Coronavirus Watch: Pfizer to seek vaccine approval 'within days'
More good news: Pfizer and its collaborator BioNTech announced early Wednesday they plan to start the Food and Drug Administration approval process "within days" for their candidate vaccine, after further analysis showed it is 95% effective.
The companies hope to provide 50 million doses by year's end and 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
And U.S. regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed and developed entirely at home. It's a 30-minute test kit from Lucira Health, a California manufacturer.
It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 11:30 a.m. ET:
- Vaccine prompts run on dry ice: Minus 112 is so cold it shatters rubber, stresses metals – and can protect what’s expected to be the first COVID-19 vaccine.
- In less than a week, six members of Congress announced they had tested positive for COVID-19.
- Almost 1,000 staffers at the Mayo Clinic have contracted COVID-19 in the past two weeks, the system's dean of clinical practice says.
- COVID-19 infections could result in immunity that could last for years, a new study indicates.
- New cases have surged to an all-time high at nursing homes across the country despite federal efforts to shield residents through aggressive testing and visitor restrictions, a new report shows.
- Hospitals are putting extra focus on preventing pressure injuries, known as bedsores or pressure ulcers, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country and ICU beds fill with critically ill patients.
- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced a new round of directives Tuesday, which will limit crowd size and close bars, restaurants and casinos at 10 p.m. What are the rules in your state? Check the list.
- Los Angeles County imposed new restrictions on businesses Tuesday and is readying plans for a mandatory curfew for all but essential workers if coronavirus cases keep spiking.
- Chicago Public Schools plans to welcome some students back into classrooms in January, officials announced Tuesday.
Check out our special publication, America Recovers, which pays tribute to those keeping America going amid the pandemic. The special edition is available at newsstands and online here.
Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 11.3 million cases and 248,000 deaths. Globally, there have been 55.7 million cases and 1.3 million fatalities. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.
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– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck