COVID Live Updates: Johnson & Johnson Aims to Vaccinate 100 Million Americans by April

NEW YORK (WABC) – Johnson & Johnson says it will have enough vaccines for 100 million Americans by April.

The vaccine is currently undergoing a large-scale trial to ensure it is safe and effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says Johnson & Johnson is about to apply for an emergency use permit from the FDA.

This vaccine only requires one injection and does not need to be kept as cold as others.

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Here are more headlines from today:

Former Mets skipper Davey Johnson was hospitalized with COVID
According to Mets PR, former New York Mets manager Davey Johnson has been hospitalized in Florida with COVID. The former manager led the Amazins to their last World Series title in 1986.

High-risk sports could resume in New York in February
High-risk sports can resume in New York State on Feb. 1 if local health departments approve. This includes basketball, wrestling, hockey, volleyball, soccer, and lacrosse. However, whether or not they resume depends on factors such as whether there have been more cases of the more transmissible COVID variant, the local rates of COVID positivity, and the ability to monitor and enforce compliance. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran says schools can get back to sports in the county.

2 more vaccine mega sites open in NJ
All six COVID-19 vaccine mega sites in New Jersey are now open, with residents lining up on Friday at two new locations in East Rutherford and Atlantic City. This while the state announced that they have successfully vaccinated 500,222 inhabitants in just over a month. The locations at the Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex and the Atlantic City Convention Center were both fully booked, but more appointment times are expected to be added based on availability.

UK chief scientist says new COVID-19 variant could be more deadly, more research needed
Evidence suggests that a new coronavirus variant first identified in South East England carries a higher risk of death than the original strain, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday – although he stressed the data is uncertain. Patrick Vallance told a press conference that “there is some evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant.” He said that for a man in his 60s with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that for 1,000 infected people, unfortunately, about 10 will die.”

“With the new variant, it is expected that for 1,000 infected people, about 13 or 14 people could die,” he said.

Researchers are developing a face mask sticker that can detect COVID-19 in droplets
Researchers at UC San Diego’s School of Engineering are working on a potential game changer in the fight against COVID-19. Researchers are investigating a new type of test that can detect the virus on your face mask. The test can be worn as a sticker on your mask. The sticker contains a bit of food coloring and works just like a home pregnancy test. If someone wears the sticker on the mask all day, droplets will be collected. After a few hours, it can detect COVID-19 molecules from your breath.

Dave Chappelle tests positive for COVID-19
Dave Chappelle tested positive for the coronavirus just before his comedy show on Thursday, which resulted in his upcoming performances being canceled, a spokeswoman said. Chappelle would perform Thursday through Sunday at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. Those shows have been canceled and Chappelle is in quarantine, his representative Carla Sims said in a statement. The comedian is asymptomatic. Chappelle has been putting on social distance shows in Ohio since June and moving his shows to Austin during the winter, Sims said. Rapid public testing and daily testing for Chappelle and his team were implemented.

NJ vaccinates 500,000
The state of New Jersey has vaccinated 500,222 residents in just over a month, Governor Phil Murphy announced Friday. He also added that two COVID patients in the state were found to have the more aggressive kind first found in the UK.

The increase in the number of hospital admissions in New York is declining
The speed at which patients are admitted to New York hospitals for treatment for COVID-19 is slowing, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday. Cuomo called it “good news,” but warned that the more contagious variants discovered in other parts of the world remain a threat and could cause cases to increase again. COVID hospital admissions were 8,846, down from 9,055 the day before and are now down more than 400 in the past two days.

NYC and the state could run out of vaccines on Friday
93% of the state’s vaccine supply is now exhausted, with both the city and the state on their way to running out of vaccines.
300,000 shots await in storage for a second dose.
The city is now considering giving them the first dose to those who are still waiting and replenishing supplies, and delaying the second shot by a few weeks for those who have already received the first.

Top 7 COVID Vaccine Questions Answered
You had questions about COVID-19 vaccines and 7 On Your Side is getting answers from doctors on the front lines of the pandemic.

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