February 8 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Kara Fox and Christopher Johnson, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021
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6:10 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

"Still some hope" AstraZeneca vaccine will perform against South African variant, researcher says

From CNN’S Eleanor Pickston in London 

Valentina Petrova/AP
Valentina Petrova/AP

There is “still some hope” that the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine could perform in people infected with the variant first identified in South Africa who are at risk of severe disease, Shabir Madhi, professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand said on Monday.

Early data from South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand released on Sunday suggested that two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provide only “minimal protection” against mild and moderate Covid-19 from the B.1.351 variant.

“What the study results really tell us is that in a relatively young age demographic with very low prevalence of morbidities such as hypertension and diabetes, the (Oxford/AstraZeneca) vaccine does not protect against mild to moderate infection,” Madhi, who led the trial, told the BBC.

Madhi added that “extrapolating” from results seen with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine -- which is also a viral vector vaccine --  there was “still some hope” that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine could perform “as well” in different age groups at risk of severe disease.

“Now these two vaccines use a similar sort of technology," Madhi explained.

"They use them very, very similar in terms of the immunogenicity so I think extrapolating from that, there's still some hope that the AstraZeneca vaccine might well perform as well as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a different age group demographic that are at risk of severe disease,” he said.

Results from trials in South Africa showed Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine reduced severe disease by 89%, Madhi said.

He also said that researchers should know with more certainty “pretty soon.” 

On Sunday, South African health officials said they were pausing the country's rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after the study showed it offered reduced protection from the Covid-19 variant first identified there.

5:11 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Ukraine prepares to roll out Covid-19 vaccinations

From CNN's Sarah Dean, Sharon Braithwaite and Christopher Johnson

Ukraine will begin the first phase of its Covid-19 vaccination program this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday on his official Twitter account.

Doctors, members of the military and National Guard will be among the first in line for shots, Zelensky said. "The program covers at least half of the population of Ukraine during 2021 and early 2022," he added.

Last week, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine will be receiving an initial shipment of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine under the COVAX program.

Speaking in a Cabinet meeting on February 3, Shmyhal said that from February to early March, "much larger deliveries are expected."

Ukraine has reported nearly 1.3 million Covid-19 cases and almost 25,000 deaths from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

3:59 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Despite dip in Covid-19 cases, expert says US is in the "eye of the hurricane" as variants spread

From CNN's Christina Maxouris

Dr. Peter Hotez, founding dean of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine, speaks during a House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2020.
Dr. Peter Hotez, founding dean of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine, speaks during a House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2020. Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg/Getty Images

While a recent dip in Covid-19 infections may seem encouraging, experts warn now is not the time for Americans to let their guard down.

That's largely because of new variants circulating in the US, putting the country once again in the "eye of the hurricane," according to one expert.

"I've been on Zoom calls for the last two weeks about how we're going to manage this," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN Sunday. "The big wall is about to hit us again and these are the new variants."

Nearly 700 cases of Covid-19 variants first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the US so far, according to data updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vast majority of those cases are the B.1.1.7 strain, which was first detected in the UK and has now been spotted in at least 33 states. Experts say the highly contagious variant will likely soon become dominant in the US, and a new study found significant community transmission may already be occurring.

"This could be really, very dire for our country as we head into the spring," Hotez said of the variants. "Now, we're in a race. We're in a race to see how quickly we can vaccinate the American people."

Vaccination drive: More than 31 million Americans have so far received at least their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to CDC data, as officials work to ramp up vaccinations across the country. More than 9 million people have so far received both doses of a vaccine, according to the data.

And a third vaccine could be on its way to the US market soon: Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization of its vaccine last week.

Read the full story:

3:16 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Seoul announces plan to test pets for Covid-19

From CNN's Gawon Bae in Seoul, South Korea

The South Korean capital of Seoul will start testing pet dogs and cats for Covid-19 if their owners test positive and the animals themselves are symptomatic, according to the city’s top health official Park Yoo-mi.

Park said the city’s animal sample collection team will visit the home of quarantined Covid-19 patient to test the pets.

The testing is being done out of an abundance of caution -- Covid-19 pet-to-human infection has not been reported since the pandemic began. Any dogs or cats testing positive will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

South Korea reported its first case of an animal Covid-19 infection after a household cat tested positive for the virus on January 21, according to the country's Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA.)

3:11 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Crowds gather in Melbourne on first day of Australian Open

Play has begun at the Australian Open in Melbourne, tennis' first grand slam of the year -- and fans are there to take in the action.

The start of the event was delayed three weeks due to Covid-19, but spectators came out in force today for the first day of the tournament -- many relishing the fact that they are some of the few people on the planet able to attend live sports during the pandemic.

A view of Court 3 is seen during day one of the 2021 Australian Open, on February 8.
A view of Court 3 is seen during day one of the 2021 Australian Open, on February 8. Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images

Authorities are allowing fans to attend because regional authorities have been able to bring the local coronavirus epidemic under control thanks to strict public health measures.

Australia's government quickly closed its borders in March at the start of the pandemic, banning non-residents from entering the country, and put in place mandatory hotel quarantine of 14 days for incoming travelers.

Socially distanced spectators watch a match on Court 3.
Socially distanced spectators watch a match on Court 3. Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images

When Melbourne, where the Open is being held, had a coronavirus outbreak in mid-2020, Victoria's government put the entire state into mandatory lockdown for almost four months, one of the longest measures of its kind in the world.

Things are a bit more lax now. At Melbourne Park, it's only mandatory to wear a mask indoors at the event, but many milling around outside were also seen with face coverings.

Attendees are seen practicing social distancing.
Attendees are seen practicing social distancing. Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images

2:27 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Peru just received its first 300,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine

From CNN's Jose Armijo and Sharif Paget

A health worker prepares a syringe to inoculate a volunteer with the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine during its trial at the Clinical Studies Center in Lima, Peru on December 9, 2020.
A health worker prepares a syringe to inoculate a volunteer with the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine during its trial at the Clinical Studies Center in Lima, Peru on December 9, 2020. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

Peru plans to start vaccinating healthcare workers this week after receiving its first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm, President Francisco Sagasti said Sunday.

"We will begin the first phase of vaccination protecting the first line of Peruvians who risk their lives for us,” he added.

Sagasti said 300,000 doses of the vaccine arrived in the coastal city of Callao aboard an Air France plane. The rest of the country's 1 million-dose order is scheduled to arrive on February 14.  

In a message posted to his Twitter account, Sagasti thanked Peru's civil society along with the country's public and private sector for making "this achievement possible."  

2:11 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

US reports nearly 87,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Alta Spells in Atlanta

The United States reported 86,928 new Covid-19 infections and 1,268 additional virus-related fatalities on Sunday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The national tally now stands at 27,006,413 coronavirus cases and 463,470 deaths.

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

Vaccines: At least 59,307,800 vaccine doses have been distributed and at least 41,210,937 shots administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

See CNN's live tracker here.

1:55 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Heartbreak and anger as China discourages travel for Lunar New Year

From CNN's Nectar Gan, Lily Lee and David Culver

A traveler wearing a protective mask walks toward Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the Lunar New Year in Beijing, on February 2.
A traveler wearing a protective mask walks toward Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the Lunar New Year in Beijing, on February 2. Yan Cong/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Normally at this time of year, hundreds of millions of Chinese people would be packing highways, trains and planes on homebound trips to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their family.

But this year, the largest annual human migration on Earth has been put on hold, following the Chinese government's call to avoid "nonessential" trips during the holiday period to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.

That is a lot to ask: The Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival in China, is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar -- the equivalent of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve combined.

For many Chinese who left their hometowns for better job opportunities in big cities, it is the only chance they may get to see their families this year. Parents who left children behind in villages so they could work may face another 12 months without them.

To discourage people from traveling, China's National Health Commission has imposed new rules that require people returning to rural areas to produce a negative Covid-19 test taken within the previous seven days, and to spend 14 days in "home observation" upon arrival.

Some local governments have added their own, stricter rules: For example, in some places, returnees need to spend two weeks in a government-approved quarantine hotel, instead of remaining under observation at home with their families.

The new restrictions have provoked fury on social media, with some questioning the government's policy at a time when many people had hoped to go home.

"I would like to ask, did you seriously think about it and look into it before making this policy?" one person posted on Weibo, China's Twitter-like service.
"Do medical conditions in the vast rural areas allow everyone to have a coronavirus test every 7 days? Doesn't the gathering for coronavirus tests bring a bigger risk of infection? In addition, the state only gives us 7 days of statutory holiday, and now you ask returnees to be isolated for 14 days. What are your brains made of?"

Read the full story:

1:33 a.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Quarantine hotel worker tests positive for Covid-19 in Australia's Melbourne

From CNN's Chandler Thornton

A quarantine hotel worker in the Australian city of Melbourne tested positive for Covid-19, according to Victoria State's health department.

The employee worked at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport and tested positive for the virus on Sunday, a news release from the department said.

Authorities did not indicate whether the quarantine hotel was connected to any of the Australian Open players or staff.

This comes after a single Covid-19 case at a quarantine hotel in Melbourne forced organizers of the Australian Open to quarantine 507 players, officials and support staff, just four days before the start of the tennis tournament. The Open began Monday after all players returned negative Covid-19 results.