More than 550,000 first doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the United States with more to come, just as Congress approves another round of aid.
The U.S. government began its massive vaccination rollout last week, starting with administering the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to front-line healthcare workers. So far, at least 556,208 doses have been administered, a number that is expected to balloon as more doses of the Pfizer vaccine and first doses of the Moderna vaccine are administered to healthcare providers and long-term care facilities.
The first 5.9 million doses of the Moderna vaccine shipped out over the weekend and arrived at some hospitals Monday morning, in addition to another 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Moderna said it will be able to deliver 20 million doses of the vaccine by the end of December and another 80 million in the first few months of 2021.
President-elect Joe Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden were given the first of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in Wilmington, Delaware, Monday in part as a way to help increase confidence in the shot.
“I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it’s available, to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m looking forward to the second shot,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress raced to finalize the text of a multitrillion-dollar government spending package, which included an elusive coronavirus aid package worth about $900 billion.
The bulk of the measure, about $300 billion, is directed to new loans for small businesses that are coping with more economic lockdowns amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases across the nation. The measure also includes another round of stimulus checks and $300 in weekly supplemental jobless benefits.
Earlier Monday, a computer glitch delayed lawmakers’ access to the 5,000-plus page document when they were scheduled to debate and vote on the bill before leaving town for the holidays.
To date, more than 18 million infections and 319,000 deaths due to COVID-19 have been confirmed in the U.S. Current case totals are undercounts, given that many infections go undetected and undiagnosed.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the U.S., will not reopen campuses when the spring semester begins on Jan. 11, after the district’s testing data showed heightened levels of person-to-person transmission, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“We’ll remain in online-only mode until community health conditions improve significantly,” Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday. He didn’t provide a timetable for when students would be brought back to campuses.
He added that over the past week, “5% of adults, who did not report any exposure or symptoms, tested positive and close to 10% of children.”
A new mutated form of the coronavirus is sweeping across the United Kingdom, prompting more than 40 countries to close their borders to travelers from England, including France, Canada, Germany, and Israel. Still, White House coronavirus testing chief Adm. Brett Giroir said the vaccines currently in distribution across the U.S. are effective against “any variant we’ve seen.”
“We have every reason to believe that the vaccine will be effective,” Giroir told CNN’s John Berman. “There is also no evidence to suggest, nor reason to believe, that it would evade our vaccines that we have right now.”
Apple temporarily closed all of its stores across California and Tennessee as intensive care units run out of space. The decision to close all of its stores in California comes just days after Apple closed stores in the Los Angeles area after officials in Southern California reported they ran out of ICU beds.
“We’re temporarily closing soon, but are currently open for pickup of existing online orders, previously scheduled in-store Genius Support appointments and previously reserved one-on-one shopping sessions,” Apple said Monday.
Pope Francis approved a note released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on Monday, condoning the use of coronavirus vaccines that have an indirect connection to abortion, saying it is “morally acceptable” to receive the vaccine. The letter was signed by the Vatican prefect and the secretary before the pope approved the text on Thursday and released the note Monday.
“All vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive,” the CDF said.
Armed protesters tried to storm Oregon’s state Capitol building on Monday in opposition to coronavirus-related restrictions as state lawmakers gathered for a special session to discuss pandemic relief, the New York Times reported. Oregon State Police clad in riot gear declared the protest an unlawful assembly and fired pepper balls to disperse the crowd. They arrested at least two people, including one person authorities said used bear spray against the officers.
