The coronavirus
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WASHINGTON POST DAILY 202
The U.S. reported 4,254 covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, and 225,277 new cases, per The Post’s tracker. Daily reported deaths rose 24.9 percent over the last week, with Tuesday marking a record high number of deaths at 4,200.
“Three members of Congress may have contracted the coronavirus while sheltering in a crowded room as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, testing positive shortly after getting a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine,” Ben Guarino reports. “Those positive tests do not mean the vaccines were faulty, experts said, noting that immune protection takes more than a week to kick in. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that are available to Americans require two doses for full protection; a single dose is not as effective as both. ‘Early protection against covid-19 may occur from about 12 days after dose one,’ said Naor Bar-Zeev, an infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. … Even though the vaccines may protect people from showing symptoms, those vaccinated could remain susceptible to infection, he said.”
- The husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who was locked down in the Capitol with her, has tested positive. Some GOP lawmakers in the room refused to wear masks, and experts now believe the confined space became a hot spot. (Colby Itkowitz)
- The Johnson and Johnson one-shot vaccine generated a promising immune response in an early trial. The vaccine was safe and appears to generate a promising immune response in both young and elderly volunteers, according to trial data published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (CNBC)