May 28 coronavirus news

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday that employers are not legally prohibited from offering incentives to employees to get vaccinated for Covid-19, and that companies administering vaccines themselves can also do so “as long as the incentives are not coercive.”  

The EEOC already said in December that companies can legally mandate all employees re-entering the workplace and new hires be vaccinated for Covid-19. But there are two exemptions companies must allow for, according to the EEOC: a disability or religious reasons.  

In its updated guidance released Friday, the EEOC now says employers are permitted to offer incentives to employees who voluntarily provide information they’ve been vaccinated by a third party — and that there is no limit to the size of those incentives.    

For example, workers at both McDonalds corporate headquarters and restaurants will get up to four hours of paid time off to get vaccinated. Employees at Bolthouse Farms will get a $500 bonus if vaccinated. And at Kroger, employees will get a one-time payment of $100 if they show proof of vaccination.

The agency adds that if employers obtain employee vaccination information, however, they “must keep vaccination information confidential.”  

Also, if the employer plans to administer the vaccine itself, incentives must not be large enough to be considered “coercive.”  

Employers are also legally permitted to provide employees and their family members with educational information about Covid-19 vaccines, raise awareness about the benefits, and address common questions and concerns.  

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a news conference on April 10, in Marietta, Georgia. 

Schools cannot require students and workers to wear a face covering while on campus, according to a new executive order by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

The new order, effective May 31, also eliminates rules for restaurants, bars, conventions, child care facilities, live performance venues, and other organizations. Previous executive orders eliminated regulations for camps and sporting events, the release said.

Kemp also signed several other executive orders today including lowering flags to half-staff in observance of Memorial Day, suspending the Waynesboro mayor who was indicted in December, renewing the state of emergency for petroleum shortage and renewing the state’s public health emergency order for another 30 days.

A cafe employee prepares for the establishment re-opening in The Hague on May 28, 2021.

The Netherlands government will further ease coronavirus lockdown measures from June 5, allowing indoor dining in restaurants, bars, and cafes, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday.

Theaters, cinemas, and concert halls can also reopen next week, with a maximum capacity of 50 visitors per space, according to a government statement. Group rehearsals and lessons related to arts and culture can also resume starting June 5, with a maximum of 50 participants per indoor space. 

New Hampshire Governor Christopher Sununu on September 2, 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu today issued a new executive order renewing his Covid-19 state of emergency for 14 days. 

“Granite Staters have managed through this pandemic incredibly well, and as a result of their hard work, New Hampshire has no commercial restrictions in place, no statewide mask mandate, and is open for business,” Sununu said. 

“Today’s action to renew the State of Emergency allows the legislature to take up our various critical emergency orders that have brought flexibility to manage through this pandemic, and I call on the House and Senate to move swiftly in this charge so that we can move out of a State of Emergency as quickly as possible,” the governor added.

A nurse inoculates a person with the second Moderna Covid-19 vaccine dose at a mobile Covid-19 vaccination clinic at Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church's McGivney community center in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 20, 2021. 

More than half of the US population – about 166 million people – have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and about 40% – 133.5 million people – have been fully vaccinated, according to data published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among the 65-and-older population, nearly 86% have received at least one dose, and nearly 75% are fully vaccinated.

Overall, 292,099,778 total doses have been reported administered – about 81% of the 362,375,765 total doses delivered.

That’s about 1.4 million doses reported administered since Thursday, for a seven-day average of about 1.5 million doses per day.

Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the day reported.

A row of cabins are seen at a summer camp in Fayette, Maine, on June 4, 2020.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped masking and physical distancing guidance for campers and staffers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

In the guidance, the CDC encouraged everyone 12 years and older to get vaccinated for Covid-19, and underscored that the vaccines are safe and effective.

The agency said people who are fully vaccinated to not need to undergo routine Covid-19 testing, and do not need to be tested – even if they are exposed to someone with a known Covid-19 infection – “unless they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.”

Since Pfizer announced it would donate Covid-19 vaccine doses to Olympic participants in early March, the company now says it expects more than 20 countries will participate its vaccination program.

These countries are where the “necessary regulatory and legal conditions exist,” according to a company statement.

However, in countries that do not meet these conditions, Pfizer says “there is work underway to establish central locations where delegations from countries where the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is not yet available can go to be vaccinated ahead of traveling to Japan.” 

It is not yet clear how the logistics would work, considering it’s recommended that the two doses of this vaccine be administered 21 days apart, and someone is not considered fully protected until two weeks after their second dose.

More than 200 countries, states and territories are expected to be represented at the games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission Chairman John Coates said during a news conference on May 21 that 75% of Tokyo Olympic village residents are vaccinated, or are due to be vaccinated, and by the time the Games come around, “this will be over 80%.”

“This has been made possible by the IOC initiative with the Pfizer by earning donation of vaccines for Games participants,” Coates said.

A health worker holds a tray with vials of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 at a community medical center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 6.

Brazilian health agency Anvisa authorized new storage conditions for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 on Friday. 

The vaccine can now be kept at a controlled temperature between 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 8 degrees Celsius (46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for up to 31 days. The previous storage period was five days.

Regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe have also extended the duration of storing the immunizer to one month in those conditions.

The Brazilian Health Ministry signed two contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech to receive 200 million doses of the immunizer by the end of the year. To date, Brazil has received 3.4 million doses. 

A curfew on bars and restaurants in Vermont will be lifted and establishments can resume their normal operating hours starting tomorrow, Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday. 

Scott said Vermont is just shy of its 80% statewide vaccination goal, with 77% of residents 12 and older having now received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Scott said Vermont is just shy of its 80% statewide vaccination goal. As a result, Scott said starting tomorrow the 10 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants will be lifted and establishments can resume their normal operating hours. 

The governor said the state of emergency should also be lifted shortly after the 80% threshold is met. 

He also said while a total reopening next week is possible, he’ll have to see how well Vermonters do with vaccinations at that point. 

Vaccination rates in the 18- to 29-year-old group increased over the past month from 30% to 50%, he said. 

President Joe Biden speaks at the Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, Virginia on May 28.

President Biden projected a sense of hope and optimism heading into the Memorial Day weekend, touting the progress the country has made in combatting the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the vaccination efforts, help from local leaders, and Americans who have done their “patriotic duty.”

“Four months after I took office, we’re further along in this fight than anyone thought possible. Let’s remember where we were 129 days ago. When I took office, we were averaging 184,000 cases per day nationwide. Here in Virginia, as the governor pointed out, schools were closed, main street had gone quiet here and in cities all across America.” Biden said during remarks at Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday.

“And today you’ve gone from 184 cases per day nationwide to fewer than 22 cases — 22,000 cases per day. Deaths have dropped by over 85%. Tens of thousands of moms and dads, grandpops and grandmas, brothers, sisters, neighbors, friends are still with us today who would otherwise have been lost,” he added.

The President said thanks to the 165 million Americans who have gotten at least one shot and 51% of Americans who are fully vaccinated, “we’re not just saving lives, we’re getting our lives back.”

“Stores and restaurants up and down main street are hanging open signs on their front doors. And here, in the rock-climbing gym we’re greeted by another and we’re greeting one another, with smiles, with our masks off,” he said.

However, Biden stressed that despite the growing light at the end of the tunnel, Americans can’t let up now, and he urged those not yet vaccinated against Covid-19 to do so.

Biden also said that the increase in vaccinations across the country shows that Americans are willing to come together for a common goal of beating the virus.

“When I ran for office, I said I wanted to do three things, one of which was to unite the country. It’s difficult, but this is the first real evidence that we’re able to do it. The American people are more ready to come together, I believe, than the Congress and the elected officials are, but we’re getting there,” he said.

The President also touted the economic progress the country has made since he has taken office, just hours before his first budget proposal gets sent to Congress.

“From pain and stagnation of a long, dark winter to an economy on the move, growing faster than it has in nearly 40 years. From anemic job creation in the months before I took office to the fastest job creation in the first three months of any administration in American history. And rising wages, rising wages,” Biden said.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also spoke Friday, discussing the progress his state specifically has made in getting to a point where it can roll back restrictions.

He also touted the state’s vaccination efforts, saying 66% of Virginia adults have had at least their first shot and more than half of adults are fully vaccinated, adding that the state will hit Biden’s goal of 70% of adults getting at least one shot by July 4.

Northam praised the Biden administration for following the science, taking a – not so veiled – swipe at the Trump administration. 

“As Governor, I can tell you that having a partner in the White House, makes a huge, huge difference, setting clear goals as he has done, and support us with the resources we need to meet those goals. And as a doctor, I know it also makes a big difference when leadership respects science and follow its lead,” he said.

Malaysia will implement a two-week “total lockdown” on social and economic sectors, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office and reported by state media Bernama News Agency on Friday. 

The Malaysian National Security Council will oversee the lockdown, according to the statement. Beginning June 1, “all sectors will not be allowed to operate, except for essential economic and service sectors to be listed by MKN.” 

The statement attributes the decision to the latest rise in Covid-19 cases, saying the country is seeing “daily cases exceeding 8,000 and over 70,000 active cases,” as well as the presence of a new variant with a high and rapid infection rate. 

According to the security council, a total of 2,552 people have died as a result of the pandemic, and the numbers are increasing. 

Mexico’s health authority Cofepris issued emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, the regulator announced in a statement on Thursday.

“The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) has granted the authorization for emergency use of the vaccine against COVID-19 Ad26.CoV2.S, requested by Janssen-Cilag, S.A. de C.V.,” according to the statement.

“The New Molecules Committee met on May 7, 2021, to analyze the use of this vaccine, which received a unanimous positive opinion from the experts,” it continued.

Mexico’s health minister Hugo López-Gatell said in a Covid-19 briefing the country is not planning to sign a purchase agreement with J&J but highlighted the chances to receive support from the US. 

“It’s always good news to have more authorizations for safe, quality, and effective vaccines,” López-Gatell tweeted. 

Mexico says it administered 732,001 doses on Thursday, bringing the country’s total to 29,239,997 vaccinations.

Mexico is currently administering vaccine doses from Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinovac, and CanSino. 

A nurse at the Christalain nursing home in Brussels prepares an injection of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on January 14.

The EU drug regulator has approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents ages 12 to 15, a European Medicines Agency (EMA) official said in a news conference on Friday.

“The vaccine, as you know, was already authorized in people from 16 and above, and now we have data that will show that the vaccine is also safe in the age of 12 to 15 years,” said Dr. Marco Cavaleri, Head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy for the EMA. 

The approval from the EMA scientific committee will now be sent to the European Commission, which will issue the final approval to use the vaccine for patients ages 12 to 15. Then, each European member state can decide whether or not to use the vaccine in younger patients, according to the EMA. 

Covid-19 vaccination coverage is lower in more vulnerable counties in the United States, and those disparities have grown as vaccine eligibility has expanded, according to a study published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC social vulnerability index (SVI) assesses counties based on 15 factors in four categories: socioeconomic status, household composition, race and ethnicity, and housing type and transportation. More vulnerable counties have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, but have also lagged in vaccination rates.

In counties in the lowest quartile of vulnerability, an average of 59.3% of adult residents had received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine by May 1, compared to 49% of adult residents in the highest quartile of vulnerability. These disparities were most pronounced in areas surrounding large cities, such as suburbs, as well as non-metropolitan counties, according to the study.

The authors of the report suggest that efforts specifically tailored to a county’s urban or rural geography, and specific socioeconomic factors, could help improve equity in vaccination coverage.

Also, “strategies to improve vaccination coverage in counties with high SVI should also address vaccine confidence,” as vaccine hesitancy has been higher among US adults with less education and income – key socioeconomic factors assessed in the SVI index, according to the report.

More incomplete data for certain counties may limit interpretation of results, and both social vulnerability and vaccine coverage may vary within counties. Also, the analysis may have differed if the share of adults fully vaccinated had been assessed, instead of those with at least one dose. 

Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, on May 28.

It is unlikely that most Americans will need a Covid-19 vaccine booster this year, Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN on Friday. 

“I’m personally very skeptical that anybody’s going to need a booster from a vaccine this year,” he said. 

Jha said there is a chance people may be able to get a different brand of booster than their initial shot. 

“On the issue of mixing and matching, the sense is we’ll probably be able to do that, but we have to study that, we don’t have the data yet. But I don’t think we should be worried about boosters any time soon, most Americans will not need one in 2021,” he said. 

A school year like no other is coming to an end. But it’s not the end of Zoom school yet.

Nearly half of the 101 largest school districts in the US are planning to offer a fully remote option to at least some students when the 2021-22 school year begins in the fall. About a third of the districts – 32 total – will allow any student who wishes to take classes remotely to do so. An additional 14 districts will offer limited remote programs, either requiring school approval or a medical reason in order to qualify.

This comes despite the Biden administration and top health officials saying there’s no reason not to get kids back to in-person class.

Meanwhile, 21 districts will not offer a fully remote option and 13 are still undecided. Six districts have not yet responded to CNN on what their plan is for the fall.

In Texas, 15 districts are waiting for the state legislature to pass House Bill 1468, “which allows districts to provide a virtual learning option.” Some of those districts, including Houston Independent School District, plan to offer a virtual program if the bill passes.

Among the nation’s five largest districts, two will not offer a virtual option, and three will – showing just how split school officials are on completely ending what has been the primary learning format for America’s students for more than a year.

New York City, the nation’s largest district, will not have a remote option when the school year starts Sept. 13, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. He said the progress in vaccinations and decrease in overall cases of Covid-19 are encouraging signs the school year can move forward with an all in-person plan.

“… You can’t have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again,” De Blasio said on MSNBC Monday.

Chicago, the third-largest, which saw its in-person start date shifted back several times due to threats of teacher strikes, will also not be offering remote learning to students.

The other three: Los Angeles Unified School District, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and Clark County School District in Nevada, will continue to offer a virtual option for students who wish to continue studying online.

“We expect the vast majority of students, teachers and staff to be at school every day but recognize that we must provide the online opportunity for those who need it,” Los Angeles Superintendent Austin Beutner announced on Monday,

Miami-Dade will offer three schooling options during the 2021-2022 school year. In addition to physical schooling, there will be two virtual education models: Miami-Dade Online Academy and Miami-Dade Virtual School, according to Chief Communications Officer Daisy Gonzalez-Diego.

“Beginning this Fall, Miami-Dade County Public Schools will open Miami-Dade Virtual School, the only virtual instruction program that is taught by M-DCPS teachers,” Gonzalez-Diego said.

In Clark County, Nevada, which saw a concerning rise in student suicides earlier this year, all remote requests will need principal approval.

“If a full-time distance education student begins to struggle, intervention meetings may be conducted with the student and parent/guardian, and the student may be required to attend school for face-to-face instruction,” the district’s May 24 announcement said.

CNN’s Alec Snyder contributed to this report.

Doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine are at a vaccination site in Orlando on April 10.

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine – known as Janssen, which is the the vaccine arm of Johnson & Johnson – has been approved for use in the UK by regulators, the country’s Department of Health announced Friday.

The UK government has secured 20 million doses of the shot and it is expected to be available from later this year, the department said in a statement. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the news on Twitter, saying it is “another boost to our hugely successful vaccination programme.”

He added: “As we encourage everyone to get their jabs, the single-dose Janssen vaccine will play an important role in helping us protect people from the virus. When you get the call, get the jab.”

A frontline worker receives the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Arlington, Virginia, in December 2020.

President Biden on Friday morning will deliver a message of hope and optimism on the declining number of Covid-19 cases and increased vaccination rates ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, according to a White House official.

Biden will travel to Virginia and outline the progress the nation has made across the country and in Virginia specifically in combating the pandemic since Biden took office, the official said. Biden is set to deliver remarks at 10:45 a.m. ET. He will urge Americans who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 to get the shot.

The official says Virginia received more than $247 million in federal funding for community vaccination sites, there are more than 360 federally-funded National Guard members supporting the state’s Covid-19 response, there are 1,000 pharmacies across Virginia participating in the federal pharmacy program and there is a FEMA-run community vaccination site in Norfolk.

Biden and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will deliver remarks at a business in Alexandria to celebrate the progress Virginia has made in the fight against Covid-19. Later in the day, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton.

About one in 10 Americans have had a confirmed Covid-19 infection, with more than 33.2 million total reported cases United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University

But reported infections are likely an undercount. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that closer to one in three Americans have had Covid-19 – with about 115 million total infections estimated through mid-April.

Official case rates are highest in North Dakota, Rhode Island and South Dakota, according to JHU data, with more than 14% of the population infected in each state since the beginning of the pandemic

They’re lowest in Hawaii, Vermont and Oregon – each with reported cases for less than 5% of the population.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, right, attends a meeting about Covid-19 in Tokyo on May 28.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Japan would extend the state of emergency for nine prefectures until June 20, about one month before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Suga said despite decreasing Covid-19 infection numbers in Osaka and Tokyo, cases continue to be at high-levels and hospitals in Osaka are under strain. 

Just before Suga announced the extension, the head of the Tokyo 2020 Games, Seiko Hashimoto, said she expected it would happen and added that Olympic officials would not be making any decisions on spectators until the state of emergency was lifted. 

“We want to make a decision as soon as possible but after the state of emergency is lifted, we will assess how we can make it open for general spectators following the direction by government,” she said.