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California becomes first state to surpass 2 million coronavirus cases

A clinician cares for a COVID-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Providence St. Mary Medical Center amid a surge in COVID-19 patients in Southern California on Wednesday in Apple Valley, California. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

California surpassed 2 million COVID-19 cases on Thursday morning, per Johns Hopkins University.

Why it matters: It's the first U.S. state to exceed 2 million coronavirus infections. While it took California over nine months for 1 million people to test positive for the virus, state health officials have confirmed 1 million cases in six weeks, the Mercury News notes.

Photo: California Department of Public Health/Twitter

The big picture: Intensive care units in California are overstretched, particularly in the south and San Joaquin Valley, which have 0% capacity.

  • Over 23,500 people have lost their lives to the coronavirus in California and the testing positivity rate stands at 6.45%, according to JHU.

For the record: The cases milestone comes as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are being rolled out across the U.S., with more than 1 million Americans receiving a shot so far.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Omicron dashboard

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

  1. Health: CDC director says number of U.S. Omicron cases "likely to rise" — Two years of COVID-19 — Prior coronavirus infections may not protect well against Omicron.
  2. Vaccines: Data demonstrates most-vaccinated counties less vulnerable to worst of COVID — Omicron adds urgency to vaccinating world — Omicron fuels the case for COVID boosters.
  3. Politics: Nevada to impose insurance surcharge on unvaccinated state workers — New Jersey GOP lawmakers defy statehouse COVID policy — Oklahoma sues Biden administration over Pentagon vaccine mandate.
  4. World: Vaccine mandates lose steam in the U.S. while Europe doubles down — WHO: Delta health measures help fight Omicron — COVID cases surge in South Africa in sign Omicron wave is coming.
  5. Variant tracker: Where different strains are spreading.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Jan 29, 2021 - Health

J&J says its one-shot vaccine is 66% effective against moderate to severe COVID

Photo: Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson announced Friday that its single-shot coronavirus vaccine was 66% effective in protecting against moderate to severe COVID-19 disease in Phase 3 trials, which was comprised of nearly 44,000 participants across eight countries.

Between the lines: The vaccine was 72% effective in the U.S., but only 57% effective in South Africa, where a more contagious variant has been spreading. It prevented 85% of severe infections and 100% of hospitalizations and deaths, according to the company.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Shawna Chen
Jan 30, 2021 - World

Germany to impose travel restrictions to curb spread of coronavirus variants

Border police officers check passports and COVID-19 tests at Frankfurt Airport. Photo: Thomas Lohnes via Getty Images

Germany announced Friday that it was imposing new travel restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of more contagious coronavirus variants.

Details: All non-German residents traveling from countries deemed "areas of variant concern," including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Portugal, Ireland, Brazil, Lesotho and Eswatini, will be banned from entering the country, even if they test negative for the coronavirus.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow