We believe weve actually combined the best of both, the official said. A second senior administration official stressed the agencies would be working as one team to distribute hundreds of millions of doses if any of the vaccines in development are approved in the coming months.
Private companies are also likely to join the effort. The first official said the government is bringing in people to integrate CDC IT capabilities with some new applications that were going to need that the CDC never had.
The background: The Pentagon will be guiding not just distribution logistics but also manufacturing and kitting, the process of safely packaging a vaccine with its necessary equipment such as syringes and needles.
The DoD is handling all of those logistics that is where their comparative advantage is, said the first senior official. And the CDC, some of their IT systems, relationships with the states following post-vaccination will belong to them.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman told reporters earlier in the day that distribution would be a collaborative process between the private sector and the military.
Operation Warp Speed, the government's coronavirus vaccine and drug accelerator, is examining how do we take advantage of the commercial capability of the private sector to handle things like distribution, and where will either DoD step in to help manage that process, or if necessary, will DoD be required to step in and actually physically deliver items itself, Hoffman said.
The debate: The comments come just one day after McClatchy reported that neither the White House nor Warp Speed officials had formally asked the Pentagon to help with vaccine distribution. While the White House said Defense is ready to assist, an HHS official told McClatchy Wednesday that their involvement would be the exception, not the norm.
State and local government groups have already raised concerns about Pentagon involvement and using new methods in coronavirus vaccine distribution. The CDC already leads and maintains a highly effective system of vaccine ordering and distribution, groups including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials wrote in June. With time of the essence we strongly recommend against designing new and untested systems of vaccine distribution.
The state and local officials also questioned whether military involvement in vaccine administration would undermine already shaky public confidence in vaccines.
Whats next: Senior health officials told reporters that they are in constant discussion about first-priority populations for receiving possible coronavirus vaccines, including the elderly and medically vulnerable, but that those plans will depend on which candidates are ready first.
Two vaccines entered the final stage of human trials this month and several more are readying for the sweeping phase three stage. Results are expected later this year or early 2021. In the meantime, an expert committee has been convened by the National Academies of Science to discuss a distribution framework.
Lara Seligman and Rachel Roubein contributed to this report.
The United States will pay up to $2.1 billion for 100 million experimental COVID-19 vaccines from pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur.
LONDON, UK Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur have announced they will supply 100 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes something will work.
The United States will pay up to $2.1 billion for development including clinical trials, manufacturing, scale-up and delivery of its vaccine,'' the companies said in a statement. Sanofi will get the bulk of the funds.
The U.S. government has a further option for the supply of an additional 500 million doses longer term as part of its Operation Warp Speed program.
The portfolio of vaccines being assembled for Operation Warp Speed increases the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. Todays investment supports the Sanofi and GSK adjuvanted product all the way through clinical trials and manufacturing, with the potential to bring hundreds of millions of safe and effective doses to the American people.
Earlier this week the British government signed a deal for 60 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine that could start to be rolled out in the first half of next year.
Britains GSK and Frances Sanofis vaccine prospect is based on the existing DNA-based technology that is used to produce Sanofis seasonal flu vaccine. It is one of several vaccines in development.
The global need for a vaccine to help prevent COVID-19 is massive, and no single vaccine or company will be able to meet the global demand alone, said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi Pasteur.
The companies said discussions are ongoing with the European Commission.
Pfizer also announced it had started a study of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and elsewhere. That study aimed to recruit 30,000 people.
ANDOVER, Mass. Editor's Note: The video above is from July 22, 2020.
An executive at a Massachusetts facility helping create a potential vaccine for the coronavirus said Thursday that the company hopes to have the treatment ready by the end of the year.
We have the potential, subject to technical success and regulatory authorization, to manufacture up to 100 million vaccine doses by the end of this year and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021, said Meg Ruesch, research and development leader at Pfizer Inc.'s Andover, Massachusetts, facility.
The vaccine candidate, a collaboration between Pfizer and BioNTech, introduces into the body the genetic instructions for the cell to make a specific protein in this case a SARS-CoV-2 protein which is intended to stumulate an immune response, she said.
The data on the trials has been encouraging, she said at a news conference with Gov. Charlie Baker.
She also put to rest concerns that the vaccine process is being rushed.
We don't cut any quality corners, she said.
The Trump administration last week announced that it would pay Pfizer nearly $2 billion for December delivery of 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine under development.
Pfizer earlier this week announced it had started a study of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and elsewhere. That study aimed to recruit 30,000 people.
A vaccine or a treatment is critical to breaking the cycle of this insidious virus, and helping us all return to something more like regular normal" the Republican governor said.
Baker, expressing concern about clusters of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with private parties, warned residents not to relax when it comes to mask wearing and social distancing.
To all our residents, I cant express this enough, don't be careless or complacent," he said.
Santa Clara County on Thursday confirmed COVID-19 clusters among employees at four Costco locations across the county.
Below is a breakdown of the clusters, as provided by the county.
The county said Costco has been "very cooperative" with its investigation and both are working closely to ensure the safety of customers and employees.
Preliminary investigation results indicate that "many of the cases" have been a result of community transmission and "most likely" not due to internal transmission among the workers, the county said. The investigation, to this point, also indicates that Costco is complying with social distancing guidelines and other protocols.
"Because of the investigation so far, we have not closed any of those stores," Santa Clara County COVID-19 Testing Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib said. "We feel like they are following guidelines. We feel that the public is totally safe in continuing to shop at Costco."
An employee, who asked not to be identified said workers want more protection.
"They dont understand that you have pregnant employees. You have employees with young kids. Employees that go home to grandparents, elderly parents, and everybody is at risk," they said.
All Costco customers and the general public are reminded to continue to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
The actor, famed for playing chemistry teacher turned crystal meth drug lord Walter White, took to Instagram to share the news that he had been "one of the lucky ones" to survive the virus.
"Hi. About now you're probably feeling a little tied down, restricting your mobility and like me, you're tired of this!!" he wrote. "Well, I just want to encourage you to have a little more patience. I was pretty strict in adhering to the protocols and still... I contracted the virus. Yep. it sounds daunting now that over 150,000 Americans are dead because of it. I was one of the lucky ones.
"Mild symptoms. I count my blessings and urge you to keep wearing the damn mask, keep washing your hands, and stay socially distant. We can prevail - but ONLY if we follow the rules together. Be well - Stay well. BC"
The center's website states: "You may have antibodies in your plasma that attack the virus. Your donated plasma could be used for compassionate treatment or as part of a scientific trial to determine definitively if this treatment works. It can also be used to support research efforts such as making tests to check immunity to the virus."
Donors must have either tested positive for the condition or for the presence of antibodies, and need to be fully recovered -- the website states that the center only accepts donations "after you have been completely well with no symptoms for at least 14 days."
On a ticker tape across the video, Cranston said: "I was sick with covid quite early on. My symptoms were a slight headache, tightness of the chest and I lost all taste and smell!"
The footage, which has been viewed nearly 270,000 times, shows Cranston before he enters the facility, as he is prepped beforehand, and during the process.
Introducing the health worker taking the donation as Ron, he laughs and says: "I noticed Ron was a little nervous coming in this morning, a little shaky -- how's your aim, Ron?"
Ron explains the process, saying blood is taken and then separated by a centrifuge. The plasma is extracted and harvested, then the platelets and red blood cells are returned to the donor.
In a text posted across the video, Cranston writes: "The whole process took about an hour, thank god for old movies."
Viewers can then see that the actor had been watching "A Face in the Crowd," a 1957 drama starring Andy Griffith.
When shown the bags of collected plasma, Cranston says: "Beautiful... liquid gold."
Finally, he signs off on the ticker tape: "Today they collected 840ml!I'll be sure to come back and give more."
He then asks: "Have you had Covid-19? This is something that you might be able to do to," before adding a link to his post.
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A resident of Anchorage is the 23rd Alaskan with COVID-19 to die since the pandemic began, the state reported Tuesday as virus cases continue to surge around the state.
The person who died was a man in his 60s with a history of underlying medical issues, according to Elizabeth Manning, a communications manager with the state health department.
Alaska on Tuesday reported 84 new cases among Alaskans and 36 cases among nonresidents, leading to an overall total of 2,489 active cases statewide as of Thursday.
Current hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 increased by three from the previous day to 37, new numbers on the states COVID-19 dashboard showed, and another eight hospital patients are under investigation for COVID-19. Three people with either confirmed or cases under investigation were on ventilators statewide.
In a call with reporters on Thursday, state health officials urged people who show symptoms and are waiting for a test result to isolate at home. And those who test positive for the illness should isolate until theyre better and have been cleared by public health workers.
If a person spends 15 minutes or more with someone else who ends up testing positive including the two days before someone shows symptoms or tests positive they must quarantine for two weeks, and a testing strategy cant shorten that, Dr. Anne Zink, the states chief medical officer, said during the call.
We really need people to minimize the risk of transmission during that time, Zink said.
New cases reported by the state Thursday include 42 residents of Anchorage, which also tallied one new nonresident case, and one Eagle River resident. In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Wasilla saw seven resident cases and one nonresident case, and four Palmer residents and two Big Lake residents also tested positive.
Six Fairbanks residents and two nonresidents tested positive, as did a resident of a smaller community within the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Seward saw 23 nonresident cases while Soldotna had four new cases among residents plus one involving a nonresident, and one Kenai resident tested positive.
In the Northwest Arctic Borough, two people from Kotzebue and seven people from smaller communities tested positive, state data showed.
In Juneau, two residents and four nonresidents tested positive. The state also reported one case each among residents of Kodiak, Craig, Utqiagvik, Unalaska and smaller communities in the Bethel Census Area and the combined Yakutat and Hoonah-Angoon region.
There were also four cases among nonresidents in unknown areas, state data showed.
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TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 5:00 p.m., on July 29,2020, there have been 273,988 totalconfirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 6,326 totalcases and 112 deaths.
DHHR has confirmed the death of a 74-yearold female from Mercer County. Tolose yet another West Virginian is truly heartbreaking, said Bill J. Crouch,DHHR Cabinet Secretary.
In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.
CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (29/0), Berkeley (609/22), Boone (69/0), Braxton (8/0), Brooke(53/1), Cabell (288/9), Calhoun (6/0), Clay (17/0), Doddridge (4/0), Fayette(124/0), Gilmer (14/0), Grant (65/1), Greenbrier (83/0), Hampshire (68/0),Hancock (89/3), Hardy (51/1), Harrison (175/1), Jackson (157/0), Jefferson(280/5), Kanawha (716/13), Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (54/2), Logan (106/0), Marion(163/4), Marshall (116/2), Mason (45/0), McDowell (19/1), Mercer (126/0),Mineral (100/2), Mingo (109/2), Monongalia (850/16), Monroe (18/1), Morgan(24/1), Nicholas (28/1), Ohio (243/0), Pendleton (35/1), Pleasants (6/1),Pocahontas (40/1), Preston (97/22), Putnam (146/1), Raleigh (148/5), Randolph(203/3), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (14/0), Summers (5/0), Taylor (42/1), Tucker(9/0), Tyler (11/0), Upshur (36/2), Wayne (176/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel(40/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (219/11), Wyoming (18/0).
As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Hancock, Mineral, and Pendleton counties inthis report.
Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.
Please visit thedashboard at www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.
TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 29,2020, there have been 271,811 totalconfirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 6,269 totalcases and 111 deaths.
In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.
CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (29/0), Berkeley (609/22), Boone (69/0), Braxton (8/0), Brooke(52/1), Cabell (282/9), Calhoun (6/0), Clay (17/0), Doddridge (3/0), Fayette(122/0), Gilmer (14/0), Grant (65/1), Greenbrier (83/0), Hampshire (67/0),Hancock (88/5), Hardy (51/1), Harrison (170/1), Jackson (157/0), Jefferson (280/5),Kanawha (710/13), Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (54/2), Logan (103/0), Marion (158/4),Marshall (114/2), Mason (41/0), McDowell (18/1), Mercer (125/0), Mineral(101/2), Mingo (109/2), Monongalia (839/16), Monroe (18/1), Morgan (24/1),Nicholas (27/1), Ohio (241/0), Pendleton (36/1), Pleasants (6/1), Pocahontas(40/1), Preston (97/22), Putnam (146/1), Raleigh (142/5), Randolph (203/3),Ritchie (3/0), Roane (14/0), Summers (5/0), Taylor (42/1), Tucker (9/0), Tyler(11/0), Upshur (36/2), Wayne (176/2), Webster (3/0), Wetzel (40/0), Wirt (6/0),Wood (218/11), Wyoming (17/0).
As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Putnam County inthis report.
Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR.
Please visit thedashboard at www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.
A father and his teenage son with COVID-19 were forced to quarantine by authorities in Honolulu this week, authorities said.
The teenager, allegedly "in violation of the COVID quarantine restriction," was spotted by a Honolulu Police Department officer on patrol Tuesday morning at a shopping center, police said in a statement Tuesday.
"The teen's father came to [a] shopping center shortly thereafter, and both males were detained," the department said.
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The duo was then taken to a facility for a period of forced quarantine, police said.
State of Hawaii Department of Health director Bruce Anderson told NBC affiliate Hawaii News Now that it was the first time in 20 years he had to use a special order to force people to stay at an isolation facility.
The station said the forced quarantine was expected to last 10 days.
Calling the teen an "an imminent threat to public health," Anderson said he had "refused to comply with the isolation order and was out with his friends and exposing lots of people.
Video appears to show police in hazmat-style gear detaining the teenager, in handcuffs and wearing a medical-style mask.
Nethcali J. Naisonet, the father, told Hawaii News Now that he was just trying to "get my son off of the streets" and prevent exposure when he was detained. The station reported the two were from Florida but now live in Hawaii.
On Wednesday, the state reported a single-day record for new COVID-19 cases: 109.
We are seeing an increase in small and large social gatherings, including gatherings on beaches and in our parks, at homes and in workplaces," Anderson said in a statement. "We have also recently seen an increase in cases associated with bars, gyms other establishments where physical distancing and masking is not regularly practiced."
Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.
Wilson Wong
Wilson Wong is a news associate at NBC News.
Antnio Guterres has released his latest policy brief on the crisis, which examines impacts on the 11 countries in the subregion and recommendations for the way forward that put gender equality at the centre of response efforts.
As in other parts of the world, the health, economic and political impact of COVID-19 has been significant across Southeast Asia - hitting the most vulnerable the hardest, he said in a video accompanying the launch.
Southeast Asia comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Viet Nam.
Prior to the pandemic, countries were lagging behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline.
Despite strong economic growth, the policy brief reveals that the subregion was beset by numerous challenges including high inequality, low social protection, a large informal sector, and a regression in peace, justice and robust institutions.
Furthermore, ecosystem damage, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality were at worrying levels.
The pandemic has highlighted deep inequalities, shortfalls in governance and the imperative for a sustainable development pathway. And it has revealed new challenges, including to peace and security, the Secretary-General said.
The current situation is leading to recession and social tensions, while several long-running conflicts have stagnated due to stalled political processes.
All governments in the subregion have supported my appeal for a global ceasefire - and I count on all countries in Southeast Asia to translate that commitment into meaningful change on the ground, he added.
The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, and the pandemic was declared in March. Globally, there have been more than 16.5 million cases, with nearly 657,000 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday.
While the disease arrived in Southeast Asia earlier than in the rest of the globe, the UN chief commended governments for acting swiftly to battle the pandemic.
On average, they took 17 days to declare a state of emergency or lockdown after 50 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, according to the policy brief.
Containment measures have spared Southeast Asia the degree of suffering and upheaval seen elsewhere, said Mr. Guterres, who also praised cooperation among the countries.
The Secretary-General underlined four areas that will be critical to ensuring recovery from the pandemic leads to a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive future for Southeast Asia.
The first tackling inequality in income, health care and social protection will require short-term stimulus measures as well as long-term policy changes, he said.
Mr. Guterres also advised countries to bridge the digital divide so that no one is left behind in an ever-more-connected world.
ILO/Marcel Crozet
Factory workers in an assembly line in Cambodia.
Due to the over dependence on coal and other industries of the past, he encouraged greening the economy, including to create future jobs.
Upholding human rights, protecting civic space and promoting transparency are all intrinsic to an effective response, he concluded.
Central to these efforts is the need to advance gender equality, address upsurges in gender-based violence, and target women in all aspects of economic recovery and stimulus plans, the UN chief said.
This will mitigate the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on women, and is also one of the surest avenues to sustainable, rapid, and inclusive recovery for all.
Though the challenge is formidable, the Secretary-General underlined the UNs strong commitment to helping Southeast Asian countries achieve the SDGs and a peaceful future for all.
