December 2 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, December 3, 2020
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8:27 p.m. ET, December 1, 2020

US sets record for Covid-19 hospitalizations

From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid

The United States set a record for the number of people currently hospitalized with Covid-19, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

On Tuesday, 98,691 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, according to CTP. This is the highest number of Covid-19 hospitalizations the nation has ever experienced.

Per CTP, this is more than double the number of hospitalizations reported on Nov. 1, and more than triple the number of hospitalizations reported on Oct. 1.

Today’s count is a more than 60% increase from peaks in the spring and summer, according to CTP data.

According to CTP data, the highest hospitalization numbers are:

  1. Dec. 1: 98,691
  2. Nov. 30: 96,053
  3. Nov. 29: 93,265
  4. Nov. 28: 91,665
  5. Nov. 26: 90,443
11:04 p.m. ET, December 1, 2020

First shipments of Pfizer vaccine to be delivered on Dec. 15

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas and Kristen Holmes

A health worker injects a person during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on Sept. 9.
A health worker injects a person during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on Sept. 9. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The first shipments of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine will be delivered on Dec. 15, according to an Operation Warp Speed document obtained by CNN on Tuesday.

The document, provided to governors ahead of a call with the Vice President Monday, also estimated the first shipment of Moderna's vaccine will be delivered on Dec. 22.

Those distribution dates are contingent upon a decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize each vaccine for emergency use. Pfizer submitted an application to the FDA on Nov. 20, and Moderna submitted an application on Nov. 30.

The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a panel of independent experts, will meet on Dec. 10 to review Pfizer's data and make a recommendation to the FDA about whether to authorize the vaccine.

The document outlined a four-day window between Dec. 11 and Dec. 14 for review by the FDA and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations about who should receive the vaccine first. On Dec. 15, the first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine will be delivered, according to the outline.

Next, the VRBPAC is scheduled to consider Moderna's vaccine on Dec. 17. After a four-day review window from Dec. 18 to Dec. 21, the document stated that the first shipments of Moderna's vaccine are estimated to be delivered on Dec. 22.

The document included a vaccine manufacturing forecast, estimating 22.5 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine and 18 million doses of the Moderna vaccine will be produced in December.

A list of "essential tasks" was included for governors to complete by Dec. 4, including pre-ordering Pfizer vaccines, enrolling providers in the Covid-19 vaccine program and completing microplans for distribution and administration.

8:21 p.m. ET, December 1, 2020

CDC will decrease coronavirus quarantine time from to 7-10 days

From CNN's Jeremy Diamond

The Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, informed Vice President Mike Pence and White House Coronavirus Task Force members on Tuesday that the CDC will soon issue new guidelines reducing the number of days close contacts should quarantine following exposure to a Covid-19 positive individual, two senior administration officials told CNN.

The new guidelines will recommend close contacts of those infected with the coronavirus should quarantine for seven to 10 days after exposure, down from the 14 days currently recommended, the official said.

Individuals can end their quarantine after seven days if they receive a negative test, or 10 days without getting tested.

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