Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

Pfizer and BioNTech Friday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of their coronavirus vaccine.

If granted, it would be the first vaccine and the largest milestone to date in fighting the pandemic.

Once the request is submitted, FDA scientists and other advisors will review the data, which Pfizer said this week showed the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19. Testing is still ongoing, but emergency use authorization can be granted before it's complete.

An FDA advisory commitee will meet to discuss the vaccine on Dec. 10, The Associated Press reported.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Steven Hahn told NBC News the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is "the equivalent of a medical home run, maybe a grand slam."

Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a White House briefing Thursday that high priority groups would begin getting the vaccine in late December.

It's anticipated that between Pfizer and Moderna, which is also expected to soon request emergency authorization use, about 20 million people in the U.S. could receive the two-dose inoculation in December, the Washington Post reported.

Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser of Operation Warp Speed, the government's coronavirus vaccine development program, said there should be capacity to vaccinate 25 to 30 million people a month in early 2021, according to the Post.

The news comes as more than 187,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States and 650,000 worldwide on Thursday, both new daily records, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

In all, more than 11.7 million people in the U.S. have been infected and more than 252,000 people have died since the coronavirus pandemic began. Around the world, 57 million cases and more than 1.3 million deaths have been confirmed.

Latest Developments

United States

-Fans of Punxsutawney Phil will have to watch from afar on Feb. 2 when the legendary groundhog emerges to predict how much longer winter will last. Visitors to the event will be prohibited, although there will be a live stream available. "We have been in contact with health officials and those providing guidance," Jeffrey Lundy, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, told WTAJ-TV. "The health and safety of our faithful followers and everyone associated with Phil’s prognostication has been our number one priority."

-Travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada and the U.S. and Mexico are being extended for another 30 days, according to CNN. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday on Twitter that restrictions on nonessential travel across the border would be prohibited until at least Dec. 21.

-Los Angeles County reported nearly 5,000 new cases on Thursday, its most in a single day since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We’re now seeing a much more rapid surge than we saw during the summer," said health officer Dr. Muntu Davis.

-Hard-hit El Paso County, Texas, is looking to hire more morgue attendants to help move the bodies of COVID-19 victims, USA Today reported. The county medical examiner's office had 247 bodies in the morgue and in refrigerated trailers, according to a news release.

-Legendary former Notre Dame football head coach Lou Holtz, 83, WOLO-TV on Thursday that he tested positive for COVID-19 and is recovering. "I don’t have a lot of energy right now," said Holtz, who also coached at the University of South Carolina.

-U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced Friday morning he had tested positive. "After several negative tests, I learned I was positive for COVID-19 this AM. I’m feeling good and experiencing very mild symptoms. I’ll be working from home until it’s safe for me to return to D.C. I remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others," Scott said on Twitter. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Scott intially got negative results from two rapid tests.

Worldwide

-Cases in India have topped 9 million, the second-highest number in the world behind the U.S. Following are: Brazil with 5.9 million, France with 2.1 million and Russia with 2 million.

-Authorities in Greece are appropriating two private health clinics in the northern city of Thessaloniki to help handle a surge in COVID-19 cases, the AP reported. Combined, the clinics have 250 beds. The state will pay the cost of operating the clinics while they are under government control. Greece has recorded more than 85,000 COVID-19 infections and 1,347 deaths.

-The Australian state of Victoria hasn't reported any new cases in three weeks, the longest stretch since February. Victoria's city of Melbourne was especially hard-hit in the spring and was on strict lockdown for weeks. Nearly all of Australia's 907 cases have been in Victoria, according to the AP.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.