INDIANAPOLIS — Friday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana. Registrations for the vaccine are now open for select groups through Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
NFL commissioner says stadiums can be used as mass vaccination sites
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reportedly told the Biden administration that every team in the league will make its stadium available for mass COVID-19 vaccinations.
In a letter obtained by Axios, Goodell wrote to President Joe Biden that the NFL is "committed to doing our part to ensure that vaccines are as widely accessible in our communities as possible."
The NFL commissioner explained that each of the 32 teams in the league plan to make their stadiums available "in coordination with local, state, and federal health officials."
"We can expand our efforts to stadiums across the country more effectively because many of our clubs have offered their facilities previously as COVID testing centers as well as election sites over the past several months," Goodell wrote.
Pentagon to deploy troops to assist COVID-19 vaccine drive
The Pentagon will deploy more than 1,100 troops to five vaccination centers in what will be the first wave of increased military support for the White House campaign to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.
President Joe Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month. Two of the five new military teams will go to vaccination centers opening in California. Coronavirus senior adviser Andy Slavitt said military personnel will arrive at those centers in a little over a week. Three additional centers are expected to be announced soon.
Each of the five military teams includes 222 personnel, including 80 who will give the vaccines, as well as nurses and other support staff. The teams would be able to provide about 6,000 shots a day.
ISDH update
The state is reporting 1,529 new COVID-19 cases for a total of 635,171.
There were also an additional 49 deaths, which brings the state death toll to 11,280.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 26.67 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 3:30 a.m. ET Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 455,000 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 104.88 million confirmed cases with more than 2.28 million deaths and 58.32 million recoveries.
The real number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
Johnson & Johnson asks US regulators to OK its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine
Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators Thursday to clear the world’s first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies.
J&J’s vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study.
It didn’t appear quite as strong as two-dose competitors made by Pfizer and Moderna — a finding that may be more perception than reality, given differences in how each was tested.
However, the Food and Drug Administration is asking its independent advisers to publicly debate all the data behind the single-dose shot — just like its competitors were put under the microscope — before it decides whether to green light a third vaccine option in the U.S.
Overall, the single-dose vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, according to early findings from a study of 44,000 people in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa.
The single-dose vaccine was 85% protective against the most serious symptoms — and starting 28 days after their shot, researchers found no one who got the vaccine needed hospitalization or died.
The one-dose option worked better in the U.S. — 72% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19 — compared with 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where a more contagious mutant virus is spreading.
US may send masks to every American to encourage use against COVID
Biden administration officials are weighing sending masks to every American as they hope to nudge individuals to do their part in lowering coronavirus transmission rates.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said in an interview with NBC News that administration officials are looking at using mask supplies that the government already has in its stockpile.
Klain said that the administration hopes to make an announcement on a potential move “in the next few days or next week.”
Biden has pleaded for Americans to wear masks during the first 100 days of his administration. It’s a step he said could help save thousands of lives as Americans await their turn to be vaccinated.