February 14 coronavirus news

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, that while people have been reinfected with the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, it appears as though the vaccine is better at preventing reinfection than a previous natural infection.

The variant first identified in South Africa is more problematic that the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, Fauci said, “in the sense that we know less about it vis a vis whether it transmits more readily or not.”

However, it is known that it evades the protection from some monoclonal antibodies, and it somewhat diminishes that effectiveness of the vaccine, Fauci said, but there is “still some cushion left so that the vaccine does provide some protection against it.”

He said attention needs to be paid to the fact that in South Africa there were people who were infected with the original virus, recovered and then got reinfected with the variant.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said teachers’ concerns about going back to school without being vaccinated are understandable, but he hopes the new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help alleviate them. 

“There’s a lot of layering to the mitigations, George, and I think the point to make is it’s totally understandable, you know, teachers’ concerns, I mean, we appreciate that,” Fauci told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

There are myriad things that can be done to lower teachers’ risk, he said, and they are laid out in the CDC’s guidance document.

Part of this “is to indicate and to suggest strongly” that teachers are given a preference when it comes to vaccination, he added, but it is not essential that all teachers are vaccinated before a school can reopen.

“That would be optimal if you could do that, but practically speaking, when you balance the benefit of getting the children back to school with the fact that the risks are being mitigated if you follow the recommendations and these new guidelines from the CDC, hopefully, I think that will alleviate the concerns on both sides,” Fauci said.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it it is absolutely too early to be getting rid of mask mandates.

“If we want to get our children back to school, and I believe we all do, it all depends on how much community spread is out there. We need to all take responsibility to decrease that community spread, including mask wearing, so that we can get our kids and our society back,” Walensky added.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that while the vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for reopening schools, current CDC guidance does specify that those who are at higher risk should have virtual options.

The CDC on Friday released updated guidance for reopening schools.

Walensky added guidance from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) puts teachers in the 1b category, which is the same as people over age 75.

“I’m a strong advocate of teachers receiving their vaccinations, but we don’t believe it’s a prerequisite for schools to reopen,” she said. 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN's Jake Tapper that she believes school reopening "is directly related to how much disease is in the community." 

She said its important for communities to lower the rate of Covid-19 transmission to safely reopen schools.

Walensky continued: "So I would say this is everybody's responsibility to do their part in the community to get disease rates down so we can get our schools opened."

The United Kingdom has administered 15 million first doses of Covid-19 vaccine, the minister in charge of the program, Nadhim Zahawi, tweeted Sunday.

"We will not rest till we offer the vaccine to the whole of phase 1," Zahawi wrote, referring to priority groups set out by the government.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a "significant milestone" and an "extraordinary feat." 

The British government also plans to give a first dose to the remaining risk groups and adults over 50 by the end of April.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on “Fox News Sunday” that she anticipates every American who wants a Covid-19 vaccine will be able to get one by the end of summer.

Once there is enough vaccine, Walensky said, “we very much need to make sure that everybody rolls up their sleeves when it’s their turn, when they’re eligible.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Thursday said that “open season” for vaccination could begin in April, and the majority of Americans could be vaccinated by the middle or the end of the summer.

Despite declining Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, experts warn: when it comes to the pandemic, the US is not yet out of the woods.

According to the latest model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, another 130,000 Americans are projected to die of the virus over the next three and a half months,

And while Covid-19 numbers may be trending in the right direction now, there are four key factors that will determine how the next months unfold, the IHME said in a briefing accompanying its model.

The two first factors are things that will help drive pandemic numbers down. They are increasing vaccinations and declining seasonality – referring to the pattern of lower transmission that's likely in the US during the spring and summer months.

"Two factors, however, can slow or even reverse the declines that have begun," the IHME team said.

The first factor is the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the UK and experts warned could become the dominant strain in the US by spring. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 980 cases of the variant have so far been detected across 37 states.

The second factor, according to the IHME team, is "increased behaviors that favor COVID-19 transmission."

That's why experts say now is not the time for the US to let down its guard, even as a growing list of governors loosen Covid-19 restrictions.

Read the full story here.

As of Sunday morning, there have been more than 27.5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the seven-day average of new cases is down significantly week over week, there is still sustained community transmission of the virus across the country.

“Do you think that, by the end of this year, you and I will be able to walk down the street without a mask?” Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on “Fox News Sunday.”