May 5 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Brad Lendon, Aditi Sangal and Ivana Kottasová, CNN

Updated 12:24 AM ET, Fri May 7, 2021
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1:19 p.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Broadway shows will reopen in September at 100% capacity, New York governor says

Broadway theaters stand closed in the theater district on June 30, 2020, in New York City.
Broadway theaters stand closed in the theater district on June 30, 2020, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just announced that Broadway shows will be "ready to open September 14 at 100% capacity."

Tickets will go on sale tomorrow, he announced in a tweet.

The logistics regarding how theaters will reopen are still being ironed out, State Budget Director Robert Mujica said at the news conference. 

12:40 p.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Biden adviser outlines efforts to quickly get 12- to 15-year-olds vaccinated if Pfizer shot gets approval

From CNN's Betsy Klein

White House
White House

White House senior Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt outlined steps the administration will take to hit the ground running if the US Food and Drug Administration grants an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years old.

President Biden said on Tuesday the administration is “ready to move immediately” pending the FDA’s expected announcement. 

“If it is approved or authorized as we expect, we have the ability to move very, very quickly on a number of fronts,” Slavitt said at Wednesday’s Covid-19 briefing.

The adviser noted that the efforts will be threefold:

  • First, the administration, as well as states and localities, will use “existing infrastructure for the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine,” one of the three vaccines currently available to adults in the US.
  • Second, he said, there will be efforts to use “infrastructure that has been deployed historically to pediatricians offices to provide childhood vaccinations.”
  • And, Slavitt added, there will be a push to “(engage) directly with people who our parents will want to talk to to understand about understand these vaccines,” adding that as soon as the decision is made, “We will be giving that information to people so parents can make quick decisions.”

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11:46 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

CDC data suggests variant first discovered in New York does not lead to more severe infection

From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid

The B.1.526 Covid-19 variant, which was first identified in New York City in November, is not associated with more severe infection or a greater risk of reinfection, according to new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The variant presented with the E484K mutation, which has been shown to reduce antibody neutralization in lab studies, and was detected in 56% of B.1.526 specimens examined.

Study authors examined data from 9,765 Covid-19 specimens taken in New York City, and identified the B.1.526 variant in 38% of all specimens sampled, according to the research published Wednesday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

Researchers observed a “sharp” increase in B.1.526 prevalence over the course of the study, increasing from just 3% of samples taken in mid-January to 40% of samples taken by April 5. This may suggest a possibility that the variant has greater transmissibility than other variants, but authors noted that the secondary attack rate was not elevated with this variant.

In the samples studied, B.1.526 appeared “slightly more prevalent in populations that have experienced disproportionate levels of Covid-19-associated morbidity and mortality and that have lower vaccination rates than higher income NYC populations,” researchers said. 

11:55 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

CDC says prevention measures still "essential" to control Covid-19, even with increasing vaccinations

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a virtual White House briefing on May 5.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a virtual White House briefing on May 5. White House

The new CDC modeling study makes clear that the sooner the United States gets more people vaccinated, the sooner the nation could return to normal – but variants are a "wild card," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a virtual White House briefing on Wednesday. 

"The models projected a sharp decline in cases by July 2021 and even faster decline if more people get vaccinated sooner," Walensky said, referring to the study finding as good news.

"The models give us an important reminder. They project that local conditions and emerging variants are putting many states at risk for increases in Covid-19 cases, especially if we do not increase the rate of vaccinations and if we do not keep our current mitigation strategies in place until we have a critical mass of people vaccinated," Walensky said. 

Walensky added that data suggest that the current Covid-19 vaccines provide protection against the main variants circulating in the United States.

"Although we are seeing progress in terms of decreased cases, hospitalizations and deaths, variants are a wild card that could reverse this progress that we have made and could set us back," she said.

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11:21 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

India approves antibody cocktail for emergency use to treat Covid-19

From CNN’s Sarah Dean and Manveena Suri

India has approved Roche/Regeneron’s antibody cocktail for emergency use to treat Covid-19, as essential medical supplies run low in the country amid a devastating second wave of infections.

The country’s Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) provided an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Roche’s antibody cocktail in India based on data that has been filed for the EUA in the United States and the scientific opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in the European Union, Roche India said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The drug is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies – casirivimab and imdevimab – that are produced in a laboratory. It is currently available in the United States to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in people already infected with the coronavirus. Former US President Trump received the therapy when he was hospitalized for coronavirus. 

“With the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in India, Roche is committed to doing everything we can to minimise hospitalisations and ease pressure on healthcare systems,” V. Simpson Emmanuel, the managing director of Roche Pharma India, said in a statement.

The EUA enables Roche to import the drug to India and it will be distributed through a partnership with Cipla Limited, the statement said.

“Roche will do everything to ensure an equitable distribution across the globe, however initial local demand may far exceed the supplies the company will be able to provide,” it added.

The latest numbers: The approval of Roche’s antibody cocktail for use in the country comes as the World Health Organization’s weekly Covid-19 report warned India accounts for 25% of the world's Covid-19 deaths reported in the past week. On Wednesday, India recorded 382,315 new cases and a further 3,780 Covid-19 related deaths, according to health ministry figures. 

Dozens of countries have pledged critical aid. Planeloads of ventilators, oxygen supplies and antiviral drugs began arriving last week but medical workers and local officials are still reporting the same devastating shortages that have strained the health care system for weeks now – raising questions, even among foreign donors, of where the aid is going.

11:05 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Maryland residents can now be vaccinated without an appointment at state sites, governor says

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

Maryland residents can now get vaccinated without an appointment at any of the state's 13 mass vaccination sites, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday, as part of the state's “No Arm Left Behind” initiative.

The state has administered nearly 5 million total vaccinations, the governor's office said.

10:59 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Canada authorizes Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 15

From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa

A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday, March 4. Canada announced Wednesday that it has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15.
A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday, March 4. Canada announced Wednesday that it has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. Jennifer Gauthier/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Canada announced Wednesday that it has authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. 

Clinical trial results of Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine showed its efficacy is 100% and it is well tolerated in youths ages 12 to 15, the company said.

“The most commonly reported side effects were temporary and mild, like a sore arm, chills or fever,” said Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical advisor. 

While Canada’s vaccine rollout is now ramping up, supply remains low and children in this age group are not likely to be vaccinated for several weeks at least.

Further guidance on when and how to begin distributing the vaccine to children will be determined by the Public Health Agency of Canada and individual provinces and territories. 

Meanwhile in the US, the US Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine in children and teens ages 12 to 15 by early next week, a federal government official tells CNN.

10:07 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Indian university projection estimates 50 million Covid-19 cases by mid-June

From CNN's Aditi Sangal and Swati Gupta

A medical worker observes patients inside a Covid-19 ward that was set up inside a sports stadium in New Delhi on May 2.
A medical worker observes patients inside a Covid-19 ward that was set up inside a sports stadium in New Delhi on May 2. Getty Images

India could see more than 403,000 Covid-19 total deaths and nearly 50 million total cases by June 11 this year, according to a projection model from the Indian Institute of Science.

In the event that the Indian government imposes a 15-day lockdown, India could bring the number of deaths down to fewer than 300,000 in the same time frame, and will see a total of fewer than 30 million cases since the pandemic started. That number falls further in case of a 21-day and 30-day lockdown.

A model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington from May 1 predicts more than 1 million deaths by the end of July. IHME expects 674 million people will be vaccinated by August 1, and that 91,100 lives will be saved by vaccination.

While a number of states are expected to go into "complete lockdown" in the coming days, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in April that a national lockdown should be the last resort. 

“In today’s situation, we have to save the country from lockdown. I would request states to use a lockdown as their last option. We have to try hard to avoid lockdowns and focus only on micro containment zones," Modi said.

The Indian Institute of Science's modeling is led by the institute’s Profs. Sashikumaar Ganesan and Deepak Subramani, and has an Indian Council of Medical Research approved mobile infection testing and reporting laboratory, a contact tracing app, a test kit and an affordable rapid test-PCR kit.

The Indian Government does not aggregate its own projection of Covid-19 in the country. 

10:23 a.m. ET, May 5, 2021

Kids ages 12 to 15 could be getting vaccinated in less than two weeks, CDC director says 

From CNN's Naomi Thomas

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on CNN’s New Day Wednesday that 12- to 15-year-olds could be getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in less than two weeks. 

The US Food and Drug Administration will likely authorize Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 by early next week, a federal official told CNN this week.

Walensky explained that soon after the FDA makes its authorization, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet and make a recommendation based on the data.

The vaccine is already in pharmacies, she said, “so soon after ACIP I think you’ll be able to take your 14-year-old and bring them in to get vaccinated.” 

When asked by CNN’s John Berman if the time frame for this to happen was a couple of weeks, Walensky responded, “if not a bit sooner.” 

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday, May 12, according to a schedule posted on the CDC website. ACIP has not posted an agenda for the meeting, and the CDC did not immediately answer queries from CNN about whether the meeting was called in anticipation of an FDA decision.

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