J&J Gets Initial U.S. Approval; CDC Issues Warning: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine won the backing of a panel of U.S. government advisers, paving the way for authorization of a third U.S. immunization against the deadly virus.

February is on track to show just a third of the monthly Covid-19 cases seen during the worst parts of the holiday surge that drove U.S. infections to records, as states such as South Carolina and Wyoming plan to lift more restrictions.

President Joe Biden said his administration would undertake a major effort to reassure Americans of the safety and effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines. The UN Security Council approved a U.K.-drafted resolution calling for cease-fires in conflict zones so that vaccinations can take place.

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 113.3 million; deaths pass 2.5 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 231 million shots given worldwide
• U.S. Spotlight: February cases set to show just a fraction of the winter holiday surge
• Biden Says He’s Launching Campaign on Vaccine Safety, Efficacy
• UN Security Council Calls for Cease-Fires to Speed Vaccinations
• Can a vaccinated person still spread the coronavirus?: QuickTake
• Is news of U.S. virus variants too much, too soon?: QuickTake

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.

The government plans to allow entry for participants in the summer Olympics and the Paralympics after the state of emergency that runs to March 7, according to the Nikkei.

The country has effectively closed its borders to foreigners, making exceptions only for special circumstances such as family reunions and medical treatment. The government plans to expand that category to include athletes and coaches, the newspaper reported without saying where it obtained the information.

Visitors will be able to skip a two-week quarantine, but will be forbidden to use public transport and move beyond their lodging and places of training, it said.

Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said that while the vaccine program wasn’t going as fast as people would like, he expects everyone to be vaccinated “by the end of summer,” according to a transcript of an interview with Meet the Press.

He said Canada would continue to engage with the White House on when to start easing border measures, although restrictions will remain in place at this time.

President Joe Biden said his administration would undertake a major effort to reassure Americans of the safety and effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines, in order to overcome reticence among some people to take the shots that could end the pandemic.

About a quarter of Americans say they won’t take a dose of the coronavirus vaccines, and there is a partisan divide on the issue — much as around public health guidance to wear masks and take other precautions against infection. More than four in 10 Republicans say they’ll avoid a vaccine if they can, compared to just 10% of Democrats, according to a poll by Monmouth University published Feb. 3.

The council approved a U.K.-drafted resolution Friday calling for local cease-fires in conflict zones so that coronavirus vaccinations can take place.

The passage of the resolution, which calls for cooperation to overcome “logistical barriers to equitable access,” was seen as an early sign of cooperation between the new Biden administration and China, which supported the document without too much bickering over language.

The FDA will work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization for the J&J vaccine, the agency said in a statement. Federal partners were also notified so they could plan distribution, the FDA said.

Georgia’s coronavirus death toll rose to 15,007 on Friday, according to the latest numbers from the state Department of Public Health, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Overall, the state has recored 814,820 confirmed cases.

Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine won the backing of a panel of U.S. government advisers, paving the way for authorization of a third U.S. immunization against the deadly virus.

Experts advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 22-0, with no abstentions, that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks in adults 18 and older, a decision that could help bolster the vaccine supply as new variants continue to spread. The FDA usually follows the non-binding recommendations of its advisory panels and could authorize the shot within days.

The Czech government announced the strictest lockdown measures since the start of the pandemic to stem one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks and avoid a collapse of the health-care system.

For at least three weeks starting on Monday, the central European country will restrict travel between counties and close all schools, pre-schools and some of the shops that are currently open, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his health, interior and industry and trade ministers say at a televised briefing in Prague on Friday.

California’s 14-day positive test rate dropped to 2.9%, the lowest since Oct. 23, according to the health department’s website. The state said there were 5,400 new cases yesterday, below the average of 6,008. Still, deaths climbed by 391, above the 384 average. California has administered almost 48 million tests in total.

Ecuador health minister Juan Carlos Zevallos resigned Friday, becoming the third top Latin American health official forced out in a week as outrage grows over the ability of the region’s richest and most powerful to obtain vaccinations before the rest of the population.

President Lenin Moreno, whose term ends May 24, posted the minister’s resignation letter on Twitter. Zevallos’ departure was quickened after he sent letters to university presidents inviting them to skip the line, and after prosecutors launched an investigation into his mother’s vaccination in January.

In the past seven days, Argentina’s health minister resigned, as did both the Peruvian health minister and his deputy.

Portugal will present in March a gradual plan to ease restrictions, and it’s “natural” that the first steps may be schools, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Friday.

Daily infections eased in February after one of the most difficult months in the pandemic. The government said on Jan. 21 that the variant that first emerged in the U.K. was spreading quickly, forcing it to adopt additional measures such as closing schools.

South Carolina will no longer require government approval for gatherings of more than 250 people starting Monday, Governor Henry McMaster said. The state on Monday will also lift restrictions on alcohol sales at restaurants, though it still recommends limiting large gatherings to either 50% of the event space’s posted occupancy limit, or fewer than 250 people.

Starting Monday, Wyoming will also lift all Covid-19 restrictions on barber shops, hair and nail salons, tattoo and massage parlors imposed almost a year ago, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. The state posted 214 news cases Thursday, an almost five-fold increase from Wednesday.

February is on track to show just a fraction of the monthly Covid-19 cases seen during the worst parts of the holiday surge that drove infections to records.

The U.S. this month has already seen more than 2.17 million cases, which is more than any month prior to the surge, according to the Covid Tracking Project. But February looks likely to post about a third of the cases seen in December, the pandemic’s worst month.

The figures are a reminder of how much the daily case situation has improved, but also how far the country still has to go. Improvements are fragile, and rapidly accelerating variant cases pose serious threats to the efficacy of vaccines being rushed to patients.

States should maintain Covid-19 restrictions such as mask wearing and capacity limitations as case numbers halt their decline, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, citing the circulation of new variants and infection rates that remain alarmingly high.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky issued a sobering warning during a press briefing Friday, where she said the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, first found in the U.K., now accounts for an estimated 10% of current U.S. cases, and that variants in California and New York also appear to spread more easily.

Italy’s infections rose to the highest point since Jan. 1 as restrictions were set to tighten again in some regions, including Milan, according to Ansa newswires.

The country reported 20,499 new cases, compared with 19,886 the day before. Giovanni Rezza, head of prevention at the Health Ministry, said he is worried that many regional clusters are related to new virus strains.

Greece extended a strict lockdown for high-risk areas of the country, which include Athens and the surrounding area, by one week to March 8, Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias said Friday, citing a rise in new virus cases.

All people entering the country by land will be subject to rapid tests, with those testing positive barred from entry. The…