• Researchers question whether coronavirus variants, such as B.1.1.7, may emerge from long-lasting coronavirus infections in immunocompromised people; they speculate that viral evolution could occur in chronic coronavirus infections, since it does not have time to mutate in people who clear it more quickly. An earlier report found rapid mutations in an immunocompromised person who was infected with coronavirus for 154 days before dying. Sources 1,2,3
• A study from China’s CDC found that the number of coronavirus cases in Wuhan was almost ten times higher than what was reported. The finding, which is based on antibody test results from 34,000 people, suggests that up to 500,000 residents – rather than 50,000 – may have been infected in April 2020. Source
• Pfizer and BioNTech announce that they will supply an additional 100 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine to the EU in 2021, reaching a total of 300 million doses for 27 Member States. Source
• Argentina, Belarus and Guinea roll out Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Source
