March 3 coronavirus news

It’s premature for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to lift the state’s mask mandate and end restrictions on businesses, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday. 

“I think we at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions,” Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing.

Abbott announced the end of the state’s pandemic restrictions on Monday.

Walensky said the next month or two will be pivotal for the country, and she hopes people will do whatever they can to decrease the amount of the virus spreading in the community – particularly as the country rolls out more vaccines to protect the public.

Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski has said he does not recommend China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine at the moment, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported Wednesday, adding that the Polish government is yet to come to a decision on the possible purchase of vaccines developed by China. 

“No decision has been made regarding the possible purchase of Chinese vaccines by Poland,” he added, highlighting that, in the case of the Sinopharm vaccine, no cooperation procedure has been initiated yet.  

The health minister also emphasized that patient safety is of the highest value, noting that such safety would be "guaranteed by the European Assessment System, culminating in the activities of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)."

Niedzielski added that the Hungarian government, which has already imported doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, has not yet carried out "the certification process of the production process so that there is a guarantee of quality.” 

"We do not really have any specific information on this subject, so from this point of view, until such results are carried out, it seems that there is no possibility that Polish patients will be at any risk," Niedzielski said.

Hungary is the first EU country to have rolled out China's Sinopharm vaccine, which has not been approved by the EMA.

About 400,000 teachers, childcare workers and school staff in Massachusetts will be eligible to sign up for vaccine appointments starting March 11, Gov. Charlie Baker announced at a news conference Wednesday. 

There will be specified days designated for them, according to the governor.

A celebratory “YES!” could be heard in response from Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, who was also at the news conference held at West Parish Elementary School. 

The state of Massachusetts has received 2 million vaccine doses and has administered 1.8 million so far, getting six doses out of a vile instead of five doses, Baker said.

Baker added that Tuesday was the first day in “I don’t know how long” that there has been zero new cases in long-term care facilities. 

The country is about to benefit from “historic scientific success” of rapid vaccine development, but people must not give in to pandemic “fatigue” – particularly with recent “troubling signs” of variants emerging, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing on Wednesday.

“The next three months are pivotal,” she added. 

To protect the country’s health, people need to remain vigilant, and whether mandated or not, Walensky asked the public to wear a well-fitted mask, keep physical distance from others, avoid crowds, and practice good hand hygiene.

“So much can turn in the next few weeks,” Walensky emphasized. 

Watch:

Johnson & Johnson is likely to have a Covid-19 vaccine available for children under the age of 18 by September, says CEO Alex Gorsky.

“I think it's likely to occur right in that timeline. The good news is, is that the FDA is already working with companies to establish the clear regulatory guidelines, so that the appropriate data can be collected,” Gorsky told David Ignatius during a Washington Post Live event on Wednesday

Gorksy said one benefit of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that this particular type of vaccine has been used in lower age groups before.

Last week, Johnson & Johnson first announced their plans to study the vaccine in adolescents. Gorsky says it will begin testing in people ages 12 to 18, and it will go down from there.

"We will conduct several immunogenicity and safety studies in children from 17 years of age down to neonates,” Dr. Macaya Douoguih, head of clinical development & medical affairs with J&J’s vaccine arm Janssen, told a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee last week.

“We are also anticipating a study in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters toward the end of March, early April," Douoguih said. "We also plan to begin a study in immunocompromised individuals in the third quarter of this year."

Both Pfizer and Moderna are currently trialing their mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines in children. 

The grocery chain Kroger announced it will still require customers to wear masks inside its stores across the country despite the reversal of mask mandates in Texas and Mississippi, a statement said today.

The company, which bills itself as "America's largest grocer" said that it will "continue to require everyone in our stores across the country to wear masks until all our frontline grocery associates can receive the Covid-19 vaccine."

"We also continue to advocate to federal, state and local officials to prioritize frontline grocery workers for the vaccine rollout plan," the company added. 

Kroger offers a $100 one-time payment to employees who get fully vaccinated.

The company has recently also drawn controversy over its practice of closing stores in cities that mandated "hazard pay" for grocery employees working during the pandemic. Kroger announced closures of two stores in Seattle and two in Long Beach, California, after ordinances in both cities required grocery workers to be paid an extra $4 per hour.

Johnson & Johnson’s goal is to exceed its target of 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of June now that it has a new partnership with Merck, says CEO Alex Gorsky. 

Gorksy said the two companies are working together “as we speak” and that he is confident about being able to accelerate.

“The early signs and the early data transfer and technology transfer has been encouraging. And we're committed to doing everything possible to make net acceleration possible," he said.

Yesterday, President Biden announced the partnership between the two pharmaceutical giants and declared there would be enough vaccine supply for all adult Americans by the end of May.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Merck as part of our global network to manufacture our COVID-19 vaccine. Merck has a long history of vaccine expertise, and we expect this manufacturing arrangement will enhance our production capacity so that we can supply beyond our current commitments,” said a statement from Johnson & Johnson. “Merck is the ninth manufacturer to join our global network and this significant collaboration will further enable us to deliver our COVID-19 vaccine worldwide.”

The city of Greenville, Mississippi, will continue to enforce the citywide mask mandate after Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Tuesday that he was lifting the statewide mask mandate. 

"This unseen disease is still alive and well; and, there exist variants of Covid-19 in this country," Errick Simmons said in a news release Wednesday.  

Simmons called the decision to lift mask mandates "premature and reckless." 

"We cannot relax exercising good personal hygiene, social distancing, use of face masks and/or coverings, or let our guards down as we approach Spring Break, Easter, and other holidays," the mayor said. 

In a similar statement on Tuesday, the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the mask mandate in the city of Jackson still stands.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also repealed the mask mandate in his state on Tuesday.

The Netherlands government has asked the Health Council of the Netherlands for advice on administering the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 to those over age 65.

That vaccine is currently only being used in the Netherlands for those aged 60 to 64, those with Down’s Syndrome, and the “morbidly obese.”

The government has asked the Health Council, an independent scientific advisory body, “to issue an opinion on use of AstraZeneca for those over 65 years old,” Tim Bennebroek, a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Sport told CNN on Wednesday.