October 14 coronavirus news

A Covid-19 vaccine may be widely available by April 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with CBS News Wednesday.

Fauci said researchers should know by “November or December” whether some vaccines trials have a safe candidate and that even in the event that a safe candidate is determined, initial quantities will likely only be a few million doses. 

Pushing back against an assertion made by the President that the US can expect 100 million doses by year’s end, Fauci said that the 100 million number is only possible if every vaccine candidate currently in trials is determined to be safe and effective. Even in the event that every tested vaccine is determined to be safe, the timeline for widespread vaccine administration would be toward the end of the first quarter of 2021, Fauci said.

Fauci said that the recent pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial should be a “good indication” that vaccine trials are working as they are intended to and protecting people’s safety. The trial was paused this week because of a possible adverse reaction in a volunteer.

“When that happens, we jump all over that,” Fauci said.

Fauci also discussed precautions needed as the United States heads into fall with increasing case numbers, telling people to “try and keep windows open” and “don’t be afraid to wear a mask in your house if you’re not certain that the persons in the house are negative.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he expects to be tested “on a regular basis” over the next few days after a member of his Executive Security Detail tested positive for Covid-19.

The governor emphasized that he is feeling well, tested negative today, and said that his wife, first lady Maria Lee, will be tested later this afternoon.

Lee, speaking to reporters on a call Wednesday, said both he and his wife were last in contact with the security detail member yesterday. The governor’s security detail is tested for Covid-19 weekly, but the infected member was tested this morning after not feeling well, Lee said. While the source of the infection is currently unknown, contact tracing is underway, the governor said.

Lee said he will be moving his events to take place virtually during his quarantine.

AstraZeneca, whose phase 3 coronavirus vaccine clinical trial has been on hold for more than a month, did not get critical safety data to the US Food and Drug Administration until last week, according to a source familiar with the trial.

The FDA is considering whether to allow AstraZeneca to start its trial back up again after a participant became ill. At issue is whether the illness was a fluke, or if it may have been caused by the vaccine.

The source said the root of the delay is that the participant was in the United Kingdom and the European Medicines Agency and the FDA store data differently. 

But a former FDA commissioner said he didn’t think technology was to blame.

Dr. Robert Califf said he thinks the FDA could be asking for more information, such as test results and details about the participant’s illness before the agency decides whether to allow the trial to continue, as well as about another participant who was sick this summer.

“There’s a lot of judgement involved in these decisions,” said Califf, who was commissioner of the agency from 2016 to 2017.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday the rate of spread of coronavirus in schools is “very minimal."

He reported that there are 18 total active outbreaks and 50 confirmed cases reported in West Virginia’s public school system.

There have been 122 total cases reported among the total 39,074 school staff and service personnel, while there have been 49 Covid-19 cases among roughly 209,000 total students in the public schools system, Justice said.

Justice also reported four more Covid-19-related deaths and 263 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 391 deaths and 18,818 cases. 

The state’s cumulative percent positivity rate stands at 2.81%, and the retransmission rate stands at 0.95, Justice said.  

The National Football League announced Wednesday they are canceling the 2021 Pro Bowl.

The Pro Bowl was originally scheduled to played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Jan. 31, 2021. According to the league, Las Vegas will now be hosting the 2022 Pro Bowl.

In a statement, on Wednesday, the NFL said it will still hold a fan vote for the 2021 Pro Bowl roster in November and will announce the rosters a month later. Additionally, the league said it will work with the NFL Players Association and other partners “to create a variety of engaging activities to replace the Pro Bowl game this season.” 

The league’s cancellation of the Pro Bowl is the first time it won’t have a postseason all-star since the 1949 season.

An El Paso man was arrested last week and charged with practicing medicine without a medical license for selling and administering fraudulent Covid-19 treatments, according to the Texas Department of Public Service (DPS). 

Texas DPS confirmed in an email to CNN that Hugo Chico was arrested on Oct. 5 by DPS Criminal Investigations Division Special Agents and Homeland Security Investigations during an undercover operation. 

Chico was charged with a third degree felony of practicing without a medical license and booked into El Paso County Jail. Records show he bonded out on Oct. 6. 

DPS said investigators, who were tipped off in July through an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip, found that he was giving medical treatments to try and prevent the virus and was charging patients hundreds of dollars. 

More details: Meanwhile, the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas announced through a news release on Oct. 9 that authorities have obtained a temporary restraining order against Chico to ensure that he and anyone else working with him will stop advertising and performing treatments for Covid-19. The release said the government "is employing a federal statute that permits federal courts to issue injunctions to prevent harm to potential victims of fraudulent schemes."

CNN has been unable to confirm if Chico has an attorney. 

Paris and other French cities will be subject to a nighttime curfew starting Saturday to try to slow the spread of coronavirus, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday. 

The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will also apply to Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Grenoble, Montpellier, Toulouse, Saint Etienne, Lille and Lyon, he said. 

It takes effect starting at midnight Friday night into Saturday.

"The aim is to reduce private contacts, which are the most dangerous contacts," Macron said.

Violating the nighttime curfew will carry a fine of 135 euros (about $160) for a first offense, and 1,500 euros ($1,760) if the offense is repeated, he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of two French cities that will be impacted by the curfew. The cities are Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.

Puerto Rico’s governor, Wanda Vazquez Garced, announced Wednesday that she has canceled all scheduled meetings after learning that the Secretary of Health, Lorenzo Gonzalez Feliciano, has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a press release. 

The governor was tested Oct. 8, after returning from New York, and again Tuesday, each time testing negative, according to the release. The governor met with the Feliciano Tuesday prior to being tested.” 

The governor will be tested again in five days and is currently asymptomatic, working remotely, the release said. 

House Republican Bill Huizenga announced that he tested positive for Covid-19. He was tested ahead of seeing Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Michigan. 

"Earlier today, I was expected to appear with the Vice President. While taking part in offsite testing protocols, I took a rapid test that came back positive for COVID-19. I am awaiting the results of a PCR test and I am self isolating until I have confirmed results," Huizenga wrote on Twitter. 

Here's his tweet: