FILE – In this Sept. 23, 2020 file photo, Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, testifies during a Senate Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing on the federal government response to COVID-19 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hahn said Thursday’s meeting on Dec. 10 of the vaccine advisory panel is “an important day for all of America.” He hopes it will lead to the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP, File)
WASHINGTON — Commissioner Stephen Hahn says Thursday’s meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel is “an important day for all of America.”
The FDA head hopes it will lead to the beginning of the end of the pandemic and a return “to a more normal and healthy life.”
Hahn says the FDA is working to understand the allergic reactions that turned up when the United Kingdom began vaccinations this week and that FDA would include recommendations in any emergency use authorization as to who should and should not get the vaccine. Hahn, addressing public skepticism of the vaccine, says if one authorized, it’s important for people to get vaccinated to arrive at herd immunity.
He says: “I have 100% confidence, and I think the American public should as well, with respect to our review of the safety and efficacy of vaccine.”
He spoke Thursday morning to ABC, CBS and NBC.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
BERLIN — Germany has reported its highest one-day total of new coronavirus cases, while the number of deaths linked to COVID-19 has climbed above 20,000.
The national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said Thursday that 23,679 new cases were confirmed over the previous 24 hours. That’s just above the previous record of 23,648 from Nov. 20.
A partial shutdown that started Nov. 2 has succeeded in keeping the surge from picking up speed, but the number of daily new cases have remained around the same high level in recent weeks rather than falling. Momentum is building for a harder lockdown over Christmas and New Year, and some regions already are introducing new restrictions.
That’s partly because deaths, which have been relatively low in Germany compared with several other European countries, have increased markedly. Another 440 deaths were reported on Thursday, following a single-day record of 590 on Wednesday.
That brought the total so far to 20,372. Germany has reported some 1.24 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
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TOKYO — The number of new coronavirus infections in Japan’s capital have topped 600 in a day for the first time.
Experts on Tokyo’s virus task force say the surge in infections has placed an added burden on hospitals, making it difficult for many of them to carry out treatment for ordinary patients.
Tokyo reported 602 new cases Thursday, while the daily tally for the entire nation was 2,810. Japan has reported 168,573 infections since the pandemic began, with 2,465 deaths.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is urging residents to avoid non-essential outings, especially senior citizens and their families. Tokyo has issued a request for drinking places to close early until Dec. 17.
NEW DELHI — India is reporting 31,521 newly confirmed coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, dropping to just over a third of the peak level seen in mid-September.
India’s single-day cases have remained below 50,000 for more than a month.
The health ministry also reported 412 deaths Thursday, raising India’s total fatalities to 141,772.
India’s health ministry says some coronavirus vaccines are likely to receive licenses in the next few weeks. It has outlined an initial plan to immunize 300 million people.
Three vaccine companies have applied for early approval in India: Serum Institute of India, which has been licensed to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer Inc., and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas state official who has been critical of measures ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott in efforts to slow the coronavirus pandemic says he has tested positive for the virus.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was among an estimated 200 people who rallied outside Abbott’s home in October to protest his pandemic orders, including a continued statewide mask mandate and lockdowns.
In a statement Wednesday, the 65-year-old Miller says he has been quarantining at his ranch.
In his words: “Not feeling my best, but I’ve survived rodeo injuries, broken bones, hip, double knee and shoulder surgery, west nile virus and cancer, and I’m going to beat this too.”
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says “vaccine nationalism” is moving “at full speed.” He says that is leaving people in developing nations around the world watching preparations for the rollout of inoculations against the coronavirus in some rich countries and wondering if and when they will be vaccinated.
The U.N. chief has repeatedly called for vaccines to be treated as “a global public good” available to everyone on the planet, and he appealed Wednesday for $4.2 billion in the next two months for a World Health Organization program to buy and deliver virus vaccines for the world’s poorest people.
The United Kingdom and Russia are already vaccinating people. In the United States, the Pfizer vaccine could get a green light for emergency use in the coming days. The vaccine was approved by Canada on Wednesday.
Guterres says that “what we’re seeing today is an enormous effort by several countries in order to ensure vaccines for their own populations.”
HONOLULU — Hawaii will furlough more than 10,000 state workers two days a month to balance the state’s budget as tax revenues decline due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. David Ige said Wednesday the furloughs will take effect Jan. 1 and cut payroll spending 9.2%. The governor says he and members of his Cabinet will get the same percentage salary cut.
Nurses, firefighters, prison guards and others whose jobs involve around-the-clock operations won’t be required to furlough. Employees at airports and harbors whose pay is covered by federal funds will also not be furloughed. About 4,600 employees fall into this exempt category.
AUSTIN, Texas — For a second day this week, hospitalizations of people with the coronavirus in Texas topped 9,000.
The Texas Department of State Health Services says 9,053 were hospitalized Wednesday. The state reported 9,028 hospitalizations Tuesday.
Last week marked the first time Texas surpassed a daily count of 9,000 hospitalizations since a deadly summer outbreak.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the death toll in Texas is at more than 23,000, the second highest in the country.
WASHINGTON — The founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium says she has concerns about the availability of potential coronavirus vaccines.
Dr. Ala Stanford said Wednesday that “everyone who needs a test cannot get a test. So, I do have concerns about the vaccine availability.”
She says it is important that vaccines are received by people “going to work every day in contact with the public, bringing it home to their communities and transmitting it.” She recommends hospitals “be required to have a culturally competent education program in place” about potential vaccines.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to approve a Pfizer vaccine within days. If approved, the first recipients are likely health care workers and nursing home residents.
LOS ANGELES — The usually stoic health director of Los Angeles County became emotional while describing “a devastating increase in deaths,” with the total hitting 8,075.
Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday that this week the county recorded an average of 43 daily deaths — up from about 12 a day in mid-November.
Ferrer fought back tears as she called the deaths “an incalculable loss to their friends and their family and the community.”
Hospitals in Los Angeles are dealing with a surge in COVID-19 patients, with new admissions running near 500 a day. Officials anticipate that number will increase to 700 a day by next week.
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is defending his decision to hold Christmas parties at the Governor’s Mansion after repeatedly warning people to avoid social gatherings as coronavirus cases surge in the state.
Reeves said Wednesday that he has invited family, friends and state officials to the multiple parties, but he expects many will choose not to attend.
The governor has often told people not to host gatherings as the virus spreads. He issued a new executive order Wednesday that restricts social gatherings statewide to 10 people indoors and 50 outdoors when social distancing is not possible and has issued a mask mandate for all Mississippi schools and for 61 out of 82 counties with the highest number of new coronavirus cases.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The greater Sacramento region will be placed under California’s most restrictive coronavirus rules this week because capacity in hospital intensive care units has fallen below 15%.
The 13-county region encompassing the state capital has an ICU capacity of 14.3% and will face a regional stay-at-home order at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, according to the state Department of Public Health website.
Under the restrictions, restaurants must stop outdoor dining, personal care businesses such as barbers must close and the number of people allowed inside stores is reduced. Residents are asked to stay home except for essential activities.
The huge Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions are already in the strictest category, and several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area chose to implement their own voluntary orders independent of the state. The state is divided in to five regions for purposes of determining restriction levels based on ICU capacity.
NEW YORK — A study out of Italy is seen as added evidence that COVID-19 virus may have been spreading in late fall of 2019, before an outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China.
Researchers identified the new coronavirus infection in a specimen taken in early December from a 4-year-old boy who lived near Milan. The boy first developed a cough and other symptoms in November, months before COVID cases were identified in Italy.
In the study, the researchers went back and looked at back-of-the-throat swab specimens that had been collected from 39 patients between September and February. One from the boy tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The researchers noted that the Italian child developed cold and flu-like symptoms in November and then a measles-like rash in early December. But they don’t detail where the child had been or who had been around.
Scientists at the University of Milan led the study and the medical journal Emerging Infectious Diseases this week posted it online. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes the journal, but it is editorially independent of the agency.
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s health minister says his country has no plans to make vaccination against the new coronavirus mandatory but will work to convince the public about the safety of the vaccines.
Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the country’s scientific advisory council on Wednesday, Fahrettin Koca also said people who contracted the virus in the past four to six months, children, and pregnant women would not be vaccinated.
Turkey has ordered 50 million doses of the vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech, with the first shipment due to arrive in the coming days. Turkey is also engaged in talks to obtain other vaccines and hopes that a Turkish vaccine will be ready for use in April.
Turkey is experiencing a surge in infections with confirmed cases of COVID-19 hovering above 30,000 per day. The country’s death toll since March has topped 15,000.
The government will assess the effectiveness of recently imposed weekend and evening curfews before deciding whether to impose stricter lockdowns, the minister said.
Koca said a total of 216 health workers have died since the start of the outbreak.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
