Authorities announced Thursday that two people in South Carolina have been diagnosed with a more contagious strain of the coronavirus that was first discovered in South Africa. It is the first time that the variant has been reported in the US
Also on Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report finding that the state underestimated COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents by as much as 50%. Last spring, New York experienced the first major outbreak of the coronavirus, and nursing homes in particular were hit hard.
According to NBC News, more than 430,000 people have died since the start of the pandemic and more than 25.7 million cases have been reported in the US.
Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus from the US and elsewhere:
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine offers strong protection against COVID-19, was less effective against new variant
Johnson & Johnson says the vaccine appears to protect against COVID-19 with just one shot. It’s not as strong as some two-shot rivals, but it’s still potentially useful for a world in desperate need of more doses.
The results released Friday show that the one-time vaccine was 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe illness, and much more protective against the most severe symptoms.
The vaccine worked better in the US than in South Africa, where it had to contend with a harder, mutated virus. The company says it will soon file an emergency application in the US and abroad after that.
Read the full story here.
‘COVID Tongue’ may be another virus symptom, the British researcher suggests
There may be another addition to the growing list of strange possible symptoms of the novel coronavirus: “COVID tongue”.
A British researcher helping to detect COVID-19 warning signs is reporting more cases of infected people complaining of tongue discoloration, enlargement and other mouth problems, NBC News reports.
“I see more and more Covid tongues and strange canker sores. If you have a strange symptom or even just a headache and fatigue, stay home! Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, tweeted this month.
He believes that more than a third of COVID-19 patients, 35 percent, have non-classic symptoms of the disease for the first three days, so it’s important to pay attention to a rash, Covid toes, and other warning signs that ‘ being ignored, ” He wrote.
Spector did not respond to a request for comment, but other researchers have also reported tongue and mouth symptoms associated with the new coronavirus.
Read the full story at NBCNews.com
NJ Hospital Gave Early COVID Vaccines to Donors, Executives Relatives: Report
According to a published report, some of the first people to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at a New Jersey medical center were the relatives of the hospital’s top executives and some of its administrators and donors.
The shots were conducted by Hunterdon Medical Center in December and early January, at a time when only primary care workers and residents of long-term care facilities were eligible, NBC New York reports.
A registry of vaccine recipients, obtained by New Jersey 101.5 FM, indicated that shots had been fired at two long-term hospital donors and at least seven spouses and two adult children of medical directors, administrators, or health network executives. The radio station said it had received the registration from a whistleblower, who had not identified it.
Some of the recipients were in their twenties, an age group who would likely be ineligible for the vaccine for many months.
A hospital spokesperson said donors and board members were not given preference over eligible personnel or at-risk individuals who were available, but that they received the vaccine when eligible recipients could not be found, rather than the vaccine doses being lost.
Read the full story here