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Dr. Anthony Fauci today watched with amusement as country music legend Dolly Parton shared a new version of her song “Jolene” to inspire those who are eligible to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
“You gotta love Dolly Parton,” said the nation’s top infectious disease expert, chuckling as he watched the country western star perform the song before receiving her first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
“We need people who are respected and admired, entertainers, celebrities, people who get out there, that the community relates to them to get the message to get vaccinated,” he continued. “It’s really very important.”
Parton noted before receiving the vaccine she had waited her turn in line.
“I am old enough to get it and I am smart enough to get it and I even changed one of my songs to fit the occasion,” she said, before breaking into song:
“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine I’m begging you please don’t hesitate.
Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine because once you’re dead that’s a bit too late.”
Former President Trump missed an opportunity to help convince tens of millions of supporters to get vaccinated when he quietly received the Covid-19 vaccine himself, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.
Trump received the Covid-19 vaccine at the White House in January, a Trump adviser told CNN on Monday. Fauci told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday that he was not aware that Trump got vaccinated at the time.
“That would have been an extraordinarily good opportunity to get a signal to the people who would clearly have listened to him the way they listened to him in many other ways,” Fauci said.
Fauci noted that Trump is extremely popular among his supporters, who number in the tens of millions.
As Covid-19 cases continue a downward slide in California, officials are preparing to reopen sectors, including potentially allowing fans attend Major League Baseball games in person.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he has held “advanced conversations” with MLB and county health officials, that may soon allow fans to return to cheering for their baseball teams in person, adding that he expects details to be released “very, very shortly.”
Citing a case rate “among the lowest in America,” hospitalization rates, and intensive care admissions dropping by more than 40% in the past two weeks, Newsom warned it’s “not mission accomplished yet.” Nearly 9.5 million vaccine doses have been administered to date, he said, boasting that only six other countries in the world have vaccinated more people than California.
About a dozen counties, possibly including Los Angeles and Orange counties, are expected to move out of the state’s most restrictive tier by next week. Currently, 40 of the state’s 58 counties remain under the most stringent restrictions, forcing the closure of indoor dining and other nonessential activities.
Virus mutations remain a concern as the variant first seen in New York has now been detected in California. For the first time, the Brazil variant has been detected in Los Angeles County, according to Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
While vaccines will be available for all US adults by the end of May, teenagers will still have to wait until the fall. And vaccines for children younger than age 13 most likely won’t be available until early next year.
Their younger siblings will have to hold out a little bit longer, he explained, during a livestreamed town hall event with members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
“The way the program is now scheduled, children who are elementary school, 6 to 12, that group of individuals … those individuals will not be able to be vaccinated until their trials are finished, which will likely be at the earliest, the end of this year,” Fauci said. “More likely the first quarter of 2022.”
Answering union members’ questions about possible vaccine side effects, Fauci emphasized that adverse events after vaccination are “extraordinarily rare.” He also gave his personal experience of the flu-like symptoms many people report after a second vaccine dose.
“I felt the same kind of transient ache in the arm, but then maybe eight or nine or 10 hours into the day, I started to feel fatigued, just sort of washed out,” he said. “I felt a little chilly. I remember because my wife had a shirt on, and I was in the kitchen with a sweater and a jacket and I still felt a little bit chilly. I felt a little bit achy. I went to bed that night, woke up the next morning, still felt a little bit fatigued. By the time I got into that afternoon and that evening, I was back to normal.”
A federal official tells CNN the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not release guidance Thursday for people who have been fully vaccinated.
The agency will release the guidelines when they are finalized later this week, according to a CDC official.
The CDC won’t advise vaccinated Americans that they can go back to life as it was in 2019, according to a Biden administration official.
“It’s not that simple because not everybody has been vaccinated, and we haven’t reached the point where there is population-level immunity where we can give broad advice like that. It’s not possible yet to say, ‘Yeah, you’re vaccinated, so everything is hunky dory,’” the Biden official said.
The CDC official confirmed that a Politico article accurately characterized the guidelines as recommending that fully vaccinated people limit their social interactions to small home gatherings with other fully vaccinated people, that fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks in public and practice social distancing, and that the agency will also give guidance for travel.
The guidelines won’t be prescriptive about what vaccinated people can and cannot do in all circumstances, according to the administration official. For example, it won’t say vaccinated people can or cannot go to specific places or business establishments.
Some of the guidance will be specifically for residents of long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, including guidelines for having visitors and socializing among residents.
The Biden official said it hoped that people who are not sure if they want to be vaccinated will see the benefits and choose to get vaccinated.
“We’re not going to hold it over their heads – ‘if you don’t get vaccinated you can’t play with the other kids’ — but rather ‘here are reasons to get vaccinated and it’s safe to get vaccinated,’” the Biden official said.
Researchers published more evidence Wednesday that the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first seen in the UK is more contagious than older circulating versions of the virus and said it’s likely to drive a large new surge of infections without much faster vaccination and more shutdowns, as well.
This particular variant has been seen in at least 82 countries, including 44 US states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. It is also designated VOC 202012/01 – meaning the first variant of concern to have been identified in December of 2020.
Nicholas Davies of the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues took a broad and deep look at the spread of the variant across England. One important measure they looked at is reproductive number – how many other people each infected person infects, on average.
“VOC 202012/01 appears unmatched in its ability to outcompete other SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England,” they added. “Concerningly, VOC 202012/01 has spread globally and exhibits a similar transmission increase (59–74%) in Denmark, Switzerland, and the United States.”
By mid-February, B.1.1.7 accounted for 95% of new coronavirus infections in England. Increased transmissibility is the best explanation for the spread of the variant, they said, and they also couldn’t find evidence it was any more deadly or any more likely to cause severe disease. But they said it’s too early to say for sure it’s not any more harmful, and other studies have indicated it might be.
To keep up, England would need to be fully vaccinating 2 million people a week, they said, and even then, school closures or other measures might be needed. Fewer than 1 million people in England have been fully vaccinated so far, according to the UK government. In the US, close to 27 million people have received both doses.
About 80.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported that 80,540,474 total doses have been administered, about 75% of the 107,028,890 doses delivered.
That’s about 1.9 million more administered doses reported since yesterday, for a seven-day average of more than 2 million doses per day for the first time.
About 16% of the population — nearly 53 million people — have now received at least one dose of vaccine and more than 8% of the population – about 27 million people — have been fully vaccinated with both shots, CDC data shows.
Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported.
The decision by governors of states such as Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates and restrictions on large gatherings was “ill-advised,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday.
“It is really quite risky to do that, for the simple reason that if you look at the amount of infection that there is in the community right now, even though the slope is coming down sharply, if you look at the last seven-day average, it’s (plateaued),” Fauci said during a town hall meeting broadcast on Facebook Live with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
“Right now their level of community spread is between 55 and 70,000 cases per day,” Fauci said. “In order to pull back on all public health measures, you want that level to be remarkably low — very, very low. And 60 to 70,000 per day is definitely not low.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he expects the state to receive 83,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which will be prioritized for educators to expedite a full return to the classroom.
The rest of the vaccines will go to adults with developmental disabilities, and parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities and complex medical conditions.
“Every student belongs in the classroom, five days a week, full time, as soon as possible. That is my expectation moving forward. And we look forward to partnering with local districts to ensure that this happens very quickly,” Kemp said during a news conference in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Kemp said the expanded eligibility will include approximately a million more Georgians. Half a million of this population includes teachers, bus drivers, and other school staff.
The state is also opening five additional mass vaccination sites. With four sites already in operation, the state expects to increase its weekly capacity to 45,000 doses at all locations.
“We’ve now given at least one dose to over 860,000 Georgians over the age of 65, which is a group that accounts for 77% of Georgia’s deaths due to Covid-19,” Kemp said.
The governor said the sites will begin to operate on March 17.
“As of today, over the last 28 days we have administered 1.1 million vaccine doses,” Kemp said.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Georgia ranks below the national average in vaccine distribution per 100,000 people.
Michigan is expanding Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to people age 50 and older with medical conditions or disabilities and caregiver family members and guardians who care for children with special health care needs starting Monday, according to a release from the state.
Starting March 22, vaccine eligibility will then expand even further to include all individuals age 50 and older, the release said.
According to the state, this follows President Biden’s announcement that ramped-up Covid-19 vaccine production will provide enough doses for 300 million Americans to be vaccinated by the end of May.
New Mexico health officials urged residents not to follow neighboring state Texas’ lead in loosening Covid-19 restrictions during an update today. These warnings come as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced yesterday that the state would remove its statewide mask mandate.
“Please, please don’t take your lead from another state,” Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said during the briefing.
Officials have not implemented travel quarantine restrictions on Texas or other states, but Scrase said they would “certainly consider revisiting” the possibility of implementing one should case numbers worsen in neighboring states like Texas.
While New Mexico received 17,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, officials said in a briefing today that the state will not receive more doses of this vaccine during the next few weeks. Health Secretary Tracie Collins credited the delay to the company working on production, saying that the state expects to get an updated number of incoming Johnson & Johnson vaccines at the end of March.
More than 609,000 Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in New Mexico, officials said. Twenty-three percent of residents have received their first vaccine dose and 13% are fully vaccinated.
The use of masks, social distancing, hand washing and avoidance of large gatherings must continue in the US to control the spread of Covid-19, according to a statement from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“All of these measures together will bring us closer to ending the pandemic,” said Dr. Barbara Alexander, the president of ISDA, in the statement. “Abandoning them now will postpone the day we can put Covid-19 behind us.”
Although case counts have decreased in recent weeks, only about 10% of Americans have been vaccinated, and new emerging variants have shown themselves to be more transmissible versions of the novel coronavirus.
The organization called on leaders and policymakers to contribute to the likelihood of success defeating the virus by “following public health guidance and providing appropriate resources.”
Louisiana’s state health officer, Dr. Joseph Kanter, tweeted that lifting mask mandates in neighboring states of Mississippi and Texas is dangerous.
“Don’t be fooled,” Kanter tweeted, replying to local news article on the lifting of the mandates, “This is a dangerous and self-defeating move.”
In his tweet, Kanter went on to say, “If you spend time in TX or MS, avoid indoor spaces with maskless patrons. Not worth the risk.”
Some more context: On Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the state would move into a modified phase 3 reopening plan; but the statewide mask mandate would remain in effect.
Dr. Seth Berkley, the CEO of vaccine alliance Gavi, said 10 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have now been delivered to 14 countries as part of the COVAX initiative, with at least 10 million more expected to be delivered in the next week.
COVAX is a program coordinated by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization. Their goal is to promote fair and equitable access to vaccines around the world.
Berkley said he was happy to see President Biden’s effort to bring Johnson & Johnson and Merck together to produce vaccines and he wants to see more of it.
“That’s the type of cooperation we need to have with every company anywhere in the world who has the ability to do this production,” he said.
A trial in South Africa of an experimental coronavirus vaccine made by US vaccine maker Novavax shows the vaccine is about 50% effective against a variant that’s now the dominant strain in that country. It also shows that the vaccine offers better protection from the new variant than antibodies from people previously infected with coronavirus.
The researchers say their findings, which had been shared previously in a statement from Novavax, show the importance of quick and widespread vaccination to prevent the worse spread of variants.
The team led by Tulio de Oliveira of the University of KwaZulu-Natal was conducting a mid-size, Phase 2 safety and efficacy trial of the vaccine in about 4,000 volunteers in South Africa when the B.1.351 variant was by far the most common circulating type of virus.
“Among 94% of participants without HIV, vaccine efficacy was 60.1%. The study was not powered to detect efficacy in the small population of people living with HIV,” they wrote. Overall efficacy in preventing symptomatic infection was about 50%.
About 30% of the volunteers had evidence of a previous coronavirus infection when they enrolled. When these volunteers got placebo shots, they were just as likely to catch coronavirus as those who got real vaccine, the researchers reported. That’s evidence that previous infection with a different variant provides little protection against B.1.351.
“This finding has significant public health implications for pandemic modeling, control strategies, and vaccine development and deployment efforts,” the team wrote in the preprint posted Wednesday.
But the vaccine did provide protection against the new variant – although much lower than the 89% efficacy shown in a more advanced, Phase 3 trial in the UK.
Novavax plans to apply for US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine sometime in the second quarter of this year. It’s testing 30,000 volunteers in the US and Mexico for that application.
The company has said it is already working on booster shots to help its vaccine protect against newly emerging variants of the coronavirus.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has issued an executive order that requires schools to offer in-person learning by March 15, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Ducey emphasized that the CDC and “numerous health officials have said time and time again that schools are safe and kids can go back to the classroom.”
The order mandates that schools return to in-person learning by March 15, or after Spring Break, according to the governor’s statement.
The statement says a parent or guardian may choose to continue virtual learning for their child.
The order makes an exception for middle and high schools located in counties with “high” transmission of Covid-19, as defined by the CDC. The statement noted that this currently includes three Arizona counties: Coconino, Yavapai, and Pinal.
“The CDC is clear that there is a safe pathway for all schools to open at any transmission level, and to stay open if they implement proper mitigation strategies,” the governor noted.
This announcement comes a day after nearby Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would be lifting the mask mandate and “opening Texas 100 percent.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday that school and childcare workers would now be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, following a directive from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“Providers are encouraged to continue their efforts to vaccinate older adults since the burden of COVID-19 falls most severely on people age 65 and older,” the Texas statement continued.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he is lifting the state’s mask mandate and allowing businesses to open at 100% capacity beginning on March 10, despite health officials’ warnings.
CNN correspondent Lucy Kafanov was live in Houston answering viewers’ questions.
Watch:
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Wednesday afternoon that Indiana is now expanding its eligibility for the Covid-19 vaccination to include those age 50 and older. This comes only one day after the state lowered eligibility to include those 55 and older.
The governor said the state will continue to drop vaccine eligibility based on age, ultimately to age 40.
Holcomb also announced that he would be receiving the vaccine on Friday, as he has now become eligible. He said he received a strong recommendation from Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box “to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.”
President Joe Biden sharply criticized states lifting Covid-19 restrictions against the pleas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top public health officials, accusing those in power of “Neanderthal thinking.”
“I think it’s a big mistake. Look. I hope everybody’s realized by now, these masks make a difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we’re able to get vaccines in people’s arms,” Biden said when asked about Gov. Greg Abbott and Gov. Tate Reeves’ decisions to relax restrictions in Texas and Mississippi.
He referenced a card he keeps in his pocket with the daily death toll of the virus amid his administration’s push to get vaccines into arms.
Biden, who is meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Oval Office on the subject of ending cancer, called on all Americans to continue to follow guidelines despite the mixed messaging from some state officials.
“It’s critical – critical, critical, critical – that they follow the science: Wash your hands, hot water, do it frequently. Wear a mask and stay socially distanced. And I know you all know that. I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it,” he told reporters.
