Coronavirus Breaking News

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two upcoming actions by the CDC on January 6, 2021, to provide more than $22 billion in funding to states, localities, and territories in support of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as directed by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

“On top of the substantial support we’ve already provided, the funding bill signed in December 2020 has billions of dollars in new funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar, in a press statement. “We’re making these billions in new funds available to states as quickly as possible to support our combined efforts to end the pandemic.”

Funding tables with jurisdictions specific award amounts can be found at this CDC link. Jurisdictions will be required to comply with the awards' terms and conditions when issued, stated the HHS.

“This funding is another timely investment that will strengthen our nation’s efforts to stop the COVID-19 pandemic in America,” added CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “Particularly now, it is crucial that states and communities have the resources they need to conduct testing and to distribute and administer safe, high-quality COVID-19 vaccines safely and equitably.”

British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca announced its COVID-19 vaccine had been granted emergency use authorization in India for adults' active immunization.

The COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalizations more than 14 days after the second dose.

The approval is an important milestone as it will enable AstraZeneca to supply India and many countries worldwide. AstraZeneca has partnered with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, for the supply of the vaccine to the Indian Government and a large number of countries such as Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Morocco.

AstraZeneca stated it is working with its global partners to continue building manufacturing capacity of up to 3 billion doses of the vaccine globally in 2021, on a rolling basis, pending regulatory approvals.

Adar Poonawalla, the CEO, Serum Institute of India, said in a press release: "The pandemic of 2020, however devastating - brought public and private institutions, health authorities, governments of various countries, and most importantly the global communities together to pose a resilient front against the virus."

Despite Sweden having kept schools and preschools open during the pandemic, researchers found a low incidence of severe COVID-19 among schoolchildren and preschool-age children during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Among the 1.95 million children who were 1 to 16 years of age, this study reported 15 children had COVID-19, or a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), or both conditions and were admitted to an ICU, equal to 1 child in 130,000.

Published by The NEJM on January 6, 2021, this study followed all children who were admitted to an ICU between March 1 and June 30, 2020, with laboratory-verified or clinically verified COVID-19, including patients who were admitted for MIS-C, according to the Swedish Pediatric Rheumatology Quality Register.

Data from the Public Health Agency of Sweden showed fewer than 10 preschool teachers and 20 schoolteachers received intensive care for COVID-19 until June 30, 2020 (equal to 19 per 100,000).

The first known case of the coronavirus B.1.1.7 variant in the state of Texas has been identified in a resident of Harris County, which has an estimated population of 4,746,000. The adult male resident, who has no history of travel, was recently diagnosed with COVID-19.

“The fact that this person had no travel history suggests this variant is already circulating in Texas,” stated Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner, in a press release issued on January 7, 2021. "Genetic variations are the norm among viruses, and it’s not surprising that it showed up here given how rapidly it spreads."

"This should make us all redouble our commitment to the infection prevention practices that we know work: masks any time you’re around people you don’t live with, social distancing, and personal and environmental hygiene," concluded Dr. Hellerstedt.

This virus variant appeared to spread much more easily from person to person than most coronavirus strains. The current scientific evidence is that the variant does not cause more severe disease and that vaccines are expected to be effective against it. It is thought to be responsible for only a small proportion of the current COVID-19 cases in Texas and the USA, stated DSHS.

The B.1.1.7 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was previously identified in the United Kingdom. The U.S. CDC reported a total of 52 cases on January 7, 2021.

Researchers at Fundacion INFANT in Argentina published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 6, 2021, that concluded 'Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients with high levels of antibodies appeared to delay or stop the progression of illness in mildly ill older adults infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.'

The administration of convalescent plasma with high titers of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus to infected patients within 72 hours after the onset of symptoms reduced the risk of progression to severe respiratory disease by 48%.

The researchers stated: 'This simple and inexpensive intervention can reduce demands on the health care system and may save lives. Early infusions of convalescent plasma can provide a bridge to recovery for at-risk patients until vaccines become widely available. Although our trial lacked the statistical power to discern long-term outcomes, the convalescent plasma group appeared to have better outcomes than the placebo group concerning all secondary endpoints.'

The European Commission announced on January 6, 2021, it had granted a conditional marketing authorization (CMA) for the mRNA COVID‑19 vaccine developed by Moderna, Inc. A CMA is an authorization of medicines based on less complete data required for normal marketing authorization.

With whom the Commission signed a contract in November 2020, Moderna will deliver the total amount of 160 million vaccine doses between the first and the third quarters of 2021.

The Moderna vaccine (mRNA-1272) is based on mRNA that plays a fundamental role in biology, transferring DNA instructions to the cells' protein-making machinery. In an mRNA vaccine, these instructions produce harmless fragments of the virus, which the human body uses to build an immune response to prevent or fight disease, said the company.

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said in a press release, “We are all in this together and united. This is why we have negotiated the broadest vaccine portfolio in the world for all our Member States."

"Member States have to ensure that the pace of vaccinations follows suit. Our efforts will not stop until vaccines are available for everyone in the EU.”