The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines

By Ben Westcott, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso, CNN

Updated 10:19 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021
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1:28 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine "checks nearly all the boxes" needed for pandemic, expert says

From CNN's Maggie Fox

A health care worker fills a syringe from a vial with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus as South Africa proceeds with its inoculation campaign at the Klerksdorp Hospital on February 18.
A health care worker fills a syringe from a vial with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus as South Africa proceeds with its inoculation campaign at the Klerksdorp Hospital on February 18. Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine “checks nearly all the boxes” on a list of what’s needed in a coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Greg Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, said Friday.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe and effective, and has the advantage of being a single-dose vaccine that has no special storage requirements, Poland told a meeting of vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration.

“We need a vaccine that can be quickly mass produced,” Poland said. “We’d want to see a reasonable duration of efficacy and protection. 

“The Janssen vaccine candidate checks nearly all the boxes.” 

The FDA’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) is meeting to discuss the vaccine and will vote later Friday on whether to recommend FDA emergency use authorization. The FDA almost always follows the committee’s recommendations.

“There are only three ways the pandemic can be controlled,” Poland told the committee. “First is a hard lockdown,” with universal masking and social distancing, he said. “Second, the virus mutates to be less transmissible,” he added – but noted that more transmissible variants are already emerging and spreading.

Third is vaccination. “Vaccines are our primary weapons in countering and controlling this threat,” Poland said.

He noted the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen division was studied in multiple countries when the virus was spreading fast – and when new variants were circulating.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which, if authorized, would be the third to be OK’d for the US, provided 85% protection against severe disease and the need for hospitalized in advanced, Phase 3 clinical trials.

1:21 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Go There: CNN answers your questions at a mass Covid-19 vaccination site in Chicago

As the US continues its push to get its entire population vaccinated, mass vaccination sites are opening across the country.

CNN correspondent Adrienne Broaddus was on the ground at a mass vaccination center opened up in Chicago, answering your questions about the vaccine rollout.

Watch more:

12:32 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Declines in US Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are stalling, CDC director warns

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Nicholas Neville

There is concern around a recent stall in the decline of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the United States — which appears now to be "leveling off," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned during a White House briefing on Friday. 

"Over the last few weeks, cases and hospital admissions in the United States have been coming down since early January and deaths had been declining in the past week," Walensky said. "But the latest data suggest that these declines may be stalling, potentially leveling off at still a very high number. We at CDC consider this a very concerning shift in the trajectory."

The most recent seven-day average of cases — about 66,350 — is higher than the average reported on Wednesday, Walensky said, adding "it is important to remember where we are in the pandemic. Things are tenuous."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said during Friday's briefing that the United States "has to be careful" when it comes to the spread of disease. 

"The point that Dr. Walensky made is critical," Fauci said. "If we plateau at 70,000, we are at that very precarious position that we were right before the fall surge, where anything that could perturb that could give us another surge."

12:28 p.m. ET, February 26, 2021

US "may now be seeing the beginning effects of these variants," CDC head warns

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Nicholas Neville

Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 08, 2020.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 08, 2020. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A recent increase in Covid-19 cases in the United States might be the "beginning effects" of the spread of coronavirus variants, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned during a White House briefing on Friday.

"CDC has been sounding the alarm about the continued spread of variants in the United States, predicting that variants, such as the B.1.1.7 variant, which is thought to be about 50% more transmissible than the wild type strain, would become the predominant variant of Covid-19 by mid-March. We may now be seeing the beginning effects of these variants in the most recent data," Walensky said during the briefing.

"Our estimates now indicate that B.1.1.7 accounts for approximately 10% of cases in the United States, up from 1% to 4% a few weeks ago and prevalence is even higher in certain areas of the country," Walensky added. "Earlier this week, new research came out about additional emerging variants in New York, the B.1.526 variant, and in California, the B.1.427 variant, that also appear to spread more easily and are contributing to a large fraction of current infections in those areas, adding urgency to the situation."

Walensky said that Covid-19 cases have been increasing for the past three days in the United States compared to the prior week. While deaths tend to fluctuate more than cases and hospital admissions, the most recent seven-day average — about 2,000 per day — is slightly higher than the average earlier in the week.

Overall, the number of new US Covid-19 cases is beginning to plateau after several weeks of sharp drops, even as hospitalizations and deaths continue to fall.

 

11:48 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

White House launches new federal Covid-19 vaccination sites in North Carolina and Illinois

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Nicholas Neville

The White House on Friday announced the launch of two new federal Covid-19 vaccination sites — one in North Carolina and the other in Illinois.

"Starting in two weeks, the United Center in Chicago will be used to vaccinate up to 6,000 people per day. And in North Carolina, a new site in Greensboro will have the capacity to vaccinate 3,000 people per day," Andy Slavitt, the White House senior adviser for the Covid-19 Response Team, announced during a briefing on Friday. 

"The goal is to launch vaccination sites that use processes and are in locations that promote equity, deploying the CDC's social vulnerability index," Slavitt said.

Slavitt added that the locations for the sites were based on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Emergency Management Agency  in an effort to target those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19.

Since Jan. 20, the administration has supported the establishment or expansion of 441 community vaccination centers across 37 states, territories and Washington, DC, Slavitt said on Friday.

 "Over the past month, we've provided 171 sites with federal personnel. We've deployed nearly 3,500 total personnel nationwide to support vaccination operations," Slavitt said. "One hundred and seventy-seven sites have received federal funding and at the President's direction, FEMA is reimbursing 100% of costs for vaccination operations."

Slavitt added that President Biden is visiting a federally established community vaccination site today in Houston.

11:42 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines seem to be safe and adverse events are rare, new CDC analysis finds

From CNN's Jen Christensen

The current Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines seem to be safe and adverse events seem to be rare, according to a presentation at the US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting Friday.

The number of reports of people having a reaction to the vaccine seem to be similar to what was reported during the clinical trials, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dr. Tom Shimabukuro.

The CDC looked at reports of adverse reactions through Feb. 16. At that point, 55 million doses had been administered in the US.

There were just more than 100,000 reports of which 94% were considered “non-serious” and 6% met the regulatory definition of “serious.”

The reports were gathered in a passive surveillance system co-managed by the CDC and the FDA, called V-safe. The system can rapidly detect safety signals if there is a problem with any of the vaccines. 

“The reactogenicity profiles of the mRNA vaccines in V-safe are consistent with what was observed in the clinical trials,” Shimabukuro said. “Anaphylaxis does occur, though rarely, and there's no safety signals for any serious adverse events,” he added

He added anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction-- is also treatable. The CDC guidelines say that people who get the vaccine must stay on location to be observed for 15 to 30 minutes after receiving their shot, that way if they have breathing problems, trained medical personnel can quickly help.

The CDC will continue to monitor the safety of people who receive the vaccines.

11:42 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Concerning coronavirus variants are likely much more common that testing shows, CDC expert says

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Worrying coronavirus variants are likely far more common across the US than testing indicates and could drive new surges in the spread of the virus, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Friday.

One first identified in the UK, called B.1.1.7, is more contagious and might cause more severe disease, although it doesn’t seem to be more deadly, CDC epidemiologist Adam MacNeil told a meeting of US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisers. 

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is meeting now to consider emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. If it wins EUA, it would become the third vaccine to become available in the US and the first one-shot vaccine.

The rise of variants makes vaccination more important than ever, CDC has said. It reports more than 2,100 samples of B.1.1.7 have been seen in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. But there’s not nearly enough testing to know the full picture, MacNeil told the committee.

“We may not ever know the full situation in terms of what is going on with the virus,” MacNeil told the committee. “These variants are probably much more widespread through the country,” he added. “These variants could probably exist throughout the entire United States.” 

Plus, testing is so slow that it’s unlikely contact tracing could be used to track the spread of the variants, he said.

In countries where the variants have arisen, there have been new surges of viral spread, MacNeil noted. “We are moving in the right direction with a strong downward trend in the number of cases,” he told the committee, which will vote later Friday on whether to recommend EUA. The FDA could accept or reject that recommendation as early as Friday night.

“We are certainly not out of the woods yet and we need to continue our focus on mitigation measures and trying to stop the current outbreak,” MacNeil added.

Tests indicate the B.1.1.7 variant does not evade the effects of vaccines, but another one, called B.1.351, which was first identified in South Africa, may weaken the vaccine response somewhat – although testing has suggested current vaccines still protect against that variant, also.

11:42 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

Key things to know about Johnson and Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 shot as FDA weighs vaccine's future

From CNN's Jen Christensen and Maggie Fox

US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisers are meeting now 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.

It's the next step in a process that could end with the new vaccine's rollout early next week. As with the two currently authorized vaccines, advisers and federal agencies are meeting over a weekend to try to get the vaccines to the US public as soon as possible.

Here are some key things to know about the vaccine:

The vaccine's safety: The FDA analysis said the J&J vaccine has a "favorable safety profile." The side effects were mostly mild. The most common were pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. Some people had hives. Most of these side effects went away in one or two days.

There appeared to be more incidents related to blood clotting and ringing in the ears among those people who got the vaccine in the trial, compared to those who didn't, but the FDA notes that "data at this time are insufficient to determine a causal relationship between these events and the vaccine." There were no reports of serious allergic reactions with this one.

Protection offered by the single-dose shot: With any vaccine it takes your body a few weeks to build up immunity. Protection doesn't happen right away.

With the J&J vaccine, it looks like protection against moderate/severe disease starts about two weeks after you get vaccinated. By four weeks after the shot, data from the clinical trial showed there were no hospitalizations or deaths. Remember: this is a single dose shot, so there is no waiting around to get a second to develop full protection. US trials of the J&J shot showed it provides 72% of protection against moderate to severe disease after one month.

Timing of its availability: The independent group of experts meeting today will determine if the vaccine works and if it's safe. It will then make a recommendation to the FDA. The FDA usually follows its advice. The FDA could sign off on the vaccine as early as Friday or Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known as ACIP, is scheduled to meet and set guidelines for who should get the vaccine. Their vote is scheduled for 3pm.

From there, the vaccine could start rolling out of the J&J facility to vaccine centers around the country.

Read more about Johnson & Jonson's vaccine here.

10:54 a.m. ET, February 26, 2021

New York City vaccinated more than 61,000 people yesterday, a new record

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

New York City set a record of administering more than 61,000 vaccines on Thursday alone, with more than 1.67 million having been administered to date, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.

De Blasio restated his goal to vaccinate 5 million New Yorkers by June, saying it can happen, with the right supply.