The Biden administration will distribute the dose of COVID-19 vaccines directly to retail pharmacies in an effort to accelerate vaccinations across the country.
White House COVID-19 responsive coordinator Jeff Zients said the program begins with about 1 million doses being sent to 6,500 pharmacies next week. The number of pharmacies could eventually each be 40,000.
“It will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities,” Zients said. “And it’s an important component to delivering vaccines fairly.”
Zients said 10.5 million doses will be distributed in states this week, a 5% increase over last week and a 22% increase in weekly doses since President Joe Biden took office on January 20.
COVID-19 killed more than 445,000 Americans, and infections continued to increase despite the launch of some vaccines late in 2020. USA TODAY is watching 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 browse through our in-depth answers to reader questions.
In the headings:
► The CDC reported on Tuesday that the country’s second case of the coronavirus’ Brazilian variant has been identified in Minnesota. Three cases of the South African variant, two in South Carolina and one in Maryland, were also recently detected in the USA.
►The National Park Service will now require all visitors and employees to wear masks in buildings and facilities and on lands’ when physical distance cannot be maintained. This includes busy and narrow paths.
►Miguel Romero, mayor of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, said on Twitter that a quick antigen test he had taken for the coronavirus had returned positive and he was waiting for the result of a molecular test. Romero is in isolation, as is Governor Pedro Pierluisi after coming into contact with the mayor recently.
►Capt. Tom Moore, the British veteran of World War II, who shuffled into the hearts of his closed country while raising money for health workers, has died after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 100. The White House paid tribute to him in a tweet.
► Giving people who have had COVID only one dose of vaccine will not negatively affect their antibody levels, but will release many doses that are urgently needed, a new study suggests.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has more than 26.3 million cases of coronavirus and more than 445,000 deaths. The global total: More than 103.6 million cases and 2.24 million deaths. According to the CDC, more than 52.6 million doses of vaccines have been distributed and 32.7 million have been administered.
📘 What we read: Studies indicate that up to 80% of people with COVID-19 symptoms experience a reduced or complete loss of smell or taste. Most survivors regain meaning within a few weeks. But some do not, and researchers say they can go without it for the rest of their lives. Read the full story.
One dose of AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine reduces transmission, symptoms
A single survey of the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine reduced coronavirus transmission by 67% and provided significant protection against COVID-19 for at least three months, according to preliminary data from three trials released on Tuesday.
If confirmed, the findings could provide at least a partial answer to one of the critical ongoing questions about coronavirus vaccines – whether it helps prevent the spread of the virus, not just symptoms. The high level of protection against symptoms at only one dose, 76%, is also an encouraging sign for countries trying the limited vaccine supply.
A second dose is still needed for the full effect of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which was approved by all European Union regulators for all adults on Friday but has not yet been approved in the US. Results of the trials indicated that the vaccine is actually more effective shot is delayed by three months, rather than being administered within three or four weeks.
Rapid administration of vaccines may limit the spread of variants
The acceleration of vaccinations across the country could help limit the spread of newer, more contagious forms of COVID-19, says Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci said that while current vaccines may not offer the same protection against the variants they offer against the original virus, it could alleviate the impact of the disease, including hospitalizations and deaths. People need to be ‘vaccinated as quickly and as quickly as possible’, Fauci said in a virtual newsletter with the White House’s COVID-19 responses.
“Viruses cannot mutate if they do not repeat. And if you stop their replication by vaccinating widely and not giving the virus an open playing field to continue responding to the pressure you put on it, you will have no mutations. do not get. “
Andrew Yang, now a NYC mayoral candidate, tests positive for COVID-19
Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur who became presidential candidate and who now elects him as mayor of New York, tested positive for COVID-19, he announced on Tuesday. Yang said he tested negative as recently as the weekend, but when he got a quick test with a positive result, he tweeted on Tuesday.
“I have mild symptoms, but otherwise feel good and in a good mood,” Yang tweeted.
Yang said he was in quarantine. Among New York City mayoral candidates, he was one of the most prolific fighters in a race that was otherwise forced online due to the pandemic. A staff member of his campaign earlier tested positive shortly after Yang announced his run. Yang said his campaign began with contact tracing to determine who he was in contact with.
– Ryan Miller
Tanzanian government opposes vaccines
Days after President John Magufuli of Tanzania doubted without evidence about COVID-19 vaccines, Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima said the country did not intend to receive them.
Magufuli maintains that God eliminated COVID-19 in Tanzania, a 60 million-strong East African nation that has not updated its number of coronavirus infections since April. Gwajima insisted that Tanzania was safe, but only encouraged people to improve hygiene, including the use of disinfectants.
In its latest travel warning about Tanzania, the CDC says the country’s COVID-19 level is ‘very high’ and insists that all travel there.
Russia’s vaccine looks effective in Phase III trial
Russia’s entry into the global vaccine contests appears to be a winner, at least in early returns. The Sputnik V vaccine showed an efficacy of 91.6% in a phase III study, according to a study published in the British medical journal Lancet on Tuesday. The trial last fall involved about 20,000 Russians. The side effects most commonly reported were flu-like symptoms, injection site pain, and fatigue; serious side effects were rare.
The vaccination was approved by the Russian government in August despite minimal testing. President Vladimir Putin at the time smuggled the vaccine on national TV and boasted that one of his daughters had already been vaccinated. But a large-scale vaccination campaign only began in December; doctors and teachers were first in line. Outside Russia, Sputnik V has received authorization in more than a dozen countries.
Rich, influential should not get first vaccines
Vaccine blasts in California, Washington state and elsewhere are raising concerns among health leaders, who warn that doses given unfairly to rich or influential people could lead to critical supplies in the COVID-19 battle. The Washington Department of Health said in a statement that VIP scheduling, doses for unfair or exclusive access and similar practices are prohibited, prohibited and will not be tolerated. “The Seattle Times reports that three medical systems in the region have given special vaccines to large donors or founding members. Two of the hospital organizations have admitted that they made a mistake by prioritizing influential people.
In California, it is next in line for some essential workers – teachers, first responders and food and farm workers. But after that, the state will mainly extend the admission to old age, probably people 50 years and older. The goal: to accelerate a chaotic explosion of vaccines, leaving California consistently lagging behind many other states in distribution figures, even though it gave about 3.3 million vaccinations on Monday.
Chicago, DC Teachers Return to Classroom Learning
District Columbia Public Schools went to court Monday for a temporary restraining order against the Washington Teachers’ Union to prevent a strike that could delay the reopening of some schools for personal learning. Personal learning across the city would begin Monday, but winter weather delayed the opening. Schools opened for personal students two hours late Tuesday. The union has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning to discuss its position.
In Chicago, school district officials on Monday extended two more days of distance education and called for a “cooling-off period” in negotiations with the teachers’ union, citing progress but not a full agreement on the COVID-19 safety plans for returning to schools not. More than 60,000 students and about 10,000 teachers and staff in K-8 would return to school on Monday for the first time since March, as part of the district’s gradual reopening of the district during the pandemic.
USA: No immigration enforcement is arrested at vaccination sites
The US government says it will not make arrests at immigration sites during vaccinations in the country, except in ‘extraordinary circumstances’. In a statement Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said vaccines would be considered “sensitive sites” and would not be targeted by immigration and customs enforcement agents. DHS says it encourages everyone “regardless of immigration status” to be vaccinated when eligible according to local rules.
ICE used to include health care facilities as well as churches among the sensitive places where arrests would not normally be made.
So far there are no red flags in the vaccine safety data for pregnant women
Some pregnant women remain unsure about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, as safety data are scarce and health care guidelines are vague and in some cases inconsistent. But dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said on Monday that about 10,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated in the US, as the Food and Drug Administration had approved two vaccines and that so far there had been ‘no red flags’.
“We have vaccinated many pregnant women, the FDA has followed them and will continue to follow them,” he told a media news conference during the IAS COVID-19 conference: prevention. “Although we do not have good data on it, the data we have collected so far about it has no red flags.”
According to the CDC guidelines, it is the mother’s choice in consultation with her healthcare provider. Fauci said Monday the agency is sticking to the recommendation.
– Adrianna Rodriguez
Contributing Contributions: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on the USA TODAY: COVID News: One dose of AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine; pharmacies; variant
Originally published