COVID-19 updates: Anti-vaccine protesters halt vaccinations at Dodger Stadium
Demonstrators carrying anti-mask and anti-vaccine signs blocked the entrance.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 102.5 million people worldwide and killed over 2.2 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Latest headlines:
- Anti-vaccine protesters halt vaccinations at Dodger Stadium
- South African variant found in Maryland
- US surpasses 90,000 deaths in January
- Brazil variant detected in California
- 'We should be treating every infection as if it's a variant,' CDC director says
- COVID-19 vaccinations won't be required for Tokyo Olympics, organizers say
Limited indoor dining can resume in NYC on Valentine's Day
Indoor dining will return to New York City on Valentine’s Day at 25% capacity, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
Indoor dining was shut down in New York City in December.
On March 15, in-person weddings can resume in New York at 50% capacity, or up to 150 people, he said.
Meanwhile, in hard-hit Los Angeles County, outdoor dining is now allowed to reopen at 50% capacity, but with a restriction: TVs must remain off.
US numbers still high but trends are encouraging: CDC expert
Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday the U.S. has seen a decline in the last two weeks of new cases and hospitalizations, which is “encouraging." But, he added, "The numbers nationally are still high."
"The pandemic is not yet over yet," Butler told the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "By the time we end our 45 minutes together, roughly 100 more Americans will have died of COVID-19."
Butler stressed that the vaccines are safe and effective and that mild side effects are normal.
"The available data tells us that more than half of people have reported some degree of tiredness and pain at the injection site, although most are able to continue normal daily activities," Butler said. "Many also report symptoms such as headache, muscle pain or chills after getting their shots, particularly in the first couple of days. These data also suggest that it may be more common among younger persons after the second dose, but again, this is expected based on some of the data that were available from the clinical trials."
ABC News’ Sophie Tatum contributed to this report.
EU approves AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca’s vaccine on Friday was recommended for conditional marketing authorization in the European Union for people 18 and older. The vaccine is given as two doses.
This is the third vaccine, following Pfizer and Moderna, to be approved by the European Medicines Agency. The AstraZeneca vaccine now awaits final say from the European Commission.
J&J single-shot vaccine 85% effective against severe COVID-19 disease
In another promising development for vaccine science, Johnson & Johnson announced Friday that its COVID-19 vaccine -- a single shot tested against a complex barrage of newly emerged variants of the virus -- is 66% effective at preventing symptomatic disease and 85% effective against preventing severe illness.
The U.S. pharmaceutical giant said the vaccine is also safe to take. Volunteers experienced mild reactions after the shot, with less than 10% experiencing fever, according to a company press release.
The full data package will be made publicly available and will be evaluated by the FDA's advisory committee sometime in mid- to late February.
The Food and Drug Administration has said it will consider a vaccine that's more than 50% effective, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine exceeds this threshold. An emergency use authorization could be given and people could start receiving shots before the end of February.
ABC News' Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
Boston Marathon director tapped for Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium mass vaccination sites
Dave McGillivray, the race director of the Boston Marathon, has been selected by the state of Massachusetts to run the mass vaccination operations at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park.
McGillivray owns DMSE Sports, which organizes and manages dozens of outdoor events every year. To help keep DMSE Sports afloat, McGillivray connected with CIC Health -- which operates the mass COVID-19 vaccination sites at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium -- through the state of Massachusetts.
Now, McGillivray is running logistics for both sites.
"For me, the feeling is so good that the thing that knocked us to our knees is now the thing that is allowing us to do good: that we're keeping people healthy, we're saving lives and we're even bringing our own industry back," McGillivray said in an interview with Boston ABC affiliate WCVB().
Fenway Park is the home of the Boston Red Sox, while Gillette Stadium, located in Foxborough, is the home stadium for the New England Patriots. The Gillette Stadium site opened two weeks ago, with Fenway officially opening Monday. Both sites are expected to administer 5,000 doses per day once fully up and running.
The Boston Marathon, usually held in April, has been postponed to October. The in-person event was canceled in 2020, though it was held virtually.
ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.