INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Saturday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pfizer: 'Tailor-made' vaccine against new variants in 100 days
With the emergence of the omicron COVID-19 variant, a number of pharmaceutical firms are announcing they have plans in place to adapt their vaccines if necessary.
AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer say they already have plans to react. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said they have been monitoring for potential variants capable of evading its mRNA vaccine.
Moderna said it has been developing a strategy since early 2021 to respond to new variants of concern and has identified three response options.
UK, Germany, Italy report cases of COVID-19 omicron variant
The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread.
The U.K. on Saturday tightened its rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases. New cases were confirmed Saturday in Germany and Italy, with Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong also reporting that the variant has been found in travelers.
Because of fears that the new variant has the potential to be more resistant to vaccines, there are growing global concerns that the pandemic and lockdown restrictions will persist longer than hoped. Many countries have already imposed travel restrictions on flights from southern Africa to buy time to assess whether the omicron variant is more transmissible than the dominant delta variant.
World races to contain new COVID threat, the omicron variant
The world is racing to contain a new coronavirus variant that is potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel on Friday named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern.
That's the same category that includes the delta variant. Much of the world imposed immediate travel bans on visitors from southern Africa, where the new variant was discovered.
The U.S. is putting its travel limits into effect Monday. The White House says agencies and airlines need the time to put the restrictions into effect.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 48.17 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 776,340 deaths recorded in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 260.75 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 5.19 million deaths and more than 7.57 billion vaccine doses administered worldwide.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
61 arrivals from South Africa test positive for COVID-19
A total of 61 people who arrived in the Netherlands on two flights from South Africa on Friday have tested positive for the coronavirus and are in isolation as the world anxiously seeks to contain a highly transmissible new coronavirus variant.
Authorities said Saturday that further tests are now underway on the travelers who arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to establish if any of them have the new omicron variant of COVID-19 that was first discovered in southern Africa.
Indiana lawmakers delay bill restricting COVID-19 mandates
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb said Wednesday he would extend the state’s public health emergency for another month amid a stalled proposal that would force businesses to grant COVID-19 vaccination requirement exemptions without any questions and block similar immunization rules set by state universities.
Lawmakers were set to meet in a special session next week to vote on the fast-track bill. But leaders called the plan off following seven hours of heated public testimony and a lack of agreement Tuesday on the bill.
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray say they now plan to address the bill when lawmakers reconvene for the regular session in January.