Arizona on Friday joined 30 other states that have detected a Covid-19 variant first seen in the UK and believed to be more transmissible.
This variant has now been found in 31 states, including Arizona, according to the announcement by the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks cases detected on its website. There have been more than 400 cases of this variant reported in the nation.
Authorities also announced Thursday that two people in South Carolina were diagnosed with a more infectious strain of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa. This is the first time the variant has been reported in the US
More than 434,000 people have died and more than 25.7 million cases have been reported in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, according to NBC News.
Here are the latest coronavirus updates from the United States and elsewhere:
CDC masks on public transportation
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday night that the use of masks will be required on all public transportation starting Monday night, NBC News reports.
The warrant issued by CDC division director Martin S. Cetron came after President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Jan. 21 calling for “immediate action” on the use of masks for “all forms of public transport “.
It applies to all public commercial transport (airplanes, trains, ships and buses) and to transport centers such as air terminals, train stations, metro stations, seaports and bus depots.
It also covers ferries, subways, taxis and passenger vehicles, according to the CDC. Transport operators and workers must also wear masks.
Read the full story at NBCNews.com
Fauci warns of virus mutations from an “alarm call”, says children may start getting vaccinated in “early summer”
The director of NIAID, Dr. Anthony Fauci, explains why the results of a study on the efficacy of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine are encouraging even when compared to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which had a higher efficacy rate.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the emergence and growing spread of coronavirus mutations means vaccine manufacturers need to be prepared to make new vaccines to stay ahead of the public health crisis.
The government’s top infectious disease expert spoke Friday during a White House coronavirus briefing.
“This is an alarm call for all of us,” Fauci says, noting that government scientists will work to keep pace with virus mutations.
Fauci says the nature of viruses is to change ways to promote their spread. The evolution of mutant versions means that scientists must be “agile” and willing to make modifications to vaccines. To date, mutants have not overflowed the protective power of vaccines.
Fauci says it’s important to vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible to prevent new mutations from developing, adding that the Biden administration hopes to start inoculating younger children in late spring or early summer. Clinical trials to determine if coronavirus-approved vaccines are safe for younger children will begin in the “next two months,” Fauci says.
The results could influence the debate on how to safely reopen public schools.
The Japanese prime minister says he is determined to host the Tokyo Olympics
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says he is determined to host Tokyo’s Olympic postponements this summer, despite growing uncertainty as coronavirus cases increase at home.
Suga, speaking at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, says the Olympics would be a symbol of human victory over the pandemic. He pledged to control infections in Japan as soon as possible and achieve “safe” Olympics.
Olympic officials have repeatedly said the games will be held in July as planned after a one-year postponement, although several scenarios are being considered, including holding no-spectator events.
Suga has been criticized for delaying antivirus measures until daily cases peaked in late December. Finally, it declared a partial state of emergency in early January, issuing non-binding requests until Feb. 7 for people to avoid crowds or eat out of groups and restaurants and bars to close sooner.
New cases of coronavirus in Tokyo have been reduced, but experts say they have not slowed down enough, indicating that emergency measures could be extended for several more weeks.
CDC Director: “There has been community outreach” of the South African strain
The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the South African variant COVID-19 detected in two people in South Carolina who did not know or travel there means that the strain had already reached the point of community spread in US
“The presumption is, at this point, that there has been a community outreach of this variety,” Rochelle Walensky told NBC’s “TODAY” program, saying it was “worrying.”
Just because the South African variant was detected on Thursday does not mean it has just arrived, as the United States has lagged far behind other countries in tracking changes in the virus by sequencing its genetic code.
Walensky said virus sequencing has been “expanded” under the new administration, meaning there is a better chance of capturing a new strain.
European Union regulators approve the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine for adults only
Regulators on Friday authorized the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for adults across the European Union, amid criticism that the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
The European Medicines Agency authorized the vaccine for use in people over the age of 18, although concerns had been raised this week that there was not enough data to show it works in the elderly.
The shot is the third COVID-19 vaccine to be given the green light by the European Medicines Agency, after those carried out by Pfizer and Moderna. Both were licensed for all adults.
Many countries on the continent have been struggling to vaccinate people as quickly as Britain, Israel, the United States and elsewhere, and the AstraZeneca shooting was long hoped to help speed things up.
Johnson & Johnson says its vaccine provides strong protection against COVID-19, but is less effective than others
Johnson & Johnson says its vaccine appears to protect against COVID-19 with just one shot. It’s not as strong as some two-shot rivals, but it can still be useful for a world that needs more doses.
The results released Friday show that the single vaccine was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe disease and much more protective against the most severe symptoms.
The vaccine worked better in the United States compared to South Africa, where it faced a harder mutated virus. The company says it will file an application for emergency use soon in the United States and then abroad.
Read the full story here.