COVID Vaccine Updates: More infectious variants are spreading rapidly in the US, study says

NEW YORK (WABC) – As more cases of the highly contagious variants first found in the UK and South Africa are discovered in the US, the race has begun to track down, identify and identify the troubling mutations. tests to see how well the vaccines are working. rolled out can protect against them.

It is a race against time, but most countries have no or insufficient capacity to follow these rapidly emerging new variants. Although surveillance in the US is now increasing, we still rely on information from scientists in the UK.

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Here are more headlines from today:

More than 2.1 million vaccine doses administered
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has administered more than 2,136,209 vaccine doses through the state’s vaccination program. The total federal allocation of week 8 vaccine delivery to suppliers will be completed today. As of 11 a.m. Sunday, New York’s health care distribution sites have received 1,874,975 first doses and already delivered 87 percent 1,627,191 vaccinations for the first dose and 76 percent of the first and second doses. Delivery of the federal government’s week 9 allocation begins mid-week.

Health officials fear big Super Bowl rallies
The coronavirus pandemic is on a collision course with one of the biggest sporting events of the year: Super Bowl Sunday.

Health officials fear the big rallies could spark another wave. The warnings came from all over the country ahead of the big game Sunday, with local and state leaders reminding Americans that, despite the hopeful signs of diminishing numbers of new cases and hospitalizations, now is not the time to abandon their guards .

There is an increasing demand that the US rely on rapid tests to fight pandemic
With President Joe Biden promising to get younger students back to class by spring, some experts want the US to focus its COVID-19 testing system less on medical precision than on mass screening that they believe can save hundreds of thousands of lives.

While vaccinations are slowly increasing, they say millions of faster tests that are cheaper and faster, but technically less accurate than the predominant genetic tests, can increase the chances of identifying sick people during the first days of infection, when they are most contagious .

The case for rapid, large-scale testing is getting a boost from universities and school systems that have used the approach to stay open during the latest waves of the pandemic.

AstraZeneca vaccine is being modified to combat the S. Africa variant
Developers of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine expect to have a modified shot by the fall to cope with the South African coronavirus variant, the vaccine’s lead investigator said Sunday.

Health officials in Britain are trying to stem the spread of the variant first identified in South Africa amid concerns that it is more contagious or resistant to existing vaccines. More than 100 cases of the South African variant have been found in the UK

Sarah Gilbert, principal investigator for the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we have a version with the South African peak series in the works”.

Pregnant mother survives COVID, gives birth in Staten Island hospital
A young woman was in an ICU on Staten Island last fall fighting for her life, but now she’s back after giving birth to a baby boy.

Unwilling to wait, poorer countries are seeking their own vaccines
Some poorer countries are getting tired of waiting for vaccines through a United Nations program, so they are going on their own.

Countries such as Honduras, Serbia and Mexico have made their own private agreements. Experts are increasingly concerned that these go-it-alone efforts could undermine a United Nations-backed program to deliver COVID-19 recordings to the world’s neediest people.

Police presence in France increases during a pandemic
Police in France are stepping up patrols to punish people who have been caught violating the coronavirus-related curfew. Officers patrolled the streets of Paris on Friday evening, made surprise visits to businesses that remained open after the 6:00 pm curfew and called off all meetings. Businesses violating curfews risk being shut down for two weeks for a first violation and up to a month for repeated violations. Police officers say they are no longer tolerant of offenders because the virus infection levels are too high.

COVID vaccination sites in New York and New Jersey are closed due to snow
COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in New York and New Jersey suspended operations on Sunday due to the winter storm.

Vaccine appointment tips for seniors
The contest to simply get a vaccination appointment has been dubbed COVID’s version of “The Hunger Games,” which leaves the most vulnerable group, 65 and older, at a great disadvantage. But Nina Pineda of 7 On Your Side has some tips for leveling the pandemic playing field.

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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