COVAX will distribute nearly 2 million Covid-19 vaccines to North Korea
From CNN's Bex Wright, Sophie Jeong, Christopher Rios and Joshua Berlinger
COVAX has announced its plans to distribute 1,992,000 AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine doses to North Korea.
In its first interim distribution forecast, COVAX said the North Korea allotment was part of its plan to distribute 336 million AstraZeneca-Oxford doses and 1.2 million Pfizer-BioNTech doses to countries most in need.
COVAX is an initiative to provide equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and World Health Organization.
North Korea claims to not have contracted a single case of Covid-19 -- which experts say is likely untrue, but the country has seemingly not experienced a serious wave of infections.
8:27 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
First known study on Covid-19 vaccine interchangeability launches in UK
From CNN’s Christopher Rios
The United Kingdom is launching the world’s first study examining whether different coronavirus vaccines can safely be used for two-dose regimens.
Participants in the study will be given the vaccine in alternating doses -- for example, Oxford/AstraZeneca for the first dose and Pfizer/BioNTech for the second.
“If we do show that these vaccines can be used interchangeably in the same schedule this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery, and could provide clue as to how to increase the breadth of protection against new virus strains,” said Matthew Snape, chief investigator and associate professor in vaccinology at the University of Oxford.
Enrollment in the UK government-funded study is currently underway and preliminary results are expected over the summer.
The current vaccine dosing regimen for the general public will remain unchanged in the UK. But if the study shows promising results, the government may consider revising the recommended vaccine regimen.
“Nothing will be approved for use more widely than the study, or as part of our vaccine deployment program, until researchers and the regulator are absolutely confident the approach is safe and effective” said minister of Covid-19 vaccine development Nadhim Zahawi.
Currently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization do not recommend interchanging coronavirus vaccines, since there is no data available that examines whether doing so would still provide the same level of protection.
7:11 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
Global Covid-19 vaccine confidence is rising, survey shows
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Pharmacist Naeem Khazee dilutes a vial of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before doses are drawn to be adminstered at Thornton Little Theatre in Thornton-Cleveleys, England, on January 29. Oli Scraff/AFP/Getty Images
Global vaccine confidence is rising according to a new survey showing that 54% of respondents across 15 countries would take a Covid-19 vaccine if one was offered to them.
The survey by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London revealed that by mid-January, willingness to get vaccinated increased in 11 of the 15 countries since November, when 41% of respondents said they would get vaccinated.
“It is very encouraging to see that as a number of safe and effective coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out across the world, there has been an apparent positive shift in people’s perceptions of these products,” Dr. David Nabarro, co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, said in a statement.
The UK had the highest share of respondents who strongly agreed they would get a vaccine, 70%. On the other end of the spectrum was France, with 30% – although that number has doubled since November, when just 15% of French respondents strongly agreed.
France also had the highest percentage of respondents who strongly agreed that they are worried about vaccine side effects, 40%. However, concern over potential vaccine side effects has decreased since November in most countries surveyed, with 47% of all respondents saying they are worried about side effects.
Over half of those surveyed, 58%, believe government health authorities will deliver an effective Covid-19 vaccine – with the share of respondents who strongly agree increasing in 11 countries since November.
The results suggest that access to Covid-19 vaccines is a challenge. About 54% of respondents said it would be difficult to get a vaccine, with people in South Korea and Japan reporting the greatest difficulties in access.
“As vaccines will play a vital role in controlling the pandemic, leaders must act now to help more people understand the benefits of being vaccinated against Covid-19 and make sure that no one is left behind,” Nabarro said.
The countries included in the survey were:
Australia
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Norway
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
6:00 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
US surpasses 450,000 total deaths from Covid-19
From CNN’s Haley Brink
Employees move bodies into refrigerated semi-trucks at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on January 14 in Tucson, Arizona. Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images
There have been at least 450,088 reported deaths from Covid-19 in the United States since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
There have been at least 26,533,999 total coronavirus cases in the US, university data showed.
Johns Hopkins recorded the first death from Covid-19 on Feb. 29 in Washington state. Later in the spring, two earlier deaths in California were posthumously confirmed to be from Covid-19.
There are four other countries in the world that have reported over 100,000 total Covid-19 deaths, according to the university. Brazil has more than 200,000 total deaths while Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom have over 100,000.
5:15 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
Black and Hispanic people in the US continue to receive disproportionate share of Covid-19 vaccine
From CNN's Deidre McPhillips
A man gets his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine administered at Coors Field baseball stadium on January 30 in Denver. Chet Strange/AFP/Getty Images
More than 20 states now report Covid-19 vaccination data by race or ethnicity, and inequities in Covid-19 vaccination are present in all of them, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.
Black people have received a smaller share of vaccinations than their share of Covid-19 cases in all 23 states reporting data, and the same is true for Hispanic people in all 21 states reporting that data, the analysis found.
In most of those states, Black and Hispanic people also received a smaller share of Covid-19 vaccinations than their share of Covid-19 deaths, with Vermont and Missouri as the exceptions. In Vermont, the share of vaccinations among Black people was equal to the share of Covid-19 deaths among Black people, and in Vermont and Missouri, the share of vaccinations among Hispanic people were higher than the share of Covid-19 deaths among Hispanic people.
The Kaiser Family Foundation used data published on state websites as of Monday for the analysis, along with case and death data from The Covid Tracking Project.
4:34 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
Here's the latest on the race to distribute Covid-19 vaccines across the world
From CNN's Diego Mendoza
A health worker prepares to administer a dose of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine at the Cotahuma Hospital in La Paz, Bolivia, on February 3. Jorge Bernal/AFP/Getty Images
The coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the world, and in the US, January marked the deadliest month of the pandemic so far. At the same time, the worldwide race to distribute vaccines is on.
If you're just catching up now, here’s a look at the latest vaccine news:
Vaccines direct to your local pharmacy in the US: The Biden administration announced Tuesday that vaccine manufacturers can now ship vials directly to pharmacies starting Feb. 11, including CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid. The White House said that 1 million doses will be distributed to 6,500 stores. The plan to expand vaccine availability in pharmacies has long been in the works and was a key component in the former Trump administration's distribution plan as well.
Canada's vaccine challenges: Facing massive shortages, a Montreal facility will tentatively begin producing the Novavax vaccine candidate by the end of 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed at a news conference. Approval is not expected for several more weeks. Trudeau said it was important for Canada to be “self-sufficient” in their vaccine rollout after other candidates met hurdles to Canada.
Switzerland delays approval for one vaccine: The Oxford-developed candidate can significantly reduce the transmission of Covid, according to UK researchers. This is promising news for AstraZeneca, who has submitted its formula to the FDA for the final phase three trials. However, Switzerland declined to authorize the AstraZeneca vaccine this morning, saying "additional data from new studies are needed."
Unexpected triumph: Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid, according to a peer-reviewed international analysis. Researchers initially approached the candidate with hesitation after Russia approved the vaccine for public use in August — before the crucial Phase 3 trials had been completed. The vaccine has been approved in more than a dozen countries, and more than 2 million people worldwide have already received the vaccine with no serious side effects.
4:11 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
California opens mass vaccination sites as part of federal pilot program
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Oakland, California, on February 3. California Governor's Office
California is opening two mass Covid-19 vaccination sites as part of a federal pilot program to quickly boost the number of available doses, as the state continues to see improving numbers in cases, deaths, positivity rate, and hospitalizations.
“Everything that should be up in relationship to this virus is up. Everything that should be down is down,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said, in a news conference at the Oakland Coliseum, one of the soon-to-be-open vaccination sites.
The rolling average of new daily cases in the state has dropped in half in the past two weeks, according to data from California’s Department of Public Health. The state added 10,501 new cases and 481 additional Covid-19 related deaths Wednesday, and hospitalizations have dropped 30% over the last 14 days.
California State Los Angeles will house California’s other newly-announced vaccination site and both locations are part of a planned 100 locations nationwide in a federal-state partnership. FEMA will provide personal protective equipment and supplies, according to Newsom.
California is now administering about one million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine each week, Newsom said, a rate two to three times higher than the initial rollout as the state attempts to speed up inoculations and jump start its economy as it emerges from a regional stay at home order that shuttered many non-essential businesses.
The Oakland and Los Angeles sites are expected to begin vaccinations on Feb. 16, and appointments will be available through a newly developed statewide website called MyTurn that will alert users when they are eligible for a Covid-19 shot and present an appointment.
Each site will be paired with two mobile vaccination clinics that can be deployed to multiple locations, according to a press release from Newsom’s office.
3:28 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
West Virginia governor calls for more localized approach to Covid-19 vaccine administration
From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips
West Virginia Governor's Office
To improve the pace of vaccination against Covid-19, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said states “need to get the bureaucratic thinking out of the system.”
“To sit back and try to develop a system and work on it with 18 experts, or 1,800 experts, with people dying, just isn’t going to get it,” Justice said at a US Chamber of Commerce Foundation event on Wednesday.
Justice also suggested a “common sense” approach to vaccine distribution, focused on vaccinating older people first and making the vaccine available at places people are familiar with, including local pharmacies and local health clinics.
“You have to take this to the people. This model can work anywhere in this country,” he said. “We’re slowly moving to this (nationwide), but in the last few weeks, just to tell it like it is, a bunch of people have died because we were sitting with vaccines on shelves and they should have been in people’s arms," he added.
Some context: West Virginia has consistently been one of the leading states in terms of the share of distributed doses that have been administered. According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia has administered 82% of the doses they’ve received, putting the state second after North Dakota. Nationally, that rate is about 61%.
Accounting for the extra doses that can be pulled from the vials, 108% of distributed doses have been administered in West Virginia, Justice said on Wednesday.
3:03 p.m. ET, February 3, 2021
Yankee Stadium mass vaccination site will open Friday
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio NYC Media
The mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium will open Friday with 15,000 appointments available during the first week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in a news release.
The site was targeted because of the Bronx’s positivity rate, which is the highest among all New York City boroughs, but also to “further the state’s and city’s mandate for fairness and social equity in the vaccine distribution process,” according to the release.
"Yankee Stadium has always been known for its World Series banners, but now it'll be recognized as a place where the people of the surrounding community in the Bronx can receive the vaccine doses that they need and deserve,” de Blasio said. “This is about justice and standing up for the neighborhoods that were hardest hit by Covid-19."
A statement from the New York Yankees emphasized the immediate difference these vaccinations will make in the community.
“We will do whatever is needed to make this a success," he said.
