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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3:47 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
More than 11 million people in the US have gotten their first Covid-19 shot
From CNN's Michael Nedelman
People line up in their cars to receive their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a drive-thru vaccination event for residents 65 and older at Dewey O. Boster Park and Sports Complex on January 7, in Deltona, Florida. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Just over 11 million people have received their first coronavirus shots, and more than 30 million doses of vaccine have been distributed, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
However, the US is still lagging far behind its target of having vaccinated 20 million people by the end of 2020.
The Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed announced changes Tuesday aimed at speeding up the vaccine administration process, including the release of more doses of vaccine and urging states to vaccinate anyone 65 and older, and younger people with chronic conditions that might make them more vulnerable to severe disease.
8:43 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Refugees in Jordan start receiving Covid-19 vaccine
From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Kareem Khadder and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Jordan has started giving Covid-19 vaccines to refugees free of charge, making it one of the world’s first countries to start providing vaccinations to United Nations registered refugees, according to a UNHCR statement on Thursday.
"As part of the national COVID-19 vaccination plan which started this week, anyone living on Jordanian soil, including refugees and asylum seekers, is entitled to receive the vaccine free of charge," the United Nations Refugee Agency said in its statement.
Jordan is host to a large refugee population including Palestinians, Syrians and Iraqis. There are 1.3 million Syrians refugees in the Kingdom according to the government, with more than 655 thousand registered with the UNHCR.
Since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the refugee camps, nearly 2,000 camp residents have tested positive for the virus.
The country received its first shipment of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine on Monday, two days after receiving their first batch of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
1:49 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
French 6pm curfew extended nationally
From CNN's Barbara Wojazer in Paris
A picture taken on January 10, shows the deserted Place Kleber in Strasbourg, France, as a new curfew is in effect at 6 pm to fight against the spread of the new coronavirus. Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
All of France will become subject to a curfew from 6pm to 6am for at least 15 days from Saturday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced in a press conference on Thursday.
The measure "has proven to be effective,” he said. An 8pm curfew has been in place in the country since December 15th, and has already been extended to 6pm in some of the worst-hit areas.
The French government decided on an extended curfew to “avoid harsher measures" to stem the spread of coronavirus, Castex added.
However, “if we were to see a strong deterioration of the health situation in the coming days, we would decide on a new lockdown without any delay,” he warned.
The premier said that recent measures had been successful and that recent holiday celebrations had not led to an “epidemic flare-up”.
But while France's public health situation is “under control compared to our neighbors,” it remains “fragile,” particularly due to newly identified Covid-19 variants, Castex said.
French residents will only be allowed outdoors after 6pm for professional or urgent reasons and will need to show a certificate providing such a reason.
1:10 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
New York reports another 202 deaths
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
The state of New York added 13,661 more positive Covid-19 cases to its tally on Thursday, with the statewide positivity rate down slightly from the day prior at 6.42%, according to the Governor’s office.
The state also added 202 deaths, which is in the higher range of deaths reported in the state over the past few weeks.
There are 8,823 patients hospitalized with 1,536 of those in the ICU, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office said in a release.
3:58 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
HHS officials urge Americans to use Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatments
From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaks to the media on December 21. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatments are being "underutilized," according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. And now, HHS officials are urging the public to use these therapies to treat illness.
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibody treatments for emergency use in Covid-19 patients.
"The bottom line is these medications work better, they work best when given early," US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said during a briefing on Thursday.
"So if you have Covid symptoms or if you’ve had a high risk exposure, we need you to get tested right away," Adams said. "And if you test positive, we need you to ask your provider about monoclonal antibodies as a way of keeping you out of the hospital.”
Dr. Janet Woodcock, therapeutics lead for Operation Warp Speed, said in Thursday's briefing that those medications "are being somewhat underutilized" and HHS hopes to change that.
"The antibodies are not in shortage," Woodcock said.
"We want to keep people out of the hospital," she said. "We hope the changes that we’re making -- better public awareness and better provider awareness -- will drive more administration of these antibodies."
Last month, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that the United States has "a surplus" of monoclonal antibody treatments from the companies Regeneron and Eli Lilly.
8:00 p.m. ET, January 14, 2021
UK bans arrivals from several Latin American countries due to Brazilian virus variant
From CNN's Schams Elwazer in London
A passenger is seen arriving at London Stansted Airport in London, England, on January 9. Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The UK has decided to ban arrivals from multiple Latin American countries “following evidence of a new variant in Brazil,” British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Thursday on Twitter.
Starting Friday at 4 a.m. local time, arrivals to the UK will be banned from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
“Travel from Portugal to the UK will also be suspended given its strong travel links with Brazil -- acting as another way to reduce the risk of importing infections,” Shapps said, adding that hauliers transporting essential goods were exempt.
He added that these measures would not apply to British and Irish citizens and other nationals who have UK residence rights, but arriving passengers would have to quarantine for 10 days.
All parts of the UK are currently under strict lockdown with international travel only allowed for a limited number of reasons. The country is in the midst of its worst wave of Covid-19 infections with record daily deaths reported on Wednesday.
11:37 a.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Turkish president receives Chinese Sinovac shot as countrywide rollout gets underway
From CNN's Gul Tuysuz in Istanbul
Turkish Presidency via AP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received China’s Sinovac Biotech coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, as a mass inoculation effort began across the country.
Erdogan announced that he received the shot on his Telegram account. “I just got the vaccine,” he wrote, followed by a smiley face emoji.
Turkey began its vaccination rollout across all 81 provinces on Thursday, starting with frontline workers.
As of 6:30pm local time, more than 252,811 people had received the first dose of Sinovac, according to the Turkish health ministry Covid-19 online vaccine counter.
Turkey received 3 million doses of Sinovac on December 30 and granted emergency authorization for the vaccine on Wednesday after mandatory safety testing by its drug and medical device administration was complete.
Earlier this week new data from Brazil indicated the Sinovac vaccine was far less protective against Covid-19 than originally reported, with results suggesting it was only 50.38% effective in late-stage trials.
Turkey had its worst peak of cases in early December. More than 2.3 million infections and at least 23,325 Covid-related deaths have been reported there, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More than 20,000 Chinese villagers are moved to quarantine sites as a preventative measure
From CNN's Carly Walsh in Hong Kong and CNN's Beijing bureau
Buses carrying villagers from the Gaocheng district of Shijiazhuang, China, head to centralized quarantine sites on January 11. VCG via Getty Images
More than 20,000 citizens from 12 villages in the Gaocheng District of the Chinese city of Shijiazhuang have been relocated to quarantine sites as a preventative measure against Covid-19, according to Chinese state media.
State broadcaster CGTN cited China's National Health Commission (NHC) official Tong Zhaohui saying the new quarantine sites aim to avoid new infections emerging from contact between people with and without the virus.
Hebei Province, of which Shijiazhuang is the capital, has been at the center of China’s most recent outbreak of the pandemic.
The NHC reported 138 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, including 14 imported cases. Of the 124 locally transmitted cases, 81 cases are from Hebei province.
Hebei’s vice governor Xu Jianpei announced on Tuesday that a second round of mass testing programs would begin in the cities of Shijiazhuang, Xingtai and Langfang. The province’s first round of testing of 17 million people ended on Sunday.
Construction has also started on a centralized medical center in Shijiazhuang. It’s set to cover 33 hectares and will have 3,000 makeshift wards, CGTN reported.
On Wednesday one person was reported to have died from the virus in Hebei province, the first fatality in China for 242 days.
10:20 a.m. ET, January 14, 2021
Jordan's King Abdullah receives coronavirus vaccine
From CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh, Mostafa Salem and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Jordan’s King Abdullah II waves prior to his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on September 8 in Paris. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
Jordan’s King Abdullah II received the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, as the country started rolling out inoculations to certain parts of the population, a statement from the Royal Court said on Twitter.
The King's uncle, Prince El Hassan bin Talal and Crown Prince Al Hussein also received the vaccine, the statement added.
On Wednesday, Jordan began its Covid-19 vaccination program in 29 centers across the kingdom.
The government said it aims to inoculate at least 20% of the population in the coming months, free of charge, starting with people over the age of 60, those suffering from chronic illnesses and health care workers.
Jordan received its first batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Monday, two days after receiving its first shipment of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, state-news agency Petra said quoting Minister of Health Natheer Obeidat.
The Royal Court did not clarify which vaccine the King was given.
