Tag: COVID-19

FDA clears nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine

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The country’s first coronavirus shots are one step closer to getting injected into the general public after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization late Friday to the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The announcement comes as the country is reeling from a new surge of COVID-19 infections, with deaths now exceeding 3,000 people each day.

Now that the FDA has given the vaccine the green light, the federal government is able to start distributing it to states. However, vaccinations won’t begin until after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee recommends the vaccine and the CDC accepts that recommendation. Continue reading.

Two Presidents, Two Messages, One Killer Virus

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In split-screen assessments of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump focused on the “medical miracle” of vaccines and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned of a “very dark winter.”

WASHINGTON — One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a “medical miracle” and congratulating himself for doing what “nobody has ever seen before.” The next president declared the pandemic deadlier than ever, calling it a “mass casualty” event that is leaving “a gaping hole” in America with more misery to come.

“We’re here to discuss a monumental national achievement,” President Trump boasted on one screen. “From the instant the coronavirus invaded our shores, we raced into action.”

“We’re in a very dark winter,” President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said minutes later in his own speech on another screen. “Things may well get worse before they get better.” Continue reading.

What you need to know about Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccine plan

After months of trials, the first coronavirus vaccines are expected to be approved by the federal government in the coming days. Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday laid out the initial steps in Minnesota’s vaccination plan, with the earliest doses likely to arrive as soon as next week. Here are answers to questions you may have about vaccines and the state’s strategy to vaccinate millions of Minnesotans. 

Which are the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates right now?

While more than 50 vaccine candidates have progressed to clinical trials with humans, two front-runners have emerged. A vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is first in line for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month, and another produced by Moderna will be considered a week later. A third vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca could be ready for review in early 2021.

How will they work?

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use messenger RNA to instruct cells to create a harmless piece of the virus that causes COVID-19. This piece of “spike protein” is a key feature of the virus (you’ve likely seen COVID-19 depicted as a spiky ball). The body recognizes this spike protein as foreign and triggers an immune response to fend off future infection. Continue reading.

Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee Reviews New COVID-19 Assistance Package

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee reviewed a new COVID-19 assistance package designed to help workers, families, and small businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. House DFLers are advocating for direct assistance for workers and families in addition to businesses.

Key pieces in the assistance package include: 

  1. Extend Unemployment Benefits (Mahoney/Noor): Up to 13 additional weeks in unemployment benefits for MN workers who have exhausted all federal and state benefits.
  2. TANF Money for MFIP Families (Noor): One-time grants of $500 for 30,000 MFIP Families, using $15.7 million from the federal TANF Fund.
  3. Business Assistance (Mahoney): Provides $200 million from the General Fund in grants to restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and many other entities directly affected by the executive orders and the pandemic.
Continue reading “Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee Reviews New COVID-19 Assistance Package”

First signs of Thanksgiving COVID-19 wave emerge

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The first signs of a post-Thanksgiving surge in coronavirus cases are beginning to show up in data released by states across the country in a troubling prelude of what may become the deadliest month of the pandemic so far.

Those hints of an uptick in case counts come as the country faces an already substantial wave of infections that began in the Upper Midwest and spread to every corner of the map as summer turned to fall and the weather cooled.

The United States has averaged nearly 200,000 new confirmed cases a day over the last week, according to The Covid Tracking Project, run by a group of independent researchers. More than 2,200 people a day have died on an average during that period. The number of patients being treated in hospitals has crested 102,000, the highest levels of the pandemic. Continue reading.

FDA panel votes in favor of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

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A federal panel of outside experts on Thursday endorsed a coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, and recommended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) move forward with emergency authorization.

The panel voted 17-4, with one abstention, that the safety and efficacy of the vaccine outweigh the risks for use in individuals age 16 and older. 

The vote is an important step, as the country is poised to start an unprecedented vaccination campaign to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading.

COVID whistleblower blames Ron DeSantis after cops raid her home: ‘They pointed guns at my kids’

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Former Florida Department of Health (DOH) data scientist Rebekah Jones, who was fired by Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration after refusing to manipulate coronavirus information, says “state police came into my house and took all my hardware and tech. They were serving a warrant on my computer after DOH filed a complaint. They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a statement confirming the seizure of computer equipment, a report in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper says.

“FDLE began an investigation November 10, 2020 after receiving a complaint from the Department of Health regarding unauthorized access to a Department of Health messaging system which is part of an emergency alert system, to be used for emergencies only,” FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said. Continue reading.

Bipartisan group seizes spotlight, and more clout

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The clout of a bipartisan group of lawmakers aimed at forging consensus is on the rise. 

With the House expected to have its most narrow Democratic margin of control in decades, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus see the group’s influence growing exponentially in the next Congress. And its members are looking to flex their strength in pushing for policies that can pass both chambers. 

The bipartisan group of roughly 50 members, which is co-chaired by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), has played a leading role in moving the needle on COVID-19 relief negotiations after a months-long stalemate. Continue reading.

Private money helped pay to conduct Minnesota’s election

Minnesota’s election directors say private money fueled by donations from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg helped them successfully execute an election threatened by safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, an avalanche of early arriving ballots, and President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine the legitimacy of voting by mail.

The Chicago-based nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life delivered grants to election offices in more than 2,500 jurisdictions across the country — including 28 Minnesota cities and counties. View the post and listen here.

Governor and Lawmakers continue to work on COVID Relief Package

Governor Tim Walz and lawmakers continue negotiations on a relief package for bars and restaurants that remain closed due to the governor’s COVID emergency order.   Walz said Friday he thinks they’re getting close to a deal:

“Us starting out and saying, this is where we think we should go and these are the principles. Then there’s of course the House Democratic version, the House Republican version, the Senate Republican version, the Senate Democratic version.   And now we’re at the point right now where those kind of four corners are working out.”

If Walz and lawmakers are able to agree on a relief package, it doesn’t look like the legislature would pass it until mid-December, when legislators are back in Saint Paul anyway to vote on the governor’s emergency powers. View the post here.