The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines

By Ben Westcott, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso, CNN

Updated 10:19 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021
12 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
8:14 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Single dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine may protect against asymptomatic infection, preprint study says

From CNN Health's Jamie Gumbrecht

A health care worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, on February 20.
A health care worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, on February 20. Chet Strange/Bloomberg/Getty Images

More new research suggests a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can protect against asymptomatic coronavirus infection, which could help reduce transmission of the virus.

Researchers used PCR tests to screen for coronavirus in vaccinated and non-vaccinated Cambridge University Hospitals health care workers who reported to work feeling well.

Unvaccinated health care workers were positive for coronavirus in 0.80% of tests; vaccinated health care workers less than 12 days from a single dose were positive in 0.37% of tests; and vaccinated health care workers who were at least 12 days out from one dose were positive in 0.20% of tests.

The study, led by Cambridge researchers, has not yet been published or peer-reviewed, but the authors call it “real-world evidence for a high level of protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection” from a single dose of the vaccine. They noted that the more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, dominated at the time of their research, and prior infection was relatively low among the population tested.

A large study released this week by Public Health England (PHE) found that one dose of the Pfizer vaccine “provides high levels of protection against infection and symptomatic disease,” reducing the risk of infection by 72% after three weeks, while two vaccine doses reduced the risk of infection by 85%. PHE's Siren Study involved health care workers younger than 65.

“These studies are very encouraging because they suggest that the vaccines will prevent the spread of the virus,” Lawrence Young, a professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, said in a response to the Science Media Centre in the UK. “You can’t spread the virus if you’re not infected and these studies show that the vaccine blocks infection in individuals who don’t have symptoms but could pass on the infection.”

7:58 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

When will the US reach herd immunity and what will it look like?

From CNN's Deidre McPhillips

A year into the Covid-19 pandemic, it appears that trends in the United States have finally shifted in a positive direction.

New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are dropping rapidly, and the supply of available vaccines is growing.

The country could be well on its way to herd immunity, the point at which enough people are protected against a disease that it cannot spread through the population.

But it may take months to get there, and nobody expects it will feel like an overnight return to our lives before the pandemic.

More than 66 million shots have been administered, according to the latest federal data, with nearly 8% of the US population fully vaccinated. Promises from manufacturers indicate that the US should have enough vaccine supply to cover everyone by June. More than a quarter of the population may already have natural immunity after previous infection -- and that number may be much higher than official counts show.

However, some new variants threaten progress, potentially lessening protection offered by vaccines and skirting some degree of natural immunity. Vaccine hesitancy may also create some limitations.

To understand how these factors may play into the future timeline of the pandemic, CNN spoke with five experts: Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University; Justin Lessler, associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University; Jessica Malaty Rivera, science communications lead at the COVID Tracking Project; Dr. Aneesh Mehta, of the Emory Vaccine Center; and Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Read the full story:

7:55 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

FCC approves $50-a-month internet subsidies for pandemic-stricken households

From CNN's Brian Fung

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved final rules for a new broadband subsidy program that could help struggling families pay for internet service during the pandemic. 

The agency’s $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program provides eligible low-income households with up to a $50 per month credit on their internet bills through their provider until the end of the pandemic. In tribal areas, eligible households may receive up to $75 per month and the program also provides eligible households up to $100 off of one computer or tablet. 

The congressionally created program is aimed at closing the digital divide, which has become painfully apparent over the past year as millions of Americans have been forced to work and learn remotely. For years, industry critics have pointed to inaccurate broadband maps and insufficient funding for rural areas as key hurdles preventing much of the country from getting online. 

Last year, Congress passed a coronavirus relief package that contained provisions for the FCC’s new program and the FCC has established a fresh task force to improve the data it gathers on broadband availability. 

Signups for the pandemic internet benefits could begin within the next 60 days, said Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC’s acting chairwoman, after the agency establishes the systems needed to work with internet providers. 

“This is a program that will help those at risk of digital disconnection,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “It will help those sitting in cars in parking lots just to catch a Wi-Fi signal to go online for work. It will help those lingering outside the library with a laptop just to get a wireless signal for remote learning. It will help those who worry about choosing between paying a broadband bill and paying rent or buying groceries.”

Households eligible for the program include those who use food stamps, are on Medicaid, or have received a Pell Grant. Also eligible are those who’ve lost their jobs during the pandemic.

7:18 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Fully vaccinated people can gather individually with minimal risk, Fauci says

From CNN's Christpher Rios

Two fully vaccinated people can gather individually with minimal risk, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Thursday.

"You can start getting together as individual people, even though the risk is not zero, the risk becomes extremely low when you have both parties vaccinated," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not released guidelines about gathering with other vaccinated people. 

“My professional judgement is that when my daughter wants to come in here and she is doubly vaccinated, I’m going to have her over to the house, and I’m going to give her a big hug that I haven’t been able to do for a year,” Fauci said. 

The US has administered 68,274,117 vaccine doses, according to data from John Hopkins University.

It has recorded over 28 million cases and 508,307 deaths, the highest country total.

7:00 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

At least one US foreign service officer subjected to Covid-19 anal swab test in China, sources say

From CNN's Beijing bureau

At least one US foreign service officer traveling from the US -- returning to their post in Beijing in mid-January -- was subjected to a Covid-19 anal swab test, two diplomatic sources based in China with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN.

They later reported the incident to their superiors at the US Embassy in Beijing, the sources said.

US officials in China asked local authorities to refrain from subjecting US staff in the country to Covid-19 anal swabs, according to a US diplomat based in China.

"The State Department never agreed to this kind of testing and protested directly to [China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs] when we learned that some staff were subject to it," a State Department spokesperson told CNN in a statement on Thursday.

On Thursday, China responded to a VICE News report which claimed that US diplomats in the country were complaining after having been administered the swab tests.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, told reporters at a daily briefing, “As far as I know, and I have also checked with my colleagues, China has never asked US diplomats in China to take anal swab tests,” 

The ministry did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Friday.

Read more here:

6:07 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

"We still have too much vaccine in the fridge," says German health minister

From CNN's Nadine Schmidt and Claudia Otto in Berlin

German Health Minister, Jens Spahn speaks to the media in Berlin, on February 26.
German Health Minister, Jens Spahn speaks to the media in Berlin, on February 26. Andreas Gora/Pool/Getty Images

German health minister Jens Spahn acknowledged Friday that Germany needs to ramp up its vaccination campaign.

“We still have too much vaccine in the fridge,” he told reporters at a regular health press conference in Berlin. To speed up the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, Germany will aim to swiftly distribute the shots through its network of family doctors’ practices, Spahn added.

Germany has inoculated 5.7 million people with the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine -- 4.5% of the country’s population -- and more than 2% have received the second shot, Spahn said.

Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that the sluggish start of the vaccine program has been a “disappointment” and added that the vaccination centers will soon operate “at full capacity.”

By the end of next week 11 million coronavirus vaccines will have been distributed across Germany's 16 federal states, Spahn said Friday.

Lothar Wieler, head of Germany’s public health authority at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), told journalists at the same press conference Friday that the country’s infection numbers appear to be stabilizing in recent days, warning that vigilance needs to be exercised or else “we will risk a third wave.”

On Friday, Germany recorded 9,997 new coronavirus infections -- a rise of 884 cases compared to the same day last week, according to the RKI -- bringing the total for the pandemic to 2,424,684.  

Germany coronavirus deaths stood at 394 within the last 24 hours -- a drop of 114 compared to Friday last week. The country’s death toll now stands at 69,519.

The latest data from RKI indicates that the number of new infections per 100,000 residents stood at 63. The goal is to get the incidence rate to 35 per 100,000 in order to reopen the country, Merkel has said.

6:25 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

India has supplied over 36 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines abroad so far

From CNN's Manveena Suri in New Delhi

A medical worker inoculates a municipal worker with a Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in New Delhi, India, on February 22.
A medical worker inoculates a municipal worker with a Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in New Delhi, India, on February 22. Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

India has supplied more than 36 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to various countries, of which 6.75 million doses have been provided as grant assistance, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said at a press briefing Thursday.

"As of now, we have provided a total of 36,194,000 doses to various countries. This includes 6,750,000 doses supplied under grant assistance and 29,444,000 doses under various commercial contracts," said Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson for the MEA.

India is the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer and has pledged to donate millions of doses to neighboring countries. The country's Serum Institute is producing the vaccine developed in the UK by AstraZeneca for domestic use and export.

The supply of vaccines to countries will continue in a phased manner over the coming weeks and months while ensuring that domestic requirements for the national vaccination program are kept in mind, he added.

India has sent consignments of Covid-19 vaccine doses as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados, and Dominica.

India has also offered locally-made vaccines to all members of the diplomatic corps (foreign missions) and their families based in the country, said Srivastava.

"It has been offered not only to the diplomats of countries but also to those of UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations working in India. This drive will cover all the locations where they are based," he said. 

Countries that have received the vaccines under commercial contracts include Brazil, Morocco, Myanmar, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Daily new cases in India have plummeted, dropping from a peak of over 90,000 infections in September down to just over 10,000 a day in February. On February 9, the capital Delhi reported zero virus deaths for the first time in nearly nine months, according to COVID19INDIA, a website that aggregates Covid-19 data from official sources.

6:03 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Queen Elizabeth II urges public to "think about other people" and get vaccinated

From CNN's Max Foster in London

In this undated handout photo provided by Buckingham Palace on February 25, Britain's Queen Elizabeth smiles on a video call with the four health officials leading the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccination in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In this undated handout photo provided by Buckingham Palace on February 25, Britain's Queen Elizabeth smiles on a video call with the four health officials leading the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccination in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Buckingham Palace via AP

Queen Elizabeth II has urged people to get Covid-19 vaccinations while adding that her own jab "didn't hurt at all."

"It is obviously difficult for people if they've never had a vaccine; they ought to think about other people rather than themselves," she said in a video call with health officials leading the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the United Kingdom.

Britain's monarch and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, received their vaccinations at Windsor Castle on January 9.

"It was very quick, and I’ve had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine," the Queen said. "And the jab -- it didn’t hurt at all."

The 94-year-old monarch was meeting with the four senior officers overseeing the vaccine rollout in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Nearly 19 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of the vaccine, in one of the world's fastest rollouts.

The heir to the throne, Prince Charles, tested positive for coronavirus and went into isolation in March last year. The 72-year-old later said he was lucky to only experience mild symptoms, adding he'd "got away with it quite lightly."

The UK has recorded more than 4 million cases of Covid-19 and 122,303 deaths, the highest in Europe.

5:11 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Majority of US adults have been or want to get vaccinated as soon as possible, poll finds   

From CNN Health's Ashley Ahn

Cars are lined up at the mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium on February 23 in Los Angeles, California.
Cars are lined up at the mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium on February 23 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

More than half of Americans said they have already gotten at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine or want to get vaccinated as soon as possible, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported Friday.

A survey by the foundation found that 55% of polled US adults have either received a shot or say they want to get vaccinated as soon as possible. That’s up from 47% in mid-January and 34% in early December. Friday’s KFF Vaccine Monitor report also showed that compared to December, all surveyed demographic groups now have more desire to be vaccinated.

The KFF Vaccine Monitor survey, conducted from February 15 to 23, included 1,874 adults with oversamples of about 500 Black adults and 500 Hispanic adults. 

Black and Hispanic adults and people 18 to 29 are most likely to say they want to “wait and see” how the vaccine works among the general public before they get it. More than a third of Black adults and 26% of surveyed Hispanic adults say they want to wait and see, compared to 18% of surveyed White adults. 

The survey found 22% of those polled will either “definitely not” get vaccinated or only get the vaccine if required for work, school, or other activities. This remains consistent with the figures recorded in January and December, suggesting this group holds firm views.

Republicans, essential workers not in health care, and individuals living in rural areas were most likely to say they will “definitely not” get vaccinated. 

“While there has been an overall shift towards greater enthusiasm for getting a COVID-19 vaccination, the demographic groups that are the most enthusiastic, most cautious, and most resistant remain similar to those reported in January,” the researchers wrote in the report.  

In light of the anticipated US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 single shot vaccine, the poll found that about a quarter of individuals who wish to “wait and see” before being inoculated said they would be more likely to get a vaccine that requires only one dose. 

The poll found serious side effects to be people’s biggest concern about receiving the vaccine, with over half of unvaccinated individuals sharing this concern. 

About one-third of unvaccinated people also say they feared they could get Covid-19 from the vaccine -- something that is biologically impossible -- missing work due to side effects or paying out of pocket. These fears were more prevalent among Black and Hispanic adults.