The Latest: Pfizer study suggests vaccine fights variant | Govt-and-politics

Ioannou says infections have multiplied faster in the last few months, partly because of the new coronavirus variant detected on Cyprus. There have been 5,455 coronavirus cases between Dec. 20 – Jan. 2, a significant number for the island nation of 900,000 people.

Ioannou admitted the vaccination program needs to pick up the pace.

NEW YORK — The U.S. has topped 4,000 daily deaths from the coronavirus for the first time, breaking a record set just one day earlier.

The tally from Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. had 4,085 deaths Thursday. The U.S. had nearly 275,000 new coronavirus cases as well.

The numbers are another reminder of the worsening situation following travel for holidays and family gatherings, along with more time indoors during the winter months. There’s been a surge of cases and deaths in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.

More than 365,000 Americans have…