Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, has issued a warning that criminals are selling fake negative Covid-19 test certificates.
The fear is this could enable people to cheat travel restrictions. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-55890168

The UK must "come down hard" on the South African coronavirus variant, the health secretary has said, after cases with no links to travel were detected.
About 80,000 people in England will be offered urgent tests for the variant. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55895019

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine 91 percent effective, says study.
Published in The Lancet, the study included more than 2,100 people above 60, and the vaccine appeared to be about 92 percent effective in them. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/2/russias-sputnik-v-vaccine-91-effective-says-study

UK government researchers have discovered that the already more contagious #B117 has further acquired the other troublesome E484K mutation seen in South African #B1351 & Brazilian #P1 variants—in 11 patients. E484k is blamed for partial vaccine-evasion. https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1356366084753027072

I've had my Covid-19 vaccine — now what can I safely do? Your questions answered https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/03/health/after-covid-19-vaccine-safety-wellness/index.html

U.S. authorities returned dozens of Haitians to the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez from El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, a move that appeared to contradict a policy agreement in place with Mexico brokered under the previous U.S. administration. https://a1le.xyz/V8Antf

Dr Nicholas Christakis, physician and social scientist at Yale University, explains the legacy Covid-19 will leave behind and his prediction for how long the pandemic will last. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/opinions/2021/02/03/covid-19-pandemic-end-lon-orig-bks.cnn

A giant blimp depicting Donald Trump as a diaper-clad baby, which followed the outgoing US President on his visits to London and symbolized international opposition to his administration, has secured its place in history after being acquired by a British museum. https://a1le.xyz/z8w168

Leading medical journal The Lancet reported on Tuesday that Sputnik V, which was developed at Russia's Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, was 91.6% effective against symptomatic cases of COVID-19. https://p.dw.com/p/3obxX

AstraZeneca COVID jab ‘less effective against S Africa variant’
British drugmaker says its vaccine showed ‘limited efficacy against mild disease’ caused by the South African variant of the coronavirus. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/7/astrazeneca-covid-jab-less-effective-against-s-africa-variant

South Africa pauses AstraZeneca vaccine rollout after study shows it offers less protection against variant South Africa pauses AstraZeneca vaccine rollout after study shows it offers less protection against variant https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/07/health/south-africa-astrazeneca-vaccine-study/index.html

Electric vehicle and clean energy company #Tesla is betting big on bitcoin, saying it may soon accept the digital currency as payment for its cars. https://a1le.xyz/TeslaBitcoin

“We have yet to control this pandemic,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the CDC, said Monday.
The sight of fans, many without masks, celebrating the Super Bowl in the streets, in sports bars and at game-watching parties has sparked worries of new outbreaks. “This isn’t how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl,” the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, Rick Kriseman, tweeted after a maskless party was hosted by Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in a hangar at the city’s airport, not far from where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the title. https://a1le.xyz/DV1mfk

A computer hacker gained access to the water system of a city in Florida and tried to pump in a "dangerous" amount of a chemical, officials say.
The hacker briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide (lye) in Oldsmar's water treatment system, but a worker spotted it and reversed the action. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55989843

German officials are considering lifting some measures in the coming weeks, but the shutdown will continue for now. Federal and state representatives are set to announce their decision tomorrow.
"Considering the virus mutations, the steps to lift the restrictions must come carefully and gradually in order to avoid risking the successful curbing of infections," Germany's top officials are expected to say. https://p.dw.com/p/3p88B

Researchers succeed in taking first 3D photo of coronavirus
So this is what you look like! Until now, there have only been computer graphics of the coronavirus. Now, Austrian researchers have photographed SARS-CoV-2 for the first time in 3D. https://p.dw.com/p/3oBh7

South Africa will give the unapproved Johnson & Johnson vaccine to its front-line health workers beginning next week as a study to see what protection it provides from COVID-19, particularly against the variant dominant there, the health minister said Wednesday.
Zweli Mkhize said South Africa has scrapped plans to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because it “does not prevent mild to moderate disease” of the variant.
The one-shot J&J vaccine is still being tested internationally and has not been approved in any country. https://apnews.com/article/world-news-coronavirus-pandemic-africa-south-africa-coronavirus-vaccine-3f54526ca5bfca84eadfaeaea5ade5d5

Back in the spring of last year, a 45-year-old man went to the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston because of a coronavirus infection. Doctors treated him with steroids and discharged him five days later.
But the infection never went away — for 154 days.
"So this is an extraordinary individual," infectious disease doctor Jonathan Li says.
So extraordinary in fact that this man's case is offering scientists surprising clues about where the new coronavirus variants emerged and why they're causing explosive outbreaks on three continents. https://mexurl.com/iU7Rwa

Promising early results from several studies have encouraged researchers around the world to develop and expand canine programs that may screen people for COVID-19 infection at places like airports, hospitals, or sports venues. While these early experiments appear to demonstrate high levels of accuracy by the sniffer dogs, researchers also caution that peer-review processes and larger-scale studies are still needed. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2021/01/dogs-trained-sniff-out-covid-19/617846/

People who are fully vaccinated no longer need to quarantine after exposure to someone infected with the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.
The CDC's definition of "fully vaccinated" is narrow in scope. The agency urges caution regardless of vaccination status, especially as new variants continue to spread. https://a1le.xyz/ooxAb9