USA TODAY is watching the news surrounding COVID-19 as some vaccines take part in the US fight against a virus that has killed more than 371,000 Americans since the first fatal death in February. Keep refreshing this page for the latest coronavirus updates, including who gets the vaccinations from Pfizer and Moderna, as well as other top news from across the US TODAY Network. Subscribe to our Coronavirus Watch Newsletter for updates directly in your inbox, join our Facebook group or browse through our in-depth answers to reader questions for everything you need to know about the coronavirus.
In the headings:
► About 1 in 15 Americans tested positive for coronavirus from Saturday night, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. surpassed more than 22 million cases on Saturday. In California, health officials have reported a record total of 695 one-day deaths, as many hospitals are facing unprecedented consequences.
► The storming of the American Capitol on Wednesday will probably be a “training event” for the coronavirus, said dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. He said in an interview with McClatchy that he was concerned because thousands of people were not wearing masks and had since left Washington for various parts of the country.
► New York now has four confirmed cases of a more contagious type of COVID-19 originating in the UK, with three new cases announced on Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The new strain has been identified in at least eight states and 33 countries. Details here.
► Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, have received their COVID-19 vaccinations, royal officials said on Saturday. They join the roughly 1.5 million people in Britain who received the first dose of vaccine.
► The current increase in America has led to widespread deaths across America. During the past month, 31 states and nearly 1,200 provinces reported their worst weekly death toll from the entire pandemic.
► The Biden government on Friday announced plans to release available COVID-19 vaccines instead of holding for second doses, which the Trump administration has done to guarantee people a second chance.
► The country’s third largest school district, Chicago Public Schools, will welcome some students into the classrooms on Monday for the first time since March. But this week, only about half of the school staff turn up to report to buildings.
► A CDC study, published Friday in the agency’s weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report, found that U.S. provinces with large colleges or universities that held personal classes saw a 56% increase in COVID-19 cases had. The data supports a US TODAY analysis in which it was found that university students fueled the 19 hottest outbreaks in the US during the fall semester.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has more than 22 million cases of coronavirus and 371,600 deaths. The world total: more than 89.3 million cases and 1.92 million deaths.
Virus claims member of famed Tuskegee Airmen
One of the famous Tuskegee Airmen – the first black pilots in the segregated US Army and one of the most respected fighter pilots of World War II – died of complications from the coronavirus, was announced on Friday.
Theodore Lumpkin Jr. was just days short of his 101st birthday.
Lumpkin, a Los Angeles resident, died Dec. 26, according to a statement from Los Angeles City College, which he attended from 1938 to 1940.
Lumpkin was drafted in 1942 and named the 100th Fighting Champion in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen escorted bombers in Europe. According to the Los Angeles Times, which confirmed his death by his son, Theodore Lumpkin III, Lumpkin was not a pilot because his eyesight was not good enough, but he was an intelligence officer.
New COVID-19 strains: should you be concerned?
Two major variants of the virus that cause COVID-19 have emerged in recent weeks, but none are more dangerous than the virus that has spread in recent years, experts say, and available vaccinations should remain effective.
Viral mutations cause concern because they can make tests, treatments and vaccines ineffective and change the characteristics of a disease, making it more or less transmissible and dangerous.
The new variant seems to be pushing out the older ones, raising concerns about whether the changes will affect the course of the disease, or the efforts to repair it. So far, the new variants seem to be no cause for concern.
In more than a year of circulation, the virus has mutated many times, but only the two most recent variants – one that first appeared in the UK and the other in South Africa – make a significant difference in the function thereof.
Only the British tribe, known as B.1.1.7, has been detected in the US, currently in eight states, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although it can spread easier and faster than other variants, the agency says there is no evidence that it makes people sicker or increases the risk of death. Read more here.
– Karen Weintraub
Public schools in Chicago reopen Monday, for the first time since March
Chicago Public Schools, the third largest school district in the country, will welcome some students into the classroom on Monday for the first time since March. What is unclear: how many teachers will turn up.
The Chicago Teachers Union said it was not safe enough to go back to work in person. This week, only about half of the school staff who had to report to the building showed up.
“We need to reopen our doors,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said Friday morning. “We have seen attendance, enrollment and grades drop dramatically during distance education.”
Jackson said the city has addressed the ventilation problems regarding teachers, and that teachers who have to work personally who do not show up next week will see their salaries.
About 6,000 nursery school students and students with special needs are expected to return on Monday. Another 70,000 students in kindergarten up to and including the eighth grade are expected to return on February 1st.
The rate of positive COVID-19 tests over the past seven days is 10.8%, an increase over the previous week, but a Chicago health official said the infection rate was far lower than in November.
– Erin Richards
US for the first time causes 4,000 deaths daily due to coronavirus
The U.S. COVID-19 epidemic on Thursday reached an unprecedented rate, with more than 4,000 people dying in one day, a U.S. TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data showed.
Deaths within a week hit 20,879, which improved the record a day earlier. At this rate, an American dies every 29 seconds.
America’s winter increase in cases has led to widespread deaths across America. During the past month, 31 states and nearly 1,200 provinces reported their worst weekly death toll from the entire pandemic.
Since Monday alone, the United States has recorded 13,500 deaths – more than Pearl Harbor, D-Day, 9/11 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake combined.
Overall, the plague has killed more than 368,000 people in the US and caused nearly 22 million confirmed infections. At least 5.9 million Americans received their first COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal is to vaccinate hundreds of millions.
– Mike Stucka
Contributing Contributions: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on the US TODAY: COVID update: Capitol riots could result in cases; Tuskegee Airmen dead