March 29 coronavirus news

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US President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris (not shown), delivers remarks on Covid-19 response and vaccinations in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington DC, on March 29, 2021. US President Joe Biden's administration on March 29, 2021 announced a set of new actions to ensure that 90 percent of adults will be eligible for vaccination against Covid by April 19.
Biden: 90% of adults will be vaccine eligible by April 19
03:08 - Source: CNN

What you need to know

  • A upcoming WHO report on the origins of Covid-19 will say it’s extremely unlikely that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab, according to a source with knowledge of the report.
  • The US CDC has extended a moratorium on evictions of tenants who are unable to make rental payments.
  • About 143 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data from the CDC, but the current CDC director is concerned about a new surge in Covid-19 cases in the US.

Our live coverage has ended for the day. Follow the latest on the pandemic here.

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Alabama governor will end state's mask mandate next week

Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey will move ahead with her plan to end the state’s mask mandate next week despite President Biden’s plea Monday for the nation’s governors to keep the mandates in place or to reinstitute them.

“As Governor Ivey has previously stated, Alabama’s mask mandate ends April 9. We have made progress, and we are moving towards personal responsibility and common sense, not endless government mandates,” Ivey’s spokesperson Gina Maiola told CNN.

During a news conference earlier this month, Ivey said?masks have been the greatest tool in combating the virus. However, she said it was time to make this a personal responsibility rather than a government mandate.

Since the start of the pandemic, Alabama has reported at least 514,619 cases and at least 10,526 deaths, according to the state website. More than 1.6 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, the dashboard shows.

Note: These numbers were released by the state’s public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.

US surgeon general won't say one dose of Moderna or Pfizer is enough

In response to data released Monday showing Moderna and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccines may have 80% efficacy with just one dose, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN he is not yet comfortable recommending just a single dose for either vaccine.?

Murthy said the research shows that both vaccines are effective in preventing both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection.

MLB is strongly encouraging players to get vaccinated

Just days ahead of Opening Day, Major League Baseball is strongly encouraging its players to get vaccinated.

On Monday, the league and the player’s union informed clubs that MLB will relax certain health and safety protocols if vaccination goals are met, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement. If club’s have 85% of their Tier 1 individuals fully vaccinated, which includes players, coaches, and trainers, they should expect less restrictive Covid-19 protocols.

According to ESPN and USA Today, who source a league-wide memo sent to teams Monday, vaccinated players would not have to wear masks while in the dugout and bullpen and wouldn’t have to wear tracking devices. Those teams who reach the 85% vaccination goal could also reintroduce traditional locker room amenities like saunas, whirlpools and pool tables.

MLB’s regular season begins Thursday with 15 games on the schedule.

Florida governor signs Covid-19 liability protection bill into law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that protects certain businesses, government, health care providers, educational and religious institutions from Covid-19 lawsuits.??

DeSantis signed?SB 72 into law during a news conference in Tallahassee.?The bill states?that if an organization made a “good faith effort” to comply with guidelines to stop the spread of Covid-19, the entity will be immune from civil liability.??

“We don’t want to be in a situation where people are scared of being sued just for doing normal things,” he said. “So, we worked very early on to look into see ways that we could provide some certainty for both businesses and health care providers.”

“What this bill does, it says if you’re doing the right things, you’re protected,” said Florida?House Speaker Chris Sprowls.?“You’re protected, and you have the most aggressive protection in America.”

DeSantis said the bill will go into effect immediately.?

Only 1 US state hasn't shared when it plans to start vaccinating everyone 16 and older

Arkansas is the only?state?left in the?US?to announce when it plans to open?up?coronavirus vaccinations to everyone eligible?under?US?Food and Drug Administration emergency?use authorization.

In Arkansas, no announcement of plans has been made yet, but Meg Mirivel, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Health, told CNN in an email on Friday: “We do anticipate meeting the May 1 benchmark.”

Meanwhile, New York is the most recent?state?to announce its plans for vaccinating everyone 16 and older. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that the expansion would?begin on April 6 — with eligibility opening up to residents 30 years of age and older beginning Tuesday morning.

A dozen?states?already?have expanded coronavirus vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older. Alaska opened up vaccinations to anyone 16 and older on March 9, Mississippi on March 16, West Virginia expanded on March?22, Utah on March?24, Georgia on March?25, and Arizona opened vaccination to anyone over 16 who can get to?state-run sites in three counties as of March?24.?

Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, North Dakota, Louisiana and?Kansas expanded to anyone 16 and older on March 29.?Several?states that already announced plans to open up vaccine eligibility by early May have changed their timelines to open up in late March or early April.?

Below is the timeline for when states?have said they will open vaccination eligibility to the general public:

  • March 30: Minnesota
  • March 31: Indiana,?South Carolina
  • April 1: Montana, Connecticut
  • April?2: New Hampshire
  • April 5: Michigan, Tennessee, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Nevada
  • April 7: North Carolina
  • April 9: Missouri
  • April 12: Illinois, Kentucky
  • April 15: California
  • April 19: Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
  • April?27: Maryland
  • April, no set date: New Mexico, Virginia, Colorado, Wyoming
  • May 1: Wisconsin, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Nebraska, Hawaii, Delaware, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey

For all?states?currently vaccinating anyone 16 and older, people ages 16 or 17 can only receive a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, as it is the only option authorized for?use in that population so far. The vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are authorized for?use in adults 18 and older.

Covid-19 cases on the rise among Brazil's younger age groups, report says

Covid-19 cases are on the rise among Brazil’s younger age groups, the Brazilian research institute Fiocruz found in its latest coronavirus report.?

“The country is in a situation of collapse of the health system. At the same time, the pandemic has been gaining new characteristics affecting younger age groups: 30 to 39 years, 40 to 49 years and 50 to 59 years,” according to the Fiocruz findings published Friday.

The report analyzed weekly data from the country’s health ministry from Jan. 1 to March 13, 2021.

The analysis showed an increase of more than 500% in infections among people 30 to 39; a more than 600% increase among people 40 to 49 and more than 500% among people 50 to 59.

The total number of coronavirus cases nationwide, among all age groups, grew by 319% during that same period of time, the report states.

Since the beginning of the second Covid-19 wave on November 2020, there has been an increased demand for health services by symptomatic young patients in Brazil, Fiocruz researchers said.

While more younger people are becoming infected with the virus, Covid-19 deaths are still more common among older people, the report said.

As of Sunday, Brazil reported more than 12.5 million cases of Covid-19 and at least 312,206 coronavirus-related deaths.

Johnson & Johnson says it will supply 200 million Covid-19 vaccines to Europe this year

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that it will supply Europe, including Norway and Iceland, with 200 million coronavirus vaccines this year.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved by the European Medicine’s Agency – the EU’s medical regulator – on March 11, following approval of vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

In a statement from Johnson & Johnson, the company said the tentative delivery schedule will begin in April to June, in line with their agreement with the European Commission.

J&J’s announcement comes?amid?growing?frustration in?Brussels over a shortfall in?vaccine supply to the bloc, particularly over?AstraZeneca’s?failure to meet its?contractual obligations – whilst continuing to meet the UK’s targets.?

Correction: An earlier version of this post and headline incorrectly stated that Johnson & Johnson will supply 200 million Covid-19 vaccines to Europe in April. They will supply 200 million vaccines to Europe this year.

Italian prime minister hopeful EU will achieve herd immunity by end of July??

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said Europe should be able to achieve herd immunity for the end of July, based on current vaccine supply.??

Draghi said the vaccination rollout is “quickly improving” and urged the EU to be optimistic.?“The goals set for April and May, in reference to vaccine supplies and the number of vaccinations, equal to half a million vaccinated per day, no longer seem so far away,” the statement said.

Italy is currently in the middle of a lockdown, as the government attempts to contain a surge of coronavirus cases mainly due to the presence of new variants.?

Measures introduced to reduce the virus spread have been effective across the country, he said. According to a decree passed by the Italian government, measures started on March 15 and will be effective through April 6

According to the government website, Italy has vaccinated 9.5 million people, but under 3 million have received a second dose.?And due to delays only 53% of people over the age of 80 are still waiting for the first shot.??

Thousands more vaccination sites coming within 3 weeks, Biden says

The US will add tens of thousands of vaccination sites, including 12 federally-run mass vaccination sites, in an effort to get a vaccine site within five miles of 90% of all Americans in the coming weeks, President Biden announced on Monday.

There are currently around 17,000 pharmacies giving vaccine shots, Biden said, but that number will grow to nearly 40,000 within the next three weeks.

“That will more than double the number of pharmacies where you can go get vaccinated,” he added.

Biden said the new mass vaccination sites would allow “tens of thousands of people … to drive up, get a vaccine shot while on the car and leave and less than an hour.”

“Over 60% of the shots given at these sites goes to minority communities, because they’re in minority communities. We have to reach out. They’re the ones most affected by the vaccine – by both the vaccine but also by the pandemic,” the President said.

He also announced that “more aid” will be sent to states?“to expand the opening more community vaccination sites. More vaccines, more sites, more vaccinators, all designed to speed our critical work.”

Watch here:

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01:21 - Source: cnn

Biden says the war against Covid "is far from won"

President Biden echoed the dire warning of Dr. Rochelle Walesnky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, telling Americans that the war versus Covid is “far from won.”

“The CDC expressed earlier today, this is not a time to lessen our efforts,” Biden said during remarks at the White House on Monday. “We could still see a setback in the vaccination program. And most importantly, if we let our guard down now, we could see a virus getting worse, not better.”

Biden called out “reckless behavior” he has seen on television, likely referring to images of partiers gathering during spring break, saying it threatens to wipe out gains the US has made in combatting the virus.?

Earlier Monday, Walensky warned of “impending doom,” with a rise in Covid cases across the country.?

“What we’ve seen over the last week or so is a steady rise of cases,” Walensky said. “I know that travel is up and I just worry that we will see the surges that we saw over the summer and over the winter again.”

“As much as we’re doing America, it’s time to do even more. All of us have to do our part, every one of us,” Biden added.

Watch here:

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01:15 - Source: cnn

Biden announces funding to provide seniors and people with disabilities transport to get Covid-19 vaccine

President Biden announced on Monday that his administration would be providing funding to community groups to provide vulnerable populations with transportation to get the coronavirus vaccine.?

The President said during remarks at the White House that the US needs to “make it easier for those who want shots who cannot access vaccination sites to get vaccinated.”?

“Neighbors helping neighbors – what a truly American effort,” he added. “We cannot let transportation be a barrier to any senior getting a vaccination.”?

Watch here:

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01:15 - Source: cnn

Biden calls on state and local officials to "please" reinstate the mask mandate

President Biden made a plea to the nation’s governors Monday as the US faces the possibility of another wave of Covid-19 infections.

The plea comes as some states have lifted requirements for face coverings, as well as guidance on restaurant capacity and other measures, and cases have again begun to rise. Last week, the administration called on states to slow the relaxation of Covid guidelines.

With a nod to the role of the private sector, Biden also suggested businesses should also require the use of masks.

“The failure to take this virus seriously precisely what got us to this mess in the first place, risk more cases, more deaths,” he said.

Biden also renewed calls for Americans to wear masks, framing the choice as a “patriotic duty.”

“I need the American people do their part as well. Mask up, mask up. It’s a patriotic duty. It’s the only way we ever get back to normal,” he said.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she would be conveying Biden’s message to governors on Tuesday after she warned of “impending doom” over concerns about another wave of Covid-19 cases.

“With regard to the surging, we are working closely with the states. I will be speaking with the governors tomorrow to try and reinforce the need for current restrictions to not open up,” Walensky said earlier Monday. “I think what we’ll do on masking will really depend on where we are 30 days from now.”

Watch here:

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00:55 - Source: cnn

"Private sector" will oversee Covid-19 vaccine passports in US, White House adviser says

It’s not the federal government, but “the private sector” that will likely create and store data for Covid-19 vaccine passports, Andy Slavitt, the?White House’s senior adviser for Covid-19 response, said on Monday.?

Vaccine passports are a way for?people to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Instead, the Biden administration is working to develop a set of standards for such a vaccine passport program or database.

“What’s important to us, and we’re leading an interagency process right now to go through these details, are that some important criteria be met with these credentials. Number one, that there is equitable access — that means whether or not people have access to technology or whether they don’t. It’s also important that we recognize that there are still many, many millions and millions of Americans that have not yet been vaccinated. So that’s a fundamental equity issue,” he said.

“Privacy of the information, security of the information, and a marketplace of solutions are all things that are part of what we believe in, as is the ability for people to access this free, and in multiple languages,” Slavitt said. “So, I think you will see more from us as we complete our interagency process. But this not slowing down the process in any way.”

He went on to describe why the government will be involved in the process.

“The core here is that Americans, like people around the world who are vaccinated, will want to be able to demonstrate that vaccination in various forms,” Slavitt said. “This is going to hit all parts of society, so naturally the government is involved.”

Balkan countries flock to Serbia for Covid-19 vaccinations

Serbia is becoming a regional vaccination hub as foreigners flock there from the surrounding Balkan region where there are vaccine shortages.?

The country’s Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic,?spoke to CNN about the importance?of offering regional support:?“We are also trying to support mostly the region. So our neighbouring countries, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Boston Herzegovina. Because if I mean we are, we are a small region, and if you’re not safe. Even when we get the collective immunity, we’re not going to be safe,” she said.?

Serbia has donated 10,000 doses of Astra Zeneca to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brnabic added.

Serbia ranks among the top five countries in the world in terms of the successful per million rate of vaccination of its citizens, outperforming richer EU countries,?according to data from University of Oxford research group Our World in Data.

Serbia has administered over two million doses of the vaccine – around?50% of its adult population according to the?Serbian government.?People?can currently choose between Pfizer-BioNTech, Astra Zeneca, Moderna, China’s Sinopharm or Russia’s Sputnik vaccine,?and the vaccination process is?open to all adults with no age limits. People can sign up online and turn up at any vaccination centre and, given the availability on the day, receive the vaccine very quickly.

In Monday’s interview with CNN,?Serbia’s prime minister stressed that?her country:

Brnabic told CNN that early negotiations were key to securing vaccine doses. “We were the second country in Europe – I mean after UK – the first country in continental Europe to get Pfizer vaccines, that’s basically the testimonial to how early we started negotiations, and we were the first country to receive Sinopharm vaccines.”

Preparation has meant that Serbia has raced ahead of the far richer and usually better-organized countries in Europe to offer all adult citizens five different vaccines to choose from, according to Brnabic.?

It now has the?highest vaccination rate in Europe, behind only the United Kingdom while the rest of the EU lags behind.

More than 80% of Chicagoans now eligible for Covid-19 vaccine

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the city is entering phase 1C of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout today, making all essential workers and people 16 and older with underlying medical conditions eligible for vaccination.?

Lightfoot made the announcement Monday afternoon in partnership with the Chicago Federation of Labor, at a vaccine site created specifically to serve union essential workers.?

“It’s our union essential workers that make up the backbone of the city,” Lightfoot said.

About 84% of adults in Chicago are now available to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, said Lightfoot, but “we are not out of the woods yet, by a long shot.”

The mayor spoke of a “troubling uptick” in the case positivity and daily case rates.??

“So folks, we’ve got to get back to what we know saves us, saves our family, saves people in our network, in our community. So, to everyone listening in right now and especially to our young people:?Please continue to remain vigilant and keep your guard up.?The actions that you take now will impact what we can all do in the future,” Lightfoot said.

WHO draft report on coronavirus origin sticks with theory it came from an animal

Covid-19 probably came to people through an animal and probably started spreading no more than a month or two before it was noticed in December of 2019, a World Health Organization draft report finds.?

The least likely source is a laboratory leak, WHO’s joint international team concluded.

WHO is scheduled to release the final report on its investigation into the origins of coronavirus on Tuesday, but a draft version of the report obtained by CNN shows there’s still no smoking gun and no evidence suggesting the virus was spreading any earlier than the very end of 2019.

The report gives four possible sources for the virus and the most likely scenario is via an intermediate animal host, possibly a wild animal captured and then raised on a farm.?

But the investigation has not found what the intermediate host might be. “The possible intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 remains elusive,” it reads.

Next likely is direct transmission from one of the animals known to carry a similar coronavirus, such as a bat or a pangolin. Possible but not probable is transmission from frozen or chilled food, and least likely is an accidental laboratory release, the report finds.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, that his personal opinion was the virus was released from a lab. The report says this is “extremely unlikely.”?

“There is no record of viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 in any laboratory before December 2019, or genomes that in combination could provide a SARS-CoV-2 genome,” it reads. “In view of the above, a laboratory origin of the pandemic was considered to be extremely unlikely.”

The role of the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan is also unclear. It’s possible the market was not the original source of the outbreak, but that the crowds that gathered at the market – which was densely packed, with a roof and open sewers – may have amplified the spread of the virus.

Samples found at the market showed the virus was there on surfaces, but no samples taken from animals or food sold at the market turned up the virus. Plus, there is evidence the virus was circulating before the Huanan market outbreak – including at other markets. “No firm conclusion therefore about the role of the Huanan market in the origin of the outbreak, or how the infection was introduced into the market, can currently be drawn,” the report concludes.

It recommends more testing of blood samples taken and stored before the first outbreak in December, more testing of animals from Southeast Asia, and more in-depth study of mass gatherings that could have aided the spread of the virus.

More than one in five US adults are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows

Maryland residents receive their second dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine at the Cameron Grove Community Center on March 25, 2021 in Bowie, Maryland.?

Nearly 146 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.?

The CDC reported that 145,812,835 total doses have been administered — about 81% of the 180,646,656 doses delivered.

That’s about 2.4 million more doses reported administered since yesterday, for a record-high seven-day average of about 2.8 million doses per day.?

Nearly 29% of the US population – more than 95 million people – have received at least one dose, and nearly 16% of the population – about 52.6 million people – are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows. Among those 18 and older, more than one in five are fully vaccinated.

Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported.

CDC adds substance abuse disorders to list of conditions that may increase risk of severe Covid-19

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its website to include substance abuse disorders in the agency’s list of underlying conditions that can increase risk for severe Covid-19.

The agency pointed to two new studies released at the end of 2020 that found that people who were infected with Covid-19 and had a history of substance use disorders — such as alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine use — had increased risks for hospitalization.?

The CDC also added a new page for clinicians that provided the scientific evidence for the CDC’s listing of specific underlying conditions that increased risk for severe Covid-19.

The agency also simplified previous language used to describe different levels of risk. The previous iteration of the list divided conditions between those that “are at increased risk of severe illness” and those that “might be at an increased risk for severe illness.”

The page now divides conditions as those which “can make you more likely to get severely ill from Covid-19” and those that “are more likely to get severely ill from Covid-19.”

Go There: CNN is in Havana, as Cuba begins to mass vaccinate with its homegrown vaccines

A nurse prepares a dose of the Soberana-02 Covid-19 vaccine in Havana, Cuba, on March 24.

Cuba is vaccinating 150,000 frontline workers with one of its homegrown Covid-19 vaccine candidates. It’s the first country?in Latin America to develop two vaccines that have advanced to the final phase three trials.?

The island nation says its vaccines will comply with international standards, and it will eventually sell or donate their vaccines to other countries.?

CNN correspondent Patrick Oppmann was live from Havana, answering your questions.

Watch more:

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11:35 - Source: cnn

American Airlines is preparing almost all the planes it put in storage in the pandemic

An American airlines Airbus A321-200 approaches Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia on February 24, 2021.?

American Airlines says?ticket sales are currently at about?90% of pre-pandemic levels and it will soon pull most of its idle aircraft out of storage.?

The airline says it “experienced softness in its bookings” at the start of this year, but “experienced recent strength in domestic and short-haul international bookings” thanks to a decline in coronavirus infection rates and an uptick in vaccine distribution.?

American said the load factor on its flights — a measure of the fullness of flights overall — is about 80%?over the past week.

The airline said it thinks bookings will remain strong?in this first half of this year, but warns the future is still murky.

Some background: The new details, part of the airline’s latest financial disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission, come as airline travel just recorded its biggest day of the pandemic,?and suggest the airline expects summer travel to continue growing.?The Transportation Security Administration screened 1.57 million people at airports on Sunday, continuing a weeks-long streak of screenings higher than one million.

On Monday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she fears “impending doom,” citing high travel numbers. “I know that travel is up and I just worry that we will see the surges that we saw over the summer and over the winter again.”

US will wait for government review of WHO Covid-19 report before taking next steps, White House says

The Biden administration will wait for government experts to conduct an independent review of the World Health Organization’s report on the origins of the coronavirus before announcing any steps forward, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

The report could be released to the public as soon as tomorrow after the agency’s member states receive a briefing on it, WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news conference earlier today.

When asked by CNN’s Phil Mattingly if the administration puts any stock into WHO’s findings, Psaki said the reporting is being reviewed by 17 experts across government agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National institutes of Health and others. Psaki said those public health experts “will be reviewing this report intensively and quickly.”?

Psaki also added that the US is communicating with its allies “to share our ongoing concerns, which we have stated in the past, of course, about the process and our scientific analysis of the report itself.”

While the report has not yet been released,?a source with knowledge of the report tells CNN that it finds animal to human transmission is the most likely cause of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The source said the report will find that it is most likely that “a bat, somewhere in China or in Southeast Asia, getting the virus into animals into the intermediate house, maybe in these wildlife farms that were very common at the time across South China, and then that getting into the market in Wuhan.”

The report deems it extremely unlikely that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab, according to the source.

Colorado will open vaccines to all adults on April 2

A dose from a vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is drawn at an event put on by the Thornton Fire Department on March 6, 2021 in Thornton, Colorado.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday that his state will allow all adults to receive the vaccine on April 2.

Polis, speaking at a news conference, noted that people 16 and older will be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine and those 18 and over will be?eligible for the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

In order to support the expansion in vaccination efforts, the governor said that Colorado hopes to have six major community vaccinations sites by April 2 across the state.

“We still anticipate by mid to late May — so that’s only less than six to eight weeks from now — everybody who wants to vaccine will have had the vaccine,” Polis said.

About?1.5 million Coloradans have gotten at least one shot and “about 1 million that are fully vaccinated,” the governor said.

Polis noted that by July, the state should have enough vaccinated people to “largely be able to return to normal.”

Biden will announce 90% of adults will be vaccine eligible in three weeks

President Joe Biden speaks with members of the press before Air Force One at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., Sunday, March 28, 2021.?

President Biden will announce in his remarks this afternoon that 90% of adults will be eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine within the next three weeks, an administration official confirms to CNN.

He will also announce they are at least doubling the number of pharmacies where people can get vaccinated.?

This development was first reported by Bloomberg News.?

GlaxoSmithKline will manufacture Novavax Covid-19 vaccines for use in UK

The British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Monday announced that it has agreed to support manufacturing up to 60 million doses of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate for use in the United Kingdom.

“We have ensured that we can deliver these volumes without impacting supply of our other vital medicines and vaccines, and without disruption to the other COVID-19 collaborations GSK is engaged in globally,”?Roger Connor, president of GSK vaccines, said in the announcement.

The UK government has secured 60 million doses of the vaccine under an “advance purchase” agreement with Novavax and?GSK noted in its announcement that it will provide?“fill and finish” manufacturing capacity at its Barnard Castle facility in England, beginning as early as May. “Fill and finish” means that vaccine vials will be both prepared and packaged.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in the announcement that “we remain on track to offer a first jab to all over 50s by 15 April, and all adults by the end of July, and I want to once again encourage everyone to?come forward for a vaccine when you’re called.”

In the United States, Novavax previously said it has plans to apply for emergency use authorization of its vaccine in the second quarter of the year.

New York state will open vaccine eligibility to people 16 and older on April 6

A pharmacist prepares the Pfizer vaccine at a pop-up vaccination clinic on March 26, 2021 in New York City.?

New York state announced all residents 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine beginning April 6 – with eligibility opening up to residents 30 years of age and older beginning at 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

Until Monday, New York had been one of two states that had not yet determined when it would open up vaccinations to people 16 and older.

More than 9 million total doses of vaccine have been administered across all vaccination sites, Cuomo said.

CDC director will speak to governors to "buckle down" on reopening too fast

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 18, 2021.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she will speak to governors soon to “buckle down” on reopening their states too fast.?

She made the comments during a Covid news briefing on Monday after she warned of her “impending doom” over concerns about another wave of coronavirus cases.

“The thing that is different this time is that we actually have it in our power to be done with the scale of the vaccination and that will be so much slower if we have another surge to deal with as well,” she added.?

Later in the briefing, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Walensky about whether she expects President Biden to re-up or extend his call for Americans to wear masks for 100 days.?

“With regard to the surging, we are working closely with the states. I will be speaking with the governors tomorrow to try and reinforce the need for current restrictions to not open up,” Walensky responded. “I think what we’ll do on masking will really depend on where we are 30 days from now,” she added.?

CDC director gives emotional warning of "impending doom" around Covid-19

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on March 18, in Washington, DC.

After announcing that the United States has surpassed 30 million cases of Covid-19, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a virtual White House briefing on Monday she had a feeling of “impending doom,” saying that “right now, I’m scared.”

“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. But right now, I’m scared,” Walensky said.

“I know what it’s like as a physician to stand in that patient room — gowned, gloved, masked, shielded — and to be the last person to touch someone else’s loved one, because they are not able to be there,” she continued.

Walensky said that the United States has come “such a long way” with three authorized vaccines and pleaded with the nation to keep following mitigation measures and “just please hold on a little while longer.”

She went on to further explain why she worries about “impending doom,” referencing how the country has seen a steady increase of coronavirus infections.

“What we’ve seen over the last week or so is a steady rise of cases,” Walensky said. “I know that travel is up, and I just worry that we will see the surges that we saw over the summer and over the winter again.”

Watch the moment:

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02:47 - Source: cnn

Germany urges countries to step up funding for global vaccination effort

Germany?has urged countries to increase their funding for global vaccination efforts, singling out the United States, China and Russia, as well as EU countries.

Gerd Müller, Germany’s Minister for Development Cooperation, claimed there is a shortfall global funding of?$29 billion (or 25 billion euros) needed to achieve the objective of vaccinating at least 25% of people in the poorest countries.??

Müller said vaccine production must be accelerated to vaccinate people in Africa, Latin America, Mexico, Peru and the Caribbean islands who are “are amongst the biggest victims of this pandemic.” He added that it is “shocking” that of the 536 million vaccine doses administered so far, 76% have gone to only ten mostly high income countries.

“Germany has increased its contribution by $1.77 billion (1.5 billion euros) recently, and I urge the world community international community and the European Union […] But the urge goes to other countries as well, China, Russia, the United States who re-joined WHO,” he said at a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions, CDC says

A healthcare professional administers a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Dublin, Ireland, on March 20.

Under real-world conditions, the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines provide highly effective protection, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At full vaccination, the vaccines were 90% effective at preventing infections, including infections that had no symptoms. At a single dose, they were?80% protective, according to the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published Monday.

The study looked at how the vaccines protected nearly 4,000 health care workers and first responders. The volunteers in the study worked in eight locations around the country and had been observed from mid-December to mid-March.

The CDC tested volunteers routinely regardless of symptoms. The CDC also monitored the volunteers through text message, e-mails and direct medical reports. The volunteers also did a nasal swab once a week.

Most of the volunteers, more than 62%, had received both doses of either a Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. More than 12% had received just a single dose.

Among the 2,961 people vaccinated with one or more doses and the 989 unvaccinated participants, a total of 205 had a positive PCR test for Covid-19, more than 87% of those cases had symptoms. Nearly 23% of the cases sought help from a doctor. There were two hospitalizations, but no deaths.

The results of this study are similar to what scientists saw in clinical trials for the vaccines, but studies like this are important to show how effective the vaccines are, particularly in a population that, through their work, can encounters a large number of people who have Covid-19.

“Reducing the risk for transmissible infection, which can occur among persons with asymptomatic infection or among persons several days before symptoms onset, is especially important among health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers given their potential to transmit the virus through frequent close contact with patients and the public,” the report concluded.??

Upcoming WHO report will deem Covid-19 lab leak extremely unlikely, source says

A report on the origins of Covid-19 set to be released by the World Health Organization Tuesday finds animal to human transmission the most likely cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a source with knowledge of the report.

The source said the report will find that it is most likely that “a bat, somewhere in China or in Southeast Asia, getting the virus into animals into the intermediate house, maybe in these wildlife farms that were very common at the time across South China, and then that getting into the market in Wuhan.”

The report deems it extremely unlikely that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab, according to the source.?

The report will also find the theory that the virus was imported to China in frozen food is possible, but not the most likely source of the spread, according to the source.?

“It’s certainly true that this virus can survive freezing and you know it’s possible that this could have happened, if you include in that frozen food cold chain pathway frozen wildlife and the type that carries coronaviruses, then it becomes much more plausible. In the end we came to the conclusion that it’s a possible pathway, but not the most likely,” the source said.

CDC extends US pandemic eviction moratorium through June 30

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended a moratorium on evictions of tenants who are unable to make rental payments, the agency announced Monday.

The moratorium is now extended through June 30. It was due to expire on Wednesday.

Moderna has shipped 100?million doses of vaccine to the US government

A dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is prepared in Severn, Maryland, on March 23.

Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna has shipped?the?100?millionth dose of its vaccine to the US government, the company announced Monday.?

“I would also like to thank the?Moderna?team, our suppliers and our?U.S.?manufacturing partners including Lonza and Catalent, for their tireless and extraordinary work in completing this important milestone,” she added.

In August, the Trump administration announced an agreement with the company to manufacture and deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine.?Since then, the US has ordered an additional 200 million doses from Moderna.

More than 67 million doses of the vaccine have been administered so far, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Moderna says it expected to ship 40 to 50 million doses per month to the US to fulfill its contracts. The 200 millionth dose is expected by the end of May and the 300?millionth dose by the end of July.

WHO plans to release report on Covid-19's origins tomorrow?

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on Monday, March 29.?

All hypotheses into the origins of the novel coronavirus are on the table and warrant complete and further study ahead of a long-awaited report that will be released on Tuesday, the World Health Organization’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

Tedros said the?WHO?received the full mission report over the weekend on the origins of the SARS-Cov-2 virus from the team that visited Wuhan earlier this year and this report was sent to member states under embargo. He said the two news agencies reporting details of a leaked mission report are only a draft or near final wording of the report.

He stressed the report is not public yet and there will be a briefing on Tuesday with member states about it.

However, he cautioned:?“All hypotheses are on the table, and warrant complete and further studies from what I have seen so far.”

US airline travel just hit the highest point of the pandemic

Travelers are seen at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on Friday, March 26.

The Transportation Security Administration reported a new pandemic-era air travel record. It screened more than 1.57 million people at US airports on Sunday, a new record that ousted the previous record set only a week before.

Air travel figures continue to ride high during this spring break period even as health experts fret over rising coronavirus infection rates in some states.

More than 9.5 million people have flown in the last week. Sunday’s number marked the 17th straight day when more than a million people have flown by air.

The latest number is more than eight times higher than the same day a year ago, when air travel was severely depressed by the pandemic and only 180,000 people flew.

While new figures are giving hope to the battered airline industry, there’s still a long way to get back to the pre-pandemic era.

The?TSA?screened more than 2.5 million people on the same day in 2019, meaning the latest figure is still only 62% of pre-pandemic air travel.

Slovenia to go into another lockdown in April

The Slovenian government moved to reinstate coronavirus restrictions in April due to a growing number of infections and hospitalizations.

“We’re in a race against time,” Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a press conference Sunday, announcing that public life in the country will essentially be suspended between April 1 and 12.

According to Jansa, the country aims to reach target vaccination coverage in June. In the meantime, Jansa said it’s necessary to reimpose restrictions to ease pressure on hospitals and curb the spread of a coronavirus variant first identified in the UK.

“Inaction would mean at least a few hundred additional deaths by June and could later lead to a drastic shutdown of public life due to the overburdened capacities of the Slovenian healthcare system,” the minister added, according to a readout on the government website.

Why now? Slovenia eased coronavirus restrictions in February, but the number of daily new infections has risen sharply since then, with around 943 cases reported on average each day in recent weeks.?

Slovenia’s Health Ministry reported that the country has so far vaccinated 5.3% of its 2 million population.

The country has reported over 212,000 Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Over 4,000 deaths have been recorded so far, making Slovenia one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union in correlation to the population’s size.

The epidemiological situation in neighboring Balkan and central European countries has also deteriorated sharply, forcing Slovenia to further limit cross-border travel.?

Mexico?receives?first?shipment?of?AstraZeneca?vaccines?from?the?US

Employees unload shipping containers of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, on March 28.

Mexico was expecting its first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the United States on Sunday night, the country’s foreign minister said.

Marcelo Ebrard said in a post on Twitter that a flight carrying 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses bound for Mexico City was due to land at 10.20 p.m. local time (12.20 a.m. ET Monday).?

“With this shipment, we’ll reach 12,323,595 vaccine doses received. Four of which were shipped or delivered this week,” he tweeted.

Ebrard thanked?US?President Joe Biden for authorizing the surplus doses for shipment, calling it “significant support at a critical moment that shows close cooperation?of?both countries.”

For context: The?US agreed?to?share four million excess doses?of?AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine with Canada and?Mexico.?Mexico?will?receive?2.5 million doses and Canada 1.5 million doses.

Mexico revealed the country’s death toll has increased to more than 321,000 – nearly 60% higher than previously reported – after the government revised its figures in a new report.

England takes its first cautious step out of lockdown

People take part in an exercise class, following the easing of England's lockdown, on Monday March 29, in Rothwell, West Yorkshire.

People in England are now allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to six or two households (with social distancing), as the first of the country’s coronavirus measures were eased Monday.

The country has been in full national lockdown since January 4, after a new, more transmissible variant of coronavirus was discovered in southeast England.

Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, swimming pools and golf courses have been permitted to reopen, and organized outdoor sports with an unlimited number of people have been given the thumbs up.

Weddings are no longer limited to exceptional circumstances but are only allowed a maximum of six attendees.

As the ‘stay at home’ level of Covid restrictions ended, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged caution as cases elsewhere in Europe continue to grow.

“I know how much people have missed the camaraderie and competition of organized sport, and how difficult it has been to restrict physical activities – especially for children,” Johnson said.?

?“I know many will welcome the increased social contact, with groups of 6 or two households now also able to meet outdoors,” he added.

While it is the most significant easing in England since schools returned on March 8, many businesses remain shuttered, people are still being encouraged to work from home where possible, and meeting indoors and travel abroad is still prohibited.

The rules are set to be relaxed further in coming weeks provided the UK vaccination program continues unhindered and infection rates don’t surge.

The next round of easing is due to take place no sooner than April 12 when non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen. At the same time, restaurants and pubs will be able to serve people outdoors.

Johnson’s government is hopeful that most of the economy will be able to open before the end of June.

Merkel says she is considering new restrictions to bring coronavirus under control

German leader Angela Merkel gives a press statement at the Chancellery in Berlin, on March 25.

German Chancellor Angela?Merkel?has suggested additional measures may be needed in the country to halt the ongoing spread of coronavirus.

In a rare interview with public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night, the long-time leader stood by her apology over proposing then scrapping Easter restrictions, admitting mistakes had been made.

Last week, Merkel walked back on her plan to?impose a new hard five-day lockdown over Easter. Although there are restrictions on social contact and gatherings, businesses will now only be closed as usual on the public holidays of Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

As Covid-19 cases rise across Germany, however, Merkel said that in addition to testing, further measures were being considered and could be introduced soon.

Merkel?deflected a question over whether she’d send Germany into another hard lockdown, instead suggesting that more people needed to work from home and that more testing for those going?into?work was needed.

She added: “We have?to?ensure that schools can only open if they can test twice a week, although even twice is not a lot.”

Some background: The number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,782,273 after an additional 9,872 instances were identified, the German agency for disease control and prevention said Monday.

The Robert Koch Institute said Germany’s death?toll stands at 75,913 – including 43?new?cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile the seven-day incidence rate now stands at 134.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

India sees 6th day of?record-high case numbers since last year

A health worker collects a swab sample from a person for Covid-19 testing on March 27 in Chandigarh, India.

India?recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases Monday, another single-day record since last year and the the sixth consecutive day that?India?has seen a record-high in cases in 2021.

The surge comes as Indians mark the festival of Holi, a celebration of colors, on Monday. Several states have banned public gatherings and the health ministry has asked citizens to celebrate with their family as opposed to venturing outdoors.?

India has so far recorded more than 12 million cases of Covid-19. At least 161,843 people have died, according to official data.

The?Indian Ministry of Health said that 60,530,435 vaccine doses have been distributed since mid-January.

Taiwan and Palau to launch "travel bubble" this week

Palau President Surangel Whipps waves after arriving at the Taoyuan International Airport on March 28.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. traveled to Taiwan on Sunday to kick off a “travel bubble” between the two islands, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA).

Whipps hailed the move as a first-of its-kind “sterile corridor,” according to CNA. It will enable travellers to come and go without undergoing the strict quarantine procedures common throughout Asia.

Travellers participating in the bubble will not have to undergo quarantine at a home or a hotel, but will instead be expected to practice “enhanced self-health management” for the first five days of their trips, CNA reported.

After a five-day state visit, Whipps will return to Palau, a group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, on a flight that will carry the first group of Taiwanese tourists participating the program.

About 143 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the US, according to CDC data?

Toyota factory worker receives the Covid-19 Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine in Buffalo, West Virginia on March 26.

About 143 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Sunday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.?

The CDC reported that 143,462,691 total doses have been administered, about 79% of the 180,646,465 doses available.?

That’s about 3.3 million more administered doses reported since yesterday, for a 7-day average of about 2.7 million doses per day.??

About 28.2% of the population – 94 million people – have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 15.5% of the population – about 52 million people – have been fully vaccinated.?

Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported.?

Mexico reveals Covid-19 death toll nearly 60% higher than officially reported

Aerial view of graves at a special area designated for Covid-19 victims, at the Municipal Pantheon of Valle de Chalco in Mexico, on March 26.

Mexico’s government has revealed the country’s Covid-19 death toll is over 321,000 – 60% more than the 201,429 total deaths officially reported as of Saturday.

According to a new government report, from the start of the pandemic through February 14, 2021, there were 294,287 deaths from Covid-19.

Since then, there have been 27,223 additional deaths, according to a CNN analysis of health ministry data, bringing the total to over 321,000.

If the data in this report is correct, Mexico’s death toll would be higher than Brazil’s and would place the country as second worst hit in the world, following the United States.

Covid-19 variants aren’t the only reason for a spike in US cases, expert says?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday that while Covid-19 variants are playing a part in recent spikes in the number of cases, they’re not the only reason.?

Fauci added there is a risk that as numbers come down from a peak and reach a point where new case figures start to plateau, if “you stay at that plateau, you’re really in danger of a surge coming up, and unfortunately that’s what we’re starting to see.”??

Fauci said that the US “got stuck” at around 50,000 new cases per day and then went up to 60,000, something which he said is “really a risk.” It has been seen in the US and also in several European countries, he said.?

30 million people across the UK have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine

A Carlisle man receives the AstraZeneca/Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine at the Penrith Auction Mart Vaccination Centre on March 25 in Penrith, England.

More than 30 million people across the United Kingdom have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the NHS prepares to administer millions of second doses in the coming weeks, according to the UK Department of Health.?

Here’s a look at who’s received vaccinations in the UK so far:

  • More than 33 million jabs administered overall
  • Over 95% of people aged 60 and over have been vaccinated with first dose in England

Everyone over 50, or those who are clinically vulnerable are urged to come forward for vaccines as soon as possible, the department says.

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