May 27 coronavirus news

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said on Thursday that current wisdom about boosters for Covid-19 vaccines suggests that they will be needed, but exactly when is not yet known. 

Participants in original vaccine trials are currently being followed so that their immune response can be looked at over time and there is some evidence that it does “fall off somewhat” over time, Marks said during a Covid-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project webinar.  

He explained that this is because certain levels of immunity are sufficient to prevent Covid-19 with the original strain of the virus, but they may not be good enough for other variants. 

“We’ll have to see where this all interacts. Is it possible we’re going to need a booster at some point? Yes. Is it probable? Yes. Do we know exactly when? No,” said Marks. “But if I had to look at my crystal ball, it’s probably not sooner hopefully than a year after being vaccinated for the average adult.” 

He added that it may be different for some populations, such as the immunocompromised or older adults, who may need one sooner, but “we’ll just have to see.” 

“The good news is it may turn out that the immunity lasts longer,” he said. “Someone who might have looked at the New York Times today might have seen that there’s an article on the longevity of immunity to Covid-19, but I think our wisdom is, current wisdom is that we probably will need boosters at some point.” 

The COVAX initiative is calling on first world nations to share 1 billion vaccine doses before the end of 2021, in order to ensure vaccines can be supplied to the poorest nations on the planet. 

“Even though COVAX will have larger volumes available later in the year through the deals it has already secured with several manufacturers, if we do not address the current, urgent shortfall the consequences could be catastrophic,” the statement added.

In order to tackle the shortfalls and meet its targets, COVAX is requesting $2 billion in donations, by June, to lock in supplies so doses can be delivered through 2021 and 2022; and is calling on countries with the largest supplies to “redirect doses to COVAX now, to have maximum impact.”

The initiative also said it had started to see countries stepping forward, including the US and Europe, which had collectively pledged to share 180 million doses, but says it still needs more. “At least one billion doses could be shared by wealthy countries in 2021,” the statement read. 

“Now more than ever, at the peak of the pandemic, we need ambitious, global solutions. When it comes to worldwide vaccine distribution, COVAX is the only initiative capable of rising to the challenge of this moment,” it said. “It’s understandable that some countries want to press ahead and vaccinate all of their populations. By donating vaccines to COVAX alongside domestic vaccination programmes, the most at-risk populations can be protected globally, which is instrumental to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, curbing the rise and threat of variants, and accelerating a return to normality."

Nearly 166 million people – 49.9% of the US population – has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and nearly 133 million people – 40% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, 290,724,607 total doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been reported administered – about 81% of the 361,250,445 doses delivered.

That’s about 1.5 million more doses reported administered since Wednesday, for a seven-day average of about 1.6 million doses per day.

This is the lowest seven-day average in about three months ago, since the end of February.

Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the day reported.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon suggested Thursday that companies are having trouble hiring in part because some Americans don’t really feel like working right now.

Asked about the record high 8.1 million job openings, Dimon said there are many causes, including issues with reopening schools and enhanced unemployment benefits enacted during the pandemic. 

Bigger picture, Dimon reiterated optimism about the economic recovery and the jobs market.

“Rest assured, I think we are going to see a completely booming economy and a lot of people going back to work,” he said. “Hopefully it will continue for quite a while.”

Germany will allow Covid-19 vaccinations for young people aged 12 and up beginning on June 7 – pending approval from the European Medicines Agency, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday, following a meeting with the country's state premiers.

Merkel went on to say she is expecting that within the next few days, the EMA will approve Pfizer/BioNTech's regulatory application to use its coronavirus vaccine in patients from the age of 12.

Following an approval for children and adolescents in that age group, Merkel said Germany will offer “vaccination to all those willing to receive it by the end of the summer.” Merkel added that there is no obligation for young children to get vaccinated and that children who are not vaccinated will be allowed to attend school.

Merkel added that Germany’s vaccine commission, the Standing Commission on Vaccination, will also submit a recommendation for this age group to get vaccinated. 

As of Thursday, nearly 35 million people in Germany (41.5%) have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine and nearly 13 million people (15.7%) have received their second dose, Merkel said.

Germany recorded at least 6,313 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, according to the latest data from the country's public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The country recorded 269 coronavirus fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 87,995. Overall, coronavirus infection numbers have dropped below the threshold of 50 new daily infections per 100,000 residents – the lowest infection rate since October.

In most regions, restaurants with outdoor seating have reopened as well as cultural outdoor events have restarted under strict hygiene and social distancing requirements.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Thursday that the intelligence community "does not know exactly where, when, or how" Covid-19 was transmitted initially but reiterated the two working theories: “either it emerged naturally from human contact with infected animals or it was a laboratory accident.” 

In the statement, ODNI spokesperson Amanda Schoch repeated what President Biden said on Wednesday: that there is a difference of opinion among various intelligence agencies and their degrees of confidence in the theories. 

"The IC continues to examine all available evidence, consider different perspectives, and aggressively collect and analyze new information to identify the virus's origins," the statement continued.

The statement is notable because it shows that the intelligence community has made little progress in uncovering the origins of the virus since its first statement on the subject in April last year.

In a congressional hearing last month, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee that US intelligence agencies still do not know "exactly where, when or how Covid-19 virus was transmitted initially" in China.

On Wednesday, Biden said he has directed the US intelligence community to redouble their efforts in investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and report back to him in 90 days.

Up to three quarters of all newly diagnosed Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom are attributed to the variant first identified in India, Britain's health minister Matt Hancock said at a news conference on Monday.

Hancock went on to say, the surge in cases attributed to this particular variant was focused in certain “hotspots.”

"The increase in cases remains focused in hotspots and we are doing all we can to tackle this variant wherever it flares up,” he said adding that health authorities were increasing testing and vaccination capacity in those areas.

“In Bolton, for instance, we have done 17,147 vaccinations in the last week,” he added. 

A total of 6,959 cases of the Covid-19 variant first identified in India, Public Health England said on Thursday. 

A very lucky Ohio teen is the first to win a four-year college scholarship in the state’s vaccine lottery. 

“My dad was driving me home from youth group, and then the people from the state government told me in my driveway that I had won the scholarship from the vaccine entering of the lottery,” 14-year-old Joseph Costello told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.

Ohio’s Vax-a-Million lottery awards $1 million to five people if they are vaccinated. For 12- to 17-year-olds, separate drawings are being held, with prizes of a full-ride college scholarship. It's helped boost the state's Covid-19 vaccination rate by 45%, Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday.

Joseph’s dad, Ricard Costello, said there’s “nothing to lose” with the program.

“There's a safety component, just being vaccinated. And b) the possibility of winning, you know, a scholarship or money, and so that's the way we see it. ... It's a very good thing,” he said. 

Joseph said he’s considering Ohio State University or Miami University of Ohio, but “it changes sometimes.”

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The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Biden administration to provide Covid-19 vaccine access to immigrants in detention, citing the rapid spread of coronavirus in congregate settings, according to a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security secretary and obtained by CNN. 

Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities wrestled with a growing number of positive cases, totaling more than 15,000 confirmed cases and nine deaths. As of May 25, there are 1,495 positive Covid-19 cases in ICE custody, according to agency data. 

The ACLU, which filed dozens of lawsuits against ICE during the pandemic, called the lack of a vaccine strategy for the detained population a “failure” in a Thursday letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“ICE’s failure to ensure a coordinated strategy for vaccination continues to endanger people in detention nationwide,” the letter reads.

There are more than 22,000 immigrants in ICE custody. 

DHS did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

ICE previously described vaccination procedures in a document titled “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Requirements,” putting the onus on detention facilities to contact their state’s vaccine resource, such as the state or country department of health, to obtain vaccines. But only a limited number have been vaccinated, in part because of the differing priority guidance across states, acting ICE Director Tae Johnson told lawmakers earlier this month.

As of May 5, 2,707 detainees have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 1,229 detainees are fully vaccinated, according to Johnson. 

Mayorkas said plans to offer Covid-19 vaccines to detainees is “under review.” 

But senior staff attorney at the ACLU National Prison Project, Eunice Hyunhye Cho, called the delay “unacceptable.” 

“It is a literal matter of life or death,” Cho told CNN. “This was a completely foreseeable issue and ICE has failed to protect people who are in their custody.”