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Authorities announced Thursday that two people in South Carolina had been diagnosed with a more infectious strain of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa. This is the first time that the variant has been reported in the United States
Also on Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that the state may have underestimated COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents by 50%. New York experienced the first major coronavirus outbreak last spring, and nursing homes were hit particularly hard.
More than 434,000 people have died and more than 25.7 million cases have been reported in the United States since the start of the pandemic, according to NBC News.
Here are the latest coronavirus updates from the United States and beyond:
Fauci warns viral mutations with ‘wake-up call’, says children could start getting vaccinated in ‘early summer’
NIAID Director Dr Anthony Fauci explains why the results of a study on the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are encouraging, even when comparing them to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which had a higher rate of effectiveness. Student.
Dr Anthony Fauci says the emergence and increasing spread of coronavirus mutations means vaccine makers must be prepared to make new vaccines to stay ahead of the public health crisis.
The government’s leading infectious disease expert spoke at a coronavirus briefing at the White House on Friday.
“It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” Fauci says, noting that government scientists will work to keep pace with viral mutations.
The nature of viruses is to change in a way that helps them spread, says Fauci. The evolution of mutant versions means scientists need to be “nimble” and ready to make changes to vaccines. So far, mutants have not exceeded the protective power of vaccines.
Fauci says it’s important to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible to prevent new mutations from developing, adding that the Biden administration hopes to start vaccinating young children by late spring or early in the year. ‘summer. Clinical studies to determine whether approved coronavirus vaccines are safe for young children will begin in the “next few months,” Fauci says.
The findings could influence the debate on how to safely reopen public schools.
Japanese Prime Minister says determined to host Tokyo Olympics
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says he is determined to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer, despite growing uncertainty as coronavirus cases increase at home.
Suga, speaking at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, said the Olympics would be a symbol of human victory over the pandemic. He is committed to controlling infections in Japan as soon as possible and achieving a “safe and secure” Olympics.
Olympic officials have repeatedly said that the games will be held in July as planned after a one-year postponement, although various scenarios, including holding events without spectators, are being considered.
Suga has been criticized for delaying viral measurements until daily cases hit new highs in late December. He eventually declared a partial state of emergency in early January, issuing non-binding demands until February 7 for people to avoid crowds or eat out in groups and for restaurants and bars to close early.
New cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo have plummeted, but experts say they haven’t slowed enough, indicating emergency measures could be extended by several weeks.
CDC Director: ‘There has been community spread’ of South African strain
The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the South African variant of COVID-19 detected in two people in South Carolina who did not know each other or who were not traveling there means the strain had already reached the community spread point in the US
“The presumption is, at this point, that there has been community spread of this strain,” Rochelle Walensky told NBC’s “TODAY” show, saying it was “concerning.”
Just because the South African variant was detected on Thursday doesn’t mean it just arrived, as the United States is way behind other countries in tracking changes in the virus by sequencing its genetic code.
Walensky said the sequencing of the virus has been “stepped up” under the new administration, which means there is a greater chance of catching a new strain.
European Union regulators approve AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine for adults only
Regulators on Friday cleared AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in adults across the European Union, amid criticism that the bloc is not acting fast enough to vaccinate its population.
The European Medicines Agency has cleared the vaccine for use in people 18 years of age and older, although concerns were raised this week over the lack of data to prove it works in older people.
The vaccine is the third COVID-19 vaccine to receive the green light from the European Medicines Agency, after those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. Both were allowed for all adults.
Many countries on the continent have struggled to vaccinate people as quickly as Britain, Israel, the United States and elsewhere, and it has long been hoped that the AstraZeneca shot would help speed things up.
Johnson & Johnson says its vaccine offers strong protection against COVID-19, but less effective than others
Johnson & Johnson say their vaccine appears to protect against COVID-19 with just one hit. It’s not as strong as some double-barreled rivals, but still potentially useful for a world in dire need of more doses.
Results released Friday show that the single-injection vaccine was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe disease and much more protective against more severe symptoms.
The vaccine worked better in the United States than in South Africa, where it faced a more resistant mutated virus. The company says it will soon file an emergency use application in the United States and then overseas.
Read the full story here.
‘COVID tongue’ may be another symptom of virus, suggests UK researcher
There could be another addition to the growing list of possible strange symptoms of the novel coronavirus: the “COVID tongue”.
A British researcher who is helping to track warning signs of COVID-19 reports more cases of infected people complaining of tongue discoloration, enlargement and other mouth problems, reports NBC News.
“Seeing an increasing number of Covid tongues and strange mouth ulcers. If you have a weird symptom or even just a headache and fatigue, stay home! Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, tweeted this month.
He believes that more than a third of COVID-19 patients, 35%, have unconventional symptoms of the disease in the first three days, so it’s important to draw attention to rashes, toes of Covid and other warning signs that “are being ignored,” he wrote.
Spector did not respond to a request for comment, but other researchers have also reported tongue and mouth symptoms linked to the new coronavirus.
Read the full story on NBCNews.com
NJ hospital gave first COVID vaccines to donors and relatives of leaders: report
Some of the first people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at a New Jersey medical center, according to a published report, were relatives of senior hospital officials and some of its administrators and donors.
The injections were administered by Hunterdon Medical Center in December and early January, a time when only frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities were eligible, reports NBC New York.
A vaccine recipient registry, obtained by New Jersey 101.5 FM, indicated that injections had been sent to two longtime donors in hospital and at least seven spouses and two adult children of medical directors, administrators or executives of the health care network. The radio station said it received the log from a whistleblower it did not identify.
Some of the recipients were in their 20s, an age group unlikely to qualify for the vaccine for many months.
A spokesperson for the hospital said donors and board members did not have a preference over eligible staff or those at risk available, but received the vaccine when recipients eligible could not be located rather than losing vaccine doses.
Read the full story here
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