FDA panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine; McConnell hits brakes on relief deal
A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The advisory group, in 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older.
A final FDA decision is expected within days. Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring.
In other developments:
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.
- As the coronavirus rages across the U.S., grocery workers, health care professionals, university staffers, cleaning crews and others who don’t have the option to work from home must weigh safety against affordability when deciding how best to commute to their jobs.
- The speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives died of COVID-19, a medical examiner ruled Thursday a day after the Republican’s unexpected death, raising concerns that other members of one of the world’s largest legislative bodies might have been exposed at their swearing-in last week.
- Urged on by hospitals, doctors and patients, U.S. health officials are proposing changes to medical privacy rules that could ease information sharing in crisis situations.
- Despite the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing ahead with as many as two dozen holiday events, and the District of Columbia’s health department can’t do much more than track the numbers and hope its virus guidelines are being followed.
- A senior manager with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told congressional investigators she was ordered to delete an email suggesting attempted political interference by the Trump administration in coronavirus reports to the public, according to a transcript released Thursday.
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