Coronavirus Watch: 3 new studies show real-world vaccine effectiveness

We already know COVID-19 vaccines work in clinical trials. Now new data suggests they're effective in real-world settings, too.

That's according to three studies published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine on infection rates among vaccinated healthcare workers in Texas, California and Israel.

"For those who were fully vaccinated, the infection rate was extremely low," Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing Wednesday, calling the studies "a real proof positive of the importance of vaccination."

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• More states are lifting eligibility requirements for Americans to receive coveted coronavirus vaccines. Indiana, Texas and Georgia on Tuesday joined the majority of states in allowing all adults to receive coronavirus vaccines late this week or next week. Utah opened all eligibility on Wednesday.
• An Arizona man intercepted a convoy of National Guard soldiers delivering COVID-19 vaccine doses and held them at gunpoint, according to local police officials in Texas.
• In-person learning? About three quarters of public elementary and middle schools in the U.S. were open for in-person learning in January, but white students were far more likely to be sitting in classrooms than their Black, Hispanic and Asian peers, a new nationwide government survey shows.
• America's months-long improvement in coronavirus cases has stalled, and U.S. health officials expressed concern Wednesday about the plateau. "I continue to be worried about the latest data and the apparent stall we’re seeing in the trajectory of the pandemic," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. While the U.S. is vaccinating about 2.5 million people each day, the nation is also reporting about 55,000 new cases and nearly 1,000 new deaths per day, officials said.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 29.9 million COVID-19 cases and 543,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 124.3 million cases and more than 2.7 million deaths. More than 25% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and nearly 14% of people are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

See the numbers in your area here, check out where cases are rising here, and see how many vaccines your state has received here.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck