Coronavirus updates: Herd immunity by fall 'ambitious,' says surgeon general nominee
In 44 states, the seven-day average of new cases dropped over 10%.
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.
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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.
LA Fire Department sees positivity rate plummet after most firefighters get vaccinated
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) saw its COVID-19 testing positivity rate fall significantly after 75% of firefighters on the force received their first COVID-19 vaccine.
When the first vaccines were being rolled out in late December, weekly LACoFD positivity rates reached 18%, roughly equivalent to positivity rates in the county's general population. Today, after three-quarters of the force opted to get vaccinated, the LACoFD positivity rate has fallen to 5.6%.
"As expected, the vaccine began to have its impact seven to 10 days after the first vaccines were given," Dr. Clayton Kazan, the department's medical director, said in a statement. "This is the first time in the entire pandemic that our data diverged from that of the county," he added.
This week, firefighters will start receiving their second dose of the two-dose vaccine.
-ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman contributed to this report.
WHO director criticizes deals between rich countries, vaccine makers
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, took aim at rich countries hoarding the COVID-19 vaccine and the pharmaceutical companies profiting off of it, during a WHO executive board meeting Monday.
"It’s right that all governments want to prioritize vaccinating their own health workers and older people first,” Tedros said. "But it’s not right that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries."
Tedros pointed to one of the lowest income countries in the world, which he did not name. "Just 25 doses have been given," he said. "Not 25 million, not 25,000 -- just 25. I need to be blunt: The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure."
The deals rich countries have made with vaccine producers are putting the effectiveness of COVAX, the WHO's global vaccine-sharing program, at risk by driving up prices, according to Tedros. "This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid, with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption," he added.
Disneyland Paris postpones reopening, citing 'prevailing conditions in Europe'
Disneyland Paris, which was slated to reopen Feb. 13, will delay reopening until April 2, 2021, "due to the prevailing conditions in Europe," Disney said in a statement posted on Twitter Monday.
As of now, Disneyland Paris is taking reservations from April 2 onward. Those with existing bookings between Feb. 13 and April 1 should consult Disney's website. "Given the current context our plans continue to evolve," according to Disney.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News.
Herd immunity by fall an ‘ambitious goal,’ says nominee for surgeon general
The possibility of obtaining herd immunity by the time summer is over and a new school year begins may be an "ambitious goal," Vivek Murthy, President Joe Biden's nominee for U.S. surgeon general, told George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday.
"I think what -- I think we can see improvement," Murthy said. "I think we can see reductions in cases and hospitalizations and deaths. I think we can see many more people immunized."
The "important thing" will be getting as many people vaccinated as possible, Murthy added.
"The more people we vaccinate, the better we will do, the fewer outbreaks we will see, the sooner we can get back to our way of life," he said.
Murthy also emphasized the importance of dispelling misinformation as well as continuing to take the necessary precautions, such as wearing masks and avoiding indoor gatherings.
"Then I think we can be on a path to not only turning the pandemic around, but, most importantly, getting our schools open, our workplaces back up and running, and regaining our way of life," he said.