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Shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are loaded onto a UPS aircraft on December 13, 2020 in Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)
The first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, reportedly about three million, have been shipped to various states, where front-line workers are ready to take the first hits.
Operation Warp Speed chief Gen. Gustav Perna said over the weekend: “145 sites in the states are expected to receive the vaccine on Monday, another 425 sites on Tuesday and the final 66 sites on Wednesday.”
During a virtual press conference on Saturday, December 12, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced authorization for the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
FDA Director Dr. Peter Marks said: “Although this is not an FDA approval, this authorization makes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available in the United States … Safety and efficacy data available support the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because the vaccines are known and the potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks. ”
.@FDACBER Director Dr. Peter Marks: “Although this is not an FDA approval, this authorization makes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available in the United States and promises to alter the course of this pandemic.” pic.twitter.com/jcK8zoDGw2
– US FDA (@US_FDA) December 12, 2020
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the authorization for emergency use followed the vaccine meeting the agency’s rigorous scientific standards.
“This is the first Covid-19 vaccine licensed in the United States. We apply our high standards of review … so that Americans can trust that the vaccine meets the FDA’s rigorous safety and efficacy standards, and with this authorization we know that our federal partners are already moving to distribute the first doses of the vaccine nationwide. ”
Hahn also reminded the American public that while the vaccine is available, it will not reach everyone instantly and that people still need to be vigilant and take all necessary precautions: “… inoculation will take time, wear a mask, wash your hands and stay socially distant when possible. “
An Important Reminder from the FDA Commissioner @SteveFDA– Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay socially aloof when possible. pic.twitter.com/ECbyuaSOmb
– US FDA (@US_FDA) December 12, 2020
Doctors in rural America say they are fighting mistrust of the vaccine and many are planning to take the first injection themselves, where many people can see them taking it. A physician and senior executive at an Indiana hospital says it will be done “on camera in a very public way to help people feel comfortable with the vaccine.”
Dr. Thomas Huth said that in addition to urgently vaccinating medical staff and physicians “who are at the highest risk … we want nursing home staff to get vaccinated early because that’s where most of our patients come from. sick”.
US President Donald Trump did not seem overly concerned about the vaccine launch, but on Sunday had a new reason for not supporting the annual defense policy bill: the budget for the military, including expenses and wages. He tweeted: “THE BIGGEST WINNER OF OUR NEW DEFENSE TICKET IS CHINA! VETO! ”
There doesn’t seem to be any more clarity on exactly how or what China is supposed to be gaining from the bill.
THE BIGGEST WINNER OF OUR NEW DEFENSE TICKET IS CHINA! VETO!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2020
Trump has always been pro-military, so it is unclear what he is trying to achieve by not signing the bill, unless this is part of a personal policy of obstructionism on his part and an attempt to cause as much of a mess as possible. for his part. departure. (The new Congress meets on January 3 and will be able to draft a new bill to send to the new president on January 21 if Trump does not change his current position.)
The bill was sent to the president on Friday, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers were reported to have said the bill is tough on China. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconell disagrees with the President, urging that the bill be passed and saying it would “keep our forces ready to deter China and stand firm in the Indo-Pacific.”
Meanwhile, Trump supporters and counterparts clashed in Washington DC on Saturday, where six people were arrested for assault, among about 23 people arrested in all. Four people were stabbed and reported to be in critical condition. A man, a counter-protester, was shot in Olympia, Washington state.
Screaming “Four More Years” Trump Supporters they took to the streets of Washington, among them the notorious “men’s club”, the Proud Boys, who took center stage in the skirmishes that broke out with the counter-protesters. Reporter Shauna Sowersby recorded some footage of the Proud Boys, which she tweeted, saying “… smoke bombs and what appeared to be an improvised explosive were dropped by supporters of Trump and Proud Boys.”
Some Trump supporters, Proud Boys, and counter-protesters clashed in a street fight in front of the Capitol. Supporters of Trump and the Proud Boys threw paintball, smoke bombs and what appeared to be an improvised explosive at the crowd. #OlympiaProtestas pic.twitter.com/lssBWppU1d
– Shauna Sowersby (@Shauna_Sowersby) December 12, 2020
He also tweeted that it appeared that a member of the Proud Boys had shot a protester. DM
An Wentzel is a nighttime editor and specialist reporter for the Daily Maverick. She went to the United States to visit her family when the pandemic struck and is currently abandoned in the land of the “free.”
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