December 16 coronavirus news

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said he hopes the US Food and Drug Administration decides to issue an emergency use authorization of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow.

"A couple of days ago ... 2.9 billion doses were sent out to 145 locations, and over the next few days to weeks, there'll be more and more doses to ultimately, we hope, with a combination of Pfizer and Moderna, if Moderna gets the EUA, which I hope they will, that by the time you get to the end of December, have 40 million doses for 20 million people, to be able to administer."

Adverse reactions to any vaccine can be expected, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.

This comes after Alaskan state health officials confirmed Wednesday that a health worker suffered an adverse reaction to a vaccine Tuesday. They said she has been treated and is recovering.

“Well, that's the reason why I think people need to understand that the issue of the safety goes well beyond the confines of a clinical trial,” Fauci told CNBC.

Alaska doctors said the health worker who suffered the reaction did not have a history of allergies.

President Trump won't be administered the coronavirus vaccine until it is recommended by the White House medical team, a White House official told CNN. 

The official said Trump is still receiving the benefits of the monoclonal antibody cocktail he was given during his recovery from Covid-19.

Once Trump moves into a timing window to receive vaccination, he is likely to get his shot at that point, the official added.  

Trump's situation differs from that of Vice President Mike Pence, who is set to receive his vaccination in the coming days, the official noted. Pence has not contracted the virus, the official pointed out, meaning his need for vaccination is more pressing. Pence's vaccination is expected to be made public, the official said.

The official went on to say Trump continues to be open to getting vaccinated. But the official cautioned Trump also wants to make sure frontline medical workers receive the vaccine first. 

Alaska state health officials confirmed Wednesday that a health worker suffered an allergic reaction to the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday.

“There was an adverse reaction yesterday evening,” Dr. Anne Zink, chief medical officer for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, told reporters on a teleconference Wednesday.

Doctors treated the health worker and said she is in stable condition.

The Federal Reserve, as widely expected, left interest rates near zero following its latest policy meeting Wednesday.

The Fed cut rates to that level in March and has maintained that they are likely to remain there for several years as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Fed has launched several lending programs and other stimulus efforts in addition to slashing interest rates this year to support the economy during the coronavirus crisis.

But Fed chair Jerome Powell has continued to stress that the Fed (as well as Congress and the White House) may need to do more to help struggling American consumers and businesses.

There are growing hopes that a new round of fiscal stimulus may be coming soon from politicians in Washington — and perhaps more will be done once President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month.

Pfizer is working to find out more about a report that a health worker in Alaska suffered an allergic reaction to its vaccine Wednesday.

“We don’t yet have all the details of the report from Alaska about a potential serious allergic reactions but are actively working with local health authorities to assess,” a Pfizer spokesperson told CNN.

When British health authorities rolled out the vaccine there earlier this month, at least two recipients had allergic reactions but they recovered quickly. The New York Times first reported that a health care worker in Alaska suffered a reaction.

“Participants in our Phase 3 trial were excluded if they had a history of severe adverse reaction associated with a vaccine and/or severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any component of the investigational vaccine,” the Pfizer spokesperson told CNN.

“Overall, there were no safety signals of concern identified in our clinical trials, including no signal of serious allergic reactions associated with vaccine. However, reports of adverse events outside of clinical studies are a very important component to our pharmacovigilance activities and we will review all available information on this case and all reports of adverse events following vaccination," she added.

On a conference call on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that votes on final passage of a stimulus deal could slip into the weekend, and he prepared his members to be ready for that possibility. 

If votes do extend into the weekend, it's possible there could be a temporary government shutdown until final passage of a bill since government funding runs out Friday night.

Congress may have to pass a short-term stop-gap measure to prevent that from happening, but they are planning on tying a second Covid-19 relief package to the funding bill.

McConnell walked his members through the outlines of the deal, indicating that direct payments would likely be included in the final proposal. He indicated that President Trump has been strongly advocating for direct checks.

The struggle to get the stimulus package done also looms over the Georgia Senate runoff races that will determine which party controls the chamber next Congress. During the call with GOP senators, McConnell noted that direct payments for individuals and families have become a major issue in the race. 

"Kelly and David are getting hammered" on the issue, he said, according to a source who heard his remarks.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today that she is lifting all curfews for bars and restaurants and is removing limitations for social gatherings. 

During a news conference on Wednesday morning, Reynolds said that the curfew and restrictions will be lifted at 12:01 a.m. local time on Thursday. Bars and restaurants will be able to resume normal operations as long as customers are seated when eating or drinking, wear masks when not seated, and are 6 feet away from other groups with no more than 8 people per group.  

Gathering limitations will be lifted, but 6 feet of distance is still required between groups.  

She said that there is an overall decline in Iowa of new cases since mid-December. She said numbers have stabilized over the past week. The statewide positivity rate over the past 14 days is 13.8%, she said. Only one county in Iowa is at 20%, she said, with 44 counties between 10-15% positivity and 42 counties have positivity rates below 15%. 

Hospitalizations are half of the mid-November peak of 1,500, she said. 

"This doesn't mean that our work is done, but it's proof that we have the tools necessary to effectively manage the virus while balancing the activities of our daily lives," Reynolds said. 

New Jersey's positivity rate has been 13.08% since Saturday but its rate of transmission is down slightly to 1.08% as of Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said at his press conference on Wednesday.

The state reports at least 5,803 new Covid-19 cases and at least 91 deaths, he said.

Murphy reported 489 new Covid-19 hospitalizations in the state. As of now, the state's hospitals are treating 3,672 Covid-19 patients; 3,462 are Covid-19 positive and 210 are awaiting confirmation. There are 721 patients in the ICU, and 482 of them on ventilators.

Murphy reminded residents that the while there's "a vaccine in our midst," they cannot let their guards down.

"That should harden our resolve, not lessen it, but harden our resolve to continue with things like social distancing, wearing our masks, washing our hands and doing everything we can to protect our families and our communities," said Murphy.