March 16 coronavirus news

The number of US adults who have contracted the novel coronavirus could be twice the number reflected in the official case count, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.

Because many people who become infected with Covid-19 do not experience symptoms, researchers at the Clinical Reference Laboratory designed a large-scale study to test for the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in otherwise healthy US adults. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19. 

The researchers enrolled 61,910 self-reported "well" participants. They tested their blood for antibodies to fight SARS-CoV-2, and found that 4,094 – or 6.6% – of them were positive, despite never reporting that they experienced symptoms.

The scientists used that information to estimate that 15.9 million asymptomatic or undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections had occurred in the US as of September 30, 2020.

By contrast, the total number of confirmed positive cases was just over 7.2 million at the end of September, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The researchers said the results of their study validate the need for ongoing population-wide surveillance testing for Covid-19.

Europe is combatting a third wave of coronavirus infections, leading some officials to restrict travel and hospitals to reallocate their resources. 

If you're just reading in, here's what you need to know about the pandemic to start your morning:

European Medicines Agency executive director Emer Cooke says “as far as she understands” the outcome of the AstraZeneca review will come on Thursday afternoon. 

The Agency also said it's worried there may be an effect on the trust of vaccines because of its current investigation into AstraZeneca, but its executive director stressed “our job is to make sure that the products we authorize are safe and we can be trusted by the European citizens.”

Speaking at a digital press conference on Tuesday, Cooke added:

"I have to stress again that trust in the safety and efficacy in the vaccine we have authorized is paramount to us. Our job is to ensure we can maintain trust in these vaccines based on a proper scientific evaluation and this is why we have put such high priority on coming to a clear conclusion based on the evaluation of the cases coming in as we speak and whether or not there is a causal event.”

President Biden launches a sales effort Tuesday that he says is critical to convincing Americans that government can make their lives better as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the country.

The "Help is Here" road show, which spans the country from coast to coast and includes travel by the first lady, vice president, second gentleman and Cabinet members, is partly designed to claim political credit for the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that no Republicans voted for but which remains overwhelmingly popular among Americans.

At a small business outside Philadelphia, Biden today will trumpet the economic assistance offered by his administration to help shore up pandemic-addled sectors. Vice President Kamala Harris meanwhile is promoting the law today in Denver, Colorado.

The $1.9 trillion bill also sends billions to state and local governments, expands the child tax credit and delivers direct payments up to $1,400 to individuals.

But he'll also make the case more broadly that big government, when functioning properly, is a good thing.

More on the law's roll out: Many of the states that administration officials are visiting this week are critical electoral battlegrounds and the law's popularity among the American people is helping Biden and his surrogates promote the plan to Americans eager for relief.

A smooth rollout of the new law will be essential for maintaining its majority support among Americans. There were positive signs on that front this weekend as direct stimulus payments began hitting Americans' bank accounts.

But officials say there are still potential hiccups ahead, including administering the expanded child tax credit through the IRS and getting billions of dollars to state and local governments efficiently and without waste.

Biden on Monday named Gene Sperling, a top economic official in previous Democratic administrations, to oversee the implementation efforts.

Here's a guide of what Americans can expect from the law.

Venezuela will not approve the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the country’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced on Monday, citing “complications that have occurred to those who have been vaccinated” with it.

She said President Nicolas Maduro would not grant a license for the use of the vaccine in the country.

This comes as a long list of European countries have suspended use of the vaccine over blood clot concerns. However, the World Health Organization has appealed to countries to keep vaccination campaigns going and says there is no evidence the vaccines caused clotting issues.

Venezuela is expected to receive more than 1.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX initiative but its shipment depends on the country’s payments to the program, Pan American Health Organization officials have said over the past few weeks.

The country announced it approved the use of China’s Sinopharm vaccine earlier in the month and received half a million doses from China.

In early February, Venezuela received 100,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Spring breakers traveling by air are helping to break pandemic air travel records. The Transportation Security Administration screened 6.4 million people at airports across the country between Thursday and Monday, the biggest five-day period of pandemic air travel.

TSA records show 5.6 million people flew in the five days following Christmas.  

The TSA says more than 1.2 million people flew on Monday, which is still only about half of the number TSA screened on the same day pre-pandemic. Air travel broke a one-day pandemic record on Friday when more than 1.3 million people flew — the highest number recorded since March 15, 2020.

Struggling airlines hope they’re seeing the start of an air travel rebound, even though that’s at odds with warnings from health officials against travel.

The Slovenian Health Ministry advises it is temporarily suspending vaccinations with the AstraZeneca drug. 

"The decision is based on precautionary reasons. The vaccination of persons scheduled to receive this vaccine will be rescheduled to a later date,” the Health Ministry said in a statement on its website.

The nation now joins a growing list of countries temporarily halting its rollout over blood clot concerns.

The World Health Organization's vaccine safety experts were due to meet Tuesday to discuss the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, as the list of countries temporarily halting its rollout over blood clot concerns continued to grow.

On Tuesday, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Latvia and Sweden became the latest European nations to suspend its use, despite advice from international medical agencies that the benefits of getting shots into arms outweigh any potential risks.

WHO on Monday appealed to countries to keep vaccination campaigns going, saying there was no evidence the vaccine caused clotting issues.

WHO is assessing the latest reports of thromboembolic events, but said it was "unlikely" to change its recommendations.

Europe's medicines regulator, the European Medical Authority (EMA), which authorized the use of the shot for the 27-nation bloc, is convening a special meeting Thursday to review information gathered into whether the AstraZeneca vaccine influenced clotting in vaccinated people. The EMA has also advised against halting vaccination campaigns while investigations are ongoing.

But much of Europe has gone against that advice in recent days, temporarily halting AstraZeneca shots even as the continent confronts a third wave of the pandemic, spurred by variants of the virus, and faces criticism over sluggish vaccination campaigns.

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WHO meets to discuss AstraZeneca vaccine as more EU countries halt rollout

Sweden and Luxembourg have joined a growing list of countries suspending the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.

The Swedish Health Ministry has decided to pause AstraZeneca vaccinations while the drug is being investigated by the European Medicines Agency and its Swedish equivalent, a press officer at the ministry confirmed.

On Tuesday, Luxembourg also announced that it has decided to "temporarily suspend" vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Previous guidance from the EMA has said the benefits of the shot outweigh any potential risks and the number of people developing blood clots after vaccination does not seem to be higher than in the general population.

Here are the European countries that have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure: