US on cusp of Covid vaccine
FDA consent could come as early as today or tomorrow, followed by the first US injections on Sunday or Monday, Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp, told Fox News.
THE UNITED States prepared to roll out a coronavirus vaccine within days as the country's daily death toll surpassed 3 000 for the first time, exceeding the number of lives lost from the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Covid-19 deaths reached 3 253 yesterday, pushing up the US total since the start of the pandemic to 289 740, with a record 106 219 people hospitalised with the highly infectious respiratory disease.
Healthcare professionals and support staff, exhausted by the demands of the pandemic, have been watching patients die alone as millions of Americans refuse to follow medical advice to wear masks and avoid crowds in order to curb the virus' spread.
Potentially helping to rein in the outbreak, a vaccine could start reaching healthcare workers, first responders and nursing home residents as soon as Sunday, though more likely early next week, according to Trump administration officials.
US Army General Gustave Perna, the chief operating officer of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed vaccine development program, said all the vaccine doses remained in the hands of the pharmaceutical companies.
"But we've worked many rehearsals and planning cycles ... and that's why I'm confident that as soon as EUA (emergency use authorisation) comes aboard, we'll start packing to the final destinations and distribution within 24 hours," Perna said.
A panel of independent medical experts was due to decide yesterday whether to recommend a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner Biontech SE for emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration.
FDA consent could come as early as today or tomorrow, followed by the first US injections on Sunday or Monday, Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp, told Fox News.
A second vaccine developed by Moderna is a week behind.
Widespread inoculations, however, could take months.
In the meantime, intensive care units at hundreds of hospitals across the country were at or near capacity, data from the US Department of Health and Human Services showed.
Ten mostly rural counties in
California reported having no ICU earlier this week, according to state health figures analyzed by Reuters.
Besides the human cost, the pandemic has forced millions out of work as state and local officials impose restrictions on social and economic life to contain the outbreak.
Congress, meanwhile, has struggled to end a months-long stalemate over economic assistance.
Disagreements remain over business liability protections demanded by Republicans and aid to state and local governments sought by Democrats before a final deal is reached on pandemic assistance. being sought,” Traut said.
Smit was shot and killed in front of his wife and a family friend visiting from Switzerland on his Louiesenhof Farm when armed and masked intruders entered their home through an unlocked door on Sunday evening on June 2, 2019. Smit was shot multiple times in the head and body. ‘
At the time, it was reported that Smit was looking to emigrate amid safety concerns in the country.