December 21 coronavirus news

By Julia Hollingsworth, Steve George, Meg Wagner and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, December 22, 2020
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11:16 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines against UK coronavirus variant 

From CNN Health’s Elizabeth Cohen

A vial of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine is seen at George Washington University Hospital on December 14 in Washington DC.
A vial of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine is seen at George Washington University Hospital on December 14 in Washington DC. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images

Pfizer and Moderna are testing their coronavirus vaccines to see if they work against the new mutated version of the virus that’s recently been found in the United Kingdom and other countries, according to company statements.  

"Based on the data to date, we expect that the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the UK," Moderna said in a statement.
"We will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation."

Pfizer said it is now “generating data” on how well blood samples from people immunized with its vaccine “may be able to neutralize the new strain from the UK.” 

Pfizer and Moderna make the only two coronavirus vaccines that have been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration. 

The novel coronavirus has mutated before, and both companies say they’ve found that their vaccines worked against other variations of the virus. 

Some researchers who are examining the genome of the UK variant told CNN they have concerns that this variant’s mutations might possibly somewhat diminish the effectiveness of the vaccine. 

“You could imagine some modest hit in vaccine efficacy, which wouldn’t be good, but I don’t think it would break the vaccine,” said Trevor Bedford, an associate professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. 

Read more about the UK coronavirus variant:

10:47 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

The number of Covid cases among children in the US jumped 25% in the past two weeks, doctors say

From CNN Health’s Shelby Lin Erdman

Drawings of children wearing masks adorn a hallway at Stark Elementary School on September 16, in Stamford, Connecticut.
Drawings of children wearing masks adorn a hallway at Stark Elementary School on September 16, in Stamford, Connecticut. John Moore/Getty Images

The number of children in the United States infected with the coronavirus jumped 25% between December 3 and 17, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Monday.

More than 1.8 million children across the US have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the AAP said in its latest report.

Over 182,000 cases in children were reported last week alone, the highest weekly increase since the pandemic began, the group said.

Severe illness, hospitalization and death from the virus is still rare among children.

“However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects,” the AAP said on its website.

As of December 17, children represented between 1.1% and 2.8% of total hospitalizations, depending on the state. Between 0.2% and 4.0% of all child Covid-19 cases resulted in hospitalizations in states that reported that information and fewer than 0.21% of all children with Covid-19 died. Thirteen states reported no deaths in children. In states reporting, 0.09% of all child Covid-19 cases resulted in death.

The AAP defines children as those 17 and younger.

The report’s count is likely underestimated and is incomplete because not all states report data in the same way.

Some 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam contributed data to the AAP report. A smaller subset of states report information about hospitalizations and deaths by age.

10:17 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Fauci: I wouldn't be surprised if new UK Covid-19 mutation is already in US

From CNN Health’s Shelby Lin Erdman

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on PBS Newshour on December 21.
Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on PBS Newshour on December 21. PBS

A new Covid-19 variant linked to a surge of cases in the United Kingdom is probably already in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday.

“You have to make that assumption,” Fauci told PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff. “When you see something that is pretty prevalent in a place like the UK, there are also mutations that we're seeing in South Africa, and given the travel throughout the world, I would not be surprised if it's already here."

He added that "when we start to look for it we're going to find it."

“Certainly it's not yet the prevalent one, the way it seems to have assumed that prevalent nature in the UK, but we're going to be looking for it right now, and I'm sure sooner or later we're going to run into it and find it."

Fauci said since the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is an RNA virus it tends to mutate a lot.

“Most of the mutations have no functional relevance,” he said. “This one has a suggestion that it might allow the virus to spread more readily.”

Fauci said researchers are still trying to determine if the variant is more transmissible, but he said it doesn’t seem to have any impact on the deadliness of the virus.

“It doesn't make people more sick and it doesn't seem to have any impact on the protective nature of the vaccine that we're currently using,” the chief medical adviser for the incoming Biden administration said.

Fauci said researchers need to keep an eye on it to determine if “there’s more functional relevance."

He said he thinks a UK travel ban is premature because there’s not enough evidence to warrant “essentially a travel lockdown.”

Fauci said he prefers considering the possibility of mandatory testing of travelers from the UK.

9:54 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Panama suspends travel from the UK and South Africa over new variant fears

From CNN’s Tatiana Arias in Atlanta and CNNE’s Kiarinna Parisi in Miami

Paramedics admit a man with respiratory problems to a hospital in Panama City on December 14.
Paramedics admit a man with respiratory problems to a hospital in Panama City on December 14. STR/AFP/Getty Images

The Central American nation of Panama is temporarily suspending entry for foreign travelers who have stayed in or transited through either the United Kingdom or South Africa in the past 20 days, the government announced in a statement Monday.

The ban applies to those trying to enter Panama through air, land or water routes via commercial or private transport, and comes into force at 11:59 p.m. Monday local time.

A PCR test or an antibodies test will be compulsory upon arrival for Panamanians wishing to enter their country; in addition, a mandatory quarantine is required at a “hotel hospital” regardless of the test results for as long as health authorities deem necessary, according to the government statement.

Both South Africa and the UK have recorded cases from new variants of the coronavirus, with the UK variant appearing to be more infectious. It is unclear at present how the South African variant differs from what has already been spreading worldwide.

9:26 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

South Korea to shut ski slopes after latest spike

From CNN's Jake Kwon in Seoul

South Korea will shut down all winter sports facilities, including ski slopes, from December 24 until January 3, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a meeting on Tuesday.

The move comes a day after the country saw its highest daily death toll of the pandemic, with two dozen new fatalities from the virus recorded.

Chung said the measure would include tourist destinations across the country. He reiterated calls for the public to cancel gatherings and stay home this holiday season.

New cases: South Korea reported 824 local and 45 imported cases from Monday, bringing the country's total to 51,460. Of the new cases, 546 were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The country also recorded 24 new deaths from the virus from Monday, bringing the country's death toll to 722.

8:53 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Virgin Atlantic to require proof of negative Covid test for all passengers traveling from London to US

From CNN's Rob Frehse and Debbie Berger

Virgin Atlantic Airline planes are pictured at the apron at Manchester airport in northwest England, on June 8.
Virgin Atlantic Airline planes are pictured at the apron at Manchester airport in northwest England, on June 8. Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

Virgin Atlantic will require proof of a negative Covid-19 test for all passengers traveling from London to the United States starting December 24, the company said in a statement.

“With the health and safety of our customers and people always our number one priority, we will require all travellers to present evidence of a negative LAMP or PCR Covid-19 test, taken up to 72 hours prior to departure, including on-site at the airport,” Virgin said.

The United Kingdom is currently grappling with what appears to be a more infectious variant of the coronavirus, which has resulted in new restrictions in the south of England and numerous countries cutting off travel from the UK, including most of its European neighbors.

8:24 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Australia's New South Wales reports 8 new locally-transmitted cases after another record testing day

From CNN's Paul Devitt

Cars wait in line at a Bondi Beach Covid-19 drive-through testing clinic on December 21, in Sydney, Australia.
Cars wait in line at a Bondi Beach Covid-19 drive-through testing clinic on December 21, in Sydney, Australia. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The Australian state of New South Wales reported eight new locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases from Monday following almost 45,000 tests being carried out.

That's the lowest number of new local cases since a mystery outbreak sprang up in Sydney's Northern Beaches area last week.

Seven of the eight new local cases are linked to the Sydney cluster, NSW Health said Tuesday, and the eighth is still under investigation. The total number of cases from the cluster now stands at 90.

The state saw a record number of Covid-19 tests reported to 8 p.m. last night, with 44,466 tests carried out on Monday, NSW Health added.

NSW reported 18 total new cases, the other 10 being imported from travelers in hotel quarantine.

Mystery cluster: Health authorities in New South Wales have acted quickly to get on top of the new cluster, which ended a run of days with no community transmission in Sydney.

The Northern Beaches municipality, with a population of just over 250,000, has been locked down until Wednesday night in an attempt to stop the spread.

NSW has recorded a total of 4,600 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began.

7:42 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

US hits record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations

From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid

A California National Guard medic checks the vital signs of an incoming patient in front of triage tents set up outside Providence St Mary Medical Center amid a surge in Covid-19 patients in Southern California on December 18, in Apple Valley, California.
A California National Guard medic checks the vital signs of an incoming patient in front of triage tents set up outside Providence St Mary Medical Center amid a surge in Covid-19 patients in Southern California on December 18, in Apple Valley, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The United States reported 115,351 current Covid-19 hospitalizations on Monday, setting a new record high since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

This is the twentieth consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.

The highest hospitalization numbers according to CTP data are:

  1. December 21: 115,351 people hospitalized
  2. December 17: 114,459 people hospitalized
  3. December 18: 113,955 people hospitalized
  4. December 19: 113,929 people hospitalized
  5. December 16: 113,278 people hospitalized

 

7:03 p.m. ET, December 21, 2020

US surpasses 18 million Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Haley Brink and Virginia Langmaid

A site worker distributes a testing kit at a Covid-19 testing site in Wilmington, Delaware on December 21.
A site worker distributes a testing kit at a Covid-19 testing site in Wilmington, Delaware on December 21. Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

There have been at least 18,006,061 cases of coronavirus in the United States and at least 319,190 people have died from Covid-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University

It took the US 284 days to reach 9 million Covid-19 cases, according to university data. It only took the nation 52 days to reach the second 9 million cases.

Johns Hopkins recorded the first case of coronavirus in the US on Jan. 21.