Brazil confirms its first case of Covid-19 reinfection
From Florencia Trucco and Marcos Moreno
Brazil's first case of Covid-19 reinfection was confirmed Thursday in an official statement by the country's Ministry of Health.
The victim is a 37-year-old health professional who lives in the state of Río Grande del Norte, in the northeast part of the country, according to the statement. The health professional first contracted the virus in June and recovered, but later tested positive again in October, the statement said.
"The analysis carried out allows us to confirm reinfection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, after sequencing the complete viral genome that identified two different strains," the statement said. "The two samples were sent to the Laboratory, where the results were confirmed via RT-PCR methodology in real time."
As of Wednesday, the Ministry of Health confirmed 6,728,452 cases and 178,995 deaths due to Covid-19.
11:47 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
El Paso reports highest daily total of deaths due to Covid-19
From CNN's Kay Jones
Family and friends place the casket of Humberto Rosales, who died from Covid-19 complications, into a hearse at Perches Funeral Home West in El Paso, Texas, on December 3. Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty Images
El Paso, Texas, is reporting its highest daily total of deaths related to Covid-19 on Thursday.
The 44 deaths reported today occurred over the past four months, the city said. There are still at least 603 deaths under investigation for being related to Covid-19, while officials have confirmed 1,121 total deaths related to the virus.
El Paso is also reporting 275 new cases and 43 backlogged cases today, for a total of 91,468. There are 37,527 cases currently active.
The El Paso area has seen a decline in hospitalizations over the past 23 days, with 640 patients currently hospitalized with the virus and 248 of those in intensive care units.
Note: These numbers were released by city/county's health department and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
11:47 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
FDA advisory committee meeting is in a lunch break and will resume around noon ET
From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
A meeting of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has paused for lunch and will reconvene around noon ET with an hour-long open public hearing.
The FDA advisory committee is convening today to discuss emergency use authorization for the vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.
A vote on a recommendation to the FDA is expected later today. The vote doesn't mean the vaccine is authorized immediately. The decision comes from the FDA, which typically follows the advisory committee's recommendation.
Once a vaccine is authorized by the FDA, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's initiative to develop a vaccine, can start shipping and distributing the vaccine to states.
Vaccinations won't begin until after a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee recommends the vaccine.
11:23 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
1 in 3 US hospitals nationwide topped 90% ICU capacity last week, newly released HHS data reveals
From CNN Health’s Deidre McPhillips
A CNN analysis of newly released data from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows that at least 200 hospitals across the country were at full capacity and more than 90% of intensive care unit beds were occupied in one-third of hospitals nationwide last week.
Patients confirmed to have Covid-19 occupied 28% of inpatient beds and 46% of staffed ICU beds, on average, up from 19% and 37% in the first week of November.
HHS had previously reported Covid-19 hospitalization data at the state level, but this dataset – released Monday – is the first from the national government to report local, facility-level data.
The Covid Tracking Project also reports hospitalization data – including data from the HHS – but only at the state level.
Data will be reported weekly, with data aggregated each Friday through Thursday; the most recent seven-day collection period started on Nov. 27, and the time series goes back to August 1, 2020.
The dataset includes facilities that self-reported data, and this analysis excludes hospitals for which data was suppressed due to small counts.
11:52 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
The US is sharing Covid-19 vaccine information with UK and Canada, CDC official says
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
A health worker in Hollywood, Florida, injects a person during clinical trials for a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on September 9. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Health officials in the United States have been working with collaborators in the United Kingdom and Canada to share Covid-19 vaccine information, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We are working directly with collaborators in the UK and Canada to make sure that we're sharing information as quickly as possible," Messonnier said during the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday.
The committee is convening to discuss a possible emergency use authorization for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
The Pfizer vaccine already has been authorized in the United Kingdom and Canada.
11:20 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
CDC official outlines how Covid-19 vaccines will be ordered and distributed once authorized
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
Anita Patel on December 10. Food and Drug Administration
Anita Patel with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Task Force said “all vaccines will be ordered through CDC’s Covid vaccine ordering systems — for the Pfizer vaccine, we will be providing those vaccine orders directly to the manufacturer, for distribution to administration sites.”
Speaking during the US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Thursday, Patel outlined some of the “challenging requirements” of the vaccine.
“The additional planning that is needed for distribution, storage, handling and use has been underway for the last few months, based on the information that we know for the Pfizer product,” Patel said.
“There is a required, dedicated cold chain,” given the ultra-low temperature requirements of the vaccine, she said.
“In addition, the timing of the vaccine ancillary supplies — which includes the diluent, as well as dry ice replenishment — has also been a challenge. We have built the distribution system in a way that all three of these elements will arrive within a 36-hour period of time,” she said.
“So, once a vaccine is there, these additional pieces will also be delivered to the vaccination site," she added.
11:26 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
This is Melinda Gates’ biggest concern about the Covid-19 pandemic right now
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
Melinda Gates. CNN
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said she and her husband have been speaking with President-elect Joe Biden directly about the coronavirus pandemic.
While Gates said she has deep concerns about the pandemic, she told CNN’s Poppy Harlow that she’s “much more optimistic about the President-elect and the Covid task force.”
“I think we're going to see a lot more sensible policy-making in the United States, but that starts … Jan. 20, and we have still some dark months to live ahead until then,” she said.
The Gates’ foundation today pledged another $250 million in the fight against coronavirus
She said her biggest concern right now is getting vaccines out to the “far corners of the globe.”
Gates' comments come as the US Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee is holding a key meeting to consider emergency use authorization for Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has already been authorized in the United Kingdom and Canada.
"Everybody needs this vaccine," Gates said. “If we only get it to the high-income countries, this disease is going to bounce around; we're going to see twice as many deaths.”
This influx of funding will go toward buying 200 million doses for low- and middle-income countries.
“The world needs to put up more money to make sure that low-income countries can get the vaccine,” she said.
Gates said that she was “disappointed” when President Trump signed an executive order aimed at prioritizing the shipment of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans before other nations.
“That's exactly what we were worried about. Instead what should be done is the Defense Production Act … They should be scaling up lots and lots of manufacturing so that not just the U.S. gets vaccines, but everybody gets vaccines. So this reservation system is exactly the type of thing we were concerned about,” she said.
Watch:
11:05 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
CDC official says “on day one” of vaccine program, systems will be in place to monitor safety
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
Dr. Nancy Messonnier on December 10. Food and Drug Administration
“On day one of the Covid-19 vaccine programs, systems will be in place to monitor the safety of vaccine recipients,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said.
Messonnier added that there is “quite an extensive plan for safety monitoring.”
“The rapid implementation of safety monitoring under an EUA requires a whole of US government approach, with an initial focus on the early populations targeted for vaccination, voluntary active surveillance of adverse events, focused on healthcare worker vaccination, and rapid follow up of reported serious adverse events,” Messonnier said during Thursday’s FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
“As the program continues, and more vaccine is given, active surveillance systems who provide increasingly useful information on safety in different populations. Close collaboration of safety experts across the US will facilitate data sharing and rapid recognition of responses to safety signals,” she added.
11:35 a.m. ET, December 10, 2020
US regulators are on the cusp of authorizing a Covid-19 vaccine. Here are key dates to watch.
From CNN's Jamie Gumbrecht
The United States is suffering a devastating rise in cases and deaths from the coronavirus and hopes for a return to a more familiar life are pinned on vaccines. US regulators are close to authorizing a Covid-19 vaccine — possibly as soon as this week.
A US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee is meeting right now to discuss emergency use authorization for the vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, and next week it meets to discuss the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines are about 95% effective after two doses given a few weeks apart.
Once a vaccine is authorized by the FDA, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's initiative to develop a vaccine, can start shipping and distributing the vaccine to states.
Vaccinations won't begin until after a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee recommends the vaccine.
Here are key dates and events to watch for:
Today:
Who: FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC — a committee of independent experts with no stake in any of the companies developing Covid-19 vaccines
What's expected: A vote on a recommendation to the FDA on EUA for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine
When: 9 a.m. ET start; key testimony at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.; Discussion/vote session starts at 3:10 p.m.; 6 p.m. end
What you'll see: Public and livestreamed remote Zoom meeting -- expect audio, slideshows, possibly some video
What's expected: The FDA's EUA allows shipping to begin, but shots still can't be administered until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee recommends vaccine
When: FDA will announce this at any time, likely without warning.
Tomorrow and Sunday, Dec. 13:
Who: CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP
What's expected: A vote that the CDC should offer the vaccine to the American public; for recommendation to be made official, it must be accepted by CDC and published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
When: 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. ET Friday, December 11; 12 p.m.- 4 p.m. ET Sunday, December 13; vote is currently expected at 3:30 p.m. Sunday
What you'll see: Public and livestreamed remote Zoom meeting -- expect audio, slideshows, minimal video
