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.


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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.


UK vaccine plant evacuated over suspicious package

Welsh authorities said Wednesday they are responding to "an ongoing incident" after a suspicious package was found at a key factory in the United Kingdom's supply chain for COVID-19 vaccines.

The plant, located in the Wrexham Industrial Estate in Wrexham, Wales, is owned by Indian biotechnology company Wockhardt, who have a partnership with British-Swedeish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K.

"Wockhardt UK in Wrexham this morning received a suspicious package to site," the company said in a statement to ABC News. "All relevant authorities were immediately notified and engaged. Upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation. The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance."

North Wales Police told ABC News in a statement: "We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident on the Wrexham Industrial Estate. The roads are currently closed and we would ask the public to avoid the area until further notice."

ABC News' Guy Davies contributed to this report.