COVID-19 media surveillance - 7 January 2021

This media surveillance collects articles reported through publicly available web sites.

It is created with the Europe Media Monitor (EMM).

The selection and placement of stories are determined automatically by a computer program.

Headlines

• WHO’s Europe director Kluge warned that spread of new variant is cause for alarm
• UK extends entry ban to travelers from 11 African countries for SARS-CoV-2 variant
• South African scientists warn that SARS-CoV-2 variant might affect vaccine efficacy
• US exceeded 21 million cases with record hospitalizations as states ramp up vaccinations
• Mexico’s President López Obrador said that Mexico is willing to vaccinate its undocumented citizens in the US
• India has started its vaccination drive following emergency authorization of Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccines
• Brazil reported that the Sinovac vaccine is 78% effective in Brazilian late-stage trials
• Spain reported 23,700 in a single day as hospital pressure is rising
• France reported 22 cases of new Covid-19 variants with two high-risk clusters in the Brittany and Paris regions; border with UK to remain shut for the foreseeable future
• Germany: Chancellor Merkel ‘open’ to producing Russian Sputnik V vaccine in the EU as Germany exceeds 1,000 deaths for the second day in a row
• Belgium: only 37% of Belgium’s returning travellers have had Covid-19 test
• Luxembourg reported 281 new cases and 3 deaths on Wednesday
• Israel: Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that Israel would become, by the end of March, the first country to vaccinate all of its citizens
• The United Arab Emirates started phase III trials of Sputnik V vaccine as cases rise
• New Zealand: four new cases in managed isolation, two more linked to UK strain
• South Korea's daily new cases stayed below 1,000 for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid signs of a slowdown
• Chinese city of Hebei bans 11 million people from leaving in bid to contain Covid-19
• Japan: state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures will start on Friday

Twitter

The following news were found among the most mentioned/retweeted items:

• "China blocks WHO team from entering country to study coronavirus origin" (sky)
• "The Lab-Leak Hypothesis. For decades, scientists have been hot-wiring viruses in hopes of preventing a pandemic, not causing one. But what if…?" (nymag)
• "Single vaccine dose leads to 'greater risk' from new coronavirus variants, South African experts warn. The variant is thought to be responsible for 90% of infections in South Africa, and has already been found in the UK." (sky)
• "'I've seen five people die in 90 minutes - coronavirus isn't being exaggerated'" (mirror)
• "New year brought achievement with made-in-India vaccines: PM Modi" (indianexpress)

The most mentioned English sources were CNN, the New York Times, Reuters and AP News.

El Diario, Clarin and El País, and Le Monde and Le Parisien were among the most mentioned Spanish and French sources, respectively.

Fact Check

• Fact checkers debunk claims that the CEO of Pfizer refused to be vaccinated, reporting that he stated that he is not getting vaccinated yet because he is not part of any priority groups (20minutes).
• Fact checkers debunk claims that the US nurse who was filmed fainting after getting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine died, reporting that she has been filmed alive and well since the incident (aap). They also debunk claims that another US nurse developed Bell’s Palsy after receiving the vaccine (politifact).
• Fact checkers debunk claims that US Vice President Mike Pence faked receiving a COVID-19 vaccine using a syringe that had the needle covered by a cap, reporting that an image of Pence being vaccinated shows that the needle was exposed (afp).
• Fact checkers debunk claims that the COVID-19 vaccine will cause fertility problems (fullfact).

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Contact

Mail to JRC-EMM-SUPPORTec [dot] europa [dot] eu (subject: COVID-19%20media%20surveillance) (JRC-EMM-SUPPORT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)

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