A freezer breakdown leads to a vaccination rush in the middle of the night; The CDC imposes masks on public transport. Latest updates on COVID-19.

COVID-19 has killed more than 438,000 Americans and infections have continued to rise despite the introduction of a pair of vaccines at the end of 2020. USA TODAY follows the news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Subscribe to our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox, join our facebook group or scroll through our detailed answers to reader questions.

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Edith Wang, a pharmacy student at the University of Pittsburgh, fills a syringe with a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic Thursday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

Are you planning to take public transport in the near future? You’re going to need a mask.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order Friday night requiring passengers on planes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and rideshare to wear face masks during the ‘waiting, boarding, travel and disembarking. The order applies to those traveling to, within or outside the United States

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The agency said breaking the rules could lead to criminal penalties. The order will be enforced by the Transportation Security Administration, as well as other federal, state and local authorities, the CDC said. It comes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

The CDC said it “does not intend to rely primarily on these criminal sanctions, but rather strongly encourages and anticipates widespread voluntary compliance as well as the support of other federal agencies in the implementation of additional civil measures “.

In the headlines:

►A second US state has reported a case of the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan confirmed a case of variant B.1.351 in his state on Saturday. South Carolina reported at least two cases of the variant earlier this week. Meanwhile, Minnesota has confirmed one case of the Brazilian variant and several states have reported dozens of cases of the UK variant.

►Hundreds of people gathered outside the Michigan State Capitol on Saturday to protest the state’s high school winter sports break, according to local reports. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has delayed the start of four “contact” sports until the end of February.

►Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that data from its advanced stage trial in the United States and seven other countries showed that its single-injection vaccine had an overall effectiveness of 66% in preventing moderate to severe disease. When fully protected, there were no deaths in the vaccinated group and several among the placebo recipients, although the company did not detail these cases. The vaccine does not need to be frozen, allowing it to be distributed through normal supply chains without the need for expensive new equipment.

► Nine Catholic nuns in southern Michigan died in January from a COVID-19 outbreak at their nursing home, which had previously gone months without a single case.

►The Australian Open is set to kick off on February 8 with crowds of up to 30,000 people each day. Victoria State Sports Minister Martin Pakula said crowds would be around 50% from previous years, with 390,000 people expected in the two weeks.

►The Biden administration announced on Friday that it was ahead of its initial vaccination target, with an average of 1.2 million vaccines per day administered over the previous seven days. Biden said earlier in the week that he hopes to get 1.5 million shots per day.

►European Union medicines regulator on Friday cleared AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in all adults, despite fears that there was not enough data to prove it works in older people . The German Immunization Advisory Committee on Thursday said in a draft recommendation that the vaccine should only be given to people between the ages of 18 and 64 at this time.

►Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced tighter restrictions on travelers in response to new, possibly more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus – including requiring travelers to quarantine themselves at a hotel at their own expense when arrive in Canada and suspending airline service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.

📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has more than 26 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 438,200 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: over 102.3 million cases and 2.2 million deaths. About 49.2 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed in the United States and 27.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

📘 What we read: Applications to medical school for next fall have increased by 18%, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, and many school officials specifically note that the number of applicants from traditionally under-represented Americans is helping fuel the outbreak. Read more.

New York neighborhood struggles to vaccinate Latino residents

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted on Friday that a vaccination site in Washington Heights administered injections to predominantly white people who came from outside the predominantly Latino neighborhood.

“One way or another, instead of focusing on the Latin American community of Washington Heights, a place that has really been hit hard by COVID, the approach has been more conducive for people outside of the community come to get vaccinated, but not the people who live there in Washington Heights – totally backwards, “the mayor said at a press conference, according to a transcript.

Many cities and states are lagging behind in vaccinating people of color although they are more likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus.

Philadelphia cuts ties with 22-year-old vaccine distribution startup

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced on Tuesday that the city will no longer work with a startup tasked with setting up a mass immunization registration site after reports emerged of the lack of experience of its manager and a change in its privacy policy to possibly monetize patient data.

“Where were all the people with titles? Why did a kid have to come and help the city?” 22-year-old student Andrei Doroshin said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We did the job. We vaccinated 7,000 people.” Doroshin, who runs the Philly Fighting COVID start-up and is a psychology graduate student at Drexel University, said the change in privacy policy was an issue that was quickly corrected.

After examining healthcare providers at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, city officials said they chose the startup based on the COVID-19 test sites they had set up. place last year. City officials have not announced a new site operator.

Freezer breakdown leads to mid-night vaccination rush in Seattle

Hospitals in Seattle have rushed COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of people in the middle of the night after a failed freezer they were stored in.

It is not known what caused the freezer to go out on Thursday night, but the Northwest and Montlake campuses of the UW Medical Center and the Swedish Health Services Clinic at Seattle University have made emergency calls on social media and each administered more than 800 doses of the vaccine late at night. the morning. Not a single dose was wasted.

“Thanks to everyone who came together to get these doses administered!” Swedish health services said on Twitter Friday afternoon.

Vaccinated U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch tests positive for COVID-19

A Massachusetts congressman who received both doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has tested positive for the virus.

The office of U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch said on Friday lawmakers tested negative before attending the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The office says Lynch’s positive test result came after a staff member in his Boston office tested positive earlier this week.

A statement says Lynch has no symptoms of COVID-19. Lynch will self-quarantine and vote by proxy in Congress next week.

Lynch is the second member of the state’s congressional delegation to test positive in as many days. U.S. Representative Lori Trahan announced on Thursday that she had tested positive after repeatedly testing negative.

Colorado Mayor compares COVID-19 restrictions to George Floyd’s death

The mayor of a Colorado village compared the county’s COVID-19 restrictions to the death of George Floyd in a statement he later called a “bad choice,” according to local media.

Snowmass Village Mayor Bill Madsen pleaded for lighter COVID-related restrictions at a Pitkin County Board of Health meeting on Thursday when he drew a comparison to the death of Floyd, a black man died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.

“We are creating a tremendous amount of bad will in the community,” Madsen said, according to the Aspen Daily News. “Going back to the George Floyd storyline, we’ve got our feet on the restaurant industry’s throats and they can’t breathe.”

He later reconsidered his comments: “I was just trying to make the point that the restaurant industry is suffering, and that was probably a bad choice of words,” Madsen said. “It was a bad choice.… I just wanted to make sure that the restaurant industry was heard, and I think throughout this process, they didn’t feel it.

Contribute: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Freezer breakdown leads to midnight vaccination wave; The CDC imposes masks on public transport. Latest updates on COVID-19.