February 11 coronavirus news

Rite Aid pharmacies will begin on Friday administering Covid-19 vaccines in seven US states and jurisdictions as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, the drug store chain said in a press release Thursday. 

Chris Savarese, Rite Aid director of public relations, said at launch the store expects to receive 116,300 doses for about 1,200 Rite Aid locations, which is about 100 doses per participating store.  

The states where Rite Aid will begin vaccinations are California, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The cities of Philadelphia and New York City, which are designated as separate jurisdictions by the federal government, are also included,

Vaccine eligibility is based on state guidelines. 

The Biden administration announced last week the federal government will begin direct shipments of coronavirus vaccines to retail pharmacies starting on February 11, with a total of 1 million doses going to about 6,500 stores before eventually expanding.

Nursing homes with more Black residents report a significantly higher share of coronavirus deaths, researchers reported this week.

The average number of coronavirus deaths was more than three times higher in nursing homes with the highest proportion of Black residents compared to those with the highest proportion of White residents, the researchers reported in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The team looked at Covid-19 cases and deaths among residents in 13,312 US nursing homes, using 2020 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.

Nursing homes with the lowest proportion of White residents reported an average of 5.6 deaths, while those with the highest proportion of White residents reported an average of 1.7 deaths. In total, the data showed 51,606 deaths related to coronavirus, with an average of 3.9 deaths per facility. 

The team says that in part, the differences in those numbers are related to higher infection levels in counties home to facilities with more non-White residents. They note that nursing homes with more White residents had better resident health, higher star ratings, more nursing hours, and were located in counties with fewer coronavirus cases per capita.

To help stem future outbreaks, the researchers suggest that limited resources should be focused on supporting nursing homes with more non-White residents.

President Joe Biden's pledge to reopen most American schools within his first 100 days in office is in danger of going off the rails as teachers' unions hold firm on their demands for new safety measures amid conflicting messages from the administration and public health leaders.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday said Biden was committed "to ensuring schools are open five days a week" -- once the proper safety measures are in place. New guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected on Friday, she added.

It was Psaki's third swing in 72 hours at questions over the President's definition of a successful return. Her initial suggestion, on Tuesday, that "teaching at least one day a week in the majority of schools by day 100" might be enough to clear the bar was met with a torrent of criticism from parents, teachers and administrators.

Nearly a year into the unprecedented national experiment in remote learning in the face of a growing pandemic, millions of children are still at home, with no expected return date. Studies show them falling behind, with low-income or Black and Latino children hurting the worst -- but the science is unclear on how, or when, they can safely return to classes, even as some teachers get vaccinated and schools districts work to fit classrooms for reopening.

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Between 20% and 25% of Covid-19 infections in France are caused by the UK variant, Health Minister Olivier Véran said Thursday. 

"The British variant is currently responsible for one in five to one in four infections," Véran told reporters during a weekly coronavirus briefing. 

The French Health Minister said the British variant was “circulating fast” and infections of the variant have “increased by 50% every week.” The prevalence of the Brazilian and South African variants has also risen in France, making up 4% to 5% of infections, Veran said.

Véran told reporters France’s epidemic trajectory was “not ascending” but on a “slightly descending plateau.” Pressure on hospitals remains high but isn't worsening, Véran added.

On Thursday, the French Public Health Agency recorded 21,063 new coronavirus cases and a further 371 deaths in hospitals, bringing the death to 80,803. The country also reported 26,963 coronavirus patients in the hospital -- a decrease of 454 patients in the last 24 hours. The agency also reported 3,327 patients in intensive care on Thursday.

France has administered 2,113,533 first injections and 535,775 second injections of coronavirus vaccines, according to the Health Ministry.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced he has officially let Ohio’s curfew expire at noon today, due to a sustained decrease in Covid-19 hospitalizations. 

The governor had indicated in the past two weeks that if Ohio’s hospitalization numbers dropped below 2,500 for seven days, the curfew would be lifted.

“Now we may, in the future, we don’t know, have to put a curfew back on. We certainly hope we do not,” Governor DeWine said, noting that if hospitalizations start to rise again, the Ohio Department of Health may reinstate the curfew. 

The Governor said it is crucial that Ohioans continue safety protocols to slow the spread of Covid-19 and prevent hospitalizations from going up.

Ireland’s Prime Minister expressed regret on Thursday over the decision to ease lockdown rules in the country around Christmas.

In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, Micheal Martin said: “If we knew then what we knew now, now we certainly wouldn't have made that decision." 

Ireland is in lockdown again after loosening restrictions in December, which resulted in the country having one of the highest infection rates in the world by January.

Martin added that Ireland would remain in a lockdown “for quite some time” to reduce hospital numbers. 

The UK variant is now responsible for 70% of the Covid-19 cases in Ireland, Martin said.

“I think globally, we have to intensify vaccination efforts, because it's important that the entire globe gets vaccinated, not just countries who are wealthier and in a position to do it earlier,” he said.  

In addition to this, he also said the “new variants could undermine the vaccine effort” and reiterated that Ireland's goal remains to vaccinate 80% of people by September.

“It's been disrupted somewhat by issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine and its supply, and we're not getting the same level of supply that we had thought we would get at the commencement of the year and that's part of the wider EU procurement issue with AstraZeneca,” Martin conceded, but he said the country was getting higher volumes of other vaccines in the second quarter of the year.

Serbia currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, despite not being a member of the European Union -- and the country's Prime Minister has said directly negotiating with manufacturers has helped his country. 

Rapid vaccine procurement and a government shift to digitization is behind the nation's early success in rolling out the jabs, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić told CNN.

The Prime Minister also praised Serbia’s decision to make its government more digital around four years ago, saying it “makes the whole process very easy for citizens, very transparent and for us easy to manage.”

Brnabić referenced the European Union’s struggle to secure vaccine supplies but declined to offer up any criticism. The Western Balkans nation is currently seeking to join the EU.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on large gatherings to include celebrating Mardi Gras, underscoring that the safest way to celebrate is virtual or with those you live with. 

“Attending large gatherings like Mardi Gras increases your risk of getting and spreading Covid-19,” the CDC said. “The safest way to celebrate Mardi Gras this year is to gather virtually, with people who live with you, or outside and at least 6 feet apart from others.”

For those who celebrate with others, the agency reiterated that outdoors is safer than indoors.

CDC suggested that those who host either an indoor or outdoor Mardi Gras party make sure that people have enough space to stay six feet apart from each other, and wear appropriate masks. 

“A costume mask is not a replacement for cloth and other masks that prevent the spread of Covid-19,” CDC said.

Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday 16 February this year.

CNN's Go There is in New York as minorities face hurdles to vaccination.

For example, last month, a Covid-19 vaccination site in a Latino neighborhood in New York City hard hit by the pandemic saw an overwhelming number of White people from outside the community show up to get the shot this month, laying bare a national disparity that shows people of color are being vaccinated at dramatically lower rates.

Laura Jarrett is answering your questions.

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