The first doses were administered to US participants. The trial will be conducted in nine countries: the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mozambique, South Africa, UK and Spain.
The company said the trial is designed to evaluate the vaccine in pregnant women, but also their infants, who will be monitored until they’re about six months old, for safety and for the transfer of potentially protective antibodies. Once an infant is born, Pfizer-BioNTech said trial participants will be unblinded and adults in the placebo group will receive the vaccine.
Currently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says pregnant people are at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19, and there’s limited data about the safety of the vaccines for pregnant people. It suggests pregnant patients talk with their doctor to make the decision about whether to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
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Food and packaging highly unlikely to spread Covid-19, US agencies say in reminder
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Food and food packaging are highly unlikely to spread Covid-19, the US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a reminder Thursday.
The three agencies said they wanted to stress the lack of credible evidence to suggest that food or its packaging are associated with transmission of the virus.
Covid-19 is a respiratory illness spread from person to person, unlike foodborne viruses that can make people sick through contaminated food, the FDA said.
“Given that the number of virus particles that could be theoretically picked up by touching a surface would be very small and the amount needed for infection via oral inhalation would be very high, the chances of infection by touching the surface of food packaging or eating food is considered to be extremely low,” it added.
“Considering the more than 100 million cases of COVID-19, we have not seen epidemiological evidence of food or food packaging as the source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to humans.”
Chinese officials have repeatedly raised the possibility the virus is spread by packaged frozen foods, but the CDC and World Health Organization have both said this is highly unlikely.
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Fauci says minor things can set back vaccine production by months
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Dr. Anthony Fauci joins President Joe Biden while touring the National Institutes of Health on February 11.
Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Even seemingly minor things can set back vaccine production by months, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,said talking about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine supply mix up.
The US had been expecting between 20 to 30 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses by April, but now expects fewer than 20 million by that time. An administration official told CNN on Tuesday that the change was due to a miscommunication. The administration now expects single digit millions of doses to initially be available, if the vaccine is authorized for emergency use.
“The issue is, we would have hoped that we would have gotten more vaccines at the time that they get their emergency use authorization,” Fauci said in an MSNBC interview Thursday.
Johnson & Johnson is on track to meet its promise of producing 100 million vaccine doses for the US by July, Fauci said.
“We would have hoped that we would have had a lot of vaccines available, but we don’t,” he said. “We’re going to probably have single digits vaccine available right away, a bit more the next month, and then after that, it’ll really scale up so that they will almost certainly meet their contractual arrangement.”
Johnson & Johnson has asked the Federal Drug Administration to authorize its vaccine for emergency use and an independent review of the vaccine is scheduled for Feb. 26.
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Workers use PPE if employers give it to them, CDC study finds
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
US workers will use personal protective equipment if their employers give it out, a new study finds.
Researchers from the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health looked at survey answers from 742 non-healthcare, non-remote workers last June who didn’t use PPE at work before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Just 29% used PPE if it was left entirely up to them, the team reported Thursday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly. More than half of those who used PPE were required to do so by employers. And use doubled if the PPE was provided, they found.
About 30% of workers who were not required to use PPE were provided the equipment by employers, the NIOSH team found, and 45% of those workers used the PPE. That compared to 22% of workers who didn’t use PPE if it wasn’t provided.
The team also found 8% of workers were forbidden to use PPE by their employers. “Overall, lower-income workers were more likely than were higher-income workers to be prohibited from using hazard controls or to be unable to obtain them,” the team wrote.
The team also noted why wearing PPE matters.
Among those who did not use PPE and other hazard controls in the workplace, 15% were unable to obtain them and 77% said they thought that they weren’t necessary.
Lower-income workers were more likely to be prohibited from use or unable to obtain them, compared with higher-income workers.
“Employers can help protect workers against Covid-19 by requiring and encouraging occupational hazard control use and providing recommended hazard controls, along with other Covid-19 workplace precautions,” said the report.
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European Commission has "a lot to learn" from vaccine rollout, says Denmark's foreign minister
From CNN’s Samantha Tapfumaneyi
Jeppe Kofod, Denmark’s foreign minister, spoke to CNN's Becky Anderson on Thursday.
The European Commission has a “lot to learn” from its Covid-19 vaccine rollout, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview on Thursday.
“I think there’s a lot to learn from the process that also the European Union has to learn, the Commission that has been responsible for negotiating contracts on behalf of member states and the whole setup around the pandemic,” Kofod said.
Asked about the criticism the EU has faced on its vaccine rollout, Kofod said:
Kofod agreed that the rollout “has not been a full success.”
The foreign minister pointed out that it’s not a shortage of vaccines that has been a problem but the delay in arrivals.
“We are all desperate to get our population vaccinated sooner than later,” Kofod said.
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More than 1.8 million vaccine doses have been administered in Pennsylvania so far
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Eugene Proctor receives a Covid-19 vaccine at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Pennsylvania has administered more than 1.8 million vaccine doses so far, and expects 326,850 doses to have been allocated through Feb. 20.
According to the state’s health department, 85% of those, or 1,365,523 doses that were administered, were first doses, and 40% or 467,115 doses were second doses.
Vaccination numbers do not include Philadelphia, which is its own jurisdiction, or federal facilities, which are working directly with the federal government, the department said.
The state reports 3,345 additional cases and 84 deaths.
Note: These numbers were released by the state health department and may not line up with Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 numbers.
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Northern Ireland extends lockdown until April 1
From CNN's Sarah Dean
A man walks past a shuttered pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Monday.
Liam McBurney/PA Images/Getty Images
Lockdown restrictions currently in place in Northern Ireland will be extended until April 1, First Minister Arlene Foster announced on Thursday.
The current restrictions were due to expire on March 5.
The Northern Ireland Executive has agreed that the current measures to curb the spread of coronavirus must remain, but there will be a further review of restrictions on March 18, she added.
Foster said that although Northern Ireland has achieved “significant” results in its pushback against Covid-19 in recent weeks, there is still great concern over the new variants. “We must proceed with great care and caution,” she urged.
The first step of restrictions easing will be a gradual return to schools.
Preschool children and primary classes up to year three will return from March 8. Secondary school students in exam years – including GCSE and A-Level students – will return to face-to-face teaching on March 22, Foster said.
England and Scotland have been under lockdown since early January, and Wales and Northern Ireland have been under lockdown since late December.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out a road map for England’s exit from lockdown next week.
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WHO will launch a new declaration on vaccine equity
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks during Thursday's news briefing.
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization will launch a new declaration focused on vaccine equity on Friday, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced during a news briefing.
The declaration, which Tedros said has already received support from hundreds of organizations and thousands of people, calls for action from several groups who have already signed on.
The actions include asking political leaders to increase contributions to the COVAX facility – a program designed to guarantee fair and equitable access to vaccines for every country in the world – and share doses in parallel with their national rollout, regulatory bodies to accelerate approval processes in a safe and effective way and for all governments to ensure that vaccines are distributed free at the point of care, starting with health workers.
“Everywhere means everywhere. Nowhere should be left behind,” he added.
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Democratic congresswoman: “We failed again and again to think ahead” for students and parents
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
As US schools weigh reopening for full-time in-person learning, Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter says part of the discussion is “that we failed again and again to think ahead about what kids and families need.”
“All of this discussion today about school reopening is a little bit exasperating to me because I started worrying about school reopening…the day that schools closed,” she said to CNN’s Poppy Harlow. “Because I really, as a single parent, depend on high quality public schools to help me take care of my kids and make sure they’re learning.”
Porter is a single mother of three children. She said that she is glad President Biden is “pushing” and “asking the right questions and setting deadlines” on school plans.
But she said there is not enough guidance about what should happen after all students go back to school, and she has sent a letter to the Department of Education about it.
“I think if we push and make a real effort, it is very possible to offer at least the first vaccine to all teachers here in the next couple of weeks,” Porter said. “I think teachers need to be in the next group and that is really important for them to be able to stay in the workforce. It doesn’t do any good to open schools only if teachers get sick and go out.”
Watch:
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Vaccine makers looking into booster doses for better protection against variants, White House adviser says
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
Vaccine makers are looking into whether booster doses could provide better protection against coronavirus variants, Andy Slavitt, the White House’s senior adviser for Covid response, said during an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday.
The White House official said Johnson & Johnson is already studying a second dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, and he noted that Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, which currently have vaccines authorized in the United States, “have plans to continue to update their vaccines and if need be, create boosters down the road if there continue to be additional mutants, as there likely will be.”
Johnson & Johnson has said it’s exploring whether to retool its Covid-19 vaccine to address the potential impact of new strains. In November, the company announced that it had started a large-scale Phase 3 trial for a two-dose regimen of its coronavirus vaccine.
“More broadly, can you mix and match? If you have one can you later take another? And the answer is, try to remember which one you had because that’s what’s been tested … but if you forgot, don’t panic. You can take another one and the CDC says that that’s fine in that case,” he continued.
A US Food and Drug Administration’s independent advisory committee will meet Feb. 26 to consider whether to recommend a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use authorization.
The Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 single-shot vaccine was shown to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a global Phase 3 trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, the company previously announced.
“While a potentially safe and effective single-dose preventive COVID-19 vaccine would have significant benefits, particularly in a pandemic setting, Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine program has been designed to be extremely thorough and driven by science. As such, we are investigating multiple doses and dosing regimens to evaluate their long-term efficacy,” a November statement from J&J said.
Slavitt also said that the administration is working to ensure that the vaccines will work against variants.
“We are testing right now in vitro. … The good news to start with is the most prominent strain that’s come here, the B.1.1.7, the vaccines work well for — the Pfizer and the Moderna. The South African, which is close to the Brazilian … they are … less effective, but above a threshold,” Slavitt said.
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"Strong and compelling" evidence vaccines are reducing deaths in Scotland, first minister says
From CNN’s Chloe Adams
A vaccination team member works at a drive-thru Covid-19 vaccination center in Musselburgh, Scotland, on February 10.
Jane Barlow/PA/Getty Images
There is “strong and compelling evidence” the vaccination program is starting to reduce the number of people dying with Covid-19 in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Thursday.
Speaking at the daily Scottish coronavirus briefing, Sturgeon praised figures released by the National Records of Scotland on Wednesday that showed a 62% reduction in the number of Covid-related deaths in care homes over the past three weeks.
She said the data shows death rates in care homes have dropped from 34% at the start of the year to just 13%, which according to the first minister is a larger decline than seen for the deaths happening in hospitals or in people’s own homes.
“We’re already seeing some early similar signs in the older age group living in the community. The over-85 age group saw the biggest reduction in deaths in the figures which were published yesterday,” Sturgeon added.
“We hope to see that strengthen in the weeks ahead and we obviously very much hope to see that deaths will start to fall significantly amongst the other groups that are being vaccinated as well.”
Scotland’s latest figures: A total of 1,354,966 people in Scotland have now received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, with first doses offered to everybody over 70, all care home residents, all frontline care workers and all people with a serious clinical vulnerability.
A further 685 positive cases have been reported in Scotland and 1,261 coronavirus patients are currently being treated in hospital. Sturgeon explained this is “quite a bit below the peak of last spring, although our hospitals continue to be under very severe pressure.”
A total of 57 coronavirus-related deaths were registered in the past 24 hours.
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Russia responds to EU calls to "explain" the pace of its vaccine rollout
From CNN's Darya Tarasova and Samantha Tapfumaneyi
A person receives the Gam-COVID-Vac Covid-19 vaccine, also known as Sputnik V, in Moscow on January 2.
Sergei Savostyanov/TASS/Getty Images
The Kremlin on Thursday said it’s happy with the pace of its domestic vaccination campaign as it prepares to launch production of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine across “a number of foreign countries” in order to meet global demand.
The Kremlin has previously outlined its plans to outsource production of Sputnik V, with potential hubs in South Korea, India and Brazil. According to Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which bankrolled the development of Sputnik V and markets it internationally, the country secured contracts to supply millions of dozes abroad.
While Russia is working to supply its vaccine to foreign countries, the Kremlin spokesperson reiterated that supply for the Russian population across all regions remains a priority for the government.
“Production in a number of foreign countries will cover the needs abroad,” he added.
On Wednesday, The European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen called on Russia to explain why it’s sending “millions and millions” of vaccines to countries around the globe, but continues to struggle to vaccinate its own people.
“Overall I must say, we still wonder why Russia is still offering, theoretically millions and millions of doses while not sufficiently progressing in vaccinating their own people,” Von der Leyen said Wednesday. “This is also a question, I think, should be answered.”
RDIF responded via Twitter saying that the doses of the Russian vaccine have been offered to Europeans after Russia completes mass vaccination domestically, which according to RDIF would be done by June 2021.
Remember: Russian Health Ministry has yet to release comprehensive data on the total number of inoculated people.Denis Logunov with the Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine, said last week that so far about 2.2 million people received the first dose of the vaccine, out of which 1.7 million received both shots, according to TASS state news agency.
In late January, Russian officials said the preliminary plan is to administer at least one dose to 20 million people out of Russia’s 145 million population in Q1 of 2021.
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Vatican employees who refuse Covid-19 vaccine may risk losing their jobs
From CNN’s Delia Gallagher in Rome
The Vatican told its employees they may lose their jobs if they refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
A decree signed by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the governor of the Vatican City State, says those employees who refuse the vaccine without legitimate health reasons may be transferred to a different position or may even be terminated.
The decree, dated Feb. 8, refers to a 2011 Vatican law which says employees who refuse to undergo preventative health checks can be subject to “various levels of consequences including the interruption of the work contract.”
The decree argues that vaccination for Covid-19 is a “responsible decision” because the “refusal of the vaccine constitutes a risk for others.”
Pope Francis, who has received the vaccine, has publicly spoken in favor of vaccinations.
The Vatican began vaccinating employees and their families on Jan. 13. Less than a thousand people currently live in the Vatican City, according to UN World Population Prospects.
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Germany will likely extend border checks if Covid-19 outbreaks involving variants are not contained
From Nadine Schmidt
Federal Police officers check drivers at the border crossing between Austria and Germany, near Kiefersfelden, on February 14.
Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images
Germany is likely to extend border checks with Austria and the Czech Republic beyond March 3 if coronavirus outbreaks involving variants are not contained, the country’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced earlier.
Germany began carrying out checks on drivers crossing the Czech-German border last Sunday.
Travel bans are also currently in place for several other countries with high incidence of variant infections, including the UK, Brazil, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa and Eswatini.
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Another 861,000 Americas filed for initial benefits last week as pandemic continues to slam economy
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
Tourism stores near New York's Times Square are closed on February 9.
Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Another 861,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week, according to seasonally adjusted data released Thursday from the Labor Department.
It was nearly 100,000 claims more than economists had predicted, as well as an increase from the week before — which was also revised higher.
America’s jobs recovery has really lost steam and last week’s initial claims were four times higher than in the same period last year.
The anniversary of the benefit claims spike is only a month away. Last year, initial claims jumped to 3.3 million in the week ended March 21 before peaking at 6.9 million in the following week.
Nearly a year later, the weekly numbers are much lower again, but haven’t meaningfully improved in months. Weekly claims dropped below a million in August, but their most recent adjusted low was 711,000 — several times higher than the pre-pandemic average.
On top of regular state claims, 516,299 Americans filed for benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides aid for people like the self-employed or gig workers.
Added up, first-time claims actually stood at 1.4 million last week, not adjusted for seasonal swings.
Continued jobless claims, which count filings for at least two consecutive weeks, stood at 4.5 million.
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Vaccine availability remains the big challenge before anticipated surge in cases, expert says
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Michael Osterholm on February 18.
CNN
After the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that severe weather around the US will delay Covid-19 vaccine deliveries in the coming days, infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm says this will not slow down production, it will just delay when the shots get into people’s arms. Instead, the big concern is the availability of enough doses and how many people can be vaccinated before the anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases due to the UK variant.
“This very likely, in the next five to 14 weeks, is going to cause a major surge of cases in this country. And our own work has shown that … over 30 million Americans over the age of 65 will not have access to vaccine in these next 12 to 14 weeks. That’s a real challenge,” Osterholm said.
Before the severe weather conditions hit, the biggest challenge was availability of vaccines, he added.
Meanwhile, the decline in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations is “lulling us into a sense of security that we just can’t afford,” he told CNN.
“Right now, we’re loosening up everything at a time when this virus is just starting to take off. We’ve done everything we possibly can to give this as much a free ride in our community as anybody could imagine,” he added.
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Saudi Arabia approves AstraZeneca vaccine
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi
Vials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in London on January 7.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot on Thursday, the country’s Health Ministry said on Twitter.
The Kingdom announced this week it’s entering the second phase of its vaccine rollout and will inoculate people who are registered for appointments through an online app.
New vaccine doses arrived on Monday after “a delay beyond” Saudi’s control, the Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabea said on Twitter.
Saudi Arabia has recorded over 370,000 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 6,445 deaths, according to data from the Health Ministry.
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Details of the UK's controversial AstraZeneca contract are revealed
From CNN's Angela Dewan in London
A pharmacist prepares a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Birmingham, England, on February 4.
Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
AstraZeneca’s contract to supply the UK with 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses commits it to making “best reasonable efforts,” the same language used in its deal with the European Union, which critics blamed for the bloc’s faltering inoculation program.
The details of the contract are contained in a redacted version published online without fanfare months ago, long before the UK and the EU became embroiled in a bitter dispute over vaccine supply.
British officials had earlier declined to provide the contract to CNN, making no mention of the redacted version, and have repeatedly refused to give details on the country’s vaccine supplies, citing “security reasons.” A junior UK government minister said in a recent interview that publishing the contract would risk national security.
Yet in response to a Freedom of Information request from CNN, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) this week provided CNN a link to the redacted 52-page contract, which had been published on a website that hosts details of UK government contracts. Details like the number of doses to be delivered to the UK and the dates of delivery have been redacted.
The redacted contract has, technically, been publicly available since at least November 26, according to the date the page was last edited. BEIS this week confirmed the same date of publication to CNN. But the link is difficult to find on the government website without using precise search terms and it appears to have gone largely unnoticed.
European Union leaders and AstraZeneca engaged in a public war of words in late January after the company advised the 27-country union that it would deliver tens of millions fewer doses than agreed by the end of March. At the same time, it appeared to be making good on its deliveries to the UK, heightening tensions between Westminster and Brussels, fresh from their Brexit divorce.
As the WHO probed the pandemic's origins, China pushed a conspiracy about the US
From CNN's James Griffiths and Yong Xiong
Members of a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus outbreak visit the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center in Wuhan, China, on February 2.
“(We hope) that following China’s example, the US side will act in a positive, science-based and cooperative manner on the origin-tracing issue (and) invite WHO experts in for an origin-tracing study,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.
Going even further, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at China’s Center for Disease Control, said the US should now be “the focus” of global efforts to trace the virus.
That Chinese officials should point to the US when discussing the origins of a virus first detected in central China may at first appear confusing to many.
But for months now, China has been advancing alternative theories for how the coronavirus first emerged, ones that would obviate any blame officials in Wuhan may bear for not reacting quickly enough to the initial outbreak in that city in late 2019, during which they are accused of dragging their feet as evidence of human-to-human spread became clear and the virus ran rampant.
Belgium has recorded more than 184,000 breaches of pandemic rules
From CNN's James Frater in London
Belgium, a country of around 11.5 million people, has reported 184,565 suspected violations of coronavirus rules since restrictions came into force, according to official figures.
Between March 2020 and February 14 2021, almost 97,000 people were fined on the spot and more than half of them actually paid, according to figures released by the College of Attorney Generals.
Covid-related fines in Belgium range from $300 to about $5,000:
Residents breaking quarantine or violating ban on small gatherings – $300
Returning travelers not getting a Covid-19 test – $300
People attending a large gathering or party – $900 (organizers pay around $5,000)
Earlier in February, police in the neighboring Netherlands said they been issuing between 7,000 and 12,000 fines a week since a nationwide 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. curfew came into force in late January.
Violating that curfew, which was designed to reduce social interaction and thus the spread of coronavirus, comes at a cost of around $114.
On Tuesday a Dutch court ruled that the government must “immediately” lift the curfew, upholding a claim from the foundation viruswaarheid.nl, which means “virus truth.”
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Oxford University's major therapeutics trial goes international
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London
A major UK trial of potential Covid-19 treatments has started to enrol patients in other countries in the hope of speeding up results, Oxford University said on Thursday.
The RECOVERY trial – billed by the British government at its launch as the world’s largest randomized clinical trial – looks at whether existing drugs can be used to treat the virus. It has enrolled more than 36,000 hospital patients in the UK since March 2020 and is now expanding to countries including Indonesia and Nepal.
Peter Horby, professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health at Oxford, said he hoped that expanding the trial internationally would enable researchers to assess potential treatments more quickly.
The trial has tested a number of drugs to determine which work against Covid-19 and which don’t. Last year, its researchers found that the cheap steroid dexamethasone reduced the risk of death for the sickest Covid-19 patients – but that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine was of no benefit.
Last week, it released preliminary results showing that the rheumatoid arthritis drug tocilizumab could also save the lives of patients hospitalized with severe Covid-19. The results were shared in a preprint, but have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
In Indonesia and Nepal, the trial will initially focus on aspirin and colchicine, a drug for gout.
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Hong Kong to begin vaccinations with China's Sinovac shot next week
From Carol Yuan in Hong Kong
A box of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine is displayed at a media event in Beijing in September 2020.
Nicolas Bock/Bloomberg/Getty Images
One million doses of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 shot will arrive in Hong Kong on Friday afternoon and vaccinations will begin there a week later, according to a city official.
The inoculation of priority groups with Sinovac doses is scheduled to begin on February 26, said Hong Kong’s Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip.
The city is relaxing social distancing restrictions from today after reporting its lowest daily number of new Covid-19 cases since late November earlier in the week.
Hong Kong recorded eight new cases from Monday, of which six are locally transmitted. In total, the city of more than seven million people has recorded 10,812 Covid infections and 197 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.
In January, Sinovac was revealed to have an efficacy rate of just 50.38% in late-stage trials in Brazil – significantly lower than earlier results showed. That rate only barely crosses the 50% efficacy threshold set by the World Health Organization, and far lower than the 78% previously announced to much fanfare in China earlier this month.
The Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have been regarded as potentially affordable and easily distributed vaccine candidates. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Chinese shots do not require expensive cold storage.
US life expectancy dropped a full year in first half of 2020, according to CDC. Covid-19 was a big factor
From CNN's Deidre McPhillips
Funeral workers load the casket of a Covid-19 victim into a hearse at East County Mortuary on January 15, in El Cajon, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Life expectancy in the US dropped a full year in the first half of 2020, according to a report published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Experts say that Covid-19 was a significant factor contributing to the decline.
The life expectancy for the entire US population fell to 77.8 years, similar to what it was in 2006, CDC data shows.
Changes to life expectancy also widened racial and ethnic inequities. Compared to 2019, life expectancy for non-Hispanic Black people in the US fell about three times what it did for non-Hispanic White people, by 2.7 years. It fell by twice as much for Hispanic people, by 1.9 years.
Life-expectancy disparities between Black people and White people had been shrinking in recent years, but these latest figures reverse some of that progress.
Over the past 40 years, life expectancy has increased slowly but rarely declined. Between 2014 and 2017 – a peak period of the opioid epidemic – life expectancy declined a third of a year, which itself was significant.
Life-expectancy estimates before 1980 have been measured less consistently, but experts told CNN that estimates for drops in life expectancy after World War II range from less than a year to three years.
Biden administration confronts regulatory maze and hazy messaging in push to reopen schools
From CNN's Maeve Reston and Stephen Collinson
A closed public school is seen in New York, on November 19, 2020.
Wang Ying/Xinhua/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s promise to try to open schools within his first 100 days has become one of most vexing puzzles facing the new administration, leading to confusion and anger among parents who still aren’t getting clear answers.
There are few more urgent issues facing the country with the pandemic about to hit the one-year mark. Many kids have been out of in-person school for almost that long. Online school is especially tough for lower income children, particularly for households where parents cannot oversee daily school work because their careers require them to continue working outside the home during the pandemic. Some parents fear that the abrupt transition to online learning during the pandemic could have a lasting impact their kids’ mental health and ability to keep up. And re-opening schools is crucial to easing child care issues that threaten to slow the return of workers needed to reboot the economy.
A month into the new administration, the White House still cannot provide the clarity much of America needs about when children can return to school, which kids can go back and when their teachers will be vaccinated. Biden declared Tuesday night at a CNN town hall that teachers should be prioritized for vaccinations. But decisions about teacher vaccinations and schools reopening are made at the local level – with school districts often having to abide by state guidelines that determine based on the level of transmission in a community.
Read more about the Biden administration’s plans here:
More than 68,000 Covid-19 cases were reported in the US on Wednesday
From CNN's Joe Sutton
At least 68,419 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the United States on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At least 2,366 peopled died.
To date there have been at least 27,825,043 cases of coronavirus in the US. As of the end of the day Wednesday, at least 490,447people have died amid the pandemic.
These totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories as well as repatriated cases.
Vaccine rollout: At least 72,423,125 vaccine doses have been distributed, and at least 56,281,827 total doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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FBI and US prosecutors scrutinizing New York's handling of data surrounding Covid nursing home deaths
The inquiry is described as preliminary, according to the source. It was not clear whether authorities were looking at Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo himself or members of his administration.
Separately, 20 New York state lawmakers sent a letter to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, demanding it vacate Cuomo’s International Emmy Award in light of his administration’s handling of the Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes.
"We really, really would advocate for not traveling right now," CDC director warns
From CNN's Andrea Diaz
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a news conference at the Queen Theater December 8, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Americans should not travel due to the increased risk posed by new Covid-19 variants, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.
Walensky said the organization would not recommend people get tested for the virus before taking domestic flights because of supply constraints. Other health protocols, like quarantines at destinations and post-arrival tests, need to be further evaluated before the CDC would recommend them, Walensky said during a conversation hosted by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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New standards will take the guesswork out of choosing the most effective face masks
From CNN's Keri Enriquez
Americans may soon be able to choose between two clearly labeled levels of face mask protection while browsing store shelves.
The new national mask standard outlines minimum fit, design, performance and testing requirements for face masks and would require user instructions, package labeling and a permanent tag on the product.
ASTM International – an international standards organization – spent seven months conducting expedited testing and review and published its guidance on Tuesday. Experts and industry leaders say the new “Standard Specification for Barrier Face Coverings” has the potential to transform the quality of masks available for personal protection in the American marketplace.
Until this point, there were no standards even though masks are highly recommended by US health officials to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
El Salvador nurse gets country's first Covid-19 vaccine
From CNN's Tatiana Arias
A 53-year-old nurse became the first person in El Salvador to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Mirna Moreno has been a nurse for 24 years and has preexisting conditions, according to the office of the President of El Salvador.
El Salvador received its first 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine Wednesday which, according to the government, is enough to vaccinate all the country’s front-line health workers fighting the virus.
El Salvador has had recorded 58,023 cases of Covid-19 and 1,758 virus-related fatalities, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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Covid-19 vaccines will be available for all Americans by July, but vaccination process will take longer, Fauci says
From CNN's Andrea Diaz
Even though the United States will have enough Covid-19 vaccines for all Americans by at least the end of July, it may take an additional couple of months to get everyone vaccinated, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US needs “about 600 million doses” to vaccinate the entire population.
Countdown to herd immunity: Fauci said he believes between 70% and 85% of the population may need to get immunized against coronavirus for herd immunity to take effect.
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Covid-19 infections have fallen by two-thirds in England, study finds
From CNN’s Sarah Dean and Meera Senthilingam in London
Patients wait after receiving their Covid-19 jabs at a vaccination centre at Salisbury Cathedral on February 11, in Salisbury, England.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Covid-19 infections in England have fallen by more than two-thirds in recent weeks, initial findings from a survey on community prevalence show.
The interim findings from the ninth report of REACT-1, a study into Covid-19 infections in England, were released Thursday by Imperial College London.
More than 85,400 volunteers were tested with throat and nose swabs in England between February 4 and 13 to examine the levels of infection in the general population.
The findings show national prevalence fell by two thirds — from 1.57% to 0.51%, or 51 per 10,000 infected. This is a significant decline in infections compared to the last report from January 6 to 22. England entered its third national lockdown of the pandemic on January. 6.
The decline in prevalence was larger in some regions, in particular in London where it fell from 2.83% to 0.54% since the last report.
“In London, South East and West Midlands, prevalence fell by around 80%, although declines were smaller in the northern regions,” the Imperial report says.
Prevalence fell substantially across all age groups with highest prevalence among 18- to 24-year-olds at 0.89% and those between the ages of 5 and 12 at 0.86%, the report adds. The report concludes that although there is a ” strong decline” in prevalence of coronavirus in England among the general population five to six weeks into lockdown, it still remains high — “at levels similar to those observed in late September 2020.”
There are also still more people hospitalized with Covid-19 than at the peak of the first wave in April 2020.
The UK began its mass vaccination campaign in December, offering nearly all people over 70 a vaccine during January and February. It has now given more than 15 million people a first dose.
“The fall in prevalence was similar among those aged 65 years and over compared with other age groups, suggesting that if vaccines are effective at reducing transmission as well as disease, this effect is not yet a major driver of prevalence trends. Therefore, the observed falls described here are most likely due to reduced social interactions during lockdown,” the report reads.
However, on Tuesday the UK Office for National Statistics reported almost 41% of over-80s in England tested positive for antibodies “most likely due to the high vaccination rate in this group.”
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NBA sees an increase in players testing positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Jacob Lev
An NBA logo is shown at the 5th Avenue NBA store on March 12, 2020, in New York City.
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images
A week after the league revealed just one player tested positive for Covid-19, the NBA announced on Wednesday that five new players have tested positive for the virus during the league’s latest monitoring window.
The league reports 454 players were tested since February 10.
After going over a week with no NBA games postponed due to Covid-19 protocols, the league has now postponed six games in the past few days. The San Antonio Spurs have had their next four games postponed due to positive tests within the team. The Charlotte Hornets, who played the Spurs Sunday, have had their next two games postponed.
According to the NBA, 30 NBA games have been postponed this season as a result of the league’s health and safety protocols.
