Covid live updates: Germany may extend lockdown into March; anti-vaxxers hindering U.S. vaccine roll out

The first-quarter 2021 CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey was conducted Jan. 25-Jan. 31 using the SurveyMonkey platform and included responses from 2,111 small business owners across the country.

—Terri Cullen

New Jersey has hit a coronavirus vaccine milestone. More than one million doses have been administered in the Garden State with a goal to get to 4.7 million vaccinated by the summer. Gov. Phil Murphy joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss.

A 116-year-old French nun — who will celebrate her 117th birthday tomorrow and is believed to be the world’s second-oldest person — has survived Covid-19, the Associated Press reports.

French media reported that Lucile Randon — Sister André’s birth name — tested positive for the virus in mid-January in the southern French city of Toulon, according to AP. Just three weeks later, however, she is considered recovered.

Sister André, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, did not worry for her own life after being given the diagnosis, but for the lives of others, the wire service reported.

“She didn’t ask me about her health, but about her habits,” David Tavella, the communications manager for the care home where the nun resides, told French newspaper Var-Matin. “For example, she wanted to know if meal or bedtime schedules would change. She showed no fear of the disease. On the other hand, she was very concerned about the other residents.”

—Terri Cullen

Almost half of all American workers have struggled with mental health issues since the pandemic began, CNBC’s Sharon Epperson reports. The strain has had dire effects on their well-being and potentially to their employer’s bottom line.

A report by insurance company The Standard found that there has been a steep jump in full-time U.S. workers dealing with mental health issues in the last 12 months. Some 46% of the more than 1,400 workers surveyed at the end of last year said they were struggling with mental health issues, compared to 39% a year earlier. More than half of those surveyed — 55% — said a mental health issue has affected them more since the pandemic began.

Yet many may not know where to turn for help, but there are places to turn.

Many employers and organizations are reaching out to address workers’ mental health, including one-on-one counseling through employee assistance programs to providing access to virtual therapy and meditation apps for free.

—Terri Cullen

South Africa will administer Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine to its front-line health workers, starting next week, to study what protection it provides, particularly against the Covid variant dominant in the country, the Associated Press reported.

The one-shot vaccine hasn’t yet been approved by any country, but J&J has applied for an emergency use authorization in the U.S. from the Food and Drug Administration.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize said South Africa no longer plans to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because it “does not prevent mild to moderate disease” of the variant, AP reported.

South Africa had purchased 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first million doses arrived this month, according to the wire service.

—Melodie Warner 

Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter revenue fell 5% to $8.6 billion as demand for its drinks waned amid the worldwide resurgence of Covid in December and January.

All four of its beverage segments reported declining unit case volume, which strips out the impact of foreign currency and pricing. So far in February, global volume has declined by mid-single digits.

Shares of the beverage giant rose 2% in premarket trading after it topped Wall Street’s earnings estimates.

—Amelia Lucas

Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to announce Germany will extend its lockdown until March 14 amid concerns over new strains of the coronavirus.

A draft document emerged early on Wednesday outlining plans between Merkel and state officials to maintain the lockdown and to urge that citizens maintain social-distancing rules, but to gradually lift some restrictions in the coming weeks.

The re-opening of schools is a priority for the German leadership, although the country’s federal system means that individual states are expected to be able to decide how to do this.

The reopening of shops and hotels could begin next month in areas where the infection rate is low. Restrictions were due to end on Feb. 14.

Merkel is due to comment on the lockdown extension Wednesday afternoon.

—Holly Ellyatt

As President Joe Biden works to ramp up the supply of Covid-19 vaccines in the U.S., experts warn of another big challenge for the new administration: A significant portion of the U.S. population will likely refuse to get vaccinated.

Even though clinical trial data shows Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines are safe and highly effective, just under half of adults in the U.S. surveyed in December said they were very likely to get vaccinated, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That could potentially jeopardize U.S. vaccination efforts to control the pandemic, which has overwhelmed hospitals and taken more than 466,000 American lives in about a year. Without so-called herd immunity, the virus will continue to spread from person to person and place to place for years to come, scientists have said.

“We’re in a tough spot,” said Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “A substantial proportion of the population thinks that Covid isn’t really a big deal and it’s kind of a hoax and the numbers are being, you know, overblown and doctors are making money by diagnosing Covid and calling deaths.”

—Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Covid updates: Salesforce says most workers will work from home at least part-time after pandemic