Johnson & Johnson vaccine anticipated to be approved
The U.S. on Friday administered probably the most vaccines in a day thus far, with almost 2.Four million photographs given, in keeping with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention knowledge Saturday.
The information comes because the U.S. is anticipated to authorize a 3rd COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as Saturday. A Meals and Drug Administration advisory committee voted unanimously Friday to advocate authorizing Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate to be used in adults, paving the best way for an anticipated authorization.
In the meantime, the Home accredited Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 reduction package deal early Saturday, a key step for a measure that would supply tens of millions of People $1,400 stimulus funds, ramp up vaccine distribution and lengthen unemployment support way of the summer time. The measure now heads to the Senate the place it faces a rocky path within the evenly divided chamber.
Additionally within the information:
►The federal authorities has agreed to purchase a 100,000 doses of a COVID-19 therapy Eli Lilly, the corporate introduced Friday. The drug, bamlanivimab, is a monoclonal antibody, that means it mimics one of many pure antibodies the immune system makes use of to battle off the virus. The FDA approved the drug late final yr.
►The federal authorities has supported 441 group vaccination facilities within the U.S., together with 171 which have been staffed with federal personnel, mentioned Andy Slavitt, the White Home senior adviser for COVID-19 response. Two new federal vaccinations websites had been additionally introduced Friday, in Chicago and Greensboro, North Carolina.
►The Ivory Coast has develop into the second nation on this planet to obtain a cargo of COVID-19 vaccines from the worldwide COVAX initiative. The first cargo was despatched to Ghana on Wednesday.
📈 Immediately’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 28.5 million confirmed coronavirus instances and 511,000 deaths, in keeping with Johns Hopkins College knowledge. The worldwide totals: Greater than 113.6 million instances and a couple of.5 million deaths. Greater than 96.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and about 72.8 million have been administered, in keeping with the CDC.
📘 What we’re studying: They met on Bumble. She claims he abused her and killed her canine. Now she’s talking out to assist different home violence survivors who really feel remoted amid COVID-19.
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Plunging demand for COVID-19 checks might depart US uncovered
After a yr of struggling to spice up testing, communities throughout the nation are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing websites and even attempting to return provides.
U.S. testing hit a peak on Jan. 15, when the nation was averaging greater than 2 million checks per day. Since then, the typical variety of day day checks has fallen greater than 28%. The drop mirrors declines throughout all main virus measures since January, together with new instances, hospitalizations and deaths.
Officers say these encouraging traits, along with harsh winter climate, the top of the vacation journey season, pandemic fatigue and a rising deal with vaccinations are sapping curiosity in testing. However testing stays vital for monitoring and containing the outbreak.
“We have to use testing to proceed the downward development,” mentioned Dr. Jonathan Fast of the Rockefeller Basis, which has been advising Biden officers. “We have to have it there to catch surges from the variants.”
– The Related Press
Research: Individuals who’ve had COVID-19 may solely have to get vaccinated as soon as
Six current research recommend that individuals who’ve already come down with COVID-19 may not have to get a second vaccine dose.
The federal authorities has not modified its suggestion for a second dose, however research that take a look at the immune response present that whereas a primary shot provides individuals who’ve recovered from COVID-19 an enormous increase, the second shot makes little distinction.
“I believe that makes good sense,” mentioned Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Training Heart at Youngsters’s Hospital of Philadelphia. For somebody who had COVID-19, the primary shot is sort of a COVID-19-naive individual getting a booster – they even have the unintended effects of somebody getting a second vaccine dose, he mentioned. Learn extra.
– Karen Weintraub
Allegations of vaccine waste, theft investigated in Tennessee
Extra investigative findings from the state of Tennessee revealed Friday that COVID-19 vaccine may need been stolen in Shel County, youngsters are believed to have been inappropriately vaccinated and extra doses of COVID-19 had been wasted than was beforehand thought.
The state discovered of the kid vaccinations and the alleged theft weeks after the incidents occurred, State Well being Commissioner Lisa Piercey mentioned in a wide-ranging press convention Friday afternoon during which she detailed to reporters quite a few situations of poor vaccine administration and known as the Shel County Well being Division a “low-accountability group.”
Piercey additionally described Shel County Mayor Lee Harris and county well being officers as gradual to report the issues to authorities and missing candor in conversations with state officers.
The revelations had been the most recent in a string of vaccine administration points in Shel County which have been made public this previous week.
– Corinne S. Kennedy and Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Business Attraction
Circumstances in nursing properties drop 89%
New federal knowledge gives a glimmer of hope in what has been the darkest and deadliest nook of the pandemic. The variety of COVID-19 instances and deaths at America’s nursing properties have dropped considerably since December as tens of millions of vaccine doses have been shot into the arms of residents and employees.
The weekly charge of COVID-19 instances at nursing properties plummeted 89% from early December way of the second week of February. By comparability, the nationwide case charge dropped 58% and stays larger than figures reported earlier than late October.
The dramatic drop in instances at nursing properties, the place almost 130,000 residents and employees have died for the reason that virus emerged within the U.S., raises optimism for brighter days forward at nursing properties and in communities general as extra People get vaccinated, consultants say.
– Ken Alltucker and Jayme Fraser
CDC director warns about ‘regarding’ case improve
After a a number of week decline in COVID-19 instances and hospitalizations, Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned Friday a couple of “regarding” uptick in instances over the newest days.
The latest seven day common of day day new instances was over 66,000 and better than the typical on Wednesday, Walensky mentioned citing CDC knowledge.
The height in early January was the very best seen within the pandemic, and although present averages are decrease, they’re nonetheless excessive, Walensky mentioned. “Issues are tenuous. Now isn’t the time to calm down restrictions,” she mentioned, pointing to the unfold of recent variants of the coronavirus.
“We might now be seeing the start results of those variants in the newest knowledge,” she added.
– Ryan Miller
NYC faculties chancellor, who misplaced 11 relations to COVID-19, resigns
Richard Carranza, New York Metropolis’s Colleges chancellor, mentioned Friday he was stepping down from his function, citing the necessity for time to grieve his 11 relations and shut mates who died from COVID-19.
“I really feel that I can take that point now due to the place that we’re in and the work that we now have achieved collectively,” he mentioned.
The town’s faculties have largely been heralded for its reopening in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Carranza mentioned the system reopened safely for youngsters of important staff, distributed over half 1,000,000 digital units for distant studying, and delivered 80 tens of millions meals to its college students.
“We’ve stabilized the system in a method nobody thought potential,” he added. “The sunshine, my fellow New Yorkers, is really on the finish of the tunnel.”
Carranza can be succeeded Bronx Govt Superintendent Meisha Ross Porter, who will develop into the primary Black lady to steer the nation’s largest college district.
– Ryan Miller
