FS-ISAC Coronavirus Update, Feb. 26, 2021

Headlines

• US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the potential emergency authorization of a third coronavirus vaccine for the US, this one made by Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine arm Janssen Biotech, the next step in a process that could end up with the new vaccine’s rollout early next week, with advisers and federal agencies meeting over the weekend to try to get the vaccines to the US public as soon as possible.
• Coronavirus cases and deaths are making a “dramatic” decline that is faster than expected - a drop of 70% over the past five weeks, the team at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington reported Thursday, who said a big factor in the slowed spread has been that mask use remains high in the US, with more than three-quarters of adults reporting they wear one when leaving home.
• Five residents of a skilled nursing facility in Kentucky may have been reinfected with coronavirus in the fall after testing positive for the virus in the summer, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests, with each person infected, aged 67 to 99, receiving multiple negative tests between the first and second outbreak in July and October.
• At least 2,157 cases of coronavirus variants first spotted in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have now been reported in the US, according to data updated Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• New, more contagious variants of the coronavirus could fuel a renewed surge of infections, Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday, warning that although the US is on a downward trend of cases and hospitalizations from Covid-19, it may not last.
• Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm says that while the US is in a downward trend with cases, he expects an increase in cases to occur in the next few weeks due to the highly contagious variant first detected in the United Kingdom, explaining that “It often takes four, six, even eight weeks of this virus circulating before it really takes off, going from kind of the small little brush pile fire to a large forest fire.”
• The US Food and Drug Administration handed Pfizer a victory on Thursday, agreeing to allow its Covid-19 vaccine to be transported and stored for up to two weeks at "conventional temperatures" typically found in pharmaceutical freezers, a decision expected to relieve some of the constraints that have made the vaccine especially difficult to store and distribute.
• Reports of new vaccinations have started to increase again across the US, after a week of declines brought on by severe weather, as the country administered an average of about 1.5 million newly reported doses a day in the seven-day period ending Thursday, according to federal data, a slight increase from a low point of 1.4 million doses a day through Tuesday.
• It’s possible a single dose of coronavirus vaccine might be enough to protect people who have recovered from a bout of Covid-19, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said on Thursday, adding that the agency is “trying to collect as much data as possible about that right now,” but for now that strategy is “very high risk” and could result in unforeseen consequences, including encouraging more variants to happen.
• Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced Thursday that they are testing a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine against new coronavirus variants, and Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said that a third shot taken six months after the first could induce 10 to 20 times the antibody response of the first two doses.
• The post-vaccination observation period required after the administration of Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines may not be necessary for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, Dr. Nirav Shah, deputy director of the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a briefing by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wednesday.
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Thursday that an independent panel found the company's COVID-19 antibody cocktail to have "clear clinical efficacy" in reducing the rates of hospitalization and deaths in patients.
• With much of Europe living under heightened restrictions on movement and social interaction, the rates of Covid-19 infection across the continent have been cut in half from the winter peak, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, but as pressure on national governments mounts to ease lockdowns, Hans Kluge, the agency’s director in Europe, cautioned new cases were still 10 times as high as they were last May and that the region was still experiencing high rates of community transmission.
• Covid-19 cases in England have fallen 78% since the government imposed a national lockdown on January 4, according to weekly statistics released today from the National Health Service Test and Trace, with some 84,310 people testing positive for the virus between February 11 and February 17, the lowest weekly figure recorded since September.
• The European Union's goal is to vaccinate 70% of adults in each member state "by the summer," Europe's Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said during a virtual summit on Thursday, adding that “We are seeing more and more people being vaccinated every day and we are taking decisive action to increase the production, delivery and the rollout of vaccines across the EU.”
• Initial weekly jobless claims improved last week, totaling 730,000 first-time filings - one of the lowest of the Covid era, with economists polled by Dow Jones having expected claims to total 845,000 for the week, and a readout that was still substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels, when fewer than 200,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits each week on average.
• A CNBC + Acorns Invest in You survey, conducted by SurveyMonkey between February 1^st to the 8^th among a national sample of 6,182 adults, found that 40% of Americans have taken an emergency financial action during the pandemic, including tapping into emergency savings, borrowing money from family or friends, and visiting a food bank.
• The Biden Administration expanded unemployment insurance eligibility Thursday to include workers who refused job offers at unsafe worksites, making good on a pledge to reduce the pressure on people who say they have been forced to choose between staying healthy or getting a paycheck.

 

The Good Stuff:  A New Jersey woman not only has beaten COVID-19, she has also survived two cardiologists and three husbands.  What is Lucia DeClerck’s secret?  The 105-year-old’s tips for living a long and healthy life?  Prayer, avoiding junk food and eating nine gin-soaked raisins each morning.  “Fill a jar,” DeClerck told the Times. “Nine raisins a day after it sits for nine days.”  “She’s just been open with everything in life and I think that has really helped her because she hasn’t hesitated to do whatever she’s wanted to do,” DeClerck’s son, Henty Laws III said.  The raisin recipe may seem quirky, but it difficult to argue with DeClerck’s longevity.  Some of her other habits include drinking aloe juice - straight up from the container - and brushing her teeth with baking soda.  The baking soda worked wonders.  DeClerck’s relatives said she did not have a cavity until she was 99.  “We would just think, ‘Grandma, what are you doing? You’re crazy,’” DeClerck’s 53-year-old granddaughter, Shawn Laws O’Neil, of Los Angeles, said.  “Now the laugh is on us. She has beaten everything that’s come her way.”

 

US Snapshots

Seven-Day Trending

Data compiled daily from John Hopkins CSSE Tracking and The COVID Tracking Project at the Atlantic, which uses a Creative Common CC-BY-NC-4.0 license type

Trends as ofThu Feb 25	Daily Average Case Increase	Daily Average Death Increase	Positivity Rate	Total Tests	Currently Hospitalized	Currently in ICU	Currently on Ventilators
This Week	73,595	2,165	8.05%	349,785,144	52,669	10,846	3,567
Last Week	73,556	2,585	8.14%	339,981,823	62,300	13,045	4,180
Change	39	-420	-0.09%	9,803,321	-9,631	-2,199	-613
%	0.05%	-16.25%	-1.11%	2.88%	-15.46%	-16.86%	-14.67%
As of Feb 24	-8.46%	-25.71%	-0.98%	2.75%	-14.64%	-15.85%	-13.72%
As of Feb 23	-13.78%	-29.81%	-1.10%	2.72%	-14.68%	-17.22%	-14.78%
As of Feb 22	-20.43%	-35.51%	-1.10%	2.80%	-15.36%	-16.40%	-14.59%
As of Feb 21	-23.34%	-37.85%	-1.10%	2.78%	-16.21%	-15.55%	-13.73%
As of Feb 20	-25.29%	-37.52%	-1.10%	2.85%	-15.96%	-15.81%	-15.40%
As of Feb 19	-29.89%	-30.50%	-1.22%	3.01%	-16.25%	-15.46%	-15.08%
As of Feb 18	-28.89%	-9.33%	-1.09%	3.00%	-16.07%	-14.12%	-15.90%

 

Estimated National Hospital Utilization

Data compiled from US Department of Health and Human Services

As of	Inpatient Beds Occupied (All Patients)	Capacity Filled %	Inpatient Beds Occupied (Covid Patients)	Capacity Filled %	ICU Beds Occupied (All Patients)	Capacity Filled %
25-Feb-21	508,634	72.18%	58,558	8.31%	62,614	72.15%
19-Feb-21	509,498	72.41%	66,217	9.41%	63,268	72.61%
Change	-864	-0.23%	-7,659	-1.10%	-654	-0.46%
17-Feb-21	482,288	68.86%	67,757	9.67%	61,319	71.19%
16-Feb-21	501,487	71.31%	70,812	10.07%	63,678	72.89%
10-Feb-21	494,258	70.52%	82,599	11.78%	63,083	72.18%
01-Feb-21	511,756	72.27%	97,978	13.84%	66,981	75.57%
25-Jan-21	523,968	73.79%	114,816	16.17%	68,813	77.24%
15-Jan-21	529,318	74.53%	132,172	18.61%	70,352	78.88%
04-Jan-21	508,370	71.34%	126,417	17.74%	67,246	63.18%

 

Trending Charts

Charts compiled from Sunknighty CVOB web site via Johns Hopkins University data, updated daily at 5AM from the previous day’s numbers

 

 

US Vaccinations

Note: Washington Post data in Friday’s communication included numbers incorrectly posted on their web site which have since been updated

Total Doses

Data compiled by The Washington Post, updated February 25

Over 46 million people have received one or more doses of the vaccine, more than 21.5 million people have been fully vaccinated and almost 92 million doses have been distributed.

 

Current Doses

Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated daily

Date	Total Doses Distributed	Change	% of Total Population	Total Doses Administered	Change	% of Total Population
2/25/2021	91,673,010	3,003,975	27.95%	68,274,117	-190,830	20.82%
2/24/2021	88,669,035	6,554,665	27.03%	68,464,947	3,432,864	20.87%
2/23/2021	82,114,370	6,908,430	25.03%	65,032,083	854,609	19.83%
2/22/2021	75,205,940	975	22.93%	64,177,474	1,086,840	19.57%
2/21/2021	75,204,965	-3,923,530	22.93%	63,090,634	1,801,134	19.23%
2/20/2021	79,128,495	976,000	24.12%	61,289,500	1,704,457	18.69%
2/19/2021	78,152,495	4,775,045	23.83%	59,585,043	1,847,276	18.17%

 

Date	Number of People Receiving 1 or more Doses	Change	% of Total Population	Number of People Receiving 2 Doses	Change	% of Total Population	Pfizer-BioNTech	Moderna	Not Identified
2/25/2021	46,074,392	837,249	14.05%	21,555,117	947,856	6.57%	35,095,003	33,066,503	112,611
2/24/2021	45,237,143	692,174	13.79%	20,607,261	724,717	6.28%	34,159,027	32,194,245	111,675
2/23/2021	44,544,969	406,851	13.58%	19,882,544	444,049	6.06%	33,352,170	31,569,021	110,892
2/22/2021	44,138,118	510,026	13.46%	19,438,495	573,176	5.93%	32,853,883	31,212,925	110,666
2/21/2021	43,628,092	818,497	13.30%	18,865,319	969,652	5.75%	32,232,422	30,747,615	110,597
2/20/2021	42,809,595	832,194	13.05%	17,895,667	856,549	5.46%	31,270,062	29,909,492	109,946
2/19/2021	41,977,401	956,352	12.80%	17,039,118	876,760	5.19%	30,431,247	29,044,336	109,460

• Total doses distributed are cumulative counts of vaccine doses recorded as shipped in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Tracking System.
• Doses distributed are for both Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech vaccine; administered doses are for Pfizer BioNTech vaccine only at this time

 

Reported doses administered by day

Data compiled by The Washington Post from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,, updated February 25

In the last week, an average of 1.37 million doses per day were administered, a 12% decrease over the week before.

 

State Doses

Data compiled by The Washington Post, updated February 25

 

US Variants

Cases Caused by Variants

Data compiled by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, normally updated Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday

Date	UK - B.1.1.7		South Africa - B.1.351		Brazil - P.1
	Spread: More transmissible		Spread: More transmissible		Spread: Likely more transmissible
	Illness: No more or less severe *		Illness: No more or less severe		Illness: No more or less severe
	Vaccine: As effective		Vaccine: Less effective		Vaccine: May be less effective
	Cases	States	Cases	States	Cases	States
2/25/2021	2,102	45	49	15	6	5
2/23/2021	1,881	45	46	14	5	4
2/21/2021	1,661	44	22	10	5	4
2/18/2021	1,523	42	21	10	5	4
2/16/2021	1,277	42	19	10	3	2
2/14/2021	1,173	40	17	8	3	2
2/11/2021	981	37	13	5	3	2
2/9/2021	932	34	9	3	3	2
2/7/2021	690	33	6	3	3	2
2/4/2021	611	33	5	2	2	1
2/2/2021	541	33	3	2	2	1

 

Map compiled by NBC News from CDC data, last updated February 24

 

Key news and updates

Published from The New York Times Variant Tracker

• Added the B.1.526 variant, which is spreading in New York City – Feb 23
• Studies suggest that a variant discovered in California is more contagious – Feb 23
• Maryland confirms its first case of the P.1 variant – Feb 17
• Massachusetts confirms its first case of the B.1.351 variant – Feb 16
• Added the Q677 spike mutation, which was found in several lineages in the US – Feb 15
• B.1.351 is confirmed in a Connecticut resident hospitalized in New York City – Feb 15
• Studies suggest B.1.1.7 is likely more deadly than other circulating variants – Feb 13
• Illinois and North Carolina confirm their first cases of the B.1.351 variant – Feb 11
• South Africa stops using AstraZeneca’s vaccine against the B.1.351 variant – Feb 7
• The B.1.1.7 variant is doubling every 10 days in the US – Feb 7

 

Highlights

Vaccines – US

1. About 68 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the US, according to data published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 74% of the 91,673,010 doses delivered and about two million more reported since Wednesday, for a seven-day average of about 1.5 million doses per day.
2. The number of vaccine doses administered in the US as second doses outpaced first doses for the first time over the past week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and over the past seven days, the total number given has jumped by nearly 10.2 million doses, with just over half - 5.1 million – given as second doses.
3. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimates that 165.82 million Americans will have been vaccinated by June 1 - close to half the population.
4. Missouri will soon enter its Phase 1B of the state’s Covid-19 Vaccine Plan, which means K-12 educators and school employees, child care providers, grocery store employees and critical infrastructure workers in energy, food, agriculture, and other sectors, will become eligible, making approximately 550,000 more Missourians eligible to receive doses.
5. Massachusetts saw nearly 50,000 vaccine appointments snatched up in 90 minutes Thursday morning, as residents were told they could be waiting hours, or even days, to schedule one of the limited slots.
6. Supermarket chain Giant Eagle today announced a partnership with the Pittsburgh Steelers to host a multi-day vaccination clinic at Heinz Field which will run from at least March 2 through March 5, with a “significant number” of appointments available each day, but if additional supply is made available the dates will be extended.
7. President Biden gave remarks commemorating 50 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered Thursday, taking the time to mark the occasion while still warning of the road ahead, adding that “The more people get vaccinated, the faster we're gonna beat this pandemic.”
8. The US needs more equitable vaccine distribution systems to respond to the pandemic and any in the future, the Biden administration’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said Thursday, explaining "Disparities we often see with vaccine distribution are often related to pre-existing structural challenges that we have - one of them being a lack of access to health care that many people unfortunately face.”
9. Vice President Harris watched from a distance Thursday as vaccinations took place at a Giant pharmacy in Southeast Washington at an event staged to highlight the Biden administration’s expanding efforts to make shots directly available at local pharmacies across the country.

Vaccines - Global

1. The European Union's vaccine rollout "will continue to be difficult" in the next few weeks, European Council President Charles Michel said during a summit Thursday, explaining that “Our top priority now is speeding up the production and delivery of vaccines and vaccinations across the European Union," adding “It's why we support the Commission's efforts to work with [the] industry to identify bottlenecks, guarantee supply chains and scale up production,” and “we want more predictability and transparency to ensure that pharmaceutical companies comply with the commitments."
2. AstraZeneca is "very confident" its vaccine yield will improve in the second quarter, noting that the company could even "catch up" to the supply volumes originally projected, company CEO Pascal Soriot said during an European Union virtual summit Thursday.
3. Moderna's current vaccine production numbers "are far from indicative" of future production, CEO Stéphane Bancel said today, explaining "The numbers we are producing today are far from indicative of what we can produce in the future," and adding "We expect that the additional capacity investment, which we announced yesterday to drive to up to 1.4 billion doses in 2022 will be helpful."
4. UNICEF said today it has shipped 504,000 vaccine doses from Mumbai airport, bound for Ivory Coast on Friday, making it the second country to receive the doses through the World Health Organization's COVAX program, following a vaccine shipment to Ghana on Wednesday.
5. Ireland is beginning to see strong early evidence that its vaccine rollout is protecting healthcare workers and care home residents from catching the disease, health officials said on Thursday.
6. South Korea launched its inoculation campaign on Friday, with shots to be administered in some 200 nursing homes, in an effort that officials call the first step in returning the country to more normal life.
7. Mexico’s Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said more than 80 million people should be vaccinated by July, a figure that represents all of the targeted adult population, with 34 million expected to received their shot by April.
8. Argentina has received 904,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine in its first delivery from the Chinese drug maker, the government said on Thursday, which should help the country accelerate its fledgling inoculation program.
9. Syria will start administering vaccines the country has received “from a friendly country” to frontlines workers treating coronavirus patients next week, the health minister Hassan al-Ghobash said Thursday.
10. Guatemala's Health Ministry approved the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, according to a statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund released Thursday, the third country of Central America to approve its use and the 37th country worldwide.
11. Bahrain approved the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, making it the fifth authorized for emergency use in the tiny Gulf nation.
12. German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday urged people not to be picky about which vaccine they receive, as doses of AstraZeneca’s offering go unused in Europe, and speaking to health workers in Bavaria called choosing a vaccine a “luxury problem” given that citizens from some countries may not receive a shot this year.

New Variants

1. The vast majority of new variants - 2,102 – reported in the US are the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7 originally detected in the United Kingdom, which has now been found in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, with nearly a quarter of the infections in Florida.
2. There are now a total of 49 cases of the variant first seen in South Africa, called B.1.351, in 14 states and Washington, DC, with the strain linked to Brazil now reported to have infected six people in the US.
3. The B.1.1.7 variant, first seen in the United Kingdom, has been found across the US and experts fear it might fuel a new surge as it appears to be more contagious, but there’s little sign it’s doing so yet, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington reported today.
4. Columbia University researchers say they have identified at least 80 cases of the new variant across the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, indicating the new homegrown mutation isn't confined to a single outbreak.
5. New York City officials said on Thursday that the full possible risks posed by a new variant were unknown, but that it did not appear yet to require that the city modify its public health response.
6. France’s prime minister said Thursday that several regions could face new pandemic restrictions starting March 6, as the country recorded a sharp increase in infections that was attributable to new variants of the virus, such as one originally detected in Britain that now accounts for half of infections in France.
7. Hungary is facing its "most difficult two weeks" of the pandemic so far, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday, adding that hospitals are facing unprecedented pressure due to the spread of variants.
8. CureVac chief Franz-Werner Haas said on Thursday that preliminary trials on animals of the company's vaccine candidate show it is effective against the United Kingdom and South African variants.
9. Europe's medicines regulator said on Thursday it has issued new guidance for drug makers that modify their vaccines to protect against variants of the virus to speed up the approval process.

US Outbreak

1. “Daily deaths are also declining, but the decline is half the size of daily cases,” the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington reported Thursday, saying the trend may partly be because of a rising ratio of deaths in Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, and Georgia, but that the number has dropped nearly 35% in the last five weeks.
2. The influential model from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projects that 574,000 people will have died of Covid-19 in the US by June 1, trending down from its last forecast of 562,000 by April 1.
3. Since the arrival of vaccines, which were prioritized to long-term care facilities starting in late December, new cases and deaths in nursing homes have fallen steeply, outpacing national declines, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data, a turnaround that is an encouraging sign for vaccine effectiveness and offering an early glimpse at what may be in store for the rest of the country, as more and more people get vaccinated.
4. California became the first state to report 50,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, a grim milestone that occurred after 806 additional deaths were reported in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, due to a backlog from the holidays/
5. Oregon Governor Kate Brown extended the state of emergency due to Covid-19 for an additional 60 days on Thursday, a measure that will last through May 2 and allowing continued federal Covid-19 relief and assistance, including help with vaccine distribution.
6. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who has been criticized for a rocky vaccine rollout, announced Thursday that the state would move into the next phase of reopening in March as long as infection rates continue to trend downward, and that capacity limits for indoor dining will be lifted starting next week, but bars and nightclubs will remain closed.
7. Texas Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said Thursday he was considering lifting a statewide mask mandate, which has been in place since July, explaining “We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re going to be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon.”
8. New York City schools have a positive Covid-19 test rate of less than 1% as middle schools reopened to students for in-person instruction.
9. Infections have continued to emerge by the tens of thousands this year at colleges, a New York Times survey found, after students returned to campuses during a period when numbers were soaring across much of the country, with over 120,000 cases linked to American colleges and universities since January 1, and more than 530,000 reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
10. Maryland’s State Board of Education adopted a plan this week for standardized testing to go on this spring, but this year the exams will be shorter and limited to math and English for students in third grade to eighth grade and high school, whether they are learning in person or virtually.

Global Outbreak

1. More than 2.5 million people across the world have now died due to coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data on Thursday, less than a month and a half after the milestone of 2 million was recorded on January 15.
2. The World Health Organization on Thursday warned that as many as 20 poor countries were in urgent need of oxygen, as more than 500,000 Covid-19 patients in low and middle income countries around the world need an oxygen treatment each day.
3. Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom have seen infections decline in recent weeks, but this contrasts sharply with countries including France, Germany and Greece, which are all seeing rises in weekly cases compared to the previous seven days.
4. Brazil reported another 65,998 cases in the last 24 hours, and the country’s total death toll crossed 250,000- the most number of fatalities after only the US.
5. France on Wednesday registered more than 30,000 new cases, up from a daily average of 20,000 new infections in recent weeks and the biggest daily tally since mid-November.
6. Italy reported 19,886 new cases on Thursday, compared with 16,424 the day before, marking the highest number of infections since January 9, and patients in intensive care units rose for an eighth day to 2,168, still below the November peak of about 3,800 and the April 2020 peak of more than 4,000.
7. Poland reported its number of new cases rose for a second straight day - with some 12,000 new infections detected on Wednesday, and announce that face coverings like scarves and bandannas can no longer be worn instead of protective masks.
8. Germany recorded 10,774 new cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, the highest one-day addition since February 6, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and the country’s seven-day incidence rate inched up to 61.7.
9. Ukraine has registered an almost 40% jump in new cases over the past 24 hours, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said Thursday.
10. The United Kingdom lowered its Covid alert level from five to four, the Department of Health and Social Care announced Thursday, and in a statement said that “The health services across the four nations remain under significant pressure with a high number of patients in hospital, however thanks to the efforts of public we are now seeing numbers consistently declining, and the threat of the NHS and other health services being overwhelmed within 21 days has receded."
11. Japan’s government will end a state of emergency in all but Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures at the end of this month, a week earlier than scheduled.
12. Finland will go into a three-week lockdown starting March 8 and is prepared to declare a state of emergency, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Thursday, who said the country faces a "significant" increase in the number of cases and a rise in hospitalizations, and while the lockdown will not include a curfew, it will involve the closing of restaurants and ordering school students that are 13 or older to shift to remote learning.
13. Portugal on Thursday extended until at least mid-March a nationwide lockdown, but its president told the government to put together a plan to gradually lift the strict rules.
14. Dubai plans to link the IT systems of its health authority with Emirates’ reservation and check-in systems, in order to facilitate the digital verification of air passengers' Covid-19 testing and vaccination data, and in a news release Thursday the airline said the project will allow for “the efficient sharing, storing and verification of passenger health information related to COVID-19 infection, testing and vaccination, all in a secure and legally compliant manner.

Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

1. GlaxoSmithKline will extend a trial testing an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug on patients suffering from pneumonia related to COVID-19 to focus on the elderly as it seeks to firm up encouraging findings so far.
2. Pfizer plans to begin testing its vaccine in children as young as 5, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said Thursday, with data on the population expected to be available by the end of the year.
3. Moderna has completed enrollment of 3,000 US participants for a Phase 2/3 trial called “TeenCOVE” that will study their vaccine in adolescents ages 12 to 17 and will start the Phase 2 study in younger children soon, the company said Thursday.
4. About one in 10 people who have contracted covid-19 continue to show symptoms three months after infection, the World Health Organization said Thursday, who urged policymakers to do more to acknowledge and treat the phenomenon often referred to as “long covid,” with the agency reporting symptoms from fatigue to chest pain to depression to a loss of smell which results in “severe social, economic, health and occupational consequences.”

Business Related

1. A ruling in the Senate on Thursday dealt a severe blow to Democrats' hopes of raising the minimum wage in the Covid-19 relief package, likely dooming the proposal in the legislation that is headed for a vote in Congress, with the parliamentarian, the in-house referee, saying that the provision was not compliant with rules governing the budget process being used to pass the bill with simple majorities.
2. Best Buy said it expects fewer consumers to buy home theaters and new laptops as they spend money on travel and dining out again in the second half of the year, as the retailer exceeded Wall Street’s earnings expectations for the fourth quarter but missed on revenue expectations and reported slowing sales, forecasting an even slower rate for the coming year, with same-store sales expected to decline by as much as 2%.
3. Costco plans to raise its minimum wage from $15 to $16 next week, the company’s chief executive told Congress on Thursday, becoming the latest major retailer to boost hourly pay as the pandemic wears on and big-box stores post booming profits.

Other Stories

1. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken plans to take virtual “trips” to Mexico and Canada on Friday, an effort to continue diplomacy in as normal a fashion as possible at a time when the coronavirus has shut down most foreign travel.
2. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will start in Fukushima prefecture on March 25, 2021 with several Covid-19 countermeasures in place, officials announced on Thursday, but there will be no cheering allowed and people who view from the roadside must wear masks.
3. Virginia state Republican Party leaders voted this week to choose their nominee for governor at a drive-in convention at Liberty University, a decision that seemed to take officials at the Lynchburg campus by surprise, with Central Committee members who pitched the idea acknowledging before the vote that they had no formal agreement with the college, saying the party could pursue that only after the committee signed off on the principle.

 

Outbreak Statistics

Numbers from John Hopkins CSSE Tracking are pulled daily at 5:00PM and changes reflect the past 24 hours

Global Numbers

Date	Cases	Deaths	Recovered
25 Feb Thu	112,856,868 (+447,284)	2,503,735 (+11,315) - 2.22%	63,669,784 (+229,474)
24 Feb Wed	112,409,584 (+434,679)	2,492,420 (+11,280) - 2.22%	63,440,310 (+239,022)
23 Feb Tue	111,974,905 (+332,881)	2,481,140 (+9,339) - 2.22%	63,201,288 (+245,100)
22 Feb Mon	111,642,024 (+364,357)	2,471,801 (+7,411) - 2.21%	62,956,188 (+172,470)
21 Feb Sun	111,277,667 (+328,556)	2,464,390 (+7,017) - 2.21%	62,783,718 (+229,384)
20 Feb Sat	110,949,111 (+381,380)	2,457,373 (+9,026) - 2.21%	62,554,334 (+261,090)
19 Feb Thu	110,567,731 (+387,042)	2,448,347 (+11,209) - 2.21%	62,293,244 (+246,631)

Top 15 Global Country Counts

• Daily case change (total):  US: +83,893 (28,396,896), Brazil: +66,588 (10,324,463), France: +25,413 (3,746,466), Italy: +19,871 (2,868,435), India: +16,738 (11,046,914), Czechia: +13,816 (1,198,168), Poland: +12,143 (1,673,252), Russia: +11,067 (4,164,802), Germany: +10,751 (2,426,780), United Kingdom: +10,015 (4,166,718), Turkey: +9,572 (2,674,766), Spain: +9,568 (3,180,212), Mexico: +8,642 (2,060,908), Indonesia: +8,493 (1,314,634), Ukraine: +8,278 (1,373,139)
• Daily death change (total):  US: +3,508 (507,803), Brazil: +1,428 (249,957), Mexico: +1,006 (182,815), Russia: +437 (83,481), Germany: +391 (69,327), Spain: +345 (68,813), United Kingdom: +324 (122,303), Italy: +308 (96,974), Poland: +286 (43,094), Indonesia: +264 (35,518), France: +262 (85,734), Peru: +196 (45,683), Czechia: +153 (19,835), Ukraine: +144 (26,991), Colombia: +142 (59,260)

US Numbers

Date	Cases	Deaths	Recovered
25 Feb Thu	28,396,744 (+83,893)	507,800 (+3,508) - 1.79%	10,554,761 (+64,939)
24 Feb Wed	28,312,851 (+73,432)	504,292 (+2,290) - 1.78%	10,489,822 (+50,579)
23 Feb Tue	28,239,419 (+65,438)	502,002 (+1,934) - 1.78%	10,439,243 (-1,586,720)
22 Feb Mon	28,173,981 (+52,955)	500,068 (+1,356) - 1.77%	12,025,963 (+21,900)
21 Feb Sun	28,121,026 (+61,131)	498,712 (+1,370) - 1.77%	12,004,063 (+67,658)
20 Feb Sat	28,059,895 (+106,224)	497,342 (+2,216) - 1.77%	11,936,405 (+34,976)
19 Feb Thu	27,953,671 (+72,095)	495,126 (+2,483) - 1.77%	11,901,429 (+73,399)

US State and Territory Counts

• Cases by daily change (totals):  New York: +11,719 (1,619,924), Texas: +11,107 (2,629,850), Florida: +6,640 (1,892,301), California: +5,970 (3,550,368), New Jersey: +3,577 (778,963), North Carolina: +3,351 (852,981), Georgia: +3,149 (997,442), South Carolina: +2,502 (511,546), Ohio: +2,409 (962,404), Pennsylvania: +2,389 (925,563), Massachusetts: +2,102 (573,885), Tennessee: +1,994 (770,940), Virginia: +1,979 (570,982), Illinois: +1,903 (1,181,151), Michigan: +1,598 (642,868), Arizona: +1,310 (811,968), Kentucky: +1,294 (400,307), Colorado: +1,168 (423,558), Oklahoma: +1,144 (422,156), Indiana: +1,084 (659,127), Minnesota: +986 (481,831), Maryland: +976 (379,466), Connecticut: +975 (279,159), Wisconsin: +965 (615,225), Mississippi: +920 (292,811), Alabama: +890 (491,110), Washington: +872 (336,565), Utah: +832 (369,433), Arkansas: +803 (317,396), Louisiana: +764 (427,689), Iowa: +731 (361,940), Missouri: +708 (493,803), Nevada: +571 (292,630), Rhode Island: +467 (125,185), New Mexico: +446 (183,781), West Virginia: +431 (130,813), Idaho: +423 (170,289), Oregon: +417 (154,062), Nebraska: +381 (200,163), New Hampshire: +335 (74,258), Delaware: +295 (85,801), Maine: +218 (44,118), Montana: +203 (99,445), Alaska: +181 (58,151), District of Columbia: +179 (40,122), South Dakota: +156 (111,964), Puerto Rico: +100 (99,619), North Dakota: +90 (99,621), Vermont: +72 (14,840), Wyoming: +44 (53,988), Hawaii: +43 (27,497), Kansas: +20 (295,190), Virgin Islands: +10 (2,623), Guam: +0 (7,729), Northern Mariana Islands: +0 (143), American Samoa: +0 (0)
• Deaths by daily change (totals):  California: +1,157 (51,088), Texas: +629 (43,176), Virginia: +155 (7,963), Florida: +138 (30,478), Georgia: +137 (17,195), New York: +108 (47,264), Alabama: +87 (9,831), Pennsylvania: +81 (23,840), Ohio: +80 (17,125), New Jersey: +70 (23,147), North Carolina: +63 (11,137), Massachusetts: +62 (15,945), Wisconsin: +58 (6,994), Tennessee: +55 (11,321), Kentucky: +51 (4,527), Michigan: +47 (16,436), South Carolina: +45 (8,443), Arizona: +43 (15,693), Illinois: +38 (22,607), Oklahoma: +38 (4,302), Louisiana: +33 (9,561), Oregon: +32 (2,194), Washington: +31 (4,912), Missouri: +28 (8,251), Indiana: +27 (12,494), Maine: +24 (701), Iowa: +23 (5,438), Connecticut: +19 (7,614), Maryland: +16 (7,805), Nevada: +14 (4,933), New Mexico: +14 (3,658), Utah: +11 (1,890), Colorado: +10 (5,917), Arkansas: +10 (5,387), Nebraska: +9 (2,063), Rhode Island: +9 (2,496), Puerto Rico: +9 (2,016), Mississippi: +8 (6,613), South Dakota: +8 (1,872), Minnesota: +7 (6,518), West Virginia: +5 (2,290), Delaware: +4 (1,406), District of Columbia: +4 (1,005), Hawaii: +4 (434), Montana: +2 (1,350), New Hampshire: +2 (1,157), Vermont: +2 (203), North Dakota: +1 (1,471), Kansas: +0 (4,681), Idaho: +0 (1,840), Alaska: +0 (290), Wyoming: +0 (671), Guam: +0 (130), Virgin Islands: +0 (25), Northern Mariana Islands: +0 (2), American Samoa: +0 (0)

 

US Testing and Treatment Statistics

Data from The COVID Tracking Project at the Atlantic, which uses a Creative Common CC-BY-NC-4.0 license type, typically posted by 7PM

Date	New Tests	Positive Results	Negative Results	Total Results	% of Positive Tests	Pending Tests	Currently Hospitalized	Currently in ICU	Currently on Ventilators
25 Feb Thu	1,837,743	28,150,738	121,290,663	349,785,144	8.05%	11,813	52,669	10,846	3,567
24 Feb Wed	1,464,714	28,075,173	120,757,956	347,947,401	8.07%	12,548	54,118	11,026	3,685
23 Feb Tue	1,188,609	28,000,689	120,288,105	346,469,862	8.08%	11,200	55,058	11,272	3,755
22 Feb Mon	1,238,604	27,932,810	126,181,328	345,630,563	8.08%	9,499	55,403	11,536	3,804
21 Feb Sun	1,225,773	27,879,604	125,799,737	344,360,398	8.10%	9,442	56,159	11,862	3,915
20 Feb Sat	1,274,526	27,821,175	125,499,697	343,134,625	8.11%	9,408	58,222	12,120	3,932
19 Feb Fri	1,878,276	27,749,224	125,189,379	341,860,099	8.12%	8,711	59,882	12,491	4,118

• Testing by daily change (currently):  New York: +278,942 (37,256,699), California: +161,988 (47,814,160), Florida: +118,508 (21,488,105), Massachusetts: +118,144 (15,894,675), Illinois: +91,292 (17,895,829), Wisconsin: +88,386 (6,825,405), North Carolina: +62,314 (10,199,355), Pennsylvania: +54,200 (10,244,968), Texas: +53,992 (19,357,913), Louisiana: +53,200 (5,521,097), Michigan: +50,278 (10,211,286), New Jersey: +47,527 (10,535,018), Minnesota: +45,708 (6,831,489), Indiana: +45,517 (7,902,509), Ohio: +44,938 (9,894,516), Connecticut: +39,700 (6,267,131), Colorado: +39,073 (6,119,346), Arizona: +37,382 (7,549,777), Maryland: +37,184 (7,755,974), Virginia: +30,668 (5,830,467), Georgia: +28,972 (7,125,751), South Carolina: +27,689 (4,932,992), Tennessee: +26,206 (6,859,550), Rhode Island: +24,685 (2,946,696), Missouri: +22,411 (4,445,341), Washington: +21,996 (5,167,513), New Hampshire: +17,172 (1,436,668), Kentucky: +16,035 (3,878,912), Oregon: +15,528 (3,526,219), Nebraska: +12,000 (2,347,453), Maine: +11,597 (1,607,004), West Virginia: +11,465 (2,173,485), Oklahoma: +11,004 (3,456,445), Utah: +10,605 (2,829,905), Nevada: +10,057 (2,696,649), New Mexico: +9,788 (2,652,210), Arkansas: +9,057 (2,627,733), Alaska: +8,887 (1,671,043), Montana: +7,535 (1,067,508), Alabama: +7,155 (2,276,188), Hawaii: +5,490 (1,080,715), District of Columbia: +5,048 (1,209,653), Wyoming: +3,788 (633,626), North Dakota: +3,738 (1,403,080), Delaware: +2,817 (1,371,551), Iowa: +2,594 (1,308,496), Vermont: +1,603 (1,033,554), Idaho: +1,456 (635,314), Mississippi: +920 (1,728,997), South Dakota: +738 (420,565), Guam: +372 (117,265), Virgin Islands: +294 (47,273), Puerto Rico: +100 (405,591), American Samoa: +0 (2,140), Kansas: +0 (1,248,768), Northern Mariana Islands: +0 (17,572)
• Hospitalization by daily change (currently; that report this data):  Idaho: +33 (143), Missouri: +20 (1,202), Wisconsin: +8 (355), Indiana: +3 (889), Kansas: +0 (214), Oregon: +0 (191), Alaska: -1 (45), Guam: -2 (4), Nevada: -2 (532), South Dakota: -2 (100), Vermont: -2 (30), Hawaii: -3 (34), North Dakota: -3 (25), Tennessee: -3 (1,139), Utah: -4 (248), Rhode Island: -5 (163), Wyoming: -5 (20), District of Columbia: -6 (205), Iowa: -6 (227), New Hampshire: -6 (97), New Mexico: -6 (245), Maine: -7 (67), Louisiana: -8 (679), Maryland: -8 (952), Connecticut: -10 (485), Pennsylvania: -10 (1,962), Washington: -10 (534), West Virginia: -10 (282), Texas: -14 (6,724), Colorado: -15 (412), Delaware: -18 (164), Nebraska: -18 (160), Mississippi: -20 (534), Massachusetts: -22 (853), Montana: -22 (75), Arkansas: -23 (522), Minnesota: -27 (265), South Carolina: -29 (939), Georgia: -32 (2,583), North Carolina: -32 (1,498), Michigan: -34 (821), New Jersey: -38 (2,032), Kentucky: -40 (843), Illinois: -48 (1,463), Alabama: -51 (722), Puerto Rico: -58 (184), Arizona: -64 (1,385), Ohio: -76 (1,262), Virginia: -76 (1,488), Oklahoma: -100 (491), Florida: -120 (3,957), New York: -173 (5,703), California: -244 (6,520)

 

Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

Tracker data is consolidated from The New York Times and US CDC, (#) is change from last update, see Reference detail in Compiled Information following

		Vaccine Tracker(last updatedFebruary 25)
		PRECLINICAL		PHASE I		PHASE II	PHASE III	EARLY/LIMITED	APPROVED
		~150+		40		27	20	8 (+1)	4
		Vaccine candidates being evaluated		Vaccines testing safety and dosage		Vaccines in expanded safety trials	Vaccines in large-scale efficacy tests	Vaccines approved for early or limited use	Vaccines approved for full use
		Early/Limited Use (in country):CanSinoBIO Biologics (China), Gamaleya Research Institute (Russia), Sinovac Biotech (China), Sinopharm - Wuhan (China), Vector Institute (Russia), Chumakov (Russia)
		Emergency Use (in country): Pfizer-BioNTech (US and elsewhere), Moderna (US), AstraZeneca/University of Oxford (Britain and elsewhere), Bharat Biotech (India), Sinopharm (China, UAE, Bahrain)
		Approved (in country):Pfizer-BioNTech (multiple countries), Moderna (Canada and multiple countries), Sputnik V (Mexico), Sinovac (China)

New additions and recent updates:

• Bahrain authorizes Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine for emergency use – Feb 25
• A vaccine developed by the Icahn School of Medicine enters Phase 1 – Feb 22
• Sanofi moves to Phase 2 – Feb 22
• Russia approves the Chumakov Center vaccine for early use – Feb 20
• China’s Shenzhen Kangtai moves to Phase 2 – Feb 18
• A nasal spray from India’s Bharat Biotech enters Phase 1 – Feb 16
• A vaccine from Italy’s Takis and Rottapharm enters Phase 1 – Feb 10
• South Korea’s SK Bioscience moves to Phase 1/2 - Feb 8
• South Africa halts plans for a rollout of AstraZeneca’s vaccine – Feb 7
• A second vaccine from Iran enters Phase 1 – Feb 7
• China gives conditional approval to the Sinovac vaccine – Feb 6
• New York-based COVAXX moves to Phase 2 – Feb 6
• Vaxart stock plunges after a reported low antibody response – Feb 3
• Mexico authorizes Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine – Feb 3
• Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6% - Feb 2
• Cuba’s Abdala vaccine moves to Phase 2 – Feb 2

 

Drug and Treatment Tracker(last updated February 11)             3 (2) 2 3 13 3 3 FDA Approved (Emergency) Widely used Promising evidence Tentative or mixed evidence Not promising Pseudoscience or fraud FDA Approved:Remdesivir, Bamlanivimab Antibody (emergency use), Regeneron (emergency use) Widely Used:Prone positioning, ventilators and other respiratory support devices Promising:Dexamethasone and Other Corticosteroids, Cytokine Inhibitors, Azithromycin Pseudoscience or fraud: Drinking or injecting bleach and disinfectants, UV light, Silver New additions and recent updates: Added azithromycin, an antibody used to fight bacterial infections – Feb 10 Added colchicine, an anti-inflammatory used to treat gout – Jan 31 A large trial finds no mortality benefit among hospitalized patients receiving convalescent plasma – Jan 15 The National Institutes of Health finds insufficient data to recommend for or against the use of ivermectin – Jan 14 Regeneron’s antibody cocktail receives emergency use authorization from the F.D.A. - Nov. 21 An antibody treatment called bamlanivimab receives emergency use authorization from the FDA - Nov. 10 Remdesivir is approved as the first drug to treat Covid-19 - Oct. 23 A trial of Eli Lilly’s antibody therapy was paused to investigate a potential safety concern - Oct. 13 President Trump is taking the steroid dexamethasone. Oct. 4 President Trump is receiving a five-day course of remdesivir. Oct. 3 President Trump receives an experimental antibody cocktail - Oct. 2 Added vitamin and mineral supplements to other treatments - Sept. 29 Convalescent plasma was approved for emergency use - Aug. 24

 

US Restrictions

Data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, updated on change, Table available at CVOB website for sorting

US Restrictions and Policy Actions - February 22(previous update February 16)
Status of Reopening	Reopened (19); Easing Restrictions (20); Paused (7); New Restrictions Imposed (5)
Stay at Home Order	Stay at Home Order Eased or Lifted (40); New Stay at Home Order in Place (5); No Action (6)
Mandatory Quarantine for Travelers	Traveler Quarantine Mandate in Place (13); Traveler Quarantine Mandate Lifted (19); No Action (19)
Non-Essential Business Closures	All Non-Essential Businesses Open (21); Some or All Non-Essential Businesses Open with Limits (30)
Large Gatherings Ban	All Gatherings Prohibited(2: +1 ); >10 Prohibited(20: -1); >25 Prohibited(1: -1); >50 Prohibited(7: +1); No Limit(21)
Restaurant Limits	Open (19); Open with Service Limits(30: -1); Closed to Indoor Service(2: +1)
Bar Closures	Open (19); Open with Service Limits (21); Open for Outdoor Service Only (3); Closed (8)
Face Covering Requirement	Yes (36); No (15)
Emergency Declaration	Yes(50: -1); No(1: +1)

 

 

Back-to-Normal Index

The Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business US Back-to-Normal Index is comprised of 37 national and seven state-level indicators, ranges from 0% - representing no economic activity, to 100% - representing the economy returning to its pre-pandemic level in March, and is updated weekly on Fridays for Wednesday numbers (see FAQ following for methodology)

 

 

 

Statistics Sources

John Hopkins CSSE Live Tracking Map, CDC US Case Reporting, Worldometer Coronavirus Pandemic, News Break Coronavirus Realtime Update Stats, Bing Covid19 Tracker, Covid Tracking Project, Uncast Social Distancing Scoreboard, University of Washington Outbreak Model, Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business Back-to-Normal Index

 

References

CNN, Washington Post, CNBC, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, USA Today, Yahoo News, BBC, Reddit

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