January 23 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Brett McKeehan and Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 12:26 a.m. ET, January 24, 2021
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2:53 p.m. ET, January 23, 2021

New York governor announces distribution of Covid-19 vaccination kits

Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at a Covid-19 pop-up vaccination site at William Reid Apartments in Brooklyn, New York, on January 23.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at a Covid-19 pop-up vaccination site at William Reid Apartments in Brooklyn, New York, on January 23. Mary Altaffer/Pool/AP

New York state is deploying Covid-19 vaccination kits to four additional New York City public housing sites and eight more churches to try and “strengthen fairness and equity in the vaccine distribution process,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

“The undeniable fact is that Covid has killed the Black and Latino communities at a higher rate than the white community. There is no getting around that and it's why New York has made ensuring fairness and equity in the vaccine distribution such a priority,” he said.

More context: New York state reported a Covid-19 positivity rate of 5.26% on Saturday, down from 5.65% on Friday, Cuomo said during a news conference Saturday.

Overall, hospitalizations are down statewide and New York City has a 5.71% positivity rate. There are 144 more New Yorkers who have died due to Covid-19, Cuomo said.

12:58 p.m. ET, January 23, 2021

Biden administration has set a "strikingly different" tone on pandemic response, Fauci says

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

Dr. Anthony Fauci arrives for an event with President Joe Biden at the White House on January 21.
Dr. Anthony Fauci arrives for an event with President Joe Biden at the White House on January 21. Alex Brandon/AP

The Biden administration has set a “strikingly different” tone on coronavirus pandemic response than the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday.

During an MSNBC interview, Fauci said that after meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, it’s clear to him that “science will rule, and science will speak,” when it comes to coronavirus response.

Serving under the Trump administration, Fauci said he was often in the uncomfortable position of having to contradict Trump’s misinformation about Covid-19.

“I had to do it, because I felt that the only way that I could maintain, not only my own credibility, but the credibility of the scientific enterprise, was to speak the truth all the time,” he said. 

“There was the constant pressure that sometimes the truth would be upsetting to some people,” including Trump and those around him, said Fauci. 

He added that political appointees on the White House coronavirus task force were in an “even more difficult situation.”

12:41 p.m. ET, January 23, 2021

Democrats working on legislation to provide payments per child during the pandemic

From CNN's Daniella Diaz

House Democrats are working on drafting legislation proposed by President Joe Biden that would direct the IRS to send recurring monthly payments to American families to expand the child tax credit, a source familiar confirmed to CNN. 

In one draft of the proposal, the IRS would deposit checks worth $300 every month per child younger than 6 and $250 every month per child age 6 to 17.

This would give parents $3,000 per year for each child between the ages of 6 to 17, and $3,600 per child under age 6.

Biden said previously that he wants to expand the child tax credit to help working families during the pandemic.

The source familiar confirmed that House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal is directly involved in the effort to write the expansion of the child tax credit, as well as House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro. 

The proposed legislation was first reported by the Washington Post.

11:48 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

Still too soon to tell whether the Covid-19 variant discovered in UK is more deadly, NIH director says

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, listens during a hearing in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2020.
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, listens during a hearing in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2020. Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images

It’s still too soon to tell whether the Covid-19 variant first discovered in the UK is more deadly, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins said Saturday.

Health experts believe the variant is likely more contagious. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that the variant may also be “associated with a higher degree of mortality” in infected patients. 

“Let's be clear – this is very preliminary data,” Collins told MSNBC. “It looks as if, if you look at 1,000 people who got infected with Covid-19, generally about 1%, 10 of them, would die of it. Maybe with this virus, it would be 13 instead of 10. That's a small difference.”

The UK government's chief scientific adviser noted that hospitalization data did not show an increased risk of mortality for those infected with the variant.  

“And you can't be sure when they're quoting those numbers that this might not also be a consequence of the fact that the UK health system is really overwhelmed, and that has an effect also on mortality,” Collins noted.

Collins cited preliminary research showing that the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines likely provide some protection against this variant. The variant first discovered in South Africa, Collins noted, is “a bit more of a concern.”

 

11:54 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

Biden spoke with Mexico's president about immigration and Covid-19

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador holds a news conference in Mexico City on November 5, 2020.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador holds a news conference in Mexico City on November 5, 2020. Ismael Rosas/Eyepix Group/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

President Joe Biden spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday to discuss numerous regional issues, including immigration and the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said in a news release.

"[Biden] outlined his plan to reduce migration by addressing its root causes, increasing resettlement capacity and lawful alternative immigration pathways, improving processing at the border to adjudicate requests for asylum, and reversing the previous administration’s draconian immigration policies," the release said.

The release added: "The two leaders agreed to work closely to stem the flow of irregular migration to Mexico and the United States, as well as to promote development in the Northern Triangle of Central America. They also recognized the importance of coordination to combat the Covid-19 pandemic."

7:22 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

The UK has the "highest death rate" in the world

From CNN’s Haley Brink and Rob Picheta

The United Kingdom currently tops the global list of highest deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The country reported its highest ever single day death toll on Wednesday with 1,820 daily new deaths reported, and has been averaging about 1,240 daily new deaths over the last seven days.

Country-by-country comparisons are imperfect, given that they rely on data from each individual nation.

But the UK's recorded death toll, from a population of 66 million, far outweighs the record tolls in other major countries, including the US, on a per capita basis.

So far the United Kingdom has tallied 96,166 total deaths since the pandemic began. 

Countries with the highest deaths per capita

  1. United Kingdom: 142.53
  2. Czech Republic: 140.91
  3. Italy: 139.34
  4. United States: 125.35
  5. Spain: 117.80
6:24 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

What "vaccine passports" mean for your summer vacation

From CNN's Barry Neild

The words "vaccine passport" have a reassuring ring to them, perhaps conjuring up the image of a sleek, embossed document with watermarked pages and official stamps of approval. Flourished at border controls, it would open travel doors that, for so many of us, have been closed by Covid-19.

Some destinations -- including the Seychelles, Cyprus and Romania -- have already lifted quarantine requirements to visitors able to prove they're vaccinated. Others, such as Iceland and Hungary, have opened up to people who've recovered from Covid-19.

This raises the prospect that proof of inoculation or immunity could be the golden ticket to rebooting travel and seems good news for people eager to book summer vacations after months of lockdown, particularly as vaccine rollouts gather pace.

They could open up the restaurants, bars, cinemas and other leisure and entertainment facilities whose closure over the past year have left many teetering on the edge of -- or already victim to -- financial ruin.

Tech companies such as IBM are also trying to get in on the act, developing smartphone apps or digital wallets into which individuals can upload details of Covid-19 tests and vaccinations. These are gaining support from major travel industry players.

5:09 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

FDA gives approval for syringes to extract an extra dose from vials of the Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Travis Caldwell

A pharmacist prepares a syringe of the Pfizer BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine in Tucson, Arizona, on January 15.
A pharmacist prepares a syringe of the Pfizer BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine in Tucson, Arizona, on January 15. Cheney Orr/Bloomberg/Getty Images

As the US set a new daily record for Covid-19 inoculations and states clamored for more vaccine supplies, Pfizer and the FDA said pharmacists and health practitioners can in some cases extract an additional dose from each vial.

Originally, each vial of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was designed to contain five doses, but some pharmacists reported they could extract six doses when using certain syringes.

As a result, the FDA approved an updated label that states: "Low dead-volume syringes and/or needles can be used to extract six doses from a single vial. If standard syringes and needles are used, there may not be sufficient volume to extract a sixth dose from a single vial."

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said this increase in doses per vial "provides an additional 20% capacity." The New York Times first reported Pfizer's plans to base its vaccine commitment on doses instead of vials.

However, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Friday the ability to garner the sixth dose with these syringes does not exist everywhere.

"Many places have them," Gupta told CNN's John Berman, "but not every place."

3:56 a.m. ET, January 23, 2021

US reports more than 186,000 new coronavirus cases

The United States reported 186,891 new Covid-19 cases and 3,655 virus-related deaths on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The US has so far reported a total of 24,818,779 cases and 414,004 fatalities, according to the university's tally.

At least 39,892,400 vaccine doses have been distributed and at least 19,107,959 shots have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

CNN is tracking US cases here: