Hoping the FDA will give the green light soon, CDC vaccine advisors scheduled meetings for Saturday and Sunday to discuss the Modern vaccine. The group must vote to recommend the vaccine and the CDC must accept that recommendation before vaccinations begin.
“I think this is a very exciting time,” Dr. Hayley Gans, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, told CNN. “The data presented to us impacted its effectiveness.”
If the Modern Vaccine is authorized, officials anticipate that 7.9 million doses of vaccine will be sent to states next week, the adm said. Brett Giroir, Deputy Secretary of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said two million doses of Pfizer vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna had been allocated for next week.
“We still anticipate that all Americans will have a chance to be vaccinated in June,” Giroir said.
The task we have now is to address the skepticism that many communities have about the vaccine and to pass on the facts, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
“I have had the opportunity to be closely involved in all the steps that are in the development of these vaccines. No shortcuts have been taken, there is no hidden information,” he told CNN. “This is something you want to do, for yourself, for your family, for the future of our nation.”
“Because if we don’t get to that point 70 to 80 percent of Americans who are vaccinated, that could go on and on and we could lose even more lives, and that would be the worst kind of tragedy possible,” he said. added.
Some states see Covid-19 numbers increase, others loosen restrictions
On Thursday, the country reported more than 230,000 new cases and more than 3,200 deaths. This month alone, the United States has reported more than 42,000 deaths from Covid-19.
Florida recorded the highest number of new cases daily since mid-July. The Kentucky governor announced a record number of new deaths, saying it was “by far the majority of people we’ve lost.” Pennsylvania health officials announced that the number of hospitalizations in the state exceeds double the maximum in the spring, with more than 1,200 Covid-19 patients in the ICU.
“We continue to hear about additional hospitals across the state that have few ICU beds or, in some cases, no ICU beds left,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday.
But while many states are still battling a fierce spread, others are easing restrictions.
Kim Reynolds, governor of Iowa, said this week that Covid-19 cases have gone down in the state and announced that it was lifting all curfews for bars and restaurants and removing restrictions on social gatherings. .
Bars and restaurants will be able to resume normal operations as long as customers are seated when eating or drinking, wearing masks when not sitting, sitting six meters away from other groups and no more than eight people per group. said the governor. The governor also announced that she was lifting collection restrictions, but a distance of six feet between groups is required.
In Utah, where health officials said hospitals across the state are operating at full capacity, Gov. Gary Herbert announced he would remove the restriction on alcohol sales after 10 p.m., saying bars and restaurants locals have shown their willingness to enforce physical distancing and the use of masks when customers do not eat or drink.
“We appreciate the willingness to strengthen and help implement protocols that make bars and restaurants a safe environment for the patron to come to participate,” the governor said.
“Another couple of dark months ahead”
While the country expects the vaccine’s impacts to really start (which probably won’t happen until early summer, when vaccines will be most available), the tools could work immediately to help curb the spread. of the virus are those that have been promoted by experts for months: facial masks, social distancing and regular hand washing.
“You don’t just want to say, ‘Well, we’re there,’ because no. We have another couple of dark months ahead of us if we don’t do something right now to try and stop this terrible upward curve of hospitalizations, cases, and deaths.”
“This is not the time to push the guard forward and get together for the holidays,” he added.
State leaders have echoed the warning of recent days and urged residents to reconsider their vacation plans.
In Wisconsin, a state that has been particularly affected since the fall began, Gov. Tony Evers urged residents to celebrate virtually, adding that hospitals remain “tense” and continue to report staff shortages. .
In California, a county health official called the Covid-19 climbing numbers a “post-holiday climb that doesn’t have to be.”
“This is so intertwined that it didn’t have to happen, but it did happen, and it created for us a huge increase in our cases,” said Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer.
“We’re going to a new holiday season. We really need people to stay home. We don’t mix, we don’t travel.”
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee said that while vaccine licensing is a major turning point in the pandemic, the reality is that more residents are getting sick and the decisions people made during the Thanksgiving holiday is having a serious impact on the state hospital. system.
“One thing this vaccine will not solve or cure is selfishness or indifference to what is happening to our neighbors around us,” he said.
Some states will receive fewer doses of vaccine
The federal government has also told several states, including Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Michigan and Oregon, to expect fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine than initially promised.
On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wrote on Twitter that he was informed that the state’s vaccine allocation “will be reduced by 40% next week” and added that “no explanation was given.” .
The cause of the delay is still unclear to many. An HHS spokesman said reports of reduced jurisdictional allocations are “incorrect” and states will generally receive full supplies, although deliveries may be distributed over a longer period of time.
“As with the initial shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, jurisdictions will receive the vaccine at different locations for several days. This alleviates the burden on jurisdictions and spreads the workload over several days. This same process was used with success for the initial distribution of Pfizer vaccine, and we are simply applying the lessons learned, ”the spokesman said.
“We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse, but so far we have not received any shipping instructions for additional doses,” Pfizer said.
CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas, Nakia McNabb, Kay Jones, Sara Murray, Ellie Kaufman, Nadia Kounang, Priscilla Alvarez, Tina Burnside, Melissa Alonso, and Ben Tinker contributed to this report.