1 FDA Panel Recommends Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use
t’s official, the FDA’s advisory panel is recommending emergency use authorization for Pfizer's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. The vote wasn’t unanimous, however, as the experts voted 17 to 4 in favor of recommending the drug for emergency use for people aged 16 years and older – with one of the members withholding. The decision clears the way for the FDA to grant emergency approval, which means millions of Americans can soon get vaccinated against the coronavirus if they choose to. And make no mistake, a vaccine being approved in less than a year after most people first learned of an illness is a monumental achievement. Scientists originally estimated it would take between 18 months and two years to get a vaccine approved. It’s expected that the first people to get the vaccine will be health care workers and people most at risk, including patients in long-term senior care facilities. A CDC committee will also hold a vote to recommend, which could come as early as Sunday.
2 Swing States Respond To Texas’ SCOTUS Lawsuit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking SCOTUS to overturn election results in four swing states because each state changed their laws because of the pandemic. Experts say it’s a “long shot,” but that hasn’t stopped a number of Trump-favoring states – 17 of them – or hundreds of Capitol Hill Republicans from jumping on the bandwagon. But there are also a number of states – more than two-dozen – who are pushing back, and hard. Among them, Pennsylvania – one of the swing states at issue – who, in a 43-page brief, called the Texas lawsuit a “seditious abuse of the judicial process.” “What Texas is doing in this proceeding,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro wrote in his filing. “Is to ask this court to reconsider a mass of baseless claims about problems with the election that have already been considered, and rejected, by this court and other courts.” The other states involved - Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin had equally strong reactions.
3 Watchdog: CDC's Redfield Ordered Emails Deleted
The House Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus is demanding more information after testimony revealed efforts to "alter or rescind" information considered damaging to President Trump. It’s being alleged that CDC Director Robert Redfield directed subordinates to delete emails counter to the President's messaging on Covid. In a letter to top Health and Human Services Officials, Committee Chair James Clyburn said the testimony raises "serious concern" about efforts to conceal and destroy evidence about the CDC's response to the coronavirus crisis. Apparently, CDC Scientific Publications Branch Chief Dr. Charlotte Kent said in closed-door testimony that she had been instructed to destroy an email and insert new language in a previously published scientific report on coronavirus risks to children. Clyburn is seeking new documents and an interview with Redfield regarding the allegation and plans to issue a subpoena if Trump officials don't meet the deadline.