February 9 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Kara Fox, Christopher Johnson and Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 6:29 a.m. ET, February 10, 2021

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3:33 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Germany edges closer to coronavirus goal — but variants pose a new threat

From CNN's Claudia Otto in Berlin

A medical assistant prepares a rapid antigen Covid-19 test at the Koeln Messe trade fair grounds on February 8 in Cologne, Germany. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Germany's seven-day Covid-19 case incidence rate has dropped below 100 for the first time in three months, according to its infectious disease agency -- a key metric in the country's fight against the pandemic.

That means in the past week, the Robert Koch Institute only reported 72.8 infections per 100,000 residents.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has consistently told the public the goal is to push infections under the rate of 50 cases per 100,000 residents, in order to start reopening the country.

The RKI's latest data shows 3,379 new Covid-19 cases and 481 additional deaths.

The downward trend is promising: However, government spokesman Steffen Seibert warned on Monday that the country's second wave was not yet over.

New mutations pose a worrying threat, particularly the variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which have increased in recent weeks. Nearly 6% of all German cases are of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the UK, according to RKI.

3:29 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Iran begins rolling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

From CNN's Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran

In this photo released by Imam Khomeini Airport City, Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines are being unloaded at the Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on February 4. Saeed Kaari/IKAC/AP

Iran has started its rollout of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on Tuesday, according to a live broadcast on state television.

Nurses and doctors working in intensive care units will be among the first inoculated, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, citing Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

Iran has been the hardest-hit country in the Middle East in total Covid-19 cases and deaths. On Monday, the country reported 7,321 new infections, bringing the national total to 1,473,756 cases since the pandemic began.

Restrictions are still in place around the country to prevent a larger outbreak of cases.

2:27 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Rise in attacks on elderly Asian Americans prompts new special response unit

From CNN's Eric Levenson, Stephanie Becker and Dan Simon

Several unprovoked attacks on elderly Asian Americans, including at least three in the Bay Area captured in disturbing videos in recent days, have raised concerns about anti-Asian discrimination related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a news conference in Oakland's Chinatown on Monday, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley announced the creation of a special response unit focused on crimes against Asians, and particularly older Asians.

"The rapid increase in criminal acts targeted against members of the Asian community, particularly Chinese Americans, who live and work in Alameda County is intolerable," she said.

The new unit stems from two similar attacks in northern California last week as well as a spate of crime in Oakland's Chinatown.

In San Francisco, Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old from Thailand, died after he was abruptly attacked while out on a morning walk January 28, according to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and elder abuse in the case, he said.

"This was a horrific, senseless attack, and I send my deepest condolences to the Ratanapakdee family for this unthinkable pain," Boudin said in a statement. "My heart goes out to the entire (Asian American Pacific Islander) community for the harm and fear this tragedy has inflicted."

Read the full story:

Rise in attacks on elderly Asian Americans in Bay Area prompts new special response unit

1:43 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

130 Hong Kong students put into quarantine after 2 classmates test positive for Covid-19

From CNN's Chandler Thornton

At least 130 students and five teachers from a Hong Kong high school were placed into quarantine after two students tested positive for Covid-19.

According to authorities, the infected students recently sat examinations at the Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary School.

"As the two students attended the school for exams during the infectious period, those who had stayed in the same hall with them will be put under quarantine while others must undergo compulsory testing," the Hong Kong government said in a news release on Monday.

Authorities are still counting the total number of people who were at the school for exams during the same time as the infected students.

The two infected students live in the same building, the government added.

"The total number of students in the other forms may be several hundred, so they will need to undergo testing. Also, the household members of those who have been put under quarantine will be subject to a compulsory testing order," the news release read.

Hong Kong reported 32 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, 28 of which were locally transmitted.

1:24 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

US reports more than 86,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Joe Sutton in Atlanta

The United States reported 86,646 new cases of Covid-19 and 1,465 additional virus-related deaths on Monday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

That raises the national total to at least 27,094,014 infections and 464,941 fatalities since the pandemic began.

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 42,417,617 shots administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN is tracking US cases.

1:08 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Peru's coronavirus vaccine rollout begins Tuesday

From CNN’s Sharif Paget in Atlanta and Claudia Rebaza in London

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

Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti will be vaccinated with China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, signaling the start of the country's inoculation program, state news agency Andina reported Monday.

"The process will begin tomorrow (Tuesday) with the vaccination of the President. We are happy as this restores hope of tackling the health crisis," Nancy Olivares, Peru's vaccination team coordinator at the Ministry of Health, told a Peruvian news show.

Sagasti will be vaccinated along with frontline health care workers during the first phase of the rollout, Olivares said.

Peru took delivery of its first shipment of 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine on Sunday and expects to receive the remaining 700,000 shots on February 14.

Peru, with a population of more than 32 million people, has reported nearly 1.2 million Covid-19 cases.

12:45 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

FDA needs strong agenda to address US drug supply shortages, candidate for top job says

From CNN Health’s Samira Said

The US Food and Drug Administration needs a strong agenda to strengthen the process of manufacturing and purchasing drugs so the country doesn’t suffer shortages in key medications, said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, one of the candidates being considered by the Biden administration for the role of FDA commissioner.

"The FDA, through its usual course of business, can make the supply chain more resilient, and that will pay off in regular times as well as within crises,” Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, told CNN Monday.·

Writing in a commentary in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Sharfstein and colleagues said: "The acute stress of the Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare a series of long-term weaknesses in the US public health system, including the fragility of our supply of essential medications.”

The Johns Hopkins team team said these weaknesses include:

Pre-pandemic drug shortages that were never addressed
US reliance on countries like China and India for drug ingredients that were severely limited when those countries went into lockdown
Allowing pharmaceutical wholesalers to decide where to deliver high-demand inventory, even when supply is limited

The federal government should "absolutely" have a stronger role in addressing these problems, Sharfstein said.

"Some of the challenges are about extraordinary circumstances, like a global pandemic that shuts down trade. And we have to be better prepared for those in the future. But other challenges are about surges in demand for certain types of medications, or interruptions of supply of just a couple of medications and were about misdistribution," said Sharfstein, who has declined to comment on reports the Biden team is considering him for the top job at FDA.

Possible solutions, Sharfstein and colleagues said, include giving the FDA the authority to declare a critical drug shortage, which would in turn allow the agency to redirect supplies where needed. The US could also provide better incentives for companies to produce drugs in the country, and allow manufacturers to make drugs that are under patent if those medications are in short supply and the patent-holder cannot meet demand.

12:01 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Los Angeles County is only offering second doses of Covid-19 vaccine due to shortage

From CNN's Sarah Moon

People with appointments stand in line to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in East Los Angeles amid eased lockdown restrictions on January 28. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Starting Tuesday, Los Angeles County will only be offering appointments for the second dosage of the coronavirus vaccine due to a shortage in supply, rather than offering any more first doses, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced.

“Scheduling an appointment right now is challenging because of the limited supply of vaccines that the county is receiving on a weekly basis,” the public health department said in a press release Monday.

This will last for the remainder of the week.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a news conference Monday that this is to “ensure that we have enough doses to guarantee a second dose for people who already received the first one.”

More first-time appointments will be offered once the county receives more doses, she added.

While it’s unclear if this applies to all vaccination sites in the county, including the city’s mass vaccination sites like Dodger Stadium, the public health department posted in a tweet on Saturday that seven vaccination sites in the county will only administer the second doses for the remainder of the week.

CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for clarification.

There are 365 sites offering the vaccination this week, according to the release. About 20% of the county’s residents 65 and older have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine.

To date, Los Angeles County has reported a total of 1,149,064 confirmed coronavirus cases and 18,135 deaths.

10:09 p.m. ET, February 8, 2021

Pfizer says it has increased production to double coronavirus vaccine output

From CNN Health’s Nadia Kounang

Efficiencies and upgrades in the production process have helped vaccine maker Pfizer double its output of coronavirus vaccine in the past month, a spokeswoman for the company told CNN Monday.

While the company did not give any production figures to support the estimate, spokeswoman Amy Rose said Pfizer expects production time to be cut nearly in half, from 110 days to an average of 60 days for one batch of Covid-19 vaccine.

One batch is equal to between 1 million to 3 million doses, Pfizer says.

Producing the genetic material that forms the basis of the vaccine initially took 16 days, but will soon take just nine to 10 days, Rose said.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said last week the company expects to deliver 200 million doses of its vaccine to the United States by the end of May.