Month: December 2020

On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled legislation for a new coronavirus stimulus worth more than $900 billion, hoping to break months of deadlock between the House and Senate. The group specified their “COVID Emergency Relief Framework,” which calls for $288 billion in small-business support and $180 billion for extended unemployment insurance, among other fiscal appropriations. 

The new proposal follows months of failed negotiations between House Democrats and Republican White House officials. The bipartisan group said the pitch is a way to resolve the months-long deadlock between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican leaders, who have not wavered for months on their separate proposals.

An agreement on a new stimulus plan is becoming increasingly urgent, as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act are nearing their expiration, including expanded unemployment insurance and eviction moratoriums, which will vanish at the end of the year.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, lawmakers back $900B stimulus package

Via www.msn.com

Dusty Johnson and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a proposal for a $900 billion…

12/01/2020 6:55 PM

 

On Tuesday, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention said that healthcare workers, and workers and residents at nursing homes should be the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available. The committee held an emergency meeting in Atlanta to discuss the allocation of initial supplies of a vaccine, which could become available as soon as this month.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 in favor of prioritizing the groups, which also includes staffers and residents at other long-term care facilities. This first group of recipients will be known as Phase 1a and will include some 23 million Americans.

In later phases, those expected to be included are people at high risk due to underlying conditions, those over the age of 65, essential workers and healthy adults and children. The committee will meet at a future date to determine subsequent phases of the vaccination program. State governors will ultimately make the decisions about who will receive the vaccine doses from Pfizer and partner BioNTech, which could start distribution as soon as next week. Members of the administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program have said the most vulnerable Americans should be vaccinated early.

First Covid vaccines to be offered to health workers, nursing homes, CDC panel says

Via www.nbcnews.com

The CDC’s advisory panel convened virtually to determine who would receive the first doses of…

12/01/2020 6:57 PM

 

Editorial credit: Pavel Metluk / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, U.S. biotech firm Moderna said it will seek an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after further clinical trials confirmed it is 94% effective. Moderna plans to request an “EUA” from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency after the latest positive results.

Company officials said in a press release, “This positive primary analysis confirms the ability of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19 disease with 94.1% efficacy and importantly, the ability to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic and help prevent severe disease, hospitalizations and death.”

With the expected FDA approval, the first doses of Moderna’s “mRNA-1273” vaccine could become available within weeks. The company is the second drugmaker to seek an emergency use authorization from the FDA. The team of Pfizer and BioNTech sought the same authorization on Nov. 20.

Moderna announced interim results from its late-stage, 30,000-participant “COVE” study earlier this month, indicating the vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing infection, and those results were largely confirmed Monday using a bigger sample size.

Moderna submits vaccine for approval, says trial shows 100% efficacy against ‘severe’ Covid

Via www.nbcnews.com

Recent vaccine developments have been met with optimism among scientists and stock markets, but…

11/30/2020 8:38 PM

 

On Monday, election results in Arizona were certified in Phoenix by Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, making Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump official in the state. The results marked the second time a Democrat has won the state of Arizona in a presidential contest in 70 years. Final vote totals showed Biden won by 10,457 votes, or 0.3% of the nearly 3.4 million ballots cast in Arizona. Eleven electors from the Democratic party will meet officially on Dec. 14 to pledge Arizona’s electoral votes to Biden. 

Meanwhile, presidential lawyer Rudy Giuliani and a group of Republican Arizona state lawmakers announced they were holding a rally at a downtown hotel to challenge the results of the election and allege fraud. The Trump campaign dropped its election lawsuit in Arizona in mid-November after arguing that the integrity of the Nov. 3 election was compromised by machines that did not accurately tally “overvotes.” Other suits challenging the Arizona ballot count have been tossed out by local and superior court judges.

Biden has had results certified in several battleground states, helping him win 306 electoral votes on Nov. 3 to Trump’s 232. 

Biden receives first presidential daily briefing as Arizona certifies his win

Via www.nbcnews.com

Biden had not received the briefing before because the Trump administration delayed approving…

11/30/2020 7:46 PM

 

Editorial credit: Alex Gakos / Shutterstock.com