Three of the leading coronavirus vaccine candidates showed promising preliminary results Monday, raising hopes that a vaccine could arrive by the end of the year.
A coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by Oxford University in the United Kingdom with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca generated an immune response in preliminary human trials, researchers reported Monday. The vaccine in development was administered to over 1,000 volunteers and had only mild side effects, such as headaches and fatigue.
While scientists are not able to conclude whether the vaccine would protect against coronavirus infection, doses given to volunteers caused their immune systems to generate the types of antibodies the body uses to fight virus cells. The research teams said that while early results show potential, much more research is necessary.
China’s CanSino Biologics has also developed a promising vaccine candidate that generated immune system responses in about 500 subjects. Like the vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca, the CanSino vaccine administers trace amounts of the coronavirus, and the body learns to fight it. Results were published in the medical journal the Lancet, the first time that a standalone phase two study for a COVID-19 vaccine was published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The third candidate to show promising results comes from German biotech company BioNTech and U.S. drug manufacturer Pfizer. The vaccine also generated an immune system response and was found to be safe when administered to 60 patients in Germany, the Wall Street Journal reported. The findings reported Monday supported results showing the same promise in a corresponding U.S. trial.
All of the candidates are poised to enter large-scale clinical trials designed to show whether the shots protect against coronavirus infection. The results could become public within months. About 160 coronavirus vaccines are in development, and only a fraction have started human testing.
Over 3.8 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States, and more than 140,800 people have died.
President Trump said Monday that he would resume daily coronavirus task force briefings, which he suspended in April. Testing coordinator Adm. Brett Giroir confirmed the surge in cases is real and not a function of increased testing.
“There is no question we are having a surge right now,” Giroir said on CNN. “We are having more cases than we did a week ago, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, four weeks ago. That is very clear.”
Trump’s announcement is an acknowledgment that the pandemic still presents a major challenge to the country even though he has spent weeks downplaying the threat of transmission and pushing schools and businesses to reopen.
“I was doing them, and we had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching in the history of cable television,” Trump said of daily press briefings in the Oval Office Monday. “There’s never been anything like it.”
After months of resisting wearing a mask in public, Trump said Monday that wearing a protective face mask is a “patriotic” way to defeat “the Invisible China Virus.”
He tweeted, “There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!”
We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! pic.twitter.com/iQOd1whktN
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2020
Florida added 10,508 new coronavirus infections Monday, increasing the total number of cases beyond 360,300. There were also 90 new deaths reported, bringing the statewide death toll 5,072. More than 9,500 people are being treated for COVID-19 in Florida hospitals.
The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest educators union, has filed suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran over plans to fully reopen schools next month despite an ongoing surge in new COVID-19 cases. Fedrick Ingram, president of the FEA, alleged in the suit that Corcoran’s order to reopen schools for in-person instruction five days a week violates the state constitution, which says schools must be safe, as returning to school buildings full time could put students and staff in danger.
“Gov. DeSantis needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one,” Ingram said. “The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reinstated coronavirus restrictions Monday to prevent further spread of the coronavirus throughout the city, which has topped 200 new cases on a seven-day rolling average basis. Starting Friday, the city’s bars will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors, only six people will be seated at each table in restaurants, and fitness classes will be capped at 10 people.
“While we aren’t near the peak of the pandemic from earlier this year, none of us wants to go back there, and we feel these restrictions will help limit further community spread,” Lightfoot said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has permitted hair salons and barbershops to continue serving customers, provided they do so outdoors. Newsom, a Democrat, required salons and barbershops to close in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. They were permitted to reopen in May, but Newsom shut them down again on July 13 as COVID-19 surged through the Golden State.
The new guidance from Newsom says outdoor services are permitted if employees and customers wear masks. Critics claim that the governor sent conflicting messages last week regarding salons and barbershops, and at least one barber vowed to defy the new shutdown order. Newsom said today that was not his intent.
