December 14 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Emma Reynolds, Ed Upright, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 4:06 p.m. ET, December 15, 2020

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10:13 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

New York health care worker among first to get Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester on December 14 in Queens, New York. Mark Lennihan/Pool/AP

New York state administered its first non-trial vaccine this morning to a health care worker. The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was administered to Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York City, at about 9:20 a.m. ET Monday during a livestream organized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

After getting her first shot, Sandra said she felt hopeful:

"I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our country. I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe. We're in a pandemic and so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic, and to not give up so soon. There's light at the end of the tunnel but we still need to continue to wear our mask, to social distance. I believe in science. As a nurse, my practice is guided by science, and so I trust that. What I don't trust is that if I contract Covid, I don't know how it will impact me or those who I come in contact with. So I encourage everyone to take the vaccine."

Watch the moment here:

9:43 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

Stocks pop on vaccine optimism

From CNN’s Paul R. La Monica

US stocks posted solid gains Monday morning as the first doses of Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine have arrived following approval for emergency use by the FDA Friday night.

Ongoing stimulus talks are also boosting sentiment on Wall Street.

Here's how the markets opened Monday:

The Dow rose about 185 points, or 0.6%.
The S&P 500 was also up 0.6%.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%.

9:54 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

New York City may face possible full pause as coronavirus cases rise, mayor says

From CNN's Melanie Schuman

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on December 14. CNN

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday the possibility of a full pause and shutdown exists in the city because “we’re seeing the kind of level of infection with the coronavirus we haven’t seen since May and we have to stop momentum.”

He made the comment during an interview with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.

The mayor said his “number one job” is to protect the health and safety of residents.

He also noted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the New York Times a larger shutdown for the city is possible.

De Blasio called this time the “last big battle against the coronavirus here in New York City” on the same day the vaccine arrived in the city.

WATCH:

10:00 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

Watch the University of Michigan Hospital get its first batch of the Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Aditi Sangal and Susannah Cullinane

The first Pfizer vaccine shipment arrives via UPS at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor on December 14. CNN

A UPS delivery woman received a round of applause as she delivered the first batch of the coronavirus vaccine to the University of Michigan Hospital this morning.

Eleven months after the earliest recorded case of coronavirus in the United States, medical workers are preparing to give the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine today.

Thousands of vials of the vaccine were collected for distribution across the country Sunday after it passed its last regulatory hurdle.

Watch the moment:

9:18 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

First Covid-19 vaccine doses arrive at GWU hospital in Washington, DC

From CNN's Ellie Kaufman and Sara Murray

George Washington University hospital’s first doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine were delivered this morning.

Around 8 a.m. ET, 975 doses were delivered. The doses arrived in a large white box.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Jerome Adams are expected to be onsite to see some of the first healthcare workers at the hospital get vaccinated later today.

CNN's Sara Murray reports from the scene:

8:47 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

First coronavirus vaccines will arrive in Northwest Louisiana by late morning

From CNN's Tina Burnside

Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, will receive their first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine by 11:30 a.m. ET Monday morning, Public Relations Manager Terrie Roberts tells CNN.

Roberts says about 975 doses will be arriving at their facility via UPS and will then be distributed at their campuses in the Shreveport-Bossier area thereafter.

The first recipients of the vaccine will be the critical frontline healthcare workers, Roberts said.

Read more about the vaccines' roll out here.

8:47 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

US Health secretary urges Americans to get Pfizer vaccine: "This is a 94% effective vaccine"

From CNN Health's Andrea Diaz and Susannah Cullinane

Alex Azar, US secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on November 19. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

"This is a 94% effective vaccine. It's going through every, every, aspect of FDA process with integrity and transparent data," US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie Monday on “Today.”

"If you are recommended to get it and it's available for you, oh, please do get it. Protect yourself and protect those around you. Please get the vaccine," Azar said.

He reiterated that the US should have enough vaccine to inoculate 20 million people by the end of the month.

"We know we have a vaccine available to get to 20 million people by the end of December, and then a total of 50 million by the end of January, and, as Dr. Slaoui said, 100 million people by the end of March – but should have 100 million shots in arms by the end of February, between first and second doses."

More on the vaccine: Eleven months after the earliest recorded case of coronavirus in the United States, medical workers are preparing to give the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with deliveries set to arrive at administration sites this morning.

Thousands of vials of the vaccine were collected for distribution across the country Sunday after it passed its last regulatory hurdle.

It's up to states to allocate their share of vaccines, but the CDC has recommended that frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities get the vaccine first. Officials warn it could be months before the vaccine becomes available to many Americans as the virus continues to surge, breaking grim state and national records.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta provides analysis:

8:18 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

Azar will witness health care workers get vaccinated on "historic day"

From CNN Health’s Ben Tinker

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he will watch frontline workers get vaccinated in Washington, DC on the first day of the rollout.

Today is such a historic day, as we hopefully see the light at the end of the tunnel of this horrible pandemic,” Azar said Monday.

“I’m just excited that I’m going to get to see some frontline health care workers today, as part of the plan to George Washington Hospital vaccination, and get to see them getting vaccinated -- some of the first people in the county,” Azar told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on “Today.”

First vaccinations for public could start in February: Azar said he believes the general public should be able to start getting vaccinations by late February and March -- earlier than some other experts have forecasted.

"I think we could be seeing that (general public vaccination) by late February going into March. It really, again, is going to be up to our nation's governors, but with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine, we'll have, as I said, as many as 100 (million) shots in arms by the end of February," Azar told Guthrie.

"If we get the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca vaccine approved in January, when their data comes in, we'll have significant additional supplies. And again, late February, in the March time period, I think you'll start seeing much more like a flu vaccination campaign – people going into their Kroger, their CVS, or Walgreens, Walmart."

Watch Dr. Celine Gounder on New Day:

8:49 a.m. ET, December 14, 2020

US government negotiating order of additional 100 million vaccine doses, Pfizer CEO says

From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, on December 14. CNN

The United States is currently negotiating an additional order of 100 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This is Bourla's first interview since his company's vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the United States.

"So far we have an agreement with the US government to provide them 100 million doses and this is a fixed order -- and we will provide those 100 million doses starting from now by the end of the first quarter and we will honor this commitment. But the US government is asking more. They have asked now for an additional 100 million doses from us," Bourla told Gupta Monday morning.

"We can provide them -- the additional 100 million doses -- but right now, most of that we can provide in the third quarter. The US government wants them in the second quarter," Bourla said. "We are working very collaboratively with them to make sure that we can find ways to produce more or allocate the doses in their second quarter as well, but we haven't signed this agreement yet."

Bourla said he was "not at all" concerned the quality of the vaccine will diminish as manufacturing ramps up, because the firms have strict "high standards of quality."

"The 1.3 billion that we believe we will provide, they will definitely meet the highest standards of quality," Bourla said of doses expected in 2021. "Already we know how to do it and although it looks like a giant step, for us it's what we do every day. So right now, I feel quite comfortable that we will be able to do it smoothly."

Watch Here: