Heres what you need to know:A funeral in Indonesia on Monday for someone who died from the coronavirus.Credit...Dedi Sinuhaji/EPA, via Shutterstock
Two million dead.
It is more people than call the state of Nebraska home and about equal to the population of Slovenia. It is roughly as many people who are estimated to have died in the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. And it is more than the total number killed in the decades of Soviet and U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan combined.
The global death toll from the coronavirus soared past the two million mark on Friday, just over a year after the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
In addition, there have been almost 500,000 unexpected deaths globally over the past year, a review of mortality data in 35 countries shows providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis. Far more people died in most of these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found.
And the carnage is spreading faster now than at any other time in the pandemic.
It took more than nine months for the world to pass one million deaths in late September, a moment that the United Nations secretary-general, Antnio Guterres, called mind-numbing and an agonizing milestone. In just a little over three months, the virus has claimed another one million lives.
And as it spreads, it continues to evolve.
It is the same virus, but several variants now circulating around the world are the subject of urgent scientific study as some have been shown to be even more infectious than the iteration that at one point last spring forced about four billion people to shelter at home.
One variant that stymied efforts to contain outbreaks in Britain in the fall is now responsible for a flood of patients that is stretching the nations hospitals to the breaking point, officials say.
The World Health Organization said this week that the variant had been detected in 22 European nations, and governments across the continent continue to tighten restrictions in response to the threat. More than 230 million people across Europe are now under full national lockdowns, according to the W.H.O.
Even before the new variants were discovered, the death toll in the United States already dwarfed that of any other country. The virus has now killed nearly 400,000 Americans, according to a New York Times database. And with the countrys new cases still averaging about 240,000 cases per day, there are few signs of it slowing.
Next week, as president, Joseph R. Biden Jr. will take charge of what has been perhaps the worlds most disjointed response to the pandemic. In the course of the past year, even the decision of whether to wear a mask became politicized.
Mr. Biden like his counterparts around the world will have an increasingly available tool at his disposal in the form of vaccines. He has vowed to have 100 million doses in arms during his first 100 days in office, and other governments have likewise made ambitious pledges.
But the initial rollouts in many countries have been met with problems: logistical confusion, shortages of doses, unequal distribution and bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed the process of getting shots into peoples arms.
Israels inoculation process has been the fastest, with roughly 25 percent of its population of nine million getting vaccinations in just one month. Britain has sped up its efforts; more than three million people have now been given at least a first dose of a vaccine. And Italy says it has given a million shots.
So far, there is no evidence that any of the variants affect the viability of the vaccines that countries have approved for emergency use. However, scientists have cautioned that this may not always be the case as the virus continues to mutate.
In nations where the virus appears to have been tamed, the authorities are maintaining vigilance to ensure that it doesnt re-establish its grip.
In China, where the market at the epicenter of the outbreak remains closed but others are again open, a team of experts from the W.H.O. arrived this week to begin hunting for the source of the pathogen and how it made the suspected leap from animals to humans.
The viruss origin is just one of the many enduring mysteries of a virus that has officially infected nearly 100 million people, and likely many more, around the world. And this week, underscoring just how persistent and pervasive it is, it claimed its first life in China since May.
transcript
transcript
Vaccines offer so much hope. Were grateful for the scientists and researchers and everyone who participated in the clinical trials. Were grateful for the integrity of the process, the rigorous review and testing thats led to millions of people around the world already being vaccinated safely. But the vaccine rollout in the United States has been a dismal failure thus far. And in todays briefing, we discussed five things, five things well do, in an attempt to turn things around. First, we will immediately work with states to open up vaccinations to more priority groups. The process of establishing priority groups is driven by science, but the problem is the implementation has been too rigid and confusing. The second thing were going to change, if were getting more people vaccinated, then we need more vaccination sites. Thats what were going to harness the full resources of the federal government to establish thousands of community vaccination centers. The third change were going to make is were going to fully activate the pharmacies across the country to get the vaccination into more arms as quickly as possible. The fourth thing were going to do is were going to use the full strength of the federal government to ramp up supply of the vaccines. As I said before, well use the Defense Production Act to work with private industry to accelerate the making of materials needed to supply and administer the vaccine. Fifth, we will always be honest and transparent about where we stand, both the good news as well as the bad. Were going to make sure state and local officials know how much supply theyll be getting. And when they can expect to get it so they can plan. This will be one of the most challenging operational efforts ever undertaken by our country. But you have my word, and we will manage the hell out of this operation. But as I said last night, we need funding from Congress to make this happen, and Im optimistic. Im convinced the American people are ready to spare no effort and no expense to get this done.
WASHINGTON President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., racing against a surge in coronavirus cases and the emergence of a new variant that could significantly worsen the pandemic, is planning a vaccination offensive that calls for greatly expanding access to the vaccine while promising to use a wartime law to expand production.
But his plan is colliding with a sobering reality: With only two federally authorized vaccines, supplies will be scarce for the next several months, frustrating some state and local health officials who had hoped that the release of a federal stockpile of vaccine doses announced this week could alleviate that shortage. Trump administration officials clarified Friday that the existing stockpile would only go toward giving second doses to people who had already received the vaccine, and not to new groups of people.
The vaccine rollout in the United States has been a dismal failure so far, Mr. Biden said. The honest truth is this, things will get worse before they get better. And the policy changes we are going to be making, theyre going to take time to show up in the Covid statistics.
The president-elect said he would invoke the Defense Production Act, if necessary, to build up vaccine supply. But the team also sought to tamp down expectations. Mr. Biden said his plan wont mean that everyone in these groups will get vaccinated immediately, because supply is not where it needs to be. But, he added, it will mean that as doses become available, well reach more people who need them.
The Biden team promised to ramp up vaccination in pharmacies, and build mobile vaccination clinics to get vaccine to hard-to-reach and underserved rural and urban communities, emphasizing equity in distribution.
Mr. Biden spoke of the tragic reality of the disproportionate impact this virus has had on Black, Latino and Native American people, adding that equity is central to our Covid response.
Like the Trump administration, Mr. Biden called for states to expand the vaccine eligibility groups to people 65 or older.
The administration will also make programs available for high-risk settings, including homeless shelters, jails and institutions that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the fact sheet said.
In some respects, Mr. Bidens proposals echo those of the Trump administration, which also called earlier this week for opening vaccine eligibility to groups to 65 and older, making greater use of pharmacies and moving vaccinations to federally qualified health centers. The Trump administration has also frequently used the Defense Production Act to give vaccine makers priority with suppliers for raw ingredients and other materials.
Mr. Biden unveiled the vaccine distribution plan just one day after he proposed a $1.9 trillion spending package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, including $20 billion for a national vaccine program. The president-elect has said repeatedly that he intends to get 100 million Covid vaccine shots into the arms of the American people by his 100th day in office.
When the federal government announced Tuesday that it was releasing a stockpile of vaccine doses, some state health officials expected to get a boost in their weekly shipments to help address soaring demand for the vaccines as the pandemic rages out of control.
But now, the states face a stark reality. That stockpile consisted only of vaccines earmarked for booster shots for people who had already received a first dose. That means the release of this pool will not expand inoculations to a new group of people. Federal officials have said second doses will be prioritized in the weekly shipments to ensure everyone can get a booster shot.
A senior administration official said on Friday that the government expects the two companies producing vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, to supply between eight and 12 million vaccine doses per week to the American public over the next several weeks shipments that will then be divided among those getting their first and second shots. The two companies have deals with the federal government to supply a total of 200 million doses to the United States or enough to fully vaccinate 100 million people by the end of March.
The confusion stemmed from a call that Alex M. Azar II, the federal health and human services secretary, held on Tuesday with reporters and top Operation Warp Speed officials, in which he chided states for not efficiently using the vaccines they had already been sent and urged them to open up eligibility to people 65 and older. Some states, including New York, quickly followed the federal governments advice and opened their doors to a wider group of people, prompting a surge of interest and confusion as thousands of newly eligible people sought appointments to get vaccinated.
This next phase reflects the urgency of the situation we face every vaccine dose that is sitting in a warehouse rather than going into an arm could mean one more life lost or one more hospital bed occupied, Mr. Azar said.
Later in the call, he said that We are releasing the entire supply we have for order by the states, rather than holding second doses in physical reserves. Going forward, he said, no vaccine doses would be held in a stockpile, and each weekly shipment would go toward people needing a first as well as a second dose.
That announcement prompted several states to assume that they would get an influx of new doses that could be used to vaccinate new people, as first reported by the Washington Post.
On Friday, Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon, a Democrat, tweeted that she had received disturbing news on Thursday evening: States will not be receiving increased shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week, because there is no federal reserve of doses. She added, I am shocked and appalled that they have set an expectation on which they could not deliver, with such grave consequences.
However, senior administration officials clarified on Friday that all of the reserve doses were already dedicated to people who had gotten the vaccine, and that Mr. Azar was actually just spelling out the logical extension of a distribution policy that had been established by top federal officials in December, when shipments began.
In a statement, a spokesman for the federal health department said that nearly 13 million doses were made available to states so they could order their first and second doses, which is millions more than previous weeks. The spokesman, Michael Pratt, also said that many states have not ordered up to the full amount that they have been allocated by the federal government.
I think states have been doing their best to plan with whatever information they can get from the feds on expected future allocations, and then revising those plans if they get less, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. What is more concerning is that public expectations have been raised and limited supply may lead to significant disappointment.
During the first few weeks of distribution, Gen. Gustave F. Perna, the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to develop and distribute a vaccine to the American public, decided to hold back half of the weekly shipments of vaccine to save those doses for the people who had received an initial shot. He said at the time that it was important to be cautious as manufacturing was getting underway, and to hold onto a stockpile of second doses in the case of any manufacturing glitches.
Even then, his decision came under criticism by public health experts who argued that the focus should be on getting as many people as possible their first dose of a vaccine since clinical trials showed even the first dose offers some protection given that the country was facing record cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
But federal officials stuck to their plan, and as the weeks passed, that stockpile gradually depleted as those who had received the initial shots from Pfizer needed their second dose, which is given three weeks later. The first people who received the Moderna vaccine are now due for their booster shot, which is given four weeks later.
Senior administration officials said Friday that the remaining second doses drawn from that reserve are being distributed this week and next week to the states, and that they were never intended to be used toward vaccinating additional people.
From now on, officials said Tuesday, each weekly shipment from the manufacturers will include doses for new people as well as second doses for those who are due for their booster shots.
Scientists and pharmaceutical companies developed the two federally authorized Covid-19 vaccines in record time, but their distribution has fallen far short of initial goals. Federal officials had promised that 20 million people would be immunized before the end of 2020, but only about 9.7 million have received their first dose so far.
Federal, state and local officials have traded blame for the faulty rollout, with the federal government accusing states of being overly prescriptive in who can get the vaccine and not having put in place plans to quickly distribute it. But state and local authorities have countered that they were not given enough money to do the job properly, and scaling up distribution has been difficult because they cannot predict how many doses they will have from week to week.
Even as states have complained about federal deliveries, many have struggled to give out all of the vaccine doses they have been sent. Overall, only about 36 percent of the 30.6 million doses that have been distributed have been injected into arms, according to federal data.
But as vaccination drives have picked up, that is changing and some states and local governments have warned they are running out. On Friday, New York City said it expected to exhaust its supply of doses by early next week.
Since the turn of the century the number of international migrants has intensified, driven by desires to avoid armed conflicts and humanitarian disasters, escape political repression and seek economic opportunities elsewhere. But the Covid-19 pandemic blunted that trajectory in 2020, according to data compiled by the United Nations.
In a report released Friday, the Population Division of the U.N.s Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimated that through the middle of last year, the number of new international migrants was about 5 million, or about 2 million fewer than what had been expected.
Around the globe, the closing of national borders and severe disruptions to international travel obliged hundreds of thousands of people to cancel or delay plans of moving abroad, the department said in the report. Hundreds of thousands of migrants were stranded, unable to return to their countries, while others were forced to return to their home countries earlier than planned, when job opportunities dried up and schools closed.
Before the Covid-19 disruptions, the report said, the number of international migrants had grown robustly over the past two decades, reaching a total of 281 million in 2020, roughly equal to the population of Indonesia.
In another barometer of the collapse in travel caused by the pandemic, the civil aviation agency of the United Nations said in a report Friday that the number of airline passengers fell by 60 percent in 2020 1.8 billion passengers compared with 4.5 billion in 2019. The report, by the International Civil Aviation Organization, said the reduction had taken air travel totals back to 2003 levels.
Battling a new variant of the coronavirus within its borders, Britain on Friday toughened measures to guard against importing infections from abroad, announcing that anyone arriving in the country must take a Covid-19 test before traveling and quarantine themselves upon arrival.
The new announcement effectively suspends a so-called travel corridor system under which people could come to Britain from a limited and dwindling number of nations judged to be low risk without restrictions.
From Monday, anyone who has come from or traveled through any country outside the United Kingdom and Ireland in the previous 10 days will be required to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and show a negative result. He or she will have to go into self-quarantine for 10 days on arrival, though that period can be shortened to five days by taking a second Covid-19 test after spending several days in Britain.
The government also promised to toughen enforcement by increasing the number of spot checks on passengers entering the country.
We are operating in a completely new environment in our fight against Covid-19, with several worrying new strains of the virus emerging across the globe, said Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, in a statement, explaining that the new measures apply to British and Irish citizens as well as other nationalities.
The move comes on the heels of a decision to suspend flights to Britain from South America and Portugal amid fears over the spread of variants of coronavirus, such as those first identified in Brazil.
Britain has been hit hard by a surge in cases caused by the spread of a new and highly transmissible variant of its own. For the week ending Jan. 14, the country reported an average of 52,977 new cases daily and 1,072 deaths. On the positive side, more than 3.2 million Britons have received a first vaccination against the virus.
Speaking to press on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was vital to take extra measures now, when, day by day, we are making such strides in protecting the population.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, welcomed the new restrictions but criticized ministers for being slow again.
Many people will say, Why on earth didnt this happen before? he told news outlets.
Federal health officials sounded the alarm Friday about a fast spreading, far more contagious variant of the coronavirus that is projected to become the dominant source of infection in the country by March, potentially fueling another wrenching surge of cases and deaths.
In a study released on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that its forecasts indicated outbreaks caused by the new variant, which was first identified in Britain, could lead to a burgeoning pandemic. It called for a doubling down on preventive measures, including more intensive vaccination efforts across the country.
The variant is not known to be more deadly or to cause more severe disease. But the dire warning hedged by limited data about just how prevalent the variant has become landed in a week where the nations nascent vaccination campaign was hampered by confusion and limited supplies as demand grew among growing numbers of eligible people.
As of Friday, the variant first discovered in Britain had been detected in more than 70 cases from 13 states most recently in Oregon but the actual numbers are likely to be much higher, said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the C.D.C.
Current spikes in cases threaten to cripple already overwhelmed hospitals and nursing homes in many parts of the country. Some are at or near capacity. Others have faced troubling rates of infection among their staff, causing shortages and increasing patient loads.
I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the U.S. in the coming weeks, said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the C.D.C. Were sounding the alarm and urging people to realize the pandemic is not over and in no way is it time to throw in the towel.
We know what works and we know what to do, he said.
Covid cases and deaths have broken record after record across the country, with a peak number of deaths, 4,400, announced on Tuesday. At least 3,973 new deaths and 238,390 new cases were reported on Thursday, and the nation is nearing a milestone of 400,000 deaths.
One in 860 Americans have died of Covid-19 in the last year, according to new figures released by the C.D.C. But the burden of deaths has not fallen equally across racial, ethnic lines and geographic regions, and there is concern that vaccines will not reach the hardest hit communities, where access to health services is limited and distrust is rampant.
After a sluggish first month, the pace of coronavirus vaccinations is accelerating to the point that New York City and other places in the state expect to exhaust their supply of doses as early as next week, officials said on Friday, causing several health facilities to alter their immediate inoculation plans.
On Thursday, Mount Sinai Health System, one of the citys largest hospital networks, canceled many upcoming vaccination appointments for older patients, saying the doses it had anticipated receiving were no longer likely to arrive.
Northwell Health, the largest health provider in the state, said it was not scheduling additional appointments for the next several days given its limited supply.
Around New York, officials in at least one county said they had only enough doses to last through the weekend, echoing a similar sentiment by city officials.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday on Brian Lehrers radio show that New York City would run out of doses by next week.
It makes no sense that were being starved of the capacity we need, the mayor said.
State officials warned this week that they were growing increasingly worried about the supply, pleading with federal officials to increase the number of doses they send every week. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said the state receives only about 300,000 doses per week, although he indicated on Friday that the state had been told its weekly supply would be sliced to 250,000. About 100,000 of them go to New York City, Mr. de Blasio said on Friday.
Seven million people for 250,000 doses per week? Every distributor, everyone is gonna say, I need more, Mr. Cuomo said on Friday in a news conference. As a result, he said New York City should expect to receive fewer doses because the state gets less.
This week, federal officials indicated that more doses from a stockpile would be sent to states. But they have since clarified that the batch is actually from a tranche saved for second doses. (People are considered fully vaccinated after receiving two doses.)
Until recently, New York City had been struggling to quickly administer vaccines, leading to a backlog of doses. But in recent days, the pace of vaccinations has picked up drastically because of expanded eligibility and because many new vaccination sites have opened over the last week.
Mr. de Blasio argued that the federal government should prioritize vaccine distribution to areas that are inoculating quickly. I think until the supply increases much more nationally, go where the ability to vaccinate is strongest, he said. As soon as we get it in now, its going right back out and into peoples arms, thats not true everywhere because they just dont have the infrastructure.
PUNE, India India is preparing to launch one of the most ambitious and complex nationwide campaigns in its history: the rollout of coronavirus vaccines to 1.3 billion people, an undertaking that will stretch from the perilous reaches of the Himalayas to the dense jungles of the countrys southern tip.
The toughest part might be persuading doubters like Shankar Patil to roll up their sleeves.
Mr. Patil, a 27-year-old applicant to the state police academy, lives in Pune, the city central to Indias vaccine rollout, which is set to begin on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is staking his pride on Indias ability to manufacture enough inexpensive shots to inoculate his country as well as much of the developing world. India aims to do nothing less than protect humanity, Mr. Modi said recently at an online address to the Indian diaspora.
Mr. Patil has questions. He and two friends, also aspiring police officers, expressed skepticism about the countrys vaccine approval process, which has been criticized by health experts for a lack of disclosure.
We believe in the government, but nobody should play with our health, Mr. Patil said. If the vaccines are truly safe, they should make the data public.
Little data has been published from the early trials of one of the two vaccines being rolled out, and the manufacturer has not yet completed its final trial, even as it is being distributed.
Doubts about transparency only add to the obstacles. In addition to the logistical challenges, Indian officials must deal with a growing sense of complacency. After reaching a peak in the mid-September of more than 90,000 new cases per day, Indias official infection rates have dropped sharply. Fatalities have fallen by about 30 percent in the last 14 days, according to a New York Times database.
City streets are buzzing. Air and train travel have resumed. Social distancing and mask-wearing standards, already lax in many parts of India, have slipped further. That alarms experts, who say the real infection rate is probably much worse than official numbers suggest.
And doubts about the effectiveness of the vaccines are making the mission harder still.
At least one state, Chhattisgarh, has refused to accept shipments of the vaccine that is still in its final trial. And just days ago, one of Indias top virologists was still weighing whether to receive a jab.
Its really not a lack of confidence in the vaccine, Dr. Gagandeep Kang said. Its a lack of confidence in a process that allowed the vaccine to move forward in such a way. If my taking the vaccine would convince other people to take the vaccine, Id think thats not right.
BRUSSELS Pfizer plans to halt production of its coronavirus vaccine for weeks as it undertakes upgrades to its manufacturing plant in Puurs, Belgium, in order to reach its goal of producing two billion doses this year up from its earlier goal of 1.3 billion.
Image from Mark Knig on Unsplash
In Norway, authorities are investigating the deaths of nearly two dozen people who received the COVID-19 vaccine fromPfizer(NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX).
To date, it has analyzed data from 13 of those individuals.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency concluded that common adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines, including fever and nausea, could have contributed to deaths in elderly and frail patients.
Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.
San Francisco opening three mass COVID-19 vaccination sites
San Francisco is trying to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible as more doses become available. The plan includes three new mass vaccination sites announced by the mayor on Friday.
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco is trying to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible as more doses become available.
To streamline the COVID vaccination process the city plans to create a network of injection sites to scale-up capacity as vaccine supply increases. The city is also launching a website to notify residents and workers when they may seek the vaccine.
In partnership with the health care providers in San Francisco, which are receiving the majority of the vaccine doses from the state, city officials promisedtodeliver doses of thevaccines through high-volumesites as well as community-based sites.
To start, there will be three mass vaccination sites at the Moscone Center, City College of San Francisco, and San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market in the Bayview.
"We are doing everything we can to help get people vaccinated as quickly as possible," said Mayor London Breed. "The vaccine is the most important tool we have to end this pandemic once and for all, and getting people protected from this virus is our top priority."
The providers partnering with San Francisco include Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Health, Dignity Health, Sutter Health/California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), and the Department of Public Health.
To reduce confusion over the vaccination requirements, Breed announced the city is launching a website that will notify San Francisco residents and workers when they become eligible to receive a vaccination.Officials said the goal of the initiative is to ensure all health care providers in San Francisco are fully-prepared to facilitate wide-scale vaccinations for those who live and work in the city as soon as health care providers receive sufficient vaccine allocations from the state and the federal government.
Once the vaccine locations are fully operational, pending vaccine supply, the city has a goal of facilitating 10,000 vaccine doses per day.
This article is part four in a series of explainers on vaccine development and distribution.Part one focused on how vaccines work to protect our bodies from disease-carrying germs.rn Part two focused on the ingredients in a vaccine and the three clinical trial phases.Part three focused on the steps from completing the clinical trial phases through to distribution.This document outlines the different types of vaccines.
As of December 2020, there are over 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 being developed. Of these, at least 52 candidate vaccines are in human trials. There are several others currently in phase I/II, which will enter phase III in the coming monthsrn (for more information on the clinical trial phases, see part three of our Vaccine Explained series).
Typically, many vaccine candidates will be evaluated before any are found to be both safe and effective. For example, of all the vaccines that are studied in the lab and laboratory animals, roughly 7 out of every 100 will be considered good enoughrn to move into clinical trials in humans. Of the vaccines that do make it to clinical trials, just one in five is successful. Having lots of different vaccines in development increases the chances that there will be one or more successful vaccinesrn that will be shown to be safe and efficacious for the intended prioritized populations.
There are three main approaches to designing a vaccine. Their differences lie in whether they use a whole virus or bacterium; just the parts of the germ that triggersrn the immune system; or just the genetic material that provides the instructions for making specific proteins and not the whole virus.
Inactivated vaccine
The first way to make a vaccine is to take the disease-carrying virus or bacterium, or one very similar to it, and inactivate or kill it using chemicals, heat or radiation. This approach uses technology thats been proven to work in people rn this is the way the flu and polio vaccines are made and vaccines can be manufactured on a reasonable scale.
However, it requires special laboratory facilities to grow the virus or bacterium safely, can have a relatively long production time, and will likely require two or three doses to be administered.
Live-attenuated vaccine
A live-attenuated vaccine uses a living but weakened version of the virus or one thats very similar. The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the chickenpox and shingles vaccine are examples of this type of vaccine.rn This approach uses similar technology to the inactivated vaccine and can be manufactured at scale. However, vaccines like this may not be suitable for people with compromised immune systems.
Viral vector vaccine
This type of vaccine uses a safe virus to deliver specific sub-parts called proteins of the germ of interest so that it can trigger an immune response without causing disease. To do this, the instructions for makingrn particular parts of the pathogen of interest are inserted into a safe virus. The safe virus then serves as a platform or vector to deliver the protein into the body. The protein triggers the immune response. The Ebola vaccine is a viralrn vector vaccine and this type can be developed rapidly.
A subunit vaccine is one that only uses the very specific parts (the subunits) of a virus or bacterium that the immune system needs to recognize. It doesn't contain the whole microbe or use a safe virus as a vector. The subunits may be proteins orrn sugars. Most of the vaccines on the childhood schedule are subunit vaccines, protecting people from diseases such as whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria and meningococcal meningitis.
Unlike vaccine approaches that use either a weakened or dead whole microbe or parts of one, a nucleic acid vaccine just uses a section of genetic material that provides the instructions for specific proteins, not the whole microbe. DNA and RNA arern the instructions our cells use to make proteins. In our cells, DNA is first turned into messenger RNA, which is then used as the blueprint to make specific proteins.
A nucleic acid vaccine delivers a specific set of instructions to our cells, either as DNA or mRNA, for them to make the specific protein that we want our immune system to recognize and respond to.
The nucleic acid approach is a new way of developing vaccines. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, none had yet been through the full approvals process for use in humans, though some DNA vaccines, including for particular cancers, were undergoing human trials. Because of the pandemic, research in this area has progressed very fast and some mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 are getting emergency use authorization, which means they can now be given to people beyond using them only in clinical trials.rn
TipRanks
Watching the markets with an eye to the main chance, Raymond James strategist Tavis McCourt sees both risk and opportunity in current market conditions. The opportunity, in his opinion, stems from the obvious factors: the Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats in the recent runoff vote, giving the incoming Biden Administration majority support in both Houses of Congress and increasing the odds of meaningful fiscal support getting signed into law in the near term. More importantly, the coronavirus vaccination program is proceeding, and reports are showing that Pfizers vaccine, one of two approved in the US, is effective against the new strain of the virus. A successful vaccination program will speed up the economic recovery, allowing states to loosen lockdown regulations and get people back to work. The risks are also coming from the political and public health realms. The House Democrats have passed articles of impeachment against President Trump, despite the imminent natural closure of his term of office, and that passage reduces the chances of political reconciliation in a heavily polarized environment. And while the COVID strain is matched by current vaccines, there is still a risk that a new strain will develop that is not covered by existing vaccinations which could restart the cycle of lockdowns and economic decline. Another risk McCourt sees, beyond those two, would be a sharp rise in inflation. He doesnt discount that, but sees it as unlikely to happen soon. product/service inflation is only really a possibility AFTER re-openings, so the market feels a bit bullet proof in the very near term, and thus the continued rally, with Dems winning the GA races just adding fuel to the stimulus fire, McCourt noted. Some of McCourts colleagues among the Raymond James analyst cadre are keeping these risks in mind, and putting their imprimatur on strong dividend stocks. Weve looked into Raymond James' recent calls, and using the TipRanks database, weve chosen two stocks with high-yield dividends. These Buy-rated tickers bring a dividend yield of 7%, a strong attraction for investors interested in using the current good times to set up a defensive firewall should the risks materialize. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) Well start in the energy sector, a business segment long known for both high cash flows and high dividends. Enterprise Products Partners is a midstream company, part of the network that moves hydrocarbon products from the wellheads to the storage farms, refineries, and distribution points. Enterprise controls over 50,000 miles worth of pipelines, shipping terminals on Texas Gulf coast, and storage facilities for 160 million barrels oil and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was hurt by low prices and low demand in 1H20, but partially recovered in the second half. Revenues turned around, growing 27% sequentially to reach $6.9 billion in Q3. That number was down year-over-year, slipping 5.4%, but came in more than 6% above the Q3 forecast. Q3 earnings, at 48 cents per share, were just under the forecast, but were up 4% year-over-year and 2% sequentially. EPD has recently declared its 4Q20 dividend distribution, at 45 cents per common share. This is up from the previous payment of 44 cents, and marks the first increase in two years. At $1.80 annualized, the payment yields 7.9%. Among the bulls is Raymond James' Justin Jenkins, who rates EPD a Strong Buy. The analyst gives the stock a $26 price target, which implies a 15% upside from current levels. (To watch Jenkins track record, click here) Backing his bullish stance, Jenkins noted, "In our view, EPD's unique combination of integration, balance sheet strength, and ROIC track record remains best in class. We see EPD as arguably best positioned to withstand the volatile landscape With EPD's footprint, demand gains, project growth, and contracted ramps should more than offset supply headwinds and lower y/y marketing results" Its not often that the analysts all agree on a stock, so when it does happen, take note. EPDs Strong Buy consensus rating is based on a unanimous 9 Buys. The stocks $24.63 average price target suggests an upside of 9% from the current share price of $22.65. (See EPD stock analysis on TipRanks) AT&T, Inc. (T) AT&T is one of the markets instantly recognizable stock. The company is a member in long standing of the S&P 500, and it has reputation as one of the stock markets best dividend payers. AT&T is a true large-cap industry giant, with a market cap of $208 billion and the largest network of mobile and landline phone services in the US. Its acquisition of TimeWarner (now WarnerMedia), in a process running between 2016 and 2018, has given the company a large stake in the mobile content streaming business. AT&T saw revenues and earnings decline in 2020, under pressure from the corona pandemic but the decline was modest, as that same pandemic also put a premium on telecom and networking systems, which tended to support AT&Ts business. Revenues in 3Q20 were $42.3 billion, 5% below the year-ago quarter. On positive notes, free cash flow rose yoy from $11.4 billion to $12.1 billion, and the company reported a net gain of 5.5 million new subscribers. The subscriber growth was driven by the new 5G network rollout and by premium content services. The company held up its reputation as a dividend champ, and has made its most recent dividend declaration for payment in February 2021. The payment, at 52 per common share, is the fifth in a row at current level and annualizes to $2.08, giving a yield of 7.2%. For comparison, the average dividend among tech sector peer companies is only 0.9%. AT&T has kept its dividend strong for the past 12 years. Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan sees AT&T as a classic defensive value stock, and describes Ts current state as one with the bad news baked in. [We] believe there is more that can go right during the next 12 months than can get worse for AT&T. Throw in the fact that shares are heavily shorted, and we believe this is a recipe for upside. Large cap value names are hard to come by, and we think investors who can wait a few months for a mean reversion while locking in a 7% yield should be rewarded for buying AT&T at current levels, Louthan opined. In line with these comments, Louthan rates T an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $32 price target implies room for 10% growth from current levels. (To watch Louthans track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street think? Looking at the consensus breakdown, opinions from other analysts are more spread out. 7 Buy ratings, 6 Holds and 2 Sells add up to a Moderate Buy consensus. In addition, the $31.54 average price target indicates ~9% upside potential. (See AT&T stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
A COVID-19 vaccine made partly by Texas scientists with research from a Texas university may soon be ready for global distribution, but it's not allowed in the U.S.
HOUSTON, Texas Inside the halls of Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Dr. Peter Hotez and his team rush tofinalize work they startedin 2011.
We adopted a coronavirus vaccine program about a decade ago because it was in dire straits. Nobody cared about coronavirus, Dr. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine Baylor College of Medicine Houston, said.
The program looked to create SARS and MERS vaccines. Dr. Hotez said his team was in a good position to focus on the vaccine for SARS-coV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.
We use a technology that's around 40 years old. The same one used to make the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, Dr. Hotez said.
The vaccine is in trial in India.
We're not part of Operation Warp Speed because we're not a pharma company ... you have to have financial support, Dr. Hotez said.
The Baylor vaccine is cheaper to make and sell.
The great thing about India is Indias got this tradition of making vaccines for the world. Serum Institute of India in Poona (now Pune) near Mumbai, is the world's largest producer of vaccines ... We think ours could come in as a low-cost global health vaccine for the world, which is going to be important because those mRNA vaccines probably are not going to filter to low- and middle-income countries anytime soon, Dr. Hotez said.
The vaccine must be used globally.
It feels really good to be able to make such a global contribution. At the same time, Im frustrated that we can't bring that back into the U.S. easily because if we can make it, we can make a billion doses. It could solve a lot of problems here in the U.S. as a low-cost vaccine, Dr. Hotez said.
Most of the vaccines will go toCOVAX, a global initiative 190 countries joined but the U.S. decided to not take part.
We'd love to be able to bring it back into the U.S., maybe as a pediatric vaccine for parents who may not be so eager to vaccinate their kids with the new-technology vaccines, Dr. Hotez said.
We're trying to knock on doors and that sort of thing. You would think, right, with all the demand, people wringing their hands, 'Are we going to have enough vaccine?' It wouldn't be so tough. But, you know, because we're not a pharmaceutical company, that kind of thing falls through the cracks in that way, Dr. Hotez said.
ALBANY Albany County is on pace to experience its deadliest month yet from the novel coronavirus, officials revealed Friday.
County Executive Dan McCoy said the county is aware of three more residents who have now died due to complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. That brings the county's total number of coronavirus deaths so far this month to 39. With half a month left to go, January is on track to beat last month's high-water mark of 63 resident deaths, McCoy said.
"We have 16 days left to this month, and I'm hoping not to break that record," he said. "We need people to do the right thing. Continue to do the right thing. I know everyone's fatigued and tired. Everyone just wants life back the way it was prior to March 12 of 2020. It's never gonna go back. We can only move forward."
That the death toll is on such a pace is not surprising. Officials have warned for months that January could be the deadliest month for the virus. The region and nation are feeling the full effect of the virus' spread during the holiday season and vaccinations are only in the first month of distribution in the U.S.
Albany County is also once again experiencing record COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Twenty-nine residents were hospitalized with the disease overnight the most the county has ever seen in one day, McCoy said. There are now 168 county residents currently hospitalized with the disease a net increase of 10 overnight and another high-water mark. The last record was set on Jan. 7 with 163 resident hospitalizations.
The county has confirmed 292 new cases of coronavirus overnight, including 236 that could not be traced back to a clear infection source. The county is averaging 271 coronaviruscases a day (measured on a seven-day rolling average) down from its peak of 279 set Tuesday.
The chart shows daily deaths related to COVID-19 in the eight counties of the Capital Region.Source: Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracking project Graphic by Cathleen F. Crowley/Times Union
Vaccine update
McCoy updated residents on the county's COVID-19 situation just minutes after the state officially opened a mass vaccination site at the University at Albany. It is one of several local sites where people 65 and older can get vaccinated, though candidates need to make an appointment ahead of time.
Coronavirus resources
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McCoy admitted there have been "stumbling blocks" with the state's vaccine rollout. He reminded people scheduling appointments through the state's vaccination website to make appointments for their first dose only. The second dose will be scheduled on site after people receive their first dose, he said.
"There's a lot of confusion," he said. "A lot of people were signing up for a second shot and took slots away from people that needed it."
McCoy expressed particular concern about homebound seniors who may have difficulty traveling to get vaccinated.
"Its our obligation to make sure that no one falls through the cracks," he said.
On Sunday, the county announced it would partner with Mohawk Ambulance to administer vaccines to homebound seniors right in their homes. On Friday, however, County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said the county is still waiting on supply from the state for that effort.
"Its the supply thats the rate-limiting step," Whalen said. "I dont want anybody to think that theres vaccine sitting in fridges and for some administrative purpose its not getting out. Thats not the situation."
Further sowing confusion are the early release of test links for scheduling vaccinations. Whalensaid the county health department is aware of several scheduling links that have been shared for "bogus" vaccine clinics, as well as test links that were shared too early. Her department is investigating the incidents and has alerted the state, she said.
"I know that many of you are confused, many of you are looking at ways that you can sign up thats easier particularly for your elderly relatives," she said.
"I ask for patience and continued vigilance," she continued. "These are systems that are really overburdened at this stage and we know that there are many people working on them so that we can get the vaccine out."
Where do we get our information?
We monitor local, regional and national government updates and verify facts or data before publishing. Sources we rely on include:
Local resources: Daily reports from Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington county health departments.
State resources: The New York State Department of Health and the Department of Health's School COVID Report Card.
National resources: National data on verified testing sites compiled from local health departments, healthcare providers, and cities, counties and states. We also rely on national, state and county data from the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Case TrackerandThe COVID Tracking Project.
Other resources: Vaccine information gathered from government agencies, the companies that produce the vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We also turn to doctors, nurses, scientists and other public health experts. We strive for accuracy in our reporting, but sometimes new developments can happen quickly. If we learn information is incorrect, we will update it as soon as possible. You can help by reporting any discrepancies to tuweb@timesunion.com. Learn more about our coronavirus coverage.
There was additional confusion. Another change Azar announced this week making allocation of doses dependent on how quickly states administer them would not take effect for two weeks, he said. But Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, D, on Thursday tweeted that federal officials had notified the state that it would receive an additional 50,000 doses next week as a reward for being among the fastest states to get shots into arms. West Virginia, meanwhile, which is moving at the fastest clip based on CDC data, did not get any additional doses, said Holli Nelson, a spokeswoman for the states National Guard.
Vaccines are available to eligible customers at no cost, based upon availability.
ATLANTA Another major grocery store chain is rolling out a plan to vaccinate Georgians. In a new release, Kroger announced that its Georgia pharmacies have the COVID-19 vaccine available.
The vaccinations started Friday. The vaccine is in limited supply and currently offered to the following:
Vaccines are available to eligible customers at no cost, based upon availability. They are being done by appointment only. The company said who want to sign up for one can do so online.
Kroger is working to set up a process and system for those who would rather schedule appointments over the phone. The number will be announced as soon as it has been established.
This is an extremely critical mission and Kroger is pleased to be a part of the team ensuring our most vulnerable residents have more ways to access the vaccine, said Felix Turner, manager of corporate affairs for Krogers Atlanta Division.
Turner said the Moderna vaccine is being offered at Kroger pharmacies.
We are strongly encouraging all customers and associates to receive the vaccine to curb the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, and we will do all we can to ensure they have access as soon as its more widely available," Turner added.
Kroger officials said customers with health insurance should bring their insurance card to their appointment. Medicare members will need to bring their red, white, and blue Medicare Part B card.
Customers without health insurance will need to provide their drivers license or Social Security number.
Publix announced Friday that it will be distributing the COVID-19 vaccine for free across 108 Georgia Publix pharmacies. Get more details here.
