January 9 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Brett McKeehan and Kara Fox, CNN

Updated 12:24 AM ET, Sun January 10, 2021

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12:58 a.m. ET, January 9, 2021

China has administered 9 million doses of its homegrown vaccine to priority groups

From CNN’s Beijing bureau

People queue to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at a temporary vaccination center in Beijing, on January 8. STR/CNS/AFP/Getty Images

China has administered 9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to key groups of its population so far, according to the country's National Health Commission.

Since December 15, 7.5 million people around the country have received a dose, the NHC said at a press conference on Saturday. Prior to that, 1.6 million doses had been administered to high-risk populations.

The vaccines: The approved vaccine is developed and manufactured by state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm. The company said its vaccine is 79.34% effective, citing interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trials.

The vaccine requires two doses per person.

Aside from the approved Sinopharm vaccine, China has four vaccine candidates which have reached Phase 3 trials.

1:06 a.m. ET, January 9, 2021

Japan reports record single-day number of new coronavirus cases for the fourth consecutive day

From CNN’s Junko Ogura in Tokyo

Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, on January 8. Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Japan reported a record single-day number of new Covid-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, just as Tokyo and surrounding prefectures went into a state of emergency.

The country reported 7,851 new infections on Friday, according to the health ministry. Thursday had been the first time cases surpassed the 7,000 mark since the beginning of the pandemic.

An additional 75 related deaths were also reported on Friday.

Japan's total now stands at 273,866 coronavirus cases and 3,945 deaths.

Tokyo spikes: Japan's capital is one of the country's major hotspots. The city reported 2,392 new cases on Friday, exceeding the 2,000 mark for the second consecutive day.

12:55 a.m. ET, January 9, 2021

US National Guard medic sent to help hospital says it's like putting a Band-Aid on an arterial wound

From CNN's Sara Sidner and Anna-Maja Rappard

Maj. Dwight Christensen remembers the sense of shock he felt first walking through the doors of St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.

"I was seeing patients, just lining up in the hallway, in the emergency room ... ICU patients just throughout the hospital," he told CNN.

Christensen is part of a National Guard team of medics sent by California to help out hospitals struggling to deal with the pandemic. And while his help is needed and welcomed, Christensen is blunt about how much he's really able to do.

"When I first got in, it felt like maybe a Band-Aid on an arterial bleed," he said of his deployment to the hospital in a desert town 110 miles northeast of Los Angeles. "There's so much more that I want to do, but can I do more? I don't know."

The hospital lobby has been converted to a ward for coronavirus patients. Makeshift walls have been put up around the hospital to create care units in any available space. Behind curtains, patients moan and try to take a breath. Then there is the sound of uncontrolled coughing, then a moment of silence.

"In ICU we see death and dying on a daily basis, but never to this scale," said ICU manager Lindsay Packard. "The death toll has just been out of this world."

12:55 a.m. ET, January 9, 2021

Maker of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine applies for emergency use authorization in the Philippines

A nurse prepares a syringe of the Sputnik V vaccine at a clinic in Moscow on December 28, 2020. Vladimir Gerdo/TASS/Getty Images

Russia's Gamaleya Institute, which developed the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, has applied for emergency use authorization in the Philippines.

The Moscow-based company filed its application on Thursday, according to the Philippines News Agency.

A day before that, Gamaleya withdrew its application to hold clinical trials in the country, according to CNN affiliate CNN Philippines.

Gamaleya is the third vaccine maker -- alongside Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca -- to apply for emergency use authorization in the Philippines.

It usually takes the Philippines' Food and Drug Administration 21 days to decide if a drug or vaccine will be allowed for use in the country, according to CNN Philippines.

Last November, Russia said the Sputnik V vaccine was at least 91.4% effective and could be more than 95% effective, according to data from its Phase 3 trials.