Dr Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Thursday 10-December-2020
By Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions
Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
December 10, 2020
CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.
Topics: First Vaccine is closer to approval
| Pfizer Vaccine Recommended for Approval Today, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met and recommended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covis-19 vaccine for use in people older than 16 years old. This recommendation will now go to the FDA and although they aren’t required to follow the recommendations, the agency usually does. The FDA Commissioner previously said that the FDA will move ahead quickly once it receives the recommendations of its advisory committee. The committee voted on whether the data released so far supports the idea that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. When the votes were counted, 17 voted yes, 4 voted no and 1 abstained. Some of the concerns of the committee were around the two anaphylactic allergic reactions in the United Kingdom and the lack of data on pregnant and lactating women. The trials had excluded people with severe allergic reactions to a vaccine. One of the U.K. patients had a history of severe food allergies and the other had a history of a drug allergy. The lack of data on pregnant and lactating women was also raised as these groups were excluded from the trials. This is especially important as many of the healthcare workers in the priority group are women of childbearing age who could be pregnant of breast feeding. There will be an extensive vaccine safety monitoring program in place which will closely monitor any adverse effects of the vaccine. The advisory committee also discussed how the vaccines will be ordered and distributed. Vaccines will be ordered through the CDC. Although vaccine may be shipped quickly through the Operation Warp Speed program, it can’t be given until the CDC vaccine advisory group recommends it. This group, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet tomorrow and again on Dec 13th, with a vote on Dec 13th. The good news is that we are one giant step closer to ending this pandemic. For the moment, keep using good public health practices and keep your distance. The person next to you probably isn’t getting vaccinated anytime soon. Stay safe, we will all get through this together. Be well, Dr. Stu Weiss |
| COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY |
| Coronavirus update for December 10, 2020 World Wide Updates Germany struggles to contain surge in new infections as deaths continue to climb France says COVID-19 rates still too high to re-open cultural venues Brazil confirms its first case of Covid-19 reinfection El Paso reports highest daily total of deaths due to Covid-19 The US is sharing Covid-19 vaccine information with UK and Canada, CDC official says Saudi Arabia registers Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for import and local use North Korea tells WHO it has tested more than 9,000 people and found no virus cases UK travelers could be banned from EU after January 1 under Covid-19 rules China flight attendants advised to wear diapers for Covid protection Indian regulators request more data before approving AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine Singaporean “cruise to nowhere” passenger re-tests negative for coronavirus after false positive halted voyage Japan reports record number of new Covid-19 infections Mexico signs deal for 35 million doses of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine South Korea to use shipping containers as makeshift hospital rooms to curb bed shortage Canada approves vaccine as US prepares decision Germany’s Covid-19 numbers are “rising and that is worrying,” say health officials after record cases Hackers access Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine documents in cyberattack on European regulator France to impose nighttime curfew starting Dec. 15 0 no exception except for New Year’s Eve Canary Islands removed from UK travel corridor list Israel abandons COVID-19 curfew plan ahead of Hanukkah Secondary schools in Wales to move online from Monday Total Cases Worldwide: 70,625,902 Total Deaths Worldwide: 1,586,518 Total Recovered: 49,090,272 US Updates Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine’s warning will mention people with “history of severe allergic reactions” Lawyers say New York prisons are dragging their feet releasing eligible inmates amid coronavirus concerns FDA vaccine advisers worry about UK allergic reactions to Pfizer vaccine Record number of daily Covid-19 deaths reported in California McConnell sees no path for bipartisan agreement over 2 main stimulus sticking points, sources say About 15.5 million US health care workers have direct patient contact, analysis finds Pence acknowledges US facing “challenging time” in pandemic as it moves closer to getting vaccine Ellen DeGeneres says she’s tested positive for Covid-19 Covid-19 vaccine trial participants are free to drop out of studies once one is authorized, expert says 1 in 3 US hospitals nationwide topped 90% ICU capacity last week, newly released HHS data reveals US regulators are on the cusp of authorizing a Covid-19 vaccine CDC official says Covid-19 cases and deaths are underestimated in the US There have been no additional vaccine data sets from Pfizer since Nov. 14, FDA official says “There is not a safe Christmas party in this country right now,” Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board member says Moderna starts Phase 2/3 trial of Covid-19 vaccine in US adolescents CDC now projects up to 362,000 US Covid-19 deaths by January 2 San Francisco could run out of intensive care beds in 17 days, say health officials A Reno hospital turned its parking garage into a new wing to treat coronavirus patients Out of hospital, Rudy Giuliani reveals he received COVID drug unavailable to most Americans Lake Tahoe shutting down to visitors over COVID-19 concerns New Hampshire House speaker died from COVID, autopsy finds NYC breaks its record for coronavirus testing FDA advisory committee meeting resumes with discussion and vote on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine Michigan high school students contract COVID-19 while taking SAT after district tells her it’s mandated for graduation Total US cases: 15,991,334 Total US deaths: 299,174 Total Recovered: 9,308,038 Total Tested in US: 211,061,130 Total cases in CA: 1,469,485 Total deaths in CA: 20,518 Total cases in TX: 1,403,979 Total deaths in TX: 24,030 Total cases in FL: 1,094,697 Total deaths in FL: 19,591 Total cases in IL: 823,531 Total deaths in IL: 14,845 Total cases in NY: 780,629 Total deaths in NY: 35,295 |
| YouTube Channel |
| The Doctor Stu YouTube channel is up and running but we haven’t added new videos in a little while. I’ll get back to that after the New Year. Go towww.DoctorStu.org to submit questions. |
