COVID Live Updates: FDA will not approve cutting vaccine doses from 2 to 1

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The FDA says it will not budge from recommending two full doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, as some suggest just one shot is needed.

The FDA says protection after a single dose of the vaccine has been misinterpreted.

It comes as the UK recommends giving as many people as possible the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and delaying the second dose for as long as possible.

That vaccine has not yet been authorized in the US.

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Here are more of today's headlines:

Iconic Birdland Jazz Club in danger of closing for good due to COVID pandemic

Another iconic New York venue is in danger of closing its doors forever due to the coronavirus pandemic. The legendary Birdland Jazz Club on West 44th Street has been a fixture in the community since it was founded in 1949.

The club has hosted memorable performances by the likes of Duke Ellington and Tito Puente, but the small business is experiencing severe economic hardships caused by the shutdown. Owner Gianni Valentini estimates his pride and joy has at most six months to play on.

Grammy Awards shift to March due to pandemic conditions

The 2021 Grammy Awards will no longer take place this month in Los Angeles and will broadcast in March due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.

The Recording Academy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the annual show would shift from its original Jan. 31 broadcast to a later date in March.

Los Angeles ambulance crews told not to transport some patients with low chance of survival

Los Angeles County has been fighting a brutal battle against COVID-19 for weeks now. New infections have soared with about one in five residents who get tested for COVID-19 receiving positive results.

In a little more than a month, the county doubled its number of infections, climbing from about 400,000 cases on November 30 to more than 800,000 cases on January 2, health officials said Monday.

The case deluge has translated to a surge of COVID-19 patients, overwhelming hospitals and plunging intensive care unit capacity across the region to zero. There are now more than 7,600 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, 21% of whom are in the ICU, officials said

New COVID variant discovered in Georgia

Georgia is now the fifth state - after New York, California, Colorado and Florida - where the new variant, believed to be more contagious, has been found. This time by a pharmacy lab in a specimen from an 18-year-old man with no travel history.

Boston University Terriers, Holy Cross Crusaders both wear masks during Tuesday's basketball game

Basketball players for Boston University and Holy Cross will wear masks on the court during Tuesday's match.

According to our sister network, ESPN, it will be the first men's college basketball game of the season in which both teams wear masks.

Teen who died of COVID-19 had no health issues, family says

The family of a 19-year-old man who died of COVID-19 said he had no prior health conditions, but that didn't stop the virus from taking his life.

Arnold Herrera died on Sunday at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. His relatives said he had no underlying conditions that they were aware of, and they remain stunned by how quickly his condition worsened.

Syracuse University delays spring semester start by 2 weeks

Syracuse University will postpone the start of its spring semester by two weeks in order to reduce the impact of an expected post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases, university officials announced.

The semester will start Feb. 8 and end May 21, Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said Monday.

Drive-thru vaccination locations in NY

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced large state sites like the Javits Center, SUNY and CUNY campuses will serve as drive-thru vaccination locations.

Mistake allows private school employees access to vaccine in CT

Eleven employees at a private school in New London received COVID-19 vaccinations after they were mistakenly identified as eligible for shots meant only for health care workers and those in nursing homes. Mark Fader, the head of the Williams School, told The Day of New London he was notified late last month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that his school had been classified by the state as part of a "critical infrastructure group," eligible to be part of the first group of state residents to receive the vaccine. Fader said the school then followed protocols and provided a roster of Williams employees to the Vaccine Administration Management System, allowing the school's 53 employees to get on vaccination rolls.

Some schools go fully remote amid uptick in COVID-19 cases, exposures

More school buildings, some of which house classrooms and others early childhood or learning bridge centers, have closed for in-person instruction as of Tuesday because of COVID-19 cases and exposures. The total stands at 138 buildings that are shuttered to students, which is less than 5% of the total number of schools that had been expected to open their doors Tuesday. That means 95% of the city's elementary schools and early childhood programs are open for in person learning, despite the test positivity rate continuing to creep up in the city.

Vaccinations begin at troubled NJ veterans home, state registration site goes live

Coronavirus vaccinations began Tuesday at a veterans home in New Jersey where more than 60 residents died from COVID-19, this as the state's new vaccine website went live. Medical staff is giving out the shots at the the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home in Edison, which along with two other state-run facilities was the epicenter of a crisis that included the deaths of more than 200 residents. The state attorney general's office has convened a grand jury to investigate, and a subpoena sent to the facilities asked for documents covering a range of topics from infection control to staffing. Meanwhile, the state's new website allows people to pre-register even if they are not currently eligible to be vaccinated.

Citing COVID-19 variant in New York, mayor calls for UK travel ban

Citing the presence of the COVID-19 variant's emergence in New York state, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday called for a full travel ban to and from the United Kingdom. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that the case of the more contagious COVID variant was found in Saratoga Springs, New York. The case was detected in a symptomatic man in his 60s who works at a jewelry store, N. Fox Jewelers.

"The federal government to step up here and ban all travel from the UK and US," he said. "It's time to stop the half measures."

Nassau County opens COVID-19 vaccination distribution center at NCC

Nassau County is opening its first COVID-19 vaccination distribution center on Tuesday. Vaccines will be available to those who fit New York State's criteria. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran was joined by Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling to announce a partnership between the County, Northwell Health and New York State to open the COVID-19 vaccine distribution center at Nassau Community College. The vaccines will be distributed by Nassau County Department of Health staff, Members of Nassau County's Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) with assistance from Northwell Health, which has been designated by New York State as Long Island's vaccination HUB.

England faces lockdown that will last at least six weeks to combat COVID-19 variant

England is facing a third national lockdown that will last at least six weeks, as authorities struggle to stem a surge in COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals around the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced a tough new stay-at-home order for England that won't be reviewed until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus. It takes effect at midnight Tuesday. Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon imposed a lockdown that began Tuesday. Johnson and Sturgeon said the lockdowns were needed to protect the National Health Service as a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 sweeps across Britain. On Monday, hospitals in England were treating 26,626 coronavirus patients, 40% more than during the first pandemic peak in April.

New York indicators

New York reported a statewide positivity rate of 8.31% on Tuesday, as well as 149 deaths. Hospitalizations also increased to 8,590, marking an increase of 339.

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