By Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Florence Davey-Attlee, Ed Upright and Hira Humayun, CNN
Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, January 15, 2021
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6:46 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
300 Pfizer vaccine doses are unusable after a vaccine storage unit malfunctioned in Colorado
From CNN's Raja Razek
Local public health officials in the Colorado city of Pueblo rendered 300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine unusable after a portable vaccine storage unit malfunction, the Colorado State Joint Information Center tells CNN.
"The state’s goal is to use every single available vaccine, acknowledging that emergencies may occur infrequently in the distribution process."
The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at about minus 75 degrees Celsius, which is about 50 degrees colder than any other vaccine currently used in the United States.
6:31 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Brazil’s Amazonas state faces an oxygen shortage
From CNN’s Taylor Barnes
Amazonas Federal University's workers carry empty oxygen tanks at the Getulio Vargas Hospital amid the new coronavirus pandemic, Manaus, Brazil, Thursday, January 14. Edmar Barros/AP
Severe oxygen shortages and pressure on hospitals in Brazil’s Amazonas state, an economic and population center in the country’s Amazon region, prompted the state government to announce emergency measures on Thursday, including a curfew and the airlifting of patients to other Brazilian states.
“Today we are in the most critical moment of the pandemic, one that has no precedent in the state of Amazonas. We are facing a lot of difficulty in getting medical supplies. And as everyone is following, our main difficulty now has been getting oxygen,” Amazonas Governor Wilson Lima said at a Thursday press conference.
Demand for oxygen is up fivefold over the past 15 days, according to the state government.
Some 235 patients will be airlifted to five other Brazilian states, according to a tweet from the Amazonas state government, which wrote that the transfers are necessary due to the state’s oxygen shortages.
The state government also announced a curfew from 7pm to 6am and a ban on mass transit.
6:20 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
US airlines support Biden proposal for nationwide mask mandate
From CNN's Greg Wallace
A coalition of US airlines says it supports the incoming Biden administration’s proposal for a nationwide mask mandate, and wants to ensure it applies to require passengers wear face masks on airplanes and in airports.
Airlines For America (A4A), which represents major air carriers in the U.S., wrote in a letter to Biden on Thursday that since airlines currently have policies requiring masks and ban noncompliant passengers, it believes a Biden action would be “a consequential enforcement backstop.”
A4A said it supports a temporary requirement applying to all individuals two years and older that lasts “only for the duration of the pandemic.”
6:04 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
National Guard is administering Covid-19 vaccines in 16 US states and territories
From CNN’s Keri Enriquez
Sixteen states and territories are utilizing the National Guard to administer Covid-19 vaccines to the civilian population, according to National Guard spokesman Wayne Hall.
Idaho, Illinois, Puerto Rico and Rhode island are the latest additions, bringing the total number of states and territories to 16. The other 12 states are Arizona, California, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The majority of states are not relying on the National Guard to administer vaccines, but rather for repackaging vaccines, PPE distribution, disinfecting and operating testing sites.
5:41 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Pandemic has created new opportunities for criminals, says Interpol Secretary General
From CNN's Richard Quest and Pamela Boykoff
CNN
The Covid-19 pandemic is providing new opportunities and vulnerabilities for criminals, such as "attacks" on vaccines, Interpol’s Secretary General warned in an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest.
The international police organization has alerted governments and law enforcement to prepare for attacks on vaccines, including theft, warehouse break-ins and fake vaccines.
Two countries have already asked Interpol to assist combatting criminal efforts, Stock said, one involving the production of a fake vaccine and the other the distribution of one.
I have never seen in my long career such a dynamic situation where criminals are quickly shifting to new opportunities,” Jürgen Stock said.
Watch:
5:12 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Chain drug stores ask states to transfer unused Covid-19 vaccine doses to pharmacies
From CNN's Gregory Lemos
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores is asking states to transfer unused Covid-19 vaccine doses to pharmacies.
"Any allocation that's out there right now that's sitting on shelves can be transferred to a community pharmacy," Kathleen Jaeger, a senior vice president for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, said Wednesday. "A lot of that supply is out there, and it's not being used."
On Thursday, New York is scheduled to start transferring vaccine doses to pharmacies in the state, Jaeger said. Ohio and Colorado are expected to start transferring vaccine doses to pharmacies very soon, she said.
In addition, the association wants states to soon start sending doses of vaccine directly from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies.
Nineteen pharmacy chains and associations have partnered with the federal government to carry out vaccinations in their stores. The federal pharmacy partnership program was announced by US Health and Human Secretary Alex Azar in November. Jaeger said the program is expected to begin in early to mid-February with the exact start date dependent on vaccine supply.
5:07 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
France plans to test 1 million schoolchildren and teachers per month to keep schools open
From Barbara Wojazer in Paris
Blanquer speaks during a press conference in Paris on Thursday, January 14, on the current French government strategy for the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. ( Thomas Coex/POOL/AFPGetty Images
Despite new countrywide restrictions in France – including a curfew — schools will remain open and plans are in place to test one million schoolchildren and teachers per month, French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer announced on Thursday.
It is essential that schools remain open because there are psychological, health and educational consequences,” Blanquer said.
He said health measures will be reinforced during mealtimes and sports activities in closed spaces would be cancelled.
Although schools have remained open for most of the pandemic, universities have mainly switched to online learning.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday announced a gradual resumption of in-person teaching at universities, saying he appreciated that the situation was “extremely difficult” for university students and their mental health.
University students “feel that the health crisis stole their best moments,” French Higher Education Minister Frédérique Vidal said, echoing concerns voiced in French media this past week.
All first-year students will be allowed to go to seminars in smaller groups starting January 25, and the measure could later be extended to students in other years depending on the epidemic, Vidal said.
The government also announced measures to provide economic and psychological support to students.
These announcements come as the French government tightened restrictions nationally, with the extension of a 6pm-6am curfew to the whole country.
5:06 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Biden administration may focus on better coronavirus treatments, adviser says
From CNN’s Maggie Fox
The incoming Biden administration may put a greater emphasis on developing or finding new drugs to treat coronavirus, one top adviser said Thursday.
Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at NYU who is advising the Biden transition team, expressed concern about the current administration’s focus on monoclonal antibodies – immune system treatments that appear to help some people early on in the course of infection. The US Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization to two such treatments – one made by Eli Lilly and Co., and one by Regeneron.
“I think, big picture, we need to be thinking about other therapies right now,” Gounder told a webcast sponsored by Johns Hopkins University.
“We've been mostly focused on monoclonal antibodies and to some degree, remdesivir and some of the other immunomodulators, but we really need to be thinking about other antivirals,” Gounder added.
The antiviral remdesivir has been approved to treat coronavirus, although it appears to have at best modest effects. It is not a cure.
Monoclonal antibodies are very specific treatments and they might lose efficacy if the virus evolves much, Gounder pointed out. Scientists are checking to see if some of the variants first noticed in the UK and South Africa might be able to partly evade the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments.
“Here I am speaking as a member of IDSA – the Infectious Diseases Society of America. IDSA still does not recommend the use of monoclonal antibodies, despite emergency use authorization being granted by the FDA,” Gounder added.
4:26 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Texas becomes first US state to administer 1 million vaccines
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
Houston Health Department LVN Alicia Meza prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine Sunday, January 3, at Houston Health Department's COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle/AP
Texas is the first state in the US to administer 1 million vaccines, Governor Greg Abbott said in a press release Thursday.
