Coronavirus updates: Herd immunity by fall 'ambitious,' says surgeon general nominee

In 44 states, the seven-day average of new cases dropped over 10%.

Last Updated: January 19, 2021, 6:23 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 98.7 million people worldwide and killed over 2.1 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Jan 19, 2021, 5:25 AM EST

Moderna vaccine lot flagged by California officials used at mass vaccination event

Just hours after California's top epidemiologist recommended pausing the use of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna's lot 041L20A due to "possible allergic reactions" that are under investigation, Mendocino County officials discovered that the batch in question was used at a mass vaccination event in San Diego.

"The county has reviewed the lot numbers administered through our mass vaccination clinics as well as the inventory stored in our freezer. Upon further review, we are confirming that 100 doses of Mendocino County Public Health's Moderna vaccine associated with the batch the state is concerned with were used at a vaccination event at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds on January 7th," Mendocino County vaccine coordinator Adrienne Thompson said in a statement Monday night.

A health care worker receives a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, California, on Dec. 22, 2020.
Bing Guan/Reuters

According to Thompson, all 100 doses were administered at the event and comprised a separate order from the state. No adverse reactions occurred.

"County staff will be contacting all 100 individuals that received a vaccine with this lot number to alert them of the recall," Thompson said. "No other side effects have been noted from use of this vaccine."

Mendocino County's public health officer, Dr. Andrew Coren, said events such as this are not unexpected because these are new vaccines, and it should not deter the public from getting vaccinated.

"This isolated event has not increased the percentage of vaccine reactions, which continue to be about one person in 100,000," Coren said in a statement Monday night. "Getting vaccinated continues to be the best way for all of us to help move beyond this virus and return to a normal way of life."

Jan 19, 2021, 4:17 AM EST

US reports over 137,000 new cases

There were 137,885 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It's the lowest daily case count that the country has seen since Dec. 25. Monday's tally is also far less than the country's all-time high of 302,506 newly confirmed infections on Jan. 2, Johns Hopkins data shows.

An additional 1,382 fatalities from COVID-19 were registered nationwide on Monday, down from a peak of 4,462 new deaths on Jan. 12, according to Johns Hopkins data.

COVID-19 data may be skewed due to possible lags in reporting over the holiday weekend and earlier holidays.

PHOTO: A motorist wearing a face mask is reflected in the side view mirror of his vehicle while he gets blood drawn to test of COVID-19 antibodies at the Southside Church of Christ in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 18, 2021.
A motorist wearing a face mask is reflected in the side view mirror of his vehicle while he gets blood drawn at the Southside Church of Christ in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 18, 2021, where free rapid COVID-19 antibody and PCR tests are being administered to local residents in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images

A total of 24,078,773 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 399,003 have died, according to Johns Hopkins data. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up over the summer.

The numbers lingered around 40,000 to 50,000 from mid-August through early October before surging again to record levels, crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4, then reaching 200,000 on Nov. 27 before topping 300,000 on Jan. 2.

Jan 18, 2021, 8:47 PM EST

Pfizer says it can't sell vaccines directly to New York

Hours after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to Pfizer asking if the state could purchase its vaccine directly, the pharmaceutical giant said it needs federal approval to do so.

A representative said at this time it cannot sell the vaccine directly to states and would need approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet Cuomo's request.

"Pfizer is open to collaborating with HHS on a distribution model that gives as many Americans as possible access to our vaccine as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement Monday.

Jan 18, 2021, 7:34 PM EST

Biden administration won't lift travel restrictions for Europe, Brazil

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his administration would be lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions for the United Kingdom, Brazil and much of Europe, President-elect Joe Biden's team said that would not be the case.

Biden's incoming White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said the new administration doesn't intend to lift the travel restrictions next week.

"With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel," Psaki wrote on Twitter late Monday. "On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19."

Trump issued a proclamation earlier Monday night, announcing he will rescind entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic on most non-U.S. citizens arriving from Brazil, the United Kingdom and much of Europe.

The travel restrictions were put in place last year toward the beginning of the pandemic, following calls from health officials who urged the president to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The proclamation said the entry bans will be removed starting Jan. 26, the same day that all travelers must present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery from the disease in order to enter the United States. Biden and his administration will be sworn in Wednesday.

"Public health officials in the jurisdictions have a proven record of working with the United States to share accurate and timely COVID-19 testing and trend data, and the United States has active collaborations with the jurisdictions regarding how to make travel safe between our respective countries," the proclamation states.

ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas contributed to this report.

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