The information about the South African variant of the coronavirus is ‘disillusioning’ and current vaccines are less effective against it than the original virus or British variant, said dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Fauci said there was less known about the South African variant than the British version, which is apparently more transmissible than the original version of the virus.
“But we do know that it (South African variant) evades the protection of some of the monoclonal antibodies, and it reduces the ability and efficacy of the vaccine to block it,” Fauci said. ‘It does not eliminate it, but reduces it multiple times.
Fauci said there is “another pillow left” so that current vaccines do provide protection against it. He added that in South Africa there were people who became infected with the original virus, recovered and then became infected with the South African variant again. This indicates that earlier infection could not infect anyone again against the South African variant, he said.
“Some good news is that the vaccine seems to be better than a natural infection to prevent you from getting infected again,” Fauci said.
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In the headings:
► A Los Angeles County woman died minutes after receiving the Pfizer vaccine, local health officials said. Dr Michael E. Morris, director of Kaiser Permanente’s vaccination program in Southern California, said in a statement that the woman (78) died “unexpectedly” on Friday, hours after she was vaccinated. The Department of Public Health said her death did not appear to be related to the vaccine.
► New Zealand’s largest city closed for at least three days on Sunday and police set up eight checkpoints at Auckland’s border checkpoints. The repression comes after three family members tested positive. The entire country of about 5 million people currently has fewer than 50 cases.
►The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently does not recommend that the required COVID-19 testing be performed before domestic flights, the CDC said in a statement to CNN on Saturday. Federal officials said this week that they are considering the domestic testing requirements.
►One of the team’s investigators, Dominic Dwyer, told Reuters and The Wall Street Journal that China had refused to provide raw data on early COVID-19 cases to a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the pandemic. . The head of the WHO said on Friday that all hypotheses about the origin of the coronavirus were still being investigated and analyzed after a team of investigators said earlier this week that the theory that the virus had leaked from a virology laboratory in Wuhan would no longer follow. does not become.
► State health officials in Florida have reported that more than 10,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has more than 27.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 484,000 deaths. The world total: more than 108.6 million cases and 2.39 million deaths. According to the CDC, more than 69 million doses of vaccines have been distributed in the US and approximately 50.6 million have been administered.
📘 What we read: People of color suffered most from COVID-19. But now that there is a vaccine, they are much less likely to have received a first dose – for many of the same reasons. Read more.
New Orleans gets tough with Mardi Gras celebrations
New Orleans is dismantling its annual Mardi Gras celebrations this week and health officials in other cities are warning prospective outcasts to do the same amid an increase in coronavirus cases across the country. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has ordered bars to be closed during Mardi Gras weekend, which begins Friday and lasts until Tuesday. Parades are canceled and there are restrictions on events.
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the annual pre-Spring bash celebrated along much of the Gulf Coast. Last year’s festivities are seen as a contribution to an early boom that made Louisiana a coronavirus hotspot.
COVID deaths, cases continue to fall
COVID-19 deaths have been declining slowly in the United States since peaking a few weeks ago. The US now reports on average less than 100,000 new cases per day. It’s still more than one new case every second, but it’s less than half the rate the country reported in January.
But the number of known cases of coronavirus variants has risen in recent weeks. The vast majority are of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in the UK and thrives there. The CDC said it could become the dominant tribe in the US by March. Last month, British researchers said there was evidence that the variant could be more deadly than others, and it was also considered at least 50% more transmissible than the original strain.
Praying sends a message of hope for a challenging Valentine’s Day
For millions of Americans struggling with loneliness, separation from a partner, or the loss of a loved one, Valentine’s Day this year can be especially challenging in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, this holiday in the coronavirus also reminds us that relationships can withstand many hardships through heavy and thin – including a pandemic. Some couples have spent unprecedented time together over the past year. Others were forced to sail unexpectedly over long distances and no end in sight. Many are stronger for it.
“There is hope. You just have to stay strong,” President Joe Biden said last week on the front lawn of the White House, where the first lady made big, colorful hearts. “A lot of people have been through unbearable suffering, losing their families, losing their children, their husbands, wives, mom, dad. And it’s almost unbearable. The only thing I can tell them is that they’re still in your heart. . “
If you’ve still planning to spread love this year, not germs, check out these coronavirus-themed digital valentines and see where you can get flowers at the last minute.
The FDA’s policy of allowing antibody tests without permission was ‘incorrect’, officials said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s policy of allowing companies to market their COVID-19 antibody tests without authorization was “flawed” and allowed ineffective products to flood the market, two FDA officials wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine on Saturday.
In March, the agency began allowing companies to market their antibody tests without permission from the FDA, as long as the companies notified the agency and were able to show that the test was working.
“As a result, the market was flooded with serology tests, some of which performed poorly and many of which were marketed in violation of FDA policy,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote. , and Dr. Timothy Stenzel, director of the FDA’s office for in vitro diagnostics and radiological health.
Inexperienced or dubious companies have profited from the vacuum of FDA oversight, including one selling vape pens and one led by a self-proclaimed technology evangelist, a U.S. investigation found last year.
“We realized that the policies set out in our March 16 guidelines were flawed,” the authors said. “If we knew what we know now, we would not allow serological tests to be marketed without the FDA investigation and authorization, not even within the limits we initially set.”
On February 1, 2021, the FDA removed the list of 225 tests from its website, issued 15 warning letters and placed 88 businesses on import alert for violations, the authors said.
– Grace Hauck
Massachusetts program to quickly vaccinate ‘abusive’ people accompanying seniors
Some people in Massachusetts offer rides and even money for the chance to take advantage of a state rule that allows those who accompany people 75 years and older to take a coronavirus vaccine at the same time.
But the result of online ads from people wanting to cut the vaccination line drew a severe reprimand from Governor Charlie Baker, who warned against offers to help complete strangers. “If you are asked by someone to take you to a website, please report it to the authorities,” Baker said.
Elderly people should only accept help from someone they trust, he said. Many senior centers in the state offer assistance. Some officials have called on the Republican governor to introduce the vaccine partnership program.
“Although well-intentioned, it took less than 24 hours before this new state policy was abused,” Boston City Councilman Andrea Campbell said in a statement.
Democratic State Representative Steve Owens said a group of lawmakers urged Baker to interrupt the program and noted that he saw an advertisement of someone offering $ 250 to send an eligible resident to a vaccination site.
– Associated Press
University of Oxford tests vaccine in children
Oxford University plans to test the COVID-19 vaccine (manufactured and distributed by AstraZeneca) for the first time in children, and becomes the latest vaccine developer to determine if the coronavirus shot is effective in young people.
The trial, announced Saturday, wants to recruit 300 volunteers from 6 to 17, with up to 240 receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and the rest a vaccine against meningitis.
Andrew Pollard, lead researcher on the Oxford vaccine trial, says that although most children do not become seriously ill due to COVID-19, it is important to determine the safety and immune response to the vaccine in children and adolescents, as some children may do. benefit from vaccination. ‘
Contributing Contributions: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared in the USA TODAY: COVID news: Fauci; South African variant; Valentine’s Day; Mardi Gras