March 15 coronavirus news

A growing list of European countries have suspended use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine as a precuationary measure pending review from Europe's health regulator.

France became the latest country to do so, following Italy and Germany earlier today, while they await a ruling by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Tuesday afternoon.

Previous guidance from the EMA has said the benefits of the shot outweigh any potential risks.

Here's a look at the European countries that have suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine so far:

Meanwhile, the UK continues to use the AstraZeneca vaccine and maintains that it is safe. Earlier Monday, the deputy head of the United Kingdom’s Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunizations said there is no indication of a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine and is encouraging people to continue to get the shot.

Italy’s medicines agency is banning the use of the AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine "as a precaution and temporarily," pending a meeting of the European Medicines Agency, the Italian agency AIFA announced Monday.

France and Germany announced similar suspensions on Monday, while the UK said it would continue using the vaccine.

France has suspended use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford pending review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said. 

“The EMA will give its assessment tomorrow afternoon on the use of this vaccine,” he added.

The decision follows a number of other European countries who have suspended use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine pending further assessment, despite assertions from the United Kingdom’s Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunizations  (JCVI) that the vaccine has been “rigorously tested for safety.”

“We have one principle: be guided by science and competent health authorities, and do so within a coordinated European approach,” Macron concluded. 

There is no indication of a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine, the deputy head of the United Kingdom’s Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunizations said Monday, as more European countries suspended its use.

The UK has administered nearly twice as many doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as the entire European Union plus European Economic Area, which have distributed 6.9 million doses as of Sunday, according to the ECDC.

More people have traveled by air in the last four days than any four-day period of the pandemic. The Transportation Security Administration says it screened 1,357,111 people at airports on Friday — a pandemic record and a number not seen since March 15, 2020.

CNN correspondent Pete Muntean answered viewers' questions from Dulles International Airport in Virginia where passengers can now get coronavirus tests before they fly.

Watch:

The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, is still projected to become the dominant variant in the United States by the end of this month or early April, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a White House briefing on Monday.

At least 4,858 cases of coronavirus variants first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the United States, according to data updated Sunday by the CDC.

Most of these cases, 4,690, are the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7. This variant has been found in 48 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. Walensky said on Monday that "in some states, Florida and California, it's up to 25%, and in other states it's lower."

CDC says this does not represent the total number of such cases circulating in the US, but rather just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples. The agency cautions that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reviewing new data to see if physical distancing rules in schools should be changed to advise people to stay at least 3 feet apart instead of at least 6 feet apart, according to a federal official.

The official pointed to a study published last week that showed “no significant difference” in rates of Covid-19 at Massachusetts public schools that had implemented social distancing rules of more than 3 feet apart compared to those with rules to stay more than 6 feet apart.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, was asked about the study by CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday.

“The CDC is very well aware that data are accumulating making it look more like 3 feet are okay, under certain circumstances. They're analyzing that and I can assure you within a reasonable period of time – quite reasonable – they will be giving guidelines according to the data that they have. It won't be very long,” Fauci said.

More on the study: In the study, published Wednesday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine and their colleagues looked at data from 537,336 students in 251 Massachusetts school districts and did not find a difference in Covid-19 rates between schools that mandated at least 3 feet of physical distance compared to 6 feet – as long as everyone wore masks.

The study notes that while the CDC recommends 6 feet or more between students, the World Health Organization recommends 1 meter, which is 3.3 feet, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 3-6 feet.

“Lower physical distancing policies can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively impacting student or staff safety,” the authors concluded.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is urging the public to continue wearing masks, physical distancing and other Covid-19 safety measures

During a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing Monday, Walensky warned that some European countries have seen a resurgence of Covid-19 cases after relaxing mitigation measures. These countries have had "strikingly similar" Covid-19 trends and surges during the pandemic as the United States, Walensky said.

With clocks springing ahead over the weekend, a recent surge in travel and the beginning of spring break, Walensky said she now worries that the United States could see a spike in Covid-19 cases as well.

"We have seen footage of people enjoying spring break festivities, maskless. This is all in the context of still 50,000 cases per day," Walensky said on Monday.

CDC director: We still have much work to do

The Biden administration announced it will increase Medicare reimbursement for Covid-19 shots, another step toward the administration’s goal of more equitable vaccine distribution. 

“We’re announcing that the Biden administration will nearly double Medicare’s reimbursement rates for administering Covid vaccines from about $23 per shot to $40 per shot. That’s $80 total for a two dose vaccine,” White House senior Covid adviser Andy Slavitt said at Monday’s Covid briefing. 

The move, Slavitt said, will “make it easier for more healthcare providers to get out into communities and give more Covid shots to people in need,” which will help get vaccines to the nation’s underserved communities more expeditiously.

Slavitt also explained that through the Covid relief bill, the administration will also be covering 100% of the cost for Medicaid and children’s health insurance beneficiaries to get vaccinated.