New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that all state residents age 50 and above would be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine starting Tuesday. The next day, the state health department and Gov. Doug Ducey announced that Arizona will make vaccines available to anyone 16 and older at the sites it operates in Maricopa, Pima, and Yuma counties.
The federal government now distributes an average of more than 3 million doses daily. President Joe Biden has said he will direct all states to remove adult eligibility requirements by May 1. And in Florida, the state announced Monday it would allow anybody age 50 and up to get the shot. It’s a welcome sign in the form, which became the first state to have more than 1,000 known cases of coronavirus variants.
Alaska and Mississippi have already opened vaccinations to all adults, and several other states have said they will do so in the coming weeks. They include Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, Massachusetts, Nevada, Connecticut, Iowa, Utah, and Illinois. Meanwhile, Miami Beach’s entertainment district will remain in a state of emergency with an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew four days a week, possibly through April 13, as authorities try to manage an influx of unruly spring breakers who have inundated the city.
Also, in the news:
►On Monday, the Navajo Nation reported zero new COVID-19-positive cases and no recent deaths for the first time in over six months.
►Starting Monday, hundreds of Michigan school districts had to offer at least 20 hours a week of in-person instruction to receive a minimum $450-per-student increase in emergency pandemic funding. Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Monday announced a statewide tour to hear from residents and gather ideas on spending the state’s portion of the federal government’s $1.9 trillion plan to support the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
► Results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine may have used “outdated information,” U.S. federal health officials said early Tuesday. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board noted that it was concerned that AstraZeneca may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.
On Monday, AstraZeneca said that advanced trial data from a U.S. study on its vaccine shows it is 79% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective at stopping severe disease and hospitalization. The U.S. study comprised 30,000 volunteers; 20,000 were given the vaccine, while the rest got dummy shots.
►On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to Jacksonville, Florida, for the first time traveling to the state since she was on the campaign trail last October. She was in Jacksonville to spread President Joe Biden’s “Help is Here” message for the $1.9 trillion federal relief package that was his administration’s first major legislative victory.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has over 29.86 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 542,800 deaths. The global total: 123.6 million cases and 2.72 million deaths. According to the CDC, more than 156.7 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S., and 126.5 million have been administered.
📘 What we’re reading: More stimulus checks are coming through direct deposit and the mail, and additional payments are expected to be released weekly. Your questions are answered here.
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Germany extends virus lockdown till mid-April as cases rise
Germany opened its lockdown measures by another month. It imposed several new restrictions, including essentially shutting down public life over Easter to drive down the rate of coronavirus infections.
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the measures early Tuesday after a lengthy video call with the country’s 16 state governors, nearly three weeks after the two sides last agreed on a plan paving the way to relax some rules.
Since then, infections have increased steadily as the more contagious variant first detected in Britain has become dominant. The restrictions previously set to run through March 28 will now remain in place until April 18.
Regions with weekly new infections exceeding 100 per 100,000 residents on three consecutive days will face stricter rules, as agreed at the previous meeting. “Unfortunately, we will have to use this emergency brake,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.
Almost one-quarter of the entire U.S. population has received at least one dose.
More than 3 million coronavirus vaccine doses were reported administered nationwide on back-to-back days for the first time as the pace of vaccinations continues to increase across the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, almost one-quarter of the U.S. population – and nearly one-third of adults – has received at least one dose.
But Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, warned that data on new cases and hospitalizations indicates numbers are again rising in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. “The apparent leveling off of cases and hospital admissions, after the consistent decline in early January through the end of February, I consider very concerning,” she said.
She said a surge could be coming if Americans do not continue wearing masks, socially distancing, and adhering to other restrictions. “Believe me, I get it; we all want to return to our everyday activities and spend time with our family, friends, and loved ones,” she said. “But we must find the fortitude to hang in there for a little longer.”
Contributing: Associated Press
