WASHINGTON — A U.S. advisory panel has endorsed the brand new one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson as a 3rd choice to bolster the nationwide effort in opposition to the coronavirus pandemic.
Advisers to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention voted overwhelmingly to suggest the vaccine for adults 18 years outdated and up. The ruling adopted emergency clearance of the vaccine by U.S. regulators a day earlier.
Members of the group emphasised that every one three vaccines now obtainable within the U.S. are extremely protecting in opposition to the worst results of the virus, together with hospitalization and loss of life.
J&J plans to ship a number of million vaccine doses to states within the coming week, delivering a complete of 20 million photographs by the top of March. Well being officers are desirous to have an easier-to-use vaccine in opposition to COVID-19, which has killed greater than 511,000 People and continues to mutate in troubling methods.
CDC suggestions usually are not binding on state governments or medical doctors, however are broadly heeded by the medical neighborhood. The identical CDC panel beforehand beneficial use of the 2 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna approved in December.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Fraud is overwhelming pandemic-related unemployment applications. J&J’s one-dose shot cleared, giving U.S. a third COVID-19 vaccine to make use of. Well being consultants are urging Pope Francis to rethink his March trip to Iraq, saying that might change into an enormous superspreading occasion for the virus. Plunging demand for COVID-19 assessments might depart US uncovered. Biden crew readies a broader economic measure after virus reduction.
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Observe all of AP’s pandemic protection at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is canceling about 7,200 coronavirus vaccine appointments after an error within the state well being division’s registration web site allowed individuals with out qualifying circumstances to register for the photographs.
Division spokesman Tom Hudachko mentioned in a press release that the error allowed residents who usually are not 65 or older or who don’t have an underlying medical situation to enroll.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Sunday these appointments are being canceled.
Individuals who meet the state’s circumstances can hold their vaccine appointments scheduled by means of Vaccinate.utah.gov. Public college lecturers and first responders are also eligible for vaccines.
Utah to date has administered greater than 680,000 vaccine doses and estimates that 10% of its three.2 million inhabitants has been absolutely vaccinated.
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ATHENS, Greece — Greek well being authorities have introduced that 70 specialised intensive care items will likely be added to Athens hospitals as excessive hospitalization charges have practically stuffed the obtainable ones.
The Athens space together with a number of others throughout the nation are underneath lockdown till March Eight, with most retailers closed, faculties working on distance studying and a 9 p.m. curfew, however many consultants discuss of extending this for a minimum of one other week.
On Sunday, authorities introduced 1,269 new COVID-19 instances, together with 36 deaths. This brings the variety of confirmed instances because the begin of the pandemic to 191,100, with 6,504 deaths. There are 391 sufferers on ventilators in ICUs, near a file excessive.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s capital has entered a two-week lockdown, becoming a member of a number of states in adopting measures to cut back the unfold of COVID-19 as intensive care beds start to fill in some necessary cities.
At the least eight Brazilian states adopted curfews over the previous week because of the rise in instances and deaths from COVID-19. Thursday was Brazil’s deadliest day because the starting of the pandemic, with 1,541 deaths confirmed from the virus. To this point 254,000 individuals have died total.
Brasilia Gov. Ibaneis Rocha decreed the whole closure of bars, eating places, buying malls and faculties till March 15 and prohibited gatherings of individuals. Sale of alcoholic drinks was prohibited after Eight p.m.
Within the federal district, 85% of hospital beds had been occupied on Sunday, in accordance with the native well being ministry.
President Jair Bolsonaro once more criticized such measures, saying on his Twitter account: “The individuals wish to work.” He threatened on Friday to chop off federal emergency pandemic help to states resorting to lockdowns.
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ROME — Whereas new COVID-19 instances surge in Italy’s north, the island of Sardinia has earned coveted ‘’white zone’’ standing, permitting for night eating and ingesting at eating places and cafes and the reopening after months of closure of gyms, cinemas and theaters.
Earlier this 12 months, the Italian authorities added ‘’white zone’’ standing to its color-coded system of restrictions on companies and faculties, with “crimson zone” designation carrying the strictest measures.
Beginning on Monday, the area of Sardinia, with an incidence of fewer than 50 instances per 100,000 residents, will have the ability to enable probably the most liberties since a second wave of coronavirus infections final fall prompted the federal government to tighten restrictions nationwide after easing them throughout summer time.
The Well being Ministry report overlaying the third week of February exhibits nationwide incidence was 145 instances per 100,000 inhabitants, and several other areas had far greater incidence.
The Mediterranean island of Sardinia is a well-liked trip vacation spot. Final summer time, crowds at seaside discos and golf equipment there have been cited as an element within the climb in an explosion of instances in Italy within the final months of 2020.
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TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has surpassed 60,000 identified coronavirus-related deaths, the most recent grim milestone for the hardest-hit nation within the Center East.
The Well being Ministry reported 93 new deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday and greater than Eight,000 new infections, pushing the whole an infection depend over 1.63 million.
After greater than a 12 months of the pandemic, deaths from COVID-19 lately have declined in Iran as motion restrictions within the capital have set in, together with inter-city journey bans, masks mandates and faculty closures.
The federal government on Sunday banned incoming vacationers from a listing of 32 nations, together with Britain and different states in Africa and Latin America, as a consequence of fears of latest virus variants.
Over the 12 months, Iran has struggled with surges that at occasions overwhelmed its well being system as authorities resisted a complete lockdown to salvage an economic system crippled by U.S. sanctions.
Iran’s vaccine drive lately has gotten underway, with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine administered to well being staff this month. A further 250,000 doses by the Chinese language state-backed pharmaceutical Sinopharm arrived in Iran over the weekend.
The nation can be accelerating efforts to supply a home vaccine, starting human trials for its second vaccine on Sunday.
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BERLIN — The German illness management company is including France’s Moselle area to its checklist of areas with a excessive charge of variant coronavirus instances, which means vacationers from there’ll face further hurdles when crossing the border into neighboring Germany.
The Robert Koch Institute mentioned Sunday that the restrictions would come into drive at midnight on March 2, placing Moselle on a par with nations such because the Czech Republic, Portugal and the UK.
Vacationers from these areas should produce a current damaging coronavirus check earlier than crossing the German border. The measure is prone to have an effect on many individuals who dwell on one facet of the frontier and work on the opposite.
The Moselle area in northeastern France contains the town of Metz and borders with the German states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Clement Beaune, the French minister for European affairs, mentioned France regrets the choice and is in negotiations with Germany to attempt to lighten the measures for 16,000 inhabitants of Moselle who work throughout the border.
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LONDON — Britain’s authorities says households with youngsters in class will likely be supplied with free coronavirus house check kits as a part of plans for faculties to reopen starting on March Eight.
Free, twice-weekly assessments will likely be offered to youngsters’s households no matter whether or not anybody has signs, officers mentioned Sunday. The assessments may even be provided to adults working with faculties, together with bus drivers.
Schooling Secretary Gavin Williamson mentioned testing relations will present “one other layer of reassurance to folks and schooling workers that faculties are as protected as doable.” Colleges in England have been closed besides to youngsters of key staff since January.
Britain can be racing forward with its vaccination program, with virtually 20 million within the U.Okay. who’ve now had a primary jab. Some 2 million individuals aged 60 to 63 in England will begin getting invites to ebook their photographs starting on Monday. The federal government goals to supply a primary jab to all adults by the top of July.
Britain has Europe’s worst virus loss of life toll at practically 123,000 lifeless.
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BUDAPEST — Hungary’s prime minister on Sunday acquired a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China as his nation goals to spice up vaccination charges utilizing jabs developed in japanese nations.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted pictures on Fb of himself being inoculated with the Sinopharm vaccine. Hungary final week grew to become the primary nation within the European Union to start utilizing the Chinese language jab.
Hungary’s authorities has been essential of the pace of the EU’s vaccination program, and has bought vaccines from Russia and China to spice up procurements.
“The vaccines reserved by the EU are merely not arriving, and they’re arriving extra slowly than predicted. If we didn’t have the Russian and Chinese language vaccines, we’d be in massive hassle,” Orban mentioned throughout a radio interview on Friday.
He earlier mentioned he would select to obtain the Sinopharm vaccine as a result of he trusted it probably the most.
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ROME — Infectious illness consultants are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming journey to Iraq, given a pointy rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile well being care system and the unavoidable chance that Iraqis will crowd to see him.
Nobody needs to inform Francis to name it off, and the Iraqi authorities has each curiosity in exhibiting off its relative stability by welcoming the primary pope to the birthplace of Abraham. The March 5-Eight journey is predicted to supply a sorely-needed religious increase to Iraq’s beleaguered Christians.
However from a purely epidemiological standpoint, a papal journey to Iraq amid a world pandemic is just not advisable, well being consultants say.
“I simply don’t suppose it’s a good suggestion,” mentioned Dr. Navid Madani of Harvard Medical College’s Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute. “This might probably result in unsafe or superspreading dangers.”
Their considerations had been bolstered with the information Sunday that the Vatican ambassador to Iraq, the primary level individual for the journey, examined optimistic for COVID-19 and was self-isolating. The embassy mentioned Archbishop Mitja Leskovar’s signs had been gentle and that he was persevering with to arrange for Francis’ go to.
Past his case, consultants word that wars, financial crises and an exodus of Iraqi professionals have devastated the nation’s hospital system, whereas research present most of Iraq’s new COVID-19 infections are the highly-contagious variant first recognized in Britain.
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ANKARA, Turkey — Touring throughout roads lined with ice and snow, vaccination groups have been going to Turkey’s remoted mountain villages as the federal government seeks to inoculate 60% of the nation’s individuals in opposition to coronavirus over the following three months.
After a lot effort, medical staff arrived Friday to vaccinate older villagers in Gumuslu, a small settlement of 350 within the central province of Sivas that lies 140 miles (230 kilometers) from the provincial capital.
“It’s a troublesome problem to return right here,” mentioned Dr Rustem Hasbek, head of Sivas Well being Providers. “The geography is hard, the local weather is hard, as you may see.”
Turkey rolled out the Chinese language Sinovac vaccine on Jan. 14 and has to date given out Eight.2 million doses. Ankara has additionally ordered four.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Well being Minister Fahrettin Koca mentioned Turkey goals to vaccinate 52.5 million individuals by the top of Could.
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HELSINKI — Police in Denmark mentioned eight individuals had been arrested following in an anti-lockdown demonstration with 1,200 individuals within the middle of Copenhagen, the Danish capital.
The demonstration proceeded largely peacefully Saturday however these detained are suspected of behaving violently in opposition to police or violating fireworks laws, police mentioned. Contributors gathered in a sq. in entrance of Copenhagen’s city corridor.
The rally was organised by a bunch figuring out as “Males in Black Denmark.” It was the primary demonstration in Copenhagen because the Danish authorities final week that it was extending a number of anti-coronavirus restrictions.
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BANGKOK — Thailand began its first vaccinations Sunday with 200 public well being officers receiving the Sinovac vaccine from China.
Well being Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was given the primary shot at a hospital close to Bangkok, adopted by the deputy well being minister and different senior officers.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who attended the vaccination ceremony, mentioned the general public ought to believe within the security and effectiveness of the vaccine, because it has been authorized by authorities in Thailand and different nations.
Prayuth didn’t obtain the vaccine on Sunday as a result of he’s older than Sinovac’s beneficial age, which is 18-59. Prayuth is 66.
Thailand acquired the primary 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine on Wednesday. They’re a part of the federal government’s plan that has to date secured 2 million doses from Sinovac and 61 million doses from AstraZeneca.
Thailand has had greater than 25,000 confirmed instances and 83 deaths from COVID-19.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. now has a 3rd vaccine to stop COVID-19.
The Meals and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with only one dose as a substitute of two.
Well being consultants have anxiously awaited a one-and-done possibility to assist pace vaccinations. The virus has already killed greater than 510,000 individuals within the U.S. and is mutating in more and more worrisome methods.
The FDA mentioned J&J’s vaccine presents robust safety in opposition to what issues most: severe sickness, hospitalizations and loss of life. One dose was 85% protecting in opposition to probably the most extreme COVID-19 sickness, in an enormous research that spanned three continents.
