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Coronavirus Watch: One dose of AstraZeneca vaccine curbs transmission, researchers say

Grace Hauck   | Paste BN

Preliminary data shows the COVID-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford appears to provide strong protection three months after just one dose and also curbs transmission, researchers said Wednesday.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the data supports a strategy of delaying the second shot so more first doses can be delivered to more people. Researchers also found a single dose may reduce transmission up to 67%.

AstraZeneca has not yet applied for emergency use authorization for its vaccine in the U.S. Just two vaccines, by Pfizer-BioNTech and by Moderna, have been authorized in the U.S., and both require a second dose approximately three and four weeks later.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that the U.S. would continue to recommended Americans receive the second doses within the timeframe studied in trials. "We will go by the science," Fauci said.

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news that you need to know:

  • The federal government is opening two vaccination sites in East Oakland and East Los Angeles, two of California's hardest-hit communities.
  • Vaccine sites around the Northeast are reopening Wednesday after a winter storm walloped the region, dumping up to three feet of snow in some areas. In New York, New Jersey and at least three New England states, many COVID-19 vaccination appointments for Monday and Tuesday were canceled because of the weather.
  • After protesters disrupted drive-in COVID-19 vaccinations at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last week, local police said Tuesday that any further protests would prompt "immediate and swift" arrests.
  • The National Park Service will now require all visitors and employees to wear masks inside buildings and facilities and on lands "when physical distancing cannot be maintained." That includes busy and narrow trails.
  • Japan enacted legislation allowing officials to fine violators of coronavirus orders. The country is struggling to slow the latest wave of infections amid growing uncertainty about the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, considered key to holding the Olympics this summer.
  • For nearly a month, the U.S. has averaged at least 3,000 deaths a day, a rate worse than the human cost of the 9/11 attacks. While the CDC estimates the U.S. lost 22,000 people to last year's flu season, the U.S. has reported 100,930 COVID-19 fatalities in 2021 alone. "We are at war with this virus. It is clearly a national emergency," Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said Wednesday.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 26.4 million COVID-19 cases and 447,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 103.9 million cases and more than 2.2 million deaths.

See the numbers in your area here, check out where cases are rising here, and see how many vaccines your state has received here.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck

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