Coronavirus News Update – March 7: Israel Opens to Vaccine Passport Holders, Disneyland to Reopen

Russia Attempts Vaccine Disinformation Campaign

By Anna Breuer on 7 March 2021
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Disneyland Paris, currently closed

The pandemic continues to dramatically change the world.  Since December 2019, the coronavirus has infected over 117 million people across the globe, according to data from Worldometer, which tracks such information.  The global death toll has reached over 2.6 million

Israel, which has outpaced the rest of the world in inoculating its citizenry, reopened the country to so-called “Green Pass” holders, those who have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus.  Restaurants reopened with social distancing requirements, with indoor dining available only to those with a Green Pass.  To mark the occasion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped in at a café in Jerusalem for coffee and cake, albeit on the café’s outdoor terrace.

U.S. officials said that a Russian disinformation campaign is attempting to discredit Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, among other.  The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.  Websites that have been linked to Russian intelligence operations are publishing false information that question the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

A small study by researchers from Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States found that the CoronaVac vaccine, which hails from China, “failed to efficiently neutralize” the new Amazonian strain of the virus, known as P.1.  The study did not examine if the CoronaVac vaccine prevents people who have been inoculated with it from getting sick from the strain, however.

Bucking a recent trend, Governor Jared Polis extended the mask mandate in Colorado for an additional 30 days.  The order first went into effect in July of last year.

Disneyland and other amusement parks in California including Universal Studios and Magic Mountain will be allowed, along with concert and sports venues, to reopen, albeit with limited capacity. The change goes into effect on April 1 and as announced by the state’s health and human services secretary, Mark Ghaly. Capacity restrictions of up to 85% will be in effect and the parks will be open only to residents of the Golden State.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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