Info Magzine: Johnson & Johnson vaccine authorized by FDA

The U.S. on Friday administered probably the most vaccines in a day up to now, with almost 2.4 million pictures given, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information Saturday.

The information comes because the U.S. authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine Saturday night. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted unanimously Friday to recommend authorizing Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate to be used in adults, paving the way in which for an emergency-use authorization.

Meanwhile, the House approved President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package early Saturday, a key step for a measure that would supply tens of millions of Americans $1,400 stimulus payments, ramp up vaccine distribution and prolong unemployment help via the summer season. The measure now heads to the Senate the place it faces a rocky path within the evenly divided chamber.

Also within the information:

►The federal authorities has agreed to purchase a 100,000 doses of a COVID-19 remedy by Eli Lilly, the corporate introduced Friday. The drug, bamlanivimab, is a monoclonal antibody, which means it mimics one of many pure antibodies the immune system makes use of to battle off the virus. The FDA authorized the drug late last year.

►The federal authorities has supported 441 neighborhood vaccination facilities within the U.S., together with 171 which were staffed with federal personnel, stated Andy Slavitt, the White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response. Two new federal vaccination sites were also announced Friday, in Chicago and Greensboro, North Carolina.

►The Ivory Coast has develop into the second nation to obtain a cargo of COVID-19 vaccines from the global COVAX initiative. The first shipment was sent to Ghana on Wednesday.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 28.5 million confirmed coronavirus circumstances and 511,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The international totals: More than 113.6 million circumstances and a couple of.5 million deaths. More than 96.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and about 72.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

📘 What we’re studying: They met on Bumble. She claims he abused her and killed her canine. Now she’s talking out to help other domestic violence survivors who feel isolated amid COVID-19.

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Plunging demand for COVID-19 exams could go away US uncovered

After a 12 months of struggling to spice up testing, communities throughout the nation are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing websites and even attempting to return provides.

U.S. testing hit a peak on Jan. 15, when the nation was averaging greater than 2 million exams per day. Since then, the typical variety of every day exams has fallen greater than 28%. The drop mirrors declines throughout all main virus measures since January, together with new circumstances, hospitalizations and deaths.

Officials say these encouraging tendencies, along with harsh winter climate, the tip of the vacation journey season, pandemic fatigue and a rising give attention to vaccinations are sapping curiosity in testing. But testing stays essential for monitoring and containing the outbreak.

“We need to use testing to continue the downward trend,” stated Dr. Jonathan Quick of the Rockefeller Foundation, which has been advising Biden officers. “We need to have it there to catch surges from the variants.”

– The Associated Press

Studies: People who’ve had COVID-19 may solely must get vaccinated as soon as

Six current research recommend that individuals who’ve already come down with COVID-19 won’t must get a second vaccine dose.

The federal authorities has not modified its advice for a second dose, however research that take a look at the immune response present that whereas a primary shot offers individuals who’ve recovered from COVID-19 an enormous increase, the second shot makes little distinction.

“I think that makes perfect sense,” stated Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. For somebody who had COVID-19, the primary shot is sort of a COVID-19-naive particular person getting a booster – they even have the unwanted side effects of somebody getting a second vaccine dose, he stated. Read more.

– Karen Weintraub

Allegations of vaccine waste, theft investigated in Tennessee

More investigative findings from the state of Tennessee revealed Friday that COVID-19 vaccine might have been stolen in Shelby County, kids are believed to have been inappropriately vaccinated and extra doses of COVID-19 have been wasted than was beforehand thought.

The state discovered of the kid vaccinations and the alleged theft weeks after the incidents occurred, State Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey stated in a wide-ranging press convention Friday afternoon during which she detailed to reporters quite a few cases of poor vaccine administration and known as the Shelby County Health Department a “low-accountability organization.”

Piercey additionally described Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and county well being officers as gradual to report the issues to authorities and missing candor in conversations with state officers.

The revelations have been the most recent in a string of vaccine administration points in Shelby County which have been made public this previous week.

– Corinne S. Kennedy and Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Cases in nursing houses drop 89%

New federal information presents a glimmer of hope in what has been the darkest and deadliest nook of the pandemic. The variety of COVID-19 circumstances and deaths at America’s nursing houses have dropped considerably since December as tens of millions of vaccine doses have been shot into the arms of residents and employees.

The weekly fee of COVID-19 circumstances at nursing houses plummeted 89% from early December via the second week of February. By comparability, the nationwide case fee dropped 58% and stays increased than figures reported earlier than late October.

The dramatic drop in circumstances at nursing houses, the place almost 130,000 residents and employees have died for the reason that virus emerged within the U.S., raises optimism for brighter days forward at nursing houses and in communities general as extra Americans get vaccinated, specialists say.

– Ken Alltucker and Jayme Fraser

CDC director warns about ‘regarding’ case enhance

After a a number of week decline in COVID-19 circumstances and hospitalizations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned Friday a couple of “concerning” uptick in circumstances over the newest days.

The most up-to-date seven day common of every day new circumstances was over 66,000 and better than the typical on Wednesday, Walensky stated citing CDC information.

The peak in early January was the very best seen within the pandemic, and although present averages are decrease, they’re nonetheless excessive, Walensky stated. “Things are tenuous. Now is not the time to relax restrictions,” she stated, pointing to the unfold of latest variants of the coronavirus.

“We may now be seeing the beginning effects of these variants in the most recent data,” she added.

– Ryan Miller

NYC faculties chancellor, who misplaced 11 members of the family to COVID-19, resigns

Richard Carranza, New York City’s Schools chancellor, said Friday he was stepping down from his role, citing the necessity for time to grieve his 11 members of the family and shut mates who died from COVID-19.

“I feel that I can take that time now because of the place that we are in and the work that we have done together,” he stated.

The metropolis’s faculties have largely been heralded for its reopening in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Carranza stated the system reopened safely for kids of important employees, distributed over half 1,000,000 digital gadgets for distant studying, and delivered 80 tens of millions meals to its college students.

“We have stabilized the system in a way no one thought possible,” he added. “The light, my fellow New Yorkers, is truly at the end of the tunnel.”

Carranza can be succeeded by Bronx Executive Superintendent Meisha Ross Porter, who will develop into the primary Black lady to guide the nation’s largest faculty district.

– Ryan Miller