When would you start distribution of Moderna's vaccine?
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(CNN) -
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is working "quickly" to issue an emergency use authorization for Moderna vaccine, the second covid-19 vaccine for the US market, after its Vaccine advisers voted to recommend it.
The announcement comes nearly a week after the agency licensed the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine and amid a terrifying time for the country as the numbers of infections, hospitalizations and the number of daily deaths continue to break records.
Experts warn that in the coming weeks, especially if Americans choose to get together and travel on vacation, things could get worse.
And a joint forecast released Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects that there could be another 80,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States over the next three weeks.
With the expectation that the FDA will give the green light soon, CDC vaccine advisers scheduled meetings for Saturday and Sunday to discuss Moderna's vaccine.
The group must vote to recommend the vaccine, and the CDC must accept that recommendation before vaccines can begin.
"I think this is a very exciting time," Dr. Hayley Gans, a member of the FDA's vaccine advisory committee, told CNN.
"The data presented to us was surprising in its effectiveness."
If Moderna's vaccine is licensed, officials expect another 7.9 million doses of vaccines to be shipped to states next week, said Admiral Brett Giroir, deputy health secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, for its acronym in English).
Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said two million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna had been allocated for next week.
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"We still anticipate that all Americans will have the opportunity to be vaccinated in June," Giroir said.
The task at hand now is to address the skepticism that many communities have toward the vaccine and to relay the facts, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
“I have had the opportunity to be intimately involved every step of the way here in the development of these vaccines.
No shortcuts have been taken, there is no hidden information, "he told CNN.
"This is something you want to do, for yourself, for your family, for the future of our nation."
"Because if we don't get to that point where 70-80% of Americans are vaccinated, this could go on and on and we could lose even more lives, and that would be the worst kind of tragedy possible," he added.
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Some states see covid-19 numbers rise, others relax restrictions
On Thursday, the country reported more than 230,000 new cases and more than 3,200 deaths.
This month alone, the US has reported more than 42,000 deaths from covid-19.
Hospitalizations also continue to rise, with now more than 114,200 COVID-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Florida reported the highest number of new cases daily since mid-July.
The Kentucky Governor announced a record number of new deaths, saying it was "by far the most people we have lost."
Pennsylvania health officials announced that the state's number of hospitalizations is double the peak in the spring, with more than 1,200 COVID-19 patients in the ICU.
"We continue to hear of additional hospitals across the state that have few ICU beds, or in some cases no ICU beds left," Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday.
Hospitalizations have also risen in New York City, the mayor announced, while the average number of new cases is a number that "keeps growing."
And in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown said hospitals remain "stretched to their limits" and extended her declaration of a state of emergency for covid-19 for another two months.
He added that "these are the darkest days of this pandemic."
But while many states are still fighting fierce expansion, others are loosening restrictions.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said this week that the number of COVID-19 cases has dropped in the state and announced that she would lift all curfews on bars and restaurants and remove limitations on social gatherings.
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, are seated six feet away from other groups and there are no more than eight people per group, said the governor.
The governor also announced that she was lifting the meeting limitations, but a two meter distance is required between the groups.
In Utah, where health officials said hospitals across the state are operating at maximum capacity, Governor Gary Herbert announced that he would remove the restriction on the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m., saying that the Local bars and restaurants have shown a willingness to impose physical distancing and the use of masks when customers do not eat or drink.
"We appreciate the willingness to intensify and help enforce the protocols that make bars and restaurants a safe environment for customers to come and participate," said the governor.
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'Another couple of dark months ahead'
While the country waits for the vaccine impacts to really kick in - something that likely won't happen until early summer, when vaccines will become more available - the tools that could work immediately to help slow the spread of the virus are those that have been touted by experts for months: face masks, social distancing, and regular hand washing.
“It doesn't just mean, 'Well, we're almost there,' because we're not there.
We have another dark couple of months ahead if we don't do something right now to try and stop this terrible upward curve of hospitalizations, cases and deaths.
"This is not the time to let your guard down and get together for the holidays," he added.
State leaders have echoed the warning in recent days, urging residents to reconsider their vacation plans.
In Wisconsin, a state that has been hit especially hard since the beginning of the fall surge, Governor Tony Evers urged residents to celebrate virtually, adding that hospitals remain "tense" and continue to report staff shortages.
In California, a county health official called the rising COVID-19 numbers a "post-holiday spike that doesn't have to be."
"This is a lot of intermingling that didn't have to happen, but it did happen and it created for us a huge increase in our cases," said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
“We are entering a new Christmas season.
We really need people to stay home.
Do not mix, do not travel.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee said that while the licensing of vaccines is a major turning point in the pandemic, the sad reality is that more residents are getting sicker and the decisions people make during the holiday. Thanksgiving are having a severe impact on the state of the hospital system.
"One thing that this vaccine will not solve or cure is selfishness or disregard for what is happening to our neighbors around us," he said.
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Some states will receive fewer doses of the vaccine
The federal government has also advised several states, including Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Michigan and Oregon, to expect fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine than initially promised.
On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wrote on Twitter that he was informed that the state's vaccine allocation "will be reduced by 40% next week" adding that "no explanation was given."
"This is disturbing and frustrating," he wrote.
"We need accurate and predictable numbers to plan and ensure success on the ground."
The cause of the delay remains unclear to many.
An HHS spokesman said the reports on the reduction in allocations from jurisdictions are "incorrect" and that states will generally receive all supplies, although deliveries may be spread over a longer period of time.
“As with the initial shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, jurisdictions will receive the vaccine at different sites over several days.
This eases the burden on jurisdictions and spreads the workload over multiple days.
This same process was used successfully for the initial distribution of the Pfizer vaccine, and we are simply applying the lessons learned, ”the spokesperson said.
Pfizer said in a statement Thursday that the company "had no production problems" and that "no shipment containing the vaccine is on hold or delayed."
"We have millions of more doses in our warehouse but, so far, we have not received shipping instructions for additional doses," said Pfizer.
CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas, Nakia McNabb, Kay Jones, Sara Murray, Ellie Kaufman, Nadia Kounang, Priscilla Álvarez, Tina Burnside, Melissa Alonso, and Ben Tinker contributed to this report.
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