Diverse interests, questions on vaccines

Moderna vaccine gets closer to FDA authorization, new cases shoot up in California, Nevada and Rhode Island; Midwest hospitalizations decline. Emails reveal Trump advisor's "pro-death" strategy.

Tyson Foods fired seven managers at one of its Iowa meat processing plants who were reported to have placed bets on how many of their workers would get COVID-19, according to CNN.

Vaccine News

At the end of the day, FDA advisors are expected to recommend that the agency grant an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older.

• The outside experts wrestled with questions about when individuals who participated in the clinical trial and received placebo shots should be able to get active vaccine.

• In the clinical trial of 30,000 people, there were no severe adverse events and there was no difference in the number or type of adverse events between the group that received the active vaccine and those who got the placebo.

• FDA is expected to grant the EUA promptly, and the Moderna vaccine could roll out at the start of next week.

Meantime, several states report that they are receiving fewer doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine than they were expecting. At the same time, unions representing teachers, police and others are among the special interests campaigning to move up in the queue for the limited supply of vaccines.

Experts point to successful programs to increase measles vaccination rates as examples of how public health leaders can increase acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.

The vaccinations are intended to build to “herd immunity,” meaning that enough people in the community have antibodies to prevent COVID-19 infections. The latest estimates are that the vaccines rolling out now and in the near future could get us there in mid-2021. However, a now-ousted advisor to the Trump Administration was arguing in July to allow COVID-19 to spread freely because most people have “zero to little risk” and that herd immunity might start with as low as 20% infection rates. Those who have expertise in infectious diseases disagreed then and now.

The Latest Numbers

• The latest national data paints an alarming picture of COVID-19 trends, with the surge that began around Labor Day continuing to accelerate in almost every state. More than 1.4 million new cases have been reported in the past week, and yesterday’s death toll was 3,088 - a new record, with the average daily deaths now above the rates seen in the Spring. Today’s update from the Covid Tracking Project (CovidTracking.com) noted a few dramatic points:

  • California has recorded almost a “straight up” increase of every COVID metric, with the greatest concentration of cases and hospitalizations in the Los Angeles area.

  • Nevada, including Las Vegas especially, is now one of the hardest hit areas, with hospitals especially strained. Mobility between Las Vegas and Los Angeles may have a role in the surge in both places.

  • Hospitalization rates in the Midwest are trending downward, but worsening rates in the Northeast and West outstrip any improvement. In Wisconsin, officials say the public is responding to messages about hospital capacity and the need for more stringent COVID-19 precautions.

• COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu. A study published in the BMJ compares hospitalized flu patients to hospitalized COVID-19 patients. COVID is deadlier and patients require more resources, such as ventilators - especially in people 75 and older.