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The secret to fighting COVID-19 may be in recovered patients. See how antibodies can lead to treatment for those battling the coronavirus.
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USA TODAY is following the news around COVID-19 when a pair of vaccines joins the U.S. fight against a virus that has killed more than 330,000 Americans since the first reported fatality in February. Keep updating this page to get the latest updates on vaccine distribution, including who is getting the vaccines and where, as well as other USA TODAY COVID-19 news. Subscribe to our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates right in your inbox, join our Facebook group or scroll our detailed answers to readers’ questions for everything you need to know about coronavirus.
In the headlines:
► President Donald Trump signed a $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief package on Sunday, days after calling bipartisan legislation “disgrace.” The aid package provides up to $ 600 in direct stimulus checks, extends unemployment insurance and helps small businesses that are suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.
► A coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in Britain is being analyzed “very intensely”, but it is unlikely to make infected people more sick than the virus scientists have been fighting since the outbreak began. Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, said the mutation does not appear to be resistant to vaccines that are in the process of being distributed. He endorsed the requirement that travelers from Britain be required to have a negative COVID test before entering the U.S.
►New York officials are investigating whether a health care provider fraudulently obtained and distributed a COVID-19 vaccine to the public, in violation of state guidelines. “Anyone found to have consciously participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the full extent of the law,” state health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement on Saturday.
►State officials are expected to extend home stay requests to central and southern California, which expire on Monday. The extension would occur when hospitals ran out of ICU beds before the expected increase in cases after Christmas. California was the first state to reach 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 last week.
► Texas Mayor Dennis Bonnen announced on Sunday that his test was positive for COVID-19. In a Facebook post, Bonnen said he has mild symptoms and will continue to be quarantined. His wife also tested positive for the virus.
►Australian authorities have banned people from gathering in downtown Sydney to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks in an effort to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Sydney reported five new cases on Monday, bringing the total to 126 infections since Dec. 10.
📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has more than 19 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 333,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: More than 80.7 million cases and 1.76 million deaths.
Here is a more detailed look at today’s top stories:
TSA: 1.1M people flew the day after Christmas, despite warnings from the CDC
More than 1.1 million people traveled to airports in the United States on Saturday, close to Wednesday’s pandemic travel record – despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stay home to crack down on coronavirus cases.
The Transportation Security Administration said it examined 1,128,773 people the day after Christmas. That’s almost half the number of travelers tracked on the same day in 2019 and just 62,000 less than the 1,191,123 tracked on December 23 – the maximum on any day in the U.S. since the pandemic began.
The previous pandemic record was set on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when 1,176,091 travelers were selected. Saturday was the fifth day during the Christmas holiday rush, when the traveler count reached 1 million.
– Hannah Yasharoff
California ranked second among states where the coronavirus was spreading faster per person, an analysis of the USA TODAY network of data from Johns Hopkins University showed.
In the last week, the United States added 1,327,043 reported cases of coronavirus, a 12.3% decrease from the previous week. Across the country, six states had more cases in the last week than in the previous week.
California added 50,141 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 2,122,806 cases to date. The death toll increased by 237, bringing the total to 24,220.
California Department of Public Health officials noted that the new case count reported on Sunday was inflated because Los Angeles data was not included in Saturday’s updates due to a failure; Sunday’s report included two-day data from LA County.
– Julie Makinen, Palm Springs Desert Sun and Mike Stucka, USA TODAY
Kroger Health, a health division of Kroger Co., said it will supply coronavirus vaccines nationwide through pharmacies and clinics. The Cincinnati-based national supermarket chain will hire nearly 1,000 people for jobs that include pharmacy technicians and other positions to support the operations and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a company press release.
Kroger did not specify when the COVID-19 vaccines could be made available, pointing to partnerships with federal and state health departments “to administer the vaccine according to the distribution plan,” according to the statement.
Kroger Health has more than 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states, according to the statement. Kroger Health employs about 22,000 health professionals, including pharmacists, nurses, nutritionists and technicians, according to the statement.
– Chris Mayhew, Cincinnati Enquirer
Contributing: The Associated Press