January 4 coronavirus news

By Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Zamira Rahim and Ed Upright, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, January 5, 2021
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2:23 p.m. ET, January 4, 2021

Texas congresswoman tests positive for Covid-19

From CNN's Manu Raju

Samuel Corum/Getty Image/FILE
Samuel Corum/Getty Image/FILE

Rep. Kay Granger, a Republican from Texas, has tested positive for coronavirus, her office announced in a statement Monday.

Read the statement: 

“When she arrived in DC for the beginning of the 117th Congress, Congresswoman Kay Granger was tested for coronavirus in accordance with the Attending Physician’s guidance for Members when traveling from their home state. She was later notified that she tested positive and immediately quarantined. Having received the vaccine in December, she is asymptomatic and feeling great! She will remain under the care of the her doctor.”

Read more on the members of Congress who have tested positive for coronavirus or its antibodies here.

1:51 p.m. ET, January 4, 2021

CDC says 15.4 million coronavirus vaccine doses distributed in US, but just 4.5 million people immunized

From CNN’s Maggie Fox

A health care worker receives the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the Hartford Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday, January 4.
A health care worker receives the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at the Hartford Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday, January 4. Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

Just over 15.4 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been distributed in the US, but only 4.5 million people have been given their first doses as of 9 a.m. on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

That’s just 337,000 more doses than were given out as of Saturday, according to the CDC.

US federal health officials have been trying to explain why so few vaccines have been given out, after repeated promises to have vaccinated 20 million people by the end of December. Earlier Monday, Operation Warp Speed chief scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui said “nothing has gone wrong,” even as he acknowledged delays. 

“We worked with the states to immunize. We agree that there is a lag. We’ll work with the states,” Slaoui told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day.” Officials have also revised their forecasts to say 20 million doses would be distributed by the end of 2020, but Monday’s numbers show the US is still nearly 5 million doses short of the distribution goal.

The CDC said 2.5 million doses have been distributed to long term care facilities and 365,294 people have been given vaccines in those facilities. The CDC said the reported numbers can take 72 hours to come in.

1:50 p.m. ET, January 4, 2021

UK coronavirus alert level should move from Level 4 to Level 5, medical officials say

From CNN's Nada Bashir

An ambulance at the Royal Free Hospital in London, on Monday, January 4.
An ambulance at the Royal Free Hospital in London, on Monday, January 4. Hollie Adams/Bloomberg/Getty Images

UK Chief Medical Officers and the NHS England Medical Director have recommended that the national coronavirus alert level be moved from Level 4 to Level 5 in response to rising cases and growing pressure on the country’s National Health Service (NHS). 

“Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the four UK Chief Medical Officers and NHS England Medical Director recommend that the UK Alert Level should move from Level 4 to Level 5,” UK Chief Medical Officers said in a statement on Monday. 

“Many parts of the health systems in the four nations are already under immense pressure. There are currently very high rates of community transmission, with substantial numbers of COVID patients in hospitals and in intensive care,” they added. 

According to the statement, the spread of the “new more transmissible variant” has led to rising cases “almost everywhere” in the UK.

“We are not confident that the NHS can handle a further sustained rise in cases and without further action there is a material risk of the NHS in several areas being overwhelmed over the next 21 days,” UK Chief Medical Officers said. 

The statement comes just hours ahead of a national address from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is expected to outline new measures the government will be taking to tackle the spread of the virus. 

1:22 p.m. ET, January 4, 2021

Fauci wants to look at data before commenting on half-doses of Moderna vaccine

From CNN's Elizabeth Cohen

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks before receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health on December 22, 2020 in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks before receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health on December 22, 2020 in Bethesda, Maryland. Patrick Semansky/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci says he wants to look at the data from vaccine clinical trials before giving an opinion whether it’s a good idea to give half-doses of the Moderna vaccine, he told CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen Monday.

Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said the FDA will meet this week to consider giving half-doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine to people ages 18-55.

Slaoui told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta that earlier data showed that binding and neutralizing antibody responses were similar among participants under 55 who received either 100-microgram or 50-microgram doses.

While an FDA briefing document last month also references these “comparable” immune responses from Moderna’s Phase 2 study, the full data have not yet been published.

“He’s saying that the half dose for younger people is as good as the full dose, but I want to check that out myself before I start talking about it,” Fauci said. “I totally trust [Slaoui]. But I want to look at the data myself.”

11:35 a.m. ET, January 4, 2021

California nurse receives second dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Stella Chan

Nurse Helen Cordova receives the second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, January 4.
Nurse Helen Cordova receives the second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, January 4. CNN

A nurse in California is one of the first to receive the second dose of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine Monday morning. 

Helen Cordova, an intensive care unit nurse at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, was visibly exuberant under her mask as she sat in the patient’s chair. 

She said the second dose and getting closer to immunity is comforting.

“Having the vaccine is offering just a little more hope and that extra assurance that we’re a little more protected. I think I compared the vaccine to sort of like an internal PPE that my body’s building up and that’s really encouraging because I want to protect my family,” said Cordova, who also lives with her mother who has an extensive medical history. “There’s always that fear of ‘will I bring something home from work,’ even if I take all the precautions,” she told CNN photographer Tom Larson.

Cordova said it is “mind-blowing” and “monumental” to receive the vaccination. She was reluctant to call herself a hero.

“I’m a nurse, a daughter, aunt, friend. Hero — it carries a big weight in my eyes,” she said but eschews the label. “This is what we went into the healthcare industry for,” she said humbly. She is thankful for the opportunity to be among the first to receive the vaccine. Cordova was with a group of nurses to receive the first group of Covid-19 patients, “so it was more of a coming full circle.”

Some more context: Last month, Cordova spoke to CNN’s Briana Keilar after she received the first dose and said she was hesitant about the vaccine but changed her mind after engaging credible sources. “I sought out information, I spoke to fellow co-workers, physicians, anyone that was an expert in the field within my access and tried to really get more information on the vaccine to make that decision,” she said.

10:53 a.m. ET, January 4, 2021

New York City wants to vaccinate all first responders and educators in the next few weeks, mayor says

A member of FDNY EMS receives a Covid-19 vaccine at the FDNY Fire Training Academy in New York on December 23.
A member of FDNY EMS receives a Covid-19 vaccine at the FDNY Fire Training Academy in New York on December 23. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he wants to see all first responders, educators and school staff to be vaccinated in the next few weeks of January, but reminded residents its contingent on eligibility criteria.

Beginning Monday, testing site workers, contact tracers, outpatient and ambulatory care providers, dentists, physical therapist, worker at specialized clinics and NYPD medical staff can be vaccinated, he said. 

“We need to move quickly we need to move urgently,” he said adding “I want us to immediately get to work expanding the number of people kind of people who can get the vaccine.” “I want in the month of January, in the next few weeks, I want to see us start to vaccinate educators and school staff, I want to see us vaccinate first responders of all kinds, cops, firefighters, across the spectrum,” he added. Right now the focus is on healthcare heroes and nursing homes, he reminded. The city is vaccinating in line with state guidance.

In order to achieve the goal of 1 million vaccinations by the end of January the mayor said the city will need help, specifically “flexibility” from the state, “support” from the federal government and for manufacturers of the vaccine delivering on schedule.

Sites are being expanded to increase capacity, officials said. The mayor announced two new pop-up clinics, five new NYC Health + Hospitals vaccination sites and three new NYC vaccine hubs to be propped up this weekend. The three hubs will be at educational buildings in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

The first New York City healthcare workers to receive the vaccine will receive their second dose this week, NYC Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said. He reiterated the need for expanded eligibility guidelines and said the city would like to begin vaccinating its seniors mainly those over 75 years of age.

“We also need the federal government to pick up the pace of vaccination through its programs like the nursing home program operated by CVS and Walgreens,” Chokshi said. “Just as I ask of our hospitals, we need them working 7 days a week, and on holidays, which I should point out they did not do this past weekend.”
10:24 a.m. ET, January 4, 2021

Someone has died of Covid-19 every 33 seconds in the US over the past week

From CNN's Michael Nedelman

The United States has seen an average of 1 death related to Covid-19 every 33 seconds over the past week, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

There were 18,462 deaths reported over the past week – from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3 – an average of more than 2,600 deaths per day.

December was the country’s deadliest month of the pandemic: 77,572 deaths total, or just more than 2,500 deaths per day on average.

In comparison, the month of November saw about 36,964 deaths; April saw 60,738; May saw 41,703.

10:17 a.m. ET, January 4, 2021

Most of Scotland will enter lockdown at midnight

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pictured at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on December 30.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pictured at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on December 30. Jeff J Mitchell/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Most of mainland Scotland will be subject to stay-at-home orders starting at midnight Tuesday local time, according to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Sturgeon announced the order to the Scottish Parliament Monday afternoon saying it will be "similar to the lockdown of March this year."

The stay-at-home order will apply to all parts of Scotland that are in Level 4, which includes most of the mainland. Most of the Scottish islands will remain in Level 3, she said.

The order will impose a "legal requirement" on Scottish residents "to stay at home except for essential purpose," including caring responsibilities, essential shopping, essential exercise and being part of an extended household. 

Unlike the previous spring lockdown, there will be no limit on the frequency of outdoor exercise.

From Tuesday, a maximum of two adults from two households may meet outdoors.

No one may travel into or out of Scotland unless it is for an essential purpose. Places of worship have also closed except for broadcasting purposes. 

Schools will remain closed until February 1 with Sturgeon calling this the "most difficult decision to take." Sturgeon stressed that the level of community transmission is "too high" for them to reopen. During this period Scottish students will continue with remote learning. Vulnerable children and the children of front-line workers will be excepted from this rule. 

All Scottish residents must work from home unless they are absolutely unable to do so. The order will come into law from Tuesday and will stay in place for the full of January with Sturgeon saying she could not rule out the measures being extended or altered. 

Sturgeon said that the stay-at-home order was prompted by a surge in the country's positivity and hospitalization rate.

"In the week from the 23rd to the 30th of December, the 7-day incidence of cases per 100,000 population increased by 65% from 136 per 100,225 per 100,000" she said.

Regarding hospitalizations she added that she expected the latest numbers "to show that nationally, the total number of COVID patients in hospital is now close to the April peak."

Experts "estimate that we are possibly about four weeks behind the position in London, and the southeast of England" Sturgeon said.

"We have an opportunity in Scotland to avert the situation here deteriorating, to that extent, but we must act quickly."

Sturgeon concluded that "it is essential that we further limit interaction between different households to stem the spread and bring the situation back under control."

9:31 a.m. ET, January 4, 2021

White House vaccine chief acknowledges the lag in vaccinations

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Residents wait in line to receive Covid-19 vaccinations at the King's Point retirement home in Delray Beach, Florida, on December 30.
Residents wait in line to receive Covid-19 vaccinations at the King's Point retirement home in Delray Beach, Florida, on December 30. Saul Martinez/Bloomberg/Getty Images

White House vaccine chief Moncef Slaoui told CNN he agrees there is a lag in vaccinations across the US.

“I wish we had vaccinated 20 million, obviously. We worked day and night to have these vaccines available and we will continue to work days and night to have them immunized,” he said Monday.

More than 4.2 million people had been given the first dose of coronavirus vaccines as of Monday morning and 13 million doses had been distributed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Covid Data Tracker. But the US needs to go faster. The federal government had repeatedly promised 20 million people would have received their first shots by the end of the year.

Slaoui said he is optimistic that the vaccinations will ramp up and emphasized the role of states in accelerate these immunization efforts or ask the federal government for help.

“It's been two and a half weeks, almost three weeks, and indeed it has been slower than planned,” he said. “[States] will do better, and they will ask us for help. We are inviting them to ask them for help and we help them.”

“We have ambitious objectives and if we don't meet them, we take accountability and we'll work to find solutions rather than describe the problem,” he added.

Watch the interview: