Wilson Wong
46m ago / 1: 34 PM UTC
Bill Gates says ‘almost all the vaccines are going to succeed’
Bill Gates, who has warned for years of a global disease outbreak, said he expects almost all Covid-19 vaccines to succeed, but warned Americans not to get a false sense of security and urged them to continue following public health protocols until the vaccine is widely distributed.
Gates told Savannah Guthrie in an interview on the “TODAY” show Thursday that he anticipates a surge in the spring unless Americans “double down on our behavior.”
“The most impactful thing is associating with people less, wearing a mask,” Gates said. “This is a war — we’re all in it together.”
He added that while vaccine distribution would be difficult because “the federal government has abdicated some of its responsibilities in a public health crisis,” Gates said he remained optimistic.
“I would immediately step up and take the vaccine,” he said.
Kevin Collier
1h ago / 1: 18 PM UTC
Hackers targeting supply chain that keeps coronavirus vaccines cold, experts warn
Hackers backed by foreign governments are targeting companies involved in shipping and storing the coronavirus vaccine at a low enough temperature to keep it from spoiling, IBM said in research released Thursday.
The announcement is the latest in a series of cybersecurity research reports that point to foreign governments employing hackers to break into the networks of groups working to rush out a vaccine, and comes as the U.S. prepares to ship refrigerated boxes of vaccines across the country this month.
While not every potential vaccine requires the same refrigeration, the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, which was approved Wednesday in the U.K. and may soon become the first coronavirus vaccine approved for distribution in the U.S., has to be shipped in special boxes of dry ice that can only rarely and briefly be opened. The White House has claimed as many as 20 million doses of the vaccine could be distributed in the U.S. in December.
Joe Murphy
1h ago / 1: 13 PM UTC
California reports a record 28,000 Covid cases, the most in a day in any state yet
On Wednesday, California counted 28,251 Covid-19 cases, the most any state has counted in a day. This comes amid the 200,000 cases and 2,700 reported deaths recorded countrywide.
The U.S. has averaged 165,671 cases and 1,603 dead per day the last week, up from an average of 128,058 cases and 1,106 reported deaths per day four weeks ago.
These states and territories joined California in setting new single-day records:
- Illinois, 266 dead
- Kansas, 119 dead
- Mississippi, 2,457 cases
- Nebraska, 110 dead
- New Jersey, 4,705 cases
- New Mexico, 40 dead
- Oklahoma, 54 dead
- Puerto Rico, 22 dead
- Vermont, 222 cases
Wilson Wong and Tim Stelloh
2h ago / 12: 28 PM UTC
U.S. logs 14 million cases after setting three grim records
The United States surpassed 14 million Covid-19 cases on Wednesday only hours after the country set three records, including the highest number of daily deaths, new infections, and hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
The U.S. logged 2,777 coronavirus-related deaths and nearly 205,000 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, according to a NBC News tally. Meanwhile, hospitalizations reached a new high of 100,000 people, The Covid Tracking Project reported.
“Cases are rising, hospitalizations are increasing, deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase,” Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s Covid-19 incident manager, said during a briefing.
The Associated Press
2h ago / 12: 20 PM UTC
World leaders slated to speak at special U.N. session
UNITED NATIONS — Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen ministers are slated to speak at the U.N. General Assembly’s special session starting Thursday on the response to Covid-19 and the best path to recovery from the pandemic which has claimed 1.5 million lives, shattered economies in countries rich and poor.
Assembly President Volkan Bozkir says when he took the reins of the assembly in September it would have been better to hold the high-level meeting in June. Nonetheless, he said Wednesday that the session “provides a historic moment for us to come together to beat Covid-19.”
Wilson Wong and Kelly O’Donnell
2h ago / 12: 44 PM UTC
Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton volunteer to get coronavirus vaccine on camera
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton volunteered to help build public trust in a coronavirus vaccine by taking a shot on camera.
Aide Freddy Ford said Bush would “do what he can to help encourage his fellow citizens to get vaccinated.” Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, echoed Bush’s statement, saying the 42nd president would also take the shot in a “public setting if it will help urge all Americans to do the same.”
Obama told SiriusXM Radio that he would also follow suit.
“I will be taking it, and I may end up taking it on TV or having a film just so people know that I trust this science,” Obama said. “What I don’t trust is getting Covid.”
The Associated Press
3h ago / 11: 22 AM UTC
Russia sets new daily record in cases
MOSCOW — Coronavirus infections in Russia hit a new record on Thursday, as the country’s authorities reported 28,145 new confirmed cases — the highest daily spike in the pandemic and an increase of 2,800 cases from those registered the previous day.
Russia’s total number of Covid-19 cases — nearly 2.4 million — remains the world’s fourth-highest. The government coronavirus task force has reported 41,607 deaths in the pandemic.
The country has been swept by a rapid resurgence of the outbreak this fall, with numbers of confirmed infections and deaths regularly hitting new highs and significantly exceeding those reported in the spring. The country’s authorities have resisted imposing a second nationwide lockdown or a widespread closure of businesses. Virus-related restrictions vary from region to region but are largely mild.
The Associated Press
3h ago / 11: 07 AM UTC
Africa needs Covid vaccine for 60% in 2-3 years, official says
NAIROBI, Kenya — Africa’s top public health official says 60% of the continent’s population needs to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the next two to three years.
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters on Thursday that if it takes four to five years, “the virus will be endemic in our communities.”
African health officials are taking heart in vaccine progress, but concerns are growing that the continent of 1.3 billion people will be near the end of the line in obtaining doses. Nkengasong isn’t sure whether vaccines will be available in Africa before the second quarter of next year.
Sara G. Miller
3h ago / 11: 08 AM UTC
When will Americans actually get the Covid vaccine? Officials offer different timelines.
Health officials and public health experts have offered conflicting answers in recent days about when the first Americans will finally get Covid-19 vaccine shots.
An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration will meet on Deccember 10 to consider whether to grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer for its vaccine candidate. After the vote, the decision moves to the FDA itself.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group recommended Tuesday that health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities be first in line for the vaccines. The CDC is expected to accept the recommendation.
FDA scientists are reviewing data on two vaccine candidates, made by Pfizer and Moderna. There are expected to be enough doses to immunize 20 million people by the end of the month, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday at a briefing for Operation Warp Speed, the government’s effort to fast-track a vaccine.
But even if the FDA’s group of independent vaccine experts votes to advise authorizing the Pfizer vaccine, it’s still unclear how soon after the Dec. 10 meeting the agency will make the final decision whether to authorize it for emergency use, a necessary step before any shots are administered.
Kevin Collier
3h ago / 11: 05 AM UTC
Let government employees work from home after the pandemic, former cyber leaders say
Former cybersecurity chiefs from five U.S. agencies are calling for the government to let more government employees work from home even after the coronavirus pandemic is over.
The group, comprised of former Chief Information Officers at agencies like the Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development, jointly argued for the shift in an online pamphlet released Thursday.
“Senior government managers have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage the changes brought about by the pandemic,” the former CIOs wrote, saying allowing the practice can improve morale and save taxpayers money.
Many federal employees rapidly shifted to working from home in the early days of the pandemic, initially prompting cybersecurity concerns that they were creating opportunities for hackers, though they have since settled into some accepted best practices.
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