January 28 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Zahid Mahmood and Ed Upright, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, January 29, 2021
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11:22 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

US can beat Covid-19 even as the virus mutates, says White House Covid-19 adviser 

From CNN Health's Lauren Mascarenhas

With the right tools, the United States can defeat Covid-19, even as the virus mutates, senior adviser on the White House Covid-19 response team, Andy Slavitt, said Thursday.

More contagious virus variants, including one first identified in South Africa, have been emerging across the United States.

“Nothing about this news says we can't defeat this thing,” Slavitt told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “It just means we need more tools, and we need to be more united in doing it.”

As of now, Covid-19 vaccines still appear to provide some degree of protection against the variants that have been identified in the US.

“We're going to have to stay one step ahead of these mutations,” said Slavitt. “We're going to need processes to keep developing tests, therapies and vaccines to make sure that as and if the virus mutates a little bit, like the flu does, we're able to stay ahead of it.”

10:42 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

White House aims "to close the gap" between vaccines available and people vaccinated, adviser says

From CNN Health’s Lauren Mascarenhas

White House senior adviser on the Covid-19 response team, Andy Slavitt, speaks with CNN on Thursday, January 28.
White House senior adviser on the Covid-19 response team, Andy Slavitt, speaks with CNN on Thursday, January 28. CNN

The US needs to do “everything possible to close the gap” between the number of Covid-19 vaccines available and people who are vaccinated, White House senior adviser on the Covid-19 response team, Andy Slavitt, said Thursday.

“We need to have enough vaccinators,” Slavitt told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We need doctors to know that they can safely go ahead and administer the doses they've been sent as first doses, not hold them back as second doses because they will get reliable shipments.”

This week, the Biden administration announced it will take action on several fronts to speed the administration of Covid-19 vaccines in the US. 

“We're standing up these community vaccination centers. We're changing the laws to allow more people to vaccinate. We're sending shipments directly to pharmacies,” Slavitt said. “We are invoking the Defense Production Act and have done so to get more syringes and more other gear available to people. We're working with states hand in glove every day to find more vaccines.” 

“There's not an idea that we won't consider,” Slavitt added.

Some context: Speaking at a media briefing Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said not all vaccine that's been delivered to states is available for "inserting into people's arms."

White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients took that explanation a step further. "Some of what the states have right now is inventory to do the very, very important second shot," Zients said. "I think it's important that when you're looking at state's inventories that you recognize that some of that inventory is being held for the very important second shot."

9:48 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

WHO says its team in Wuhan will visit labs, markets and hospitals

From CNN’s Sandi Sidhu in Hong Kong

A team of World Health Organization (WHO) investigators examining the origins of the coronavirus pandemic will meet Chinese scientists on Friday, according to WHO.

“The team plans to visit hospitals, laboratories and markets. Field visits will include the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Huanan market, Wuhan CDC laboratory,” WHO said in a tweet.

The team will also speak with early responders and some of the first Covid-19 patients in Wuhan, it said. 

“All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work,” it said, adding “they should receive the support, access and the data they need.”

The team left their hotel in Wuhan on Thursday afternoon, after completing a two-week quarantine. 

Read more about the WHO's team's investigation:

10:38 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

LA's mayor receives Covid-19 vaccine after vowing not to "jump the line"

From CNN's Sarah Moon

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a press conference held at the launch of a mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium on January 15, in Los Angeles, California.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a press conference held at the launch of a mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium on January 15, in Los Angeles, California. Irfan Khan/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti quietly received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine last week despite not meeting the official vaccination eligibility requirements set by county health officials.

Garcetti’s office confirmed to CNN that the mayor received the vaccine on January 21 while working his fifth day at Dodger Stadium, the largest vaccination site in the nation.

“The medical personnel strongly recommended that he receive the vaccine as they have recommended and provided for other field staff and volunteers at the site who have close contact with clients,” Communications Director Alex Comisar said in a statement.

The mayor held a news conference from Dodger Stadium on the day he received the vaccination, but did not mention receiving the dose himself. It was unclear why Garcetti or his office did not disclose the shot for a week.

What the rules say: Under current vaccine eligibility guidelines for Los Angeles County, the 49-year-old mayor does not qualify to receive the vaccine as he is not a health care worker, over 65 years of age, or a staff or resident of a skilled nursing facility.

Garcetti has previously asked residents to be patient and wait their turn when it comes to the vaccine.

"I can't wait to get the vaccine when it's my turn,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper last month. “I'm not going to be jumping the line, but I certainly will do that and I hope that all of us will sort of get back our economy and get back our city to normal.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has not responded to a CNN request for a comment. 

11:06 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

Novavax vaccine data against coronavirus variant not "that good," Fauci says

From CNN Health's Maggie Fox

A syringe of the Novavax vaccine is prepared for use in the trial at St. George's University hospital in London on October 7, 2020.
A syringe of the Novavax vaccine is prepared for use in the trial at St. George's University hospital in London on October 7, 2020. Alastair Grant/AP

Newly released data on an experimental coronavirus vaccine made by biotechnology company Novavax indicates some problems protecting against one new variant of coronavirus circulating in South Africa, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.

Fauci said studies are ongoing that will help tell whether vaccines work against the new, more contagious variants of coronavirus first spotted in the UK and South Africa that are worrying officials and the public. 

Novavax's preliminary data shows while it’s 89% effective overall, tests done in South Africa when the new variant was dominant show a potentially diminished effect.

“And the early indications from a trial that literally just came out from its press announcement this afternoon at 4 o'clock, from a company called Novavax, indicates that a vaccine that looks really good against what we're dealing with now doesn't look that good, in the sense of not 90-95%,” Fauci told a webcast sponsored by the National Education Association.

In a Phase 3 trial in Britain, the Novavax vaccine showed an efficacy of 89.3%. Phase 2 results from South Africa were less positive.

“It's somewhere down around 60% for non-HIV infected individuals and about 49%” when HIV-infected people were included in the mix, Fauci said.

South Africa variant found in US: South Carolina officials on Thursday announced the United States' first two confirmed cases of the strain first spotted in South Africa. There is no known travel history or connection between the cases, both adults, according to a release from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

This post has been updated to clarify Fauci's characterization of the Novavax data.

 

10:29 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

UK prime minister hails efficacy of Novavax vaccine in trials 

From CNN’s Isa Soares

Geoff Pugh/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Geoff Pugh/WPA Pool/Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday celebrated the success of the Novavax vaccine during UK trials.

“Good news that the Novavax vaccine has proved effective in UK trials. Thank you to all the volunteers who made these results possible. Our medicines regulator will now assess the vaccine, which will be made in Teesside. If approved, we have 60m doses on order,” Johnson tweeted.

Johnson was joined by UK Health Minister Matt Hancock who welcomed Thursday's trial results, calling it a “great vaccine story,” adding that the UK’s “vaccine strategy is working.”

Their reactions comes as the Phase 3 trial of biotechnology company Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine showed it has an efficacy of 89.3%, the company announced on Thursday. 

The company's vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, “is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants,” Stanley Erck, Novavax president and CEO, said in a company announcement. “NVX-CoV2373 has the potential to play an important role in solving this global public health crisis."

5:24 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

Africa secures 400 million additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, official says

From CNN's Eoin McSweeney

Vials of AstraZeneca-Oxford's Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine are being manufactured at India's Serum Institute in Pune on January 22.
Vials of AstraZeneca-Oxford's Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine are being manufactured at India's Serum Institute in Pune on January 22. Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images

Africa has secured 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine which will be supplied by the Serum Institute of India (SII), according to the director of the African Union's disease control and prevention body.

“We are beginning to make very, very good progress,” Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director John Nkengasong said in an online briefing Thursday.

This is in addition to the 270 million Covid-19 vaccines doses secured by the African Union on Jan. 14. Those doses were from Pfizer, AstraZeneca (also through the SII) and Johnson & Johnson.

These vaccines have been secured alongside a vaccine program from COVAX – a World Health Organization and Gavi Vaccine Alliance initiative to bring more vaccines to Africa on a fair basis.

"This is a historical effort that will require all types of partnerships," Nkengasong said. "In order to be successful, we need to achieve a 60% target within two years. If we do not do that, then Covid becomes endemic on the continent," he added. 
5:01 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

Health experts say some people are experiencing "long Covid" months after getting coronavirus

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

Health experts are working to understand more about a condition they are calling “long Covid,” among patients who experience lingering symptoms months after contracting coronavirus.

“Persons with long Covid often present reporting persistent, severe fatigue, headaches and brain fog, which is defined as mild subjective cognitive and cognitive impairment, approximately four weeks after acute illness,” Dr. Alfonso Hernandez-Romieu, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 response team, said during a CDC briefing Thursday.

Doctors have reported the severity of Covid-19 illness may have little impact on whether patients experience long Covid symptoms, Hernandez-Romieu said. He noted that the CDC is working to better understand long Covid.

Dr. Allison Navis, an assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, said one of the most common symptoms of long Covid is called “brain fog.”

“Brain fog is a symptom, it is not a diagnosis, and it means many different things to different people,” said Navis. “Oftentimes it's a combination of short-term memory issues, concentration, or sort of word-finding speech difficulty.”

Navis said brain fog does not appear to have a clear connection to the severity of Covid-19 infection, age or other risk factors. She said doctors have observed these symptoms in younger patients – including children and adolescents ­– who had mild coronavirus and were previously healthy.

She said patients can benefit from “symptomatic and supportive” treatment, including specific medications, cognitive rehab, increased hydration and limited exercise. She stressed that patients should get enough sleep and look after their mental health.

“While we don't know what's causing these symptoms, they're very real for patients, and we are seeing patients get better,” Navis added.

 

4:38 p.m. ET, January 28, 2021

Novavax says UK Phase 3 trial shows its coronavirus vaccine has 89% efficacy 

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

A Phase 3 trial of biotechnology company Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine shows it has an efficacy of 89.3%, the company announced on Thursday. 

But the company highlighted the vaccine’s apparent efficacy against new variants of the virus that have alarmed politicians and scientists alike.

The trial, conducted in the United Kingdom, included efficacy estimates by strain based on PCR tests performed on strains from 56 Covid-19 cases in the trial. The vaccine was found to have 95.6% efficacy against the original novel coronavirus and 85.6% against the variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7. 

The company also announced that a Phase 2b study conducted in South Africa, where another variant was first identified, showed 60% efficacy. 

"With today’s results from our UK Phase 3 and South Africa Phase 2b clinical trials, we have now reported data on our COVID-19 vaccine from Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials involving over 20,000 participants," Stanley Erck, Novavax president and CEO, said in the announcement. 

The company's vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373, “is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants,” Erck said. “NVX-CoV2373 has the potential to play an important role in solving this global public health crisis."

Regarding the trial in South Africa, “the 60% reduced risk against COVID-19 illness in vaccinated individuals in South Africans underscores the value of this vaccine to prevent illness from the highly worrisome variant currently circulating in South Africa, and which is spreading globally,” Shabir Maddi, principal investigator in the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine trial in South Africa, said in the announcement. 

"This is the first COVID-19 vaccine for which we now have objective evidence that it protects against the variant dominating in South Africa,” Maddi said.