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
South Carolina confirms its 1st case of UK variant
An adult in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region has become the state’s first confirmed case of the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
The person "has an international travel history," the department said.
The U.S. has confirmed at least 434 cases of the B.1.1.7 U.K. variant across 30 states, South Carolina officials said.
"Experts agree that existing vaccines work to protect us from this variant, even if we don’t know just how effective they are," the South Carolina officials said. "At this time, there’s no conclusive evidence to prove that the B.1.1.7 variant causes more severe illness."
ABC News’ Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.
Coachella, Stagecoach canceled
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts and Stagecoach Country Music festivals, set for April, were canceled on Friday by Dr. Cameron Kaiser, health officer for Riverside County, California.
Riverside County’s positivity rate stands at 20%. The county has 0% bed availability in its intensive care units.
US surpasses 90,000 deaths in January
January has been the deadliest month since the pandemic began, with 90,844 total deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. coronavirus death toll stands at 436,810 -- with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention projecting that more than 77,000 deaths could be reported by Feb. 20.
Brazil variant detected in California
California is now the second U.S. state with known detection of the Brazil P.1 variant.
Minnesota health officials confirmed earlier this week the nation's first known COVID-19 case associated with the variant.
Inside Stanford's Clinical Virology Laboratory, Dr. Benjamin Pinsky and his team found two strains of the virus: the Brazil strain and the U.K. strain, KGO reported Saturday morning.
"It's in about 17% of the samples that we've sequenced," Pinsky told KGO.
People of color could be prioritized in Oregon's vaccine rollout
A COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee that gives recommendations on priority groups to Oregon's governor and public health officials will vote Thursday on whether to focus next on people of color, according to The Associated Press.
Others, such as people with chronic medical conditions, essential workers, refugees, inmates and people under 65 living in group settings, are also being considered as the next eligible group to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the state.
The committee is also deciding whether to focus on some combination of groups at higher risk from COVID-19, according to AP.
The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color in the United States.
"It's about revealing the structural racism that remains hidden," Dr. Kelly Gonzales, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a health disparity expert on Oregon's COVID-19 advisory committee, told AP. "It influences the disparities we experienced before the pandemic and exacerbated the disparities we experienced during the pandemic."