COVID Live Updates: Johnson & Johnson plans to vaccinate 100 million Americans by April

NEW YORK (WABC) – Johnson & Johnson says it plans to have enough vaccines for 100 million Americans by April.

The vaccine is currently undergoing large-scale testing to ensure that it is safe and effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says Johnson & Johnson is close to seeking an FDA emergency use permit.

This vaccine requires only one injection and does not need to be stored at temperatures as low as the others.

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Here are more headlines today:

Former Mets captain Davey Johnson hospitalized with COVID
Former New York Mets manager Davey Johnson was hospitalized in Florida with COVID, according to Mets PR. The former manager took Amazins to the last World Series title in 1986.

High-risk sports may resume in NY in February
High-risk sports can start again in New York State on February 1 if local health departments approve. This includes basketball, wrestling, hockey, volleyball, football and lacrosse. However, the restart or not will depend on factors such as whether there were more cases of the most transmissible COVID variant, the local positivity rates of COVID and the ability to monitor and enforce compliance. Nassau County executive Laura Curran says schools can resume sports in the county.

2 more vaccine mega-sites opened in NJ
All six of New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine mega-sites are now open, with residents lining up on Friday at two new locations in East Rutherford and Atlantic City. That’s because the state announced that it successfully vaccinated 500,222 residents in just over a month. Locations at the Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex and the Atlantic City Convention Center were full, but more times are expected to be added based on availability.

UK chief scientist says new variant of COVID-19 could be deadlier, more research needed
There is some evidence that a new variant of the coronavirus first identified in southeastern England carries a greater risk of death than the original strain, the British government’s top scientific adviser said on Friday – although he emphasized that the data are uncertain. Patrick Vallance said at a news conference that “there is evidence that there is a greater risk for those who have the new variant”. He said that for a 60-year-old man with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that, for 1,000 infected people, approximately 10 are expected to die unfortunately.”

“With the new variant, for 1,000 infected people, about 13 or 14 people are expected to die,” he said.

Researchers developing face mask adhesive that can detect COVID-19 in drops
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Engineering are working on a potential game changer in the fight against COVID-19. Researchers are looking for a new type of test that can detect the virus in your face mask. The test can be used as an adhesive on your mask. The patch includes some paint and works as a home pregnancy test. As someone wears the patch on the mask throughout the day, it collects drops. After a few hours, he can detect COVID-19 molecules in his breath.

Dave Chappelle positive test for COVID-19
Dave Chappelle tested positive for coronavirus shortly before his comedy show scheduled for Thursday, forcing the cancellation of his next appearances, a spokeswoman said. Chappelle was expected to perform Thursday through Sunday at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. These programs have been canceled and Chappelle is in quarantine, said her representative Carla Sims in a statement. The comedian is asymptomatic. Chappelle had been performing socially distant shows in Ohio since June, and moved her shows to Austin over the winter, Sims said. Rapid tests for the public and daily tests for Chappelle and her team were implemented.

NJ vaccine 500,000
The state of New Jersey vaccinated 500,222 residents in just over a month, Governor Phil Murphy announced on Friday. He also added that two patients with COVID in the state had the most aggressive strain found initially in the UK.

NY hospitalization rate hike is slowing
The rate of increase in patients admitted to New York hospitals for treatment for COVID-19 is decreasing, said Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday. Cuomo called this “good news”, but warned that the most contagious variants discovered in other parts of the world remain a threat and could cause cases to increase again. COVID’s hospitalizations stood at 8,846, against 9,055 the previous day and have now dropped to over 400 in the past two days.

NYC and state may run out of vaccines Friday
93% of the state’s vaccine stock has already been exhausted, both the city and the state are in the process of running out of vaccines.
There are 300,000 shots waiting in storage for the second shots.
The city is now considering giving the first doses to those who are still waiting and replenishing the stock and delaying the second dose for a few weeks to those who have already received the first.

7 top questions about the COVID vaccine answered
You had questions about COVID-19 vaccines and 7 On Your Side is getting answers from doctors on the front lines of the pandemic.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE

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