“The question right now is, will we have a fourth increase?” Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. “Each uncontrolled spread increases the risk that there are dangerous variants that could be more infectious, more deadly, or that could escape immune protection.”
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee on Friday recommended that Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine be authorized for emergency use. CNN reported. The FDA is expected to act on the recommendation quickly, which means the vaccine may be available early next week.
Thus, the number of vaccines reported on Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday was nearly 2.2 million more than reported a day earlier. The seven-day average of reported vaccinations was about 1.6 million on Friday. Now, according to the CDC, 14.2% of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose.
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FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock and Dr. Peter Marks, who heads the FDA vaccine group, said in a joint statement that the emergency use authorization would arrive soon.
“The agency has also notified our federal partners involved in the allocation and distribution of vaccines so that they can execute their timely vaccine distribution plans,” according to the statement.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the Covid-19 response coordinator at the White House, said in a Twitter message that he expects the FDA to make its decision on the emergency use authorization on Saturday. “A safe and effective third vaccine is very welcome news,” Slavitt posted in a tweet.
If the FDA grants emergency use of the vaccine as expected, CDC advisers will meet Sunday to recommend to CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky if people could get the vaccine. vaccine. Walensky would then give final approval. President Joe Biden has said that if the vaccine is approved, it will be rolled out immediately.
New cases and hospitalizations have begun to be high
However, the number of new cases has begun to rise after six consecutive weeks of decline. While the drop has come along with an increase in vaccine administration, experts say they are not the only cause of the reduction in the number.
Walensky expressed concern Friday that cases and hospitalizations continue to dwindle.
“Over the past few weeks, cases and hospital admissions in the United States have been declining since early January and deaths have declined last week,” Walensky told the White House. “But the latest data suggests that these falls could be stagnant, potentially stabilized in a still high number. From CDC we consider this a very worrying change of trajectory.”
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The most recent seven-day average of cases (about 66,350) is higher than the average reported Wednesday, Walensky said, adding, “It’s important to remember where we are in the pandemic. Things are tenuous.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said the United States “must be cautious” when it comes to the spread of disease.
“The point Dr. Walensky made is critical,” Fauci said. “If we get to the plateau at 70,000, we’re in a very precarious position that we were just before the fall climb, where anything that could disturb us could give us another climb.”
The FDA committee voted unanimously to recommend the J&J vaccine
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only one of three vaccines against Covid-19 that receives unanimous support from the FDA advisory committee.
“I think it’s a relatively easy call. It’s obviously going over the bar and it’s good to have a single-dose vaccine,” said committee member Dr. Eric Rubin after the vote. Rubin is editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and professor at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University.
Johnson & Johnson’s 3.9 million doses could add at least 25 percent more Covid-19 vaccination capacity to states, according to Lori Tremmel Freeman, director general of the National Association of County and City Health Officials . Freeman said 14.5 million weekly doses are currently allocated to states, tribes and territories, and that 3.9 million represent approximately 26.9%.
“About 2.8 million will go to state and local jurisdictions; 800,000 to the retail pharmacy program,” Freeman told CNN. He added that 70,000 will go to community vaccine centers and 90,000 to federally qualified health centers.
States can begin ordering the vaccine as early as Sunday, once the vaccine gets the final go-ahead from the CDC, said Freeman, who has seen the plans.
Some state governors are already reporting the number of doses of the new vaccine they hope to receive next week if it is authorized.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his state expects to get 90,000 doses in addition to the 310,000 doses already allocated in Ohio by next week.
California expects to get 380,300 doses by next week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, while New Jersey can get about 70,000 doses, according to Gov. Phil Murphy.
The vaccine is also easier to transport and store, as it can be stored in refrigerators and is less delicate than Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which must be stored at colder temperatures than a freezer. normal.
Pfizer’s existing vaccine could also be easier to distribute quickly, thanks to the FDA agreeing Thursday that it can be transported and stored for up to two weeks at “conventional temperatures” that are typically found in pharmaceutical freezers.
The company and its partner BioNTech are also responding to the growing threat of variants with new tests to see to what extent a third dose protects against them.
States relax restrictions on halls, stadiums and socialization
Despite the caution of paying too much attention to downward trends in recent weeks, many states are easing their restrictions.
RELATED: US advisers support Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine
On Monday, Wyoming barbershops and salons, including hairdressers, nails and tattoos, will no longer have capacity restrictions, Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement. Over the next month, the state will also ease other health restrictions, such as allowing law firms to resume operations and limiting meetings to 50 people instead of 25.
In response to the “sustained decline in the case count,” the city of New Orleans is also implementing changes. Starting Friday, the city will increase meeting limits to 75 people indoors and 150 outdoors, as well as increase table limits and increase indoor and outdoor stadium capacity limits to 15 % and 25%, respectively.
South Carolina government Henry McMaster said Friday that meetings of more than 250 people no longer need approval and that restaurants will be able to serve alcohol again starting Monday.
A particular point of controversy has been the reopening of schools: although some officials and parents urgently believe the need to return students to the classroom, there are teachers who worry that it will be too early and still not have enough security. to open campus.
Officials are expanding the eligibility and availability of vaccines
As eligibility for the vaccine expands, more than half of all doses have been targeted at people 65 and older, including long-term care center residents, according to a published analysis. by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Friday.
Overall, about 41% of people age 65 and older in the U.S. have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, about three times the overall rate of 14%.
In some states, coverage among older adults is even higher, according to the analysis.
Twenty-one states and Washington, DC, report vaccination data for people 65 and older. Four of them report vaccinating a larger portion of their residents than the national average: North Carolina (49%), Florida (45%), Arizona (44%), and South Carolina (44%).
Starting March 15, Missouri teachers and other essential workers will be eligible for the vaccine, Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday.
In addition to educators and K-12 student staff, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday that adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers and parents of children with complex medical conditions will be eligible. for the vaccine on March 8th.
And as of Thursday, all people over the age of 16 who have certain comorbidities are eligible for vaccines in Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox said.
Some states drop eligibility levels and move to an age-only system. In Maine, people 60 and older will be able to get vaccinated starting next week, Gov. Janet Mills said Friday. Each month, a younger group will be eligible.
In Connecticut, people over the age of 55 can get the vaccine as of Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont said earlier this week.
Two-dose shots of Pfizer and Moderna were found to be approximately 95% effective against symptomatic COVID-19. J & J’s study figures aren’t that high, but it’s not an apple-to-apple comparison. One dose of the J&J vaccine was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19. After adding moderate cases, the total efficacy fell by about 66%.
It’s important to note that the FDA reported this week that, like its predecessors, the J&J feature offers strong protection against the worst results, hospitalization, and death.
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