Category: Health

A person holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on Monday, December 14, 2020.

Scotty Perry | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The US states are eagerly awaiting billions of federal funds to fund their vaccine distribution plans, which are currently being implemented in Washington and threatened with veto threats by President Donald Trump.

After weeks of legislative silence, the outgoing President shocked Washington Tuesday night by calling the bill a “disgrace” and urging lawmakers to increase direct payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000. The package also includes more than $ 8 billion to fund government vaccine distribution programs, which are currently suspended as House Democrats scramble to meet Trump’s demand.

“We are concerned because this is the money we needed in the spring. It is now late December,” said Adriane Casalotti, the top lobbyist for the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Now that the first doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine hit the arms of the first million Americans, public health experts are concerned about how they will pay for the historic vaccination campaign. Time is of the essence – the US wants cans to be available to all 331 million Americans by summer.

Trump’s attack raises $ 8.75 billion in much-needed funding that states believed could help pay for vaccine distribution, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, Chief Medical Officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, in a telephone interview.

“It’s one of those things we started celebrating too early,” he said, adding that his organization has been pushing for funding for vaccine distribution for months.

Congressional approval for funding “came a little late in the game but I think it will be okay. It will get where it needs to be on time,” he said. “If this is further delayed, it will be a problem.”

Walk slowly

Vaccine distribution will require additional staff for vaccination clinics, adequate resources for the safe storage of cans at extremely low temperatures, needles and other critical consumables, and increased communication efforts to convince people of the safety of the drugs, among other things, experts say. To fund their pandemic responses, the country’s states and counties have already had to cut spending and suspend capital infrastructure projects to balance their budgets, experts said.

“We have two vaccines that are approved for use in the field and yet we have no money to distribute,” said Casalotti. “Every minute of delay affects how many people can get the vaccine and when. So we urge the President to sign the bill as soon as possible.”

So far, vaccination efforts have been slow. Around 9.5 million doses have been distributed and just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 19 million doses, falling short of previous December forecasts, and officials have a little over a week – about 8 days – to try to fill that void.

“Just how fast the ramp-up of vaccinations and gun shots is slower than we expected,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, tsar of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus vaccine, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And as I told you, we are here to help states accelerate appropriately,” he said, adding that the target of 20 million vaccinations “is unlikely to be met.”

The vaccines have reached a crucial point in the nation’s response to the pandemic. New coronavirus cases in the US have risen to a weekly average of 212,142 cases per day, and the virus is currently killing an average of more than 2,669 people per day, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. Department of Health announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would allocate an additional $ 227 million to 64 states and jurisdictions for vaccine preparation and response, bringing the total federal government contribution to nearly 430 Million US dollars. But states say they need billions of dollars, not millions, to distribute the shots.

While every dollar helps, HHS money is “a drop in the bucket” compared to what it will take to fund the states’ comprehensive immunization plans, Casalotti said. For months, state and local health departments have been asking Congress to allocate an additional $ 8.4 billion in funding to carry out its vaccine distribution plans, which were finalized in October and presented to the CDC.

The Trump administration proposed $ 6 billion for state funding, but Congress approved the states, allocating $ 8.75 billion for state vaccination plans in the latest coronavirus relief package. Even then, additional funding may be needed for widespread vaccinations over the next year, Casalotti said.

“We really see this as a sign of hope, but as a down payment,” said Casalotti. A spokesman for HHS did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

US officials said Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccination program, will pay some of the cost. The US will pay for the dispensing of the cans and will provide kits of adjuncts to administer the vaccinations, including needles, syringes, diluents and other supplies.

However, some supplies, including hand sanitizer and gloves, are not from the federal government. Other expenses, like tents or staff to set up vaccination clinics, will have to be borne by states, said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), which represents state health officials who lead vaccination planning.

Personnel issues

“The staffing is very important because to get this in place for all Americans in a short time – about six months – and to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated, you really need all hands on deck,” said Hannan.

States are also needing money to get more vendors to offer the shots, but the process is taking longer than expected because some health departments don’t have the staff to answer their questions and verify their credentials, she said.

“I think it’s more of a problem for the broader scale, but we could also see delays in phase one when the public health needs to be vaccinated and they can’t stop vaccines,” Hannan said.

The bill for vaccination programs could get bigger over time and more people are reluctant to make the vaccine safe, requiring greater coverage for these communities, said Casalotti of the county and city’s health department. As the dependency on the Pfizer vaccine becomes greater than on others, there is an additional cost to store the cans in ultra-cold temperatures.

“All of this work would have been hard enough beforehand to scale up the largest mass vaccination campaign we’ve ever tried,” said Casalotti. “You are now doing all of this in a reduced timeframe with very few resources while battling a pandemic at the same time.”

Program cuts

The funds distributed by HHS so far went directly to 64 jurisdictions, including the 50 states, territories and some of the country’s largest cities. When it comes to most counties, the size of the funding will depend on whether the money goes to them, which it doesn’t always, said Blaire Bryant, a lobbyist who specializes in health issues with the National Association of Counties.

“This is a big problem for us because none of our health departments really see these funds,” said Bryant.

States, counties and local governments have already had to cut other programs to offset lost revenue from their Covid-19 response, said Teryn Zmuda, chief economist for the county group. According to an August report by the group, the country’s counties will see a $ 30 billion hole in un-budgeted Covid-19 response costs by the end of fiscal 2021.

“We are seeing a lot of cuts in investment projects, economic development and repair of investment infrastructure,” said Zmuda. “Those projects that are seen as less important or of secondary importance to public health are being cut to keep up with future developments.”

People walk past the closed entrance of the Eurostar terminal at Brussels South Station after the UK’s European neighbors closed their doors to travelers from the UK on December 21, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.

Yves Herman | Reuters

LONDON – Afraid, angry and alone. So many people in the UK are feeling just two days before Christmas when a new variant of Covid that appears to be transmitting faster is spreading across the country.

The UK government said Saturday it had no choice but to ban around 18 million people from visiting other households on Christmas Day in order to realize festive plans for people across the country.

Since then, dozens of countries around the world have closed their doors to the British to keep the new variant from spreading among their own populations.

Jon, from the London suburb of Surbiton, who refused to share his full name, told CNBC that it felt like March when the coronavirus first hit Europe, just with no sunshine and long days. “I think there was more hope then,” he said.

Jon said he was “very concerned” about the new variant of the coronavirus. “If it keeps changing, will these vaccinations work?” he said. “Will it keep changing?”

Experts believe Covid vaccines are likely to protect against the new strain, but the WHO and others are conducting studies to confirm whether this has any effect on the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Jon said he had “enough” personally, but it is the younger generation that he really feels sorry for, including his 24-year-old daughter.

“Maybe they should give the vaccine to those who can get the economy back on its feet before they give it to older people who are isolated in private households,” he said.

A bright spot for the country is that vaccines are already being introduced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that over 500,000 people have already received the first two-dose dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Even so, Jon isn’t particularly optimistic about 2021 – especially the first half of the year. “We can only go on,” he said. “On the positive side, the street and the neighbors are moving closer together.”

International routes cut off

More than 40 countries around the world have restricted travel from the UK since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s press conference on Saturday.

In Europe, this includes Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium and outside the continent Canada, Argentina and Israel.

France also closed its borders with Great Britain and blocked freight traffic accompanied by drivers. Over 1,000 trucks were secured across Kent in the move, although the borders are due to reopen to passengers from England on Wednesday.

A drive sits in the cab of his truck while parked on the M20 in Kent after the Port of Dover closed after the French government announced it would not accept passengers from the UK.

Steve Parsons | PA pictures | Getty Images

“Aside from the items that might be missing from our Christmas dinners due to the closed border between France and Great Britain, the truck queues in Dover show how much we depend on good relationships with our European partners,” said Kate Baldwin. a communications professional in London.

“As much as we all want an end to the terrible year we have seen, I can’t help but believe that Britain will simply move from one crisis to another with Brexit in 2021.”

Travel plans ruined

George Blackwell, a 28-year-old British expat who lives in Dubai, told CNBC he flew to London on December 18 to be with his family on Christmas Day. He was supposed to stay until December 28, but flew back to the United Arab Emirates on December 21, just three days after landing.

“The departure board at the airport on the way back was a long list of cancellations and Dubai appears to be the only open destination,” said Blackwell, manager at a home appliance manufacturer. “The decision to return was a difficult family decision, but I felt like I had to return to my country of residence for fear of another global lockdown.”

During his brief stay in the UK, Blackwell said there was a complete lack of understanding of the importance of the new strain of the virus.

“It was like being in a Hunger Games movie,” said Blackwell. “The total lack of understanding by the public about how serious the virus really is for an annoying atmosphere that has made me nervous all along.”

The moment it was announced that London would join Tier 4 – the strictest lockdown beast in England – thousands of people were trying to escape the city.

The trains from St. Pancras train station in central London were full of people trying to flee a city with one of the highest rates of coronavirus and potentially spreading the virus to other parts of the country.

Lynne Harvey, 71, told CNBC that she was “not too concerned about the mutated virus,” adding that she understood that “its transmission is faster but not more virulent”.

“We just need to keep masking, keeping our distance and washing hands. I have always worn disposable gloves when shopping because I am classified as extremely vulnerable,” she added.

Harvey said she would also like to see law enforcement step up with those who break the rules. “I think a lot of people are way too complacent and not socially distant compared to March … I think this country is way too gentle on people who flaunt the recommendations and bring in the army.”

– Natasha Turak contributed to this report

UPS package handlers Jesirae Elzey and Demeatres Ralston unload boxes of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky on December 20, 2020.

Michael Clevenger | Pool | Reuters

Coronavirus vaccine distribution has been slower than US officials had hoped, as the number of vaccinations is well below the US government’s target of 20 million by the end of the year, health officials said Wednesday.

Just over 1 million people in the United States received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 19 million doses, falling short of previous December projections, and officials have less than two weeks – roughly eight days – to try to fill that void.

“Just like how fast the start of vaccinations and gun shots is slower than we expected,” said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, tsar of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus vaccine, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And as I told you, we are here to help states accelerate appropriately,” he said, adding that the target of 20 million vaccinations “is unlikely to be met.”

US officials said they are still resolving some issues in the distribution system after some can deliveries went to the wrong destinations and others on the wrong day.

Army General Gustave Perna, who oversees the logistics for Operation Warp Speed, said the US government has “done a good job so far” distributing millions of Covid vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna to states, territories and major cities across the country . But he added that US officials are still “learning” with the sales process getting “better” and “stronger” day by day.

“We had a handful of packages that we were trying to deliver that weren’t destined for the right location, but we captured them before they were dropped off and we diverted them to the right location,” Perna told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon . “And we had a couple … shows that didn’t go out on the right day.”

This isn’t the first hiccup since the distribution began. Perna said last week that several thousand doses of Pfizer’s vaccine traveling to California and Alabama had to be quarantined and returned to the company after the vials somehow got too cold. It’s unclear why the temperature dropped, but Pfizer said in a statement that it was able to intercept the shipments and “seamlessly trigger subsequent delivery to these customers.”

Global health experts had said distributing the vaccines to around 331 million Americans within a few months could prove to be much more complicated and chaotic than originally thought. Not only do states and territories make enough doses, they also need enough needles, syringes, and bottles to vaccinate people. People also need training in the storage and administration of the vaccines. (Pfizer’s vaccine requires a storage temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Despite the missteps, CDC Director Robert Redfield on Wednesday praised the US milestone of 1 million vaccinations and called it an “achievement” as vaccination protection will help frontline health workers continue to treat sick patients.

“As we celebrate this historic milestone, we also recognize the challenging path that lies ahead,” he said in a statement. “There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the US, but the supply will increase in the coming weeks and months. The goal is to make it easy for everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once enough is available are available. “

Perna said on Wednesday that it expected vaccine distribution to improve. More than 7,800 deliveries should be completed by the end of Thursday. The US plans to ship 2.67 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 2 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine to states next week, Perna said. The government distributed 2 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine this week. A total of 15.5 million vaccines have been allocated, he said.

A notice informing people of Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions illuminates a digital advertising screen on Oxford Street in London, England on December 21, 2020.

David Cliff | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The UK has identified a new variant of the coronavirus that appears to be spreading faster, raising new fears that the Covid-19 pandemic could accelerate even if governments start giving the first vaccine shots.

Scientists and experts in infectious diseases are still putting together what they know about the new strain SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represents the first variant examined in December 2020. It has not yet been discovered in the US, but the CDC said it could already be spread across the country unnoticed.

While the virus appears to be easier to transmit, there is “no evidence” that the new variant makes people sick or increases the risk of death, the CDC said Tuesday. The new coronavirus “mutates regularly,” the CDC found, but the vast majority of the mutations are insignificant.

More than 40 countries, not including the US, have since suspended transport connections with the UK after the new variant of the coronavirus was found. France activated a 48-hour border closure on Monday and 1,500 trucks were stuck in Kent Tuesday morning that couldn’t leave the UK, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said Tuesday.

Here’s what you need to know:

1.) How many cases were found?

The World Health Organization said the mutation was found in 1,108 cases on December 13 in the UK. However, this is likely to be an undercount, as scientists need to do additional testing to confirm which strain of virus a patient is infected with, including sequencing the genetic code.

The WHO said the variant was traced back to Kent in southeast England, where it was found on Sept. 20 based on retrospective analysis.

It wasn’t until October that the variant began to spread rapidly across the region, the WHO said, adding that cases continued to increase at an unexpected pace through November, leading to an investigation and discovery of the mutation earlier this month. Between October 5 and December 13, it was found that more than 50% of the virus samples sequenced from south east England were the variant strain.

2.) How contagious is it?

The UK has said the variant could be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the virus.

Based on early data from the UK, the new strain “could potentially be more rapidly transmissible than other circulating strains,” said the CDC.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of emerging diseases and zoonosis, said Monday that British officials estimate the mutation increased the virus’ reproductive rate from 1.1 to 1.5. This means that each person infected with the variant is estimated to infect another 1.5 people.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said it was unclear whether the increase in spread in the UK was due to the mutation or human behavior.

“We saw an estimate of a small increase in the number of reproductions in the UK,” he said, which means the virus is spreading faster, which could mean it is more contagious or easier to spread in colder months. It could also mean people are becoming careless when it comes to following public health protocols. “It remains to be seen how much of this is due to the specific genetic change in the new variant. I suspect some.”

3.) How are you tracking it?

Officials in the UK are conducting epidemiological and virological studies to see if the variant is more contagious, if it makes people sick, if it can re-infect people who previously had Covid-19, and what type of antibody the new variant will respond to prompts .

The UK is also conducting genomic surveillance to understand the extent of the spread of the new variant across the country. The UK has also put affected areas under Tier 4 restrictions, the toughest Covid rules in the country.

In the United States, “viruses were only sequenced from around 51,000 of the 17 million US cases,” so the new strain may no longer be considered, according to the CDC.

The CDC started a new program in November, the national SARS-CoV-2 strain monitoring program, to sequence additional virus samples. It is scheduled to be fully up and running in January, with each US state sending at least 10 samples to the CDC every other week for sequencing and further testing.

4.) What does this mean for vaccines?

According to the WHO, laboratory studies are currently ongoing to determine whether the new virus has different biological properties or could alter the effectiveness of the vaccine. The mutations involve changes in the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells.

Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines, approved for use in the United States, use messenger RNA or mRNA technology. It’s a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material – in this case a harmless piece of spike protein – to trigger an immune response against the virus.

Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, said Tuesday that he was confident that the company’s coronavirus vaccine with Pfizer would work against the new strain, but added that more studies are needed to be completely safe.

The coronavirus vaccine zone of President Donald Trump, Dr. Moncef Slaoui also said he expected Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 shots to be effective against the new mutation.

Both vaccines induce an immune response against multiple structures around the spike protein, the multifunctional mechanism that allows the virus to invade the host, Slaoui, scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed, told reporters Monday during a press conference. The likelihood that a set of mutations will completely change these structures “is extremely small,” he added.

5.) Is it coming to the USA?

The CDC announced on Tuesday that the new strain could already be in circulation in the United States without notice.

“Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant in current infections in the United Kingdom, increases the likelihood of imports,” said a CDC statement. “Given the low proportion of US infections sequenced, the variant could already be in the US without being discovered.”

Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people informed of the decision, that despite the new variant of the virus, the Trump administration has no plans to conduct Covid-19 screenings for passengers arriving at US airports from the UK.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LONDON – European stocks closed higher Tuesday afternoon, trying to bounce back from a brutal sell-off in the previous session despite concerns over a new strain of coronavirus in the UK

The pan-European Stoxx 600 temporarily closed 1.3% higher, with the German DAX and French CAC indexes rising 1.3% and 1.6% respectively. The UK FTSE 100 closed after an initial decline of 0.5%. Bank stocks were among the top winners, up 1.8%, with Barclays and Lloyds both gaining over 3% to lead the sector. Elsewhere, technology increased 2.5% as European markets closed.

European markets came under heavy selling pressure on Monday as they had concerns about a rapidly spreading Covid mutation, first identified in the UK. The new variant forced the British government to shut down London and other parts of south-east England and to trace the confusion of households over the Christmas break.

The variant, which scientists say is up to 70% more transmissible than previous strains in the UK, has also been identified in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Australia. It has resulted in several countries around the world closing their borders with the UK, disrupting travel and raising concerns about possible food shortages as the deadline for the Brexit transition approaches.

Meanwhile, the UK and EU remain bogged down on post-Brexit trade relations as the December 31 deadline draws nearer and disputes over issues such as fisheries plague talks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday the country could still collapse without a deal.

“The position is unchanged, there are problems,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday. “It is important for everyone to understand that Britain needs to be able to fully control its own laws and that we need to be able to control our own fisheries.”

“The case remains that the WTO terms are more than satisfactory for the UK and we can certainly face any difficulties that come our way.”

Sterling extended Monday’s losses on Tuesday and fell another 1% to around $ 1.33.

Official data showed that UK GDP grew a record 16% in the third quarter, but still didn’t make up for an 18.8% decline in the previous quarter when much of the economy closed.

On Wall Street, major U.S. stock indices around the flatline opened as a litany of Covid-related headlines kept an otherwise impressive rally under control in the fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened just under 40 points, or around 0.15%. Losses at Visa, Nike and 3M more than offset the gains at Boeing, Apple and Salesforce.

The muted move came when Congress passed a coronavirus aid and government spending package on Monday evening. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk.

On the individual stock market, UK supermarket stocks came under pressure Tuesday after warning that disruption from international travel bans could create gaps on store shelves. Sainsbury fell by 1.1% while Tesco and B&M European hovered around the flatline.

Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned that the highly contagious new mutation of Covid-19 found in the UK was “already in the US” with more than 40 countries banning entry and exit to the UK for 48 hours or more.

“I don’t think a travel ban will currently prevent this mutated strain from reaching the United States,” said Gottlieb. “We’re going to have an epidemic and it’s going to spread over the next three or four weeks. We’re going to peak and then infection rates will go down when the vaccinations are introduced.” “”

The new variant of Covid-19 is forcing parts of the UK back into lockdown. The government has placed the toughest restrictions in London and other areas of south-east England, and families can no longer gather as planned for Christmas. In an interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” Monday night, Gottlieb stated that the new mutation is likely due to selective pressure on the virus itself.

“As the virus continues to spread around the world, we will see more of these variants. It is therefore important that the population is vaccinated and that these infections are eradicated,” said Gottlieb. “The more infections you have, the more likely these variants are to spread.”

Scientists in the UK suggested that the variant of Covid makes the virus 50% more transmissible. However, there is currently no evidence that it is making the disease worse. Both Eli Lilly and Regeneron, who make the antibodies to treat Covid, said their drugs should be effective against the variant. Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, said his company would investigate the mutation, but viewed the situation with “a certain degree of sobriety,” according to Reuters. BioNTech is Pfizer’s partner for the Covid vaccine. Gottlieb explained to Shep Smith why he believes vaccines will have to adapt at some point.

“The question is whether this virus will alter surface proteins in such a way that either the vaccines or previous immunity can be avoided, and there is no evidence that it currently does, but over time it will develop a way that it probably can avoid previous infections or vaccines to some extent so we will likely have to adjust our vaccines over time, “Gottlieb said.

The first deliveries of Moderna’s Covid vaccine hit hospitals in the United States today. Moderna’s vaccine is the second after Pfizer to be approved by the FDA. Moderna’s rollout is expected to double as the company plans to ship six million doses this week, compared to Pfizer’s 2.9 million doses last week. Pfizer’s vaccine requires a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 70 degrees Celsius. Moderna can store its vaccine at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months.

Gottlieb said the current logistics for vaccine distribution are “good” but that some challenges may arise as the population receiving the vaccine expands.

“I think the challenge will be the last mile when trying to get these vaccines out into the community,” said Gottlieb. “Right now, in December, we are largely distributing these vaccines to healthcare workers through medical facilities, academic hospitals, and community hospitals. They know how to distribute a vaccine and how to find their healthcare workers.”

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the boards of directors of Pfizer, the genetic testing startup Tempus, and the biotech company Illumina. Pfizer has signed a manufacturing agreement with Gilead to manufacture Remdesivir. Gottlieb is also co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean’s Healthy Sail Panel.

A healthcare worker holds a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine bottle at the Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center in Glendale, California, United States on December 17, 2020.

Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

The European Medicines Agency approved the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for conditional use on Monday, opening the door to a vaccination program across the European Union.

The news comes less than two weeks after the vaccine developed in America and Germany was approved for use in the UK and US

Europe is well on its way to starting vaccinations within a week, regulators said, and authorities in several EU countries including France, Italy, Austria and Germany have announced they will start vaccinations on December 27.

The European Medicines Agency issued a statement on Monday that it had recommended that the vaccine be given conditional marketing authorization for people aged 16 and over.

“The EMA’s scientific opinion paves the way for the first authorization for the placing on the market of a COVID-19 vaccine in the EU by the European Commission with all associated protective measures, controls and obligations,” said the agency.

Vaccine approvals are picking up pace as European countries tighten their lockdowns in the face of a deadlier winter wave of viral infections.

A new and highly transmissible variant of the virus has been discovered in the UK, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose strict lockdowns on some areas. It has resulted in a growing number of countries ceasing flights and transportation from the island.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly half a million people across Europe since it began.

Governments scramble to put in place effective strategies to prevent further infections and keep the local economy alive as cases and deaths break new records during the holiday season.

A decision by the EU Commission on the vaccine is expected on Monday evening, according to Reuters.

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A panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted 13: 1 Sunday to bring “Frontline Essential Workers” and people 75 and over to get a vaccine against Covid-19.

This so-called Phase 1b group comprises an estimated 49 million people, or nearly 15% of Americans, according to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The committee included key frontline personnel such as firefighters, police officers, teachers, proofreaders, and others in the phase 1b group, but removed “other key personnel” from phase 1c.

The full list of key frontline workers covered by the Recommendation also includes all education workers, including daycare, grocery and farm workers, manufacturing workers, U.S. postal workers, public transportation workers, and grocery store workers, as per the list provided by ACIP. These workers “are in sectors that are essential to the functioning of society and are at much higher risk of exposure,” ACIP told Covid.

“I’d like to point out that those aged 75 and over make up 8% of the population, 25% of hospital stays, and a very high mortality rate. Basic frontline workers are highly exposed. They comprise a disproportionate proportion of racial and ethnic people who have too a disproportionate share of hospital stays, “said Dr. Katherine Poehling, a member of the committee, after the vote.

Dr. Henry Bernstein of Northwell Cohen Children’s Medical Center, who voted against Sunday’s recommendation, said he was in favor of including those over 65.

Phase 1c should include people between 65 and 74 years of age, people between 16 and 64 years of age at high risk of underlying disease, and remaining essential workers. ACIP also recommended Sunday. That’s 129 million Americans, or more than a third of the country, according to ACIP.

The remaining essential workforce includes transportation and logistics workers, food service workers, construction workers, finance workers, IT and communications workers, energy workers, media workers, lawyers, engineers and sewage workers, ACIP said. Underlying conditions for prioritization purposes include obesity, cancer, smoking and more per ACIP.

The committee’s recommendations now go to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who usually accepts the committee’s recommendations and sets federal guidelines on how states should implement the distribution of the scarce doses. But state officials have the final say in the distribution. The CDC earlier this month recommended that states give priority to health workers and residents of long-term care facilities when first introducing vaccines.

Deciding which groups to take precedence over others is intolerable, many voting committee members said Sunday, but there is a need to ensure that justice and the plans of the newest science leader in the states are included. The committee was asked to pull the needle between competing values ​​of the need to prioritize critical workers who keep society going and the need to protect the most vulnerable members of society, the elderly.

Dr. However, Kathleen Dooling of the CDC noted that the order in which these groups are vaccinated will ultimately have little impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, based on the latest models.

“The differences between the strategies are minimal,” she said. “Vaccinating older adults prevents a little more deaths at first, while vaccinating younger adults, essential workers and younger high-risk adults prevents a little more infections.”

She added that the most important factor “is actually the timing of vaccine introduction related to the increase in Covid-19 cases”. She further stressed the need to practice social distancing and wearing masks to reduce the spread while scarce doses of vaccines are being distributed.

“We are faced with the situation, at least in the short term, that we have only a limited vaccine available,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases of the CDC, on Sunday for the opening of the vaccine all-day meeting. “That means there will be tough decisions to be made about who gets this vaccine first.”

The US currently expects there will be enough vaccine doses for 20 million people in December, 30 million in January and 50 million in February, Messonnier said. Phase 1a will include at least 24 million people, Phase 1b will add an additional 49 million people, and Phase 1c will expand eligibility to an additional 129 million.

Dr. The CDC’s Amanda Cohn noted that projections should not be considered accurate and that many factors could alter vaccine availability.

While older adults are more likely to die from Covid, they are also more likely to isolate and protect themselves from infection than key frontline workers, some committee members said. Dr. Peter Szilagyi of the University of California at Los Angeles said one reason key workers were prioritized was because minority communities were disproportionately represented among key workers. The color communities in the US were hit disproportionately by Covid and died much more often than white Americans.

However, the committee found that racial and ethnic minorities are less represented in the foremost sub-group of essential workers than in the broader group. However, the broader group of the essential workforce includes an additional 57 million people, and inclusion in Phase 1b would mean that the demand for vaccines would far exceed supply, passing the tough prioritization decisions down to stressed state and local officials.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, Seattle and King Counties, Washington health officer, stressed the need to properly fund the local health departments that actually convert vaccines into vaccinations.

“Public health vaccination clinics need resources to ensure equitable access to vaccines in all communities and populations,” he said. “There is a critical and immediate need for adequate funding and resources to implement the vaccination program.”

Several committee members said they don’t expect all states to absolutely adhere to federal guidelines and that they should actually be adjusted to the state of the local outbreak. For example, while proofreaders have priority in Phase 1b, Dr. Kathleen Dooling of the CDC that depending on local outbreaks, it might make sense to vaccinate inmates at the same time.

Dr. Christine Hahn, of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, said local and state officials will no doubt deviate from federal guidelines. The most important thing, Hahn said, is that the CDC provide enough guidance to avoid “paralysis through analysis” at the local level.

“There is no way we will all be able to stay in step and we have to say clearly that there will be local decisions because the worst that can happen is we leave vaccines in the freezer because we are scared have before. ” Go to the next group and move on, “she said.” We have to have faith in our local health and state health departments to do the right thing. “

“This is not black and white,” added Dr. Amanda Cohn of the CDC added. “They will be absolutely different depending on the local context.”

The committee can review the recommended prioritization at any time. Dr. Grace Lee of Stanford University School of Medicine said the committee may need to be flexible if, for example, vaccine manufacturers are exposed to interruptions and unable to deliver as many doses as planned.

“I hope we will have enough doses by stage 1c but I wanted to think about it if for some reason we don’t have enough doses,” said Lee, “I think we need to be ready to adjust in future stages as we don’t know where we’ll be in another month when these phases are introduced. “

England’s top medical officer announced Saturday that the UK had identified a new variant of the coronavirus that “can spread faster” than previous strains of the virus, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose new restrictions on parts of the nation to control its spread.

“We learn from this over time, but we already know enough, more than enough, to be sure that we need to act now,” Johnson said during a press conference on Saturday setting new restrictions on London and other parts of England before the Christmas holidays.

“If the virus changes its method of attack, we’ll have to change our method of defense,” said Johnson.

The UK government announced the new strain of coronavirus on Monday after cases increased in the south and east of England. According to a statement from Public Health England, just over 1,100 Covid-19 cases had been identified with the new variant by Sunday.

Now it is believed the new strain could be up to 70% more communicable than the original strain of the disease, Johnson said on Saturday, adding that it appears to be fueling the rapid spread of infections. Johnson urged residents not to travel and “stay on-site” to keep the new strain from moving around the country and abroad.

The UK reports around 24,061 new Covid-19 cases daily based on a weekly average, an increase of more than 40% from the previous week, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

“This is early data that needs to be verified, but it is the best we have right now and we need to respond to information as we have it because it is now spreading very quickly,” said Johnson.

Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said at the press conference that “viruses are constantly mutating”. Seasonal influenza mutates every year, and other new variants of the coronavirus have already been identified in countries like Spain, according to Public Health England.

What needs to be answered is whether the new strain will transmit more easily, make people sick, and whether it will change the way a person’s immune system responds to the virus if they are already infected or vaccinated, Whitty said.

So far, a body of evidence from genetic studies, frequency studies, and laboratory studies suggests that the new strain “has a significant, substantial increase in transmissibility,” Whitty said. So far, however, there is no evidence that the new strain causes a higher mortality rate.

Health officials believe the new variant first appeared in London or Kent in mid-September, and by mid-November it is believed to have caused about 28% of cases in London and other parts of south-east England, Whitty said.

Now those numbers are much higher, he said. In London last week, data suggests the new variant accounts for more than 60% of new cases, Whitty said.

“So that tells us that this new variant is not only moving fast, it also transmits better, it also becomes the dominant variant. It beats everyone else in terms of transmission,” he said.

However, there is “no evidence” that it causes more severe illness, more hospitalizations, or “more problems than the other virus,” Whitty said. While there are reasons to suspect the new variant might alter a person’s immune response to the disease, nothing suggests that it has so far, he said.

“We are currently assuming by all scientists that the vaccine response for this virus should be appropriate,” he said. “Obviously this has to be checked in the future, and we have to remain vigilant in this regard.”

The UK has alerted the World Health Organization and will continue to analyze data on the new strain.

If you’ve had serious side effects after taking a Covid vaccine, attorneys tell CNBC that there is basically no one to blame in a U.S. court.

The federal government has granted companies like Pfizer and Moderna liability immunity if something goes wrong with their vaccines.

“It is very rare for a blanket immunity bill to be passed,” said Rogge Dunn, a Dallas work and employment attorney. “Pharmaceutical companies are typically not afforded much liability protection by law.”

You also can’t sue the Food and Drug Administration for approving an emergency vaccine, and you can’t hold your employer accountable for making vaccination a condition of employment.

Congress created a fund specifically to cover lost wages and medical expenses for people who have been irreparably harmed by a “covered countermeasure” such as a vaccine. But it’s hard to use and rarely pays off. Lawyers say it has compensated less than 6% of claims filed over the past decade.

Immune to lawsuits

In February, the Secretary for Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, invoked the Public Preparedness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The 2005 Act empowers the HHS Secretary to provide legal protection to companies that manufacture or sell critical medical supplies such as vaccines and treatments unless the company has “willful misconduct”. The protection lasts until 2024.

This means that for the next four years these companies “cannot be sued in court for monetary damages” for violations related to the administration or use of products for treatment or protection against Covid.

HHS declined CNBC’s request for an interview.

Dunn believes a big reason for the unprecedented protection has to do with the accelerated timeline.

“When the government said, ‘We want you to develop this four or five times faster than normal,’ the manufacturers most likely said to the government, ‘We want you, the government, to protect us from multi-million dollar lawsuits. “” said Dunn.

It is very rare for a blanket immunity law to be passed. … Pharmaceutical companies are usually not afforded much liability protection by law.

Rogge Dunn

Dallas labor and employment attorney

The fastest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. It took four years and was approved in 1967. Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine was developed and approved for emergency use within eight months – a fact that has fueled public suspicion of coronavirus vaccination in the United States

About 4 in 10 Americans say they would “definitely” or “probably” not get the vaccine, according to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center. While this is lower than two months ago, it still indicates a large trust gap.

But drug manufacturers like Pfizer continue to reassure the public that no shortcuts have been taken. “This is a vaccine that has been developed without compromising,” said CEO Dr. Albert Bourla in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday. “This is a vaccine that is approved by all authorities in the world. That should say something.”

The immunity granted to pharmaceutical companies not only protects them from lawsuits. Dunn said it helps lower the cost of vaccinations.

“The government doesn’t want people to sue the companies that make the Covid vaccine, because then the manufacturers would likely charge the government a higher price per person per dose,” said Dunn.

Pfizer and Moderna have not returned CNBC’s request for comment on their legal protection.

Is anyone liable?

Remember, vaccine manufacturers are not the ones who approve their product for mass distribution. That is the job of the FDA.

Which begs the question, if you react extremely poorly to a vaccine, can you sue the US government?

Again the answer is no.

“You can’t sue the FDA for approving or rejecting a drug,” said Dorit Reiss, professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law. “It’s part of his sovereign immunity.”

Sovereign immunity came from the king, explains Dunn, referring to British law before the American Revolution. “You couldn’t sue the king. So America has sovereign immunity, and even every state has sovereign immunity.”

There are limited exceptions, but Dunn said he doesn’t think they are a viable legal avenue to hold the federal government responsible for a Covid vaccination violation.

Bringing workers back into a post-Covid world also brings with it an increased fear of employer liability. Lawyers across the country say their corporate clients are reaching out to them to ask if they can request employees to be vaccinated.

India Medley, Chief Nurse Officer at Howard University Hospital, receives the Covid-19 vaccine at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC on December 15, 2020.

Nicholas Comb | AFP | Getty Images

Dunn’s customers who run businesses that serve customers in person or on-site are most interested in getting a Covid vaccine for employees.

“They see it as a selling point,” said Dunn. “It is especially important for restaurants, bars, gyms and salons. My customers in this segment of the service industry are very keen to make this a binding selling point for their customers.”

While this is in part a public relations tactic, it is legally the right of an employer to impose such a requirement.

“Requiring a vaccine is a health and safety work rule, and employers can do it,” Reiss said.

There are a few notable exceptions. If a workforce is unionized, the collective agreement may need to require negotiations with the union before a vaccine is made mandatory.

Anti-discrimination laws also offer protection. The American With Disabilities Act allows workers who do not wish to be vaccinated for medical reasons to apply for an exemption. If ingestion of the vaccine is a violation of a “righteous” religious belief, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would possibly provide a route sign out.

If none of these exceptions apply, employees can appeal if they suffer from debilitating side effects after a work-related Covid vaccination.

Lawyers say claims would most likely be channeled through employee compensation programs and treated as workplace injury.

“However, there are significant limits or caps on the damage an employee can claim,” Dunn said. He added that it would likely be difficult to prove.

However, mandatory vaccination protocols may not be created until the FDA officially approves the vaccines and licenses Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna for sale. This will take several months for data to show their safety and effectiveness.

“An emergency permit is not a license,” said Reiss. “There is a legal issue as to whether you can mandate an emergency observation. The language, in fact, is a bit unclear on this.”

$ 50,000 per year

The government created a way to compensate people in case something goes wrong after vaccination.

In addition to Due to legal immunity, the PREP Act introduced the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which provides benefits to eligible individuals seriously injured by any of the protected companies.

The little-known government program has been around for a decade and is managed by an agency under HHS. This fund usually only deals with vaccines that you would probably never get, like the H1N1 and Anthrax vaccines.

If a case is successful for compensation from the CICP, the program allows up to $ 50,000 per year in non-reimbursed lost wages and medical expenses. There are no legal fees or other costs to compensate for pain and suffering.

It is also limited to the $ 370,376 death benefit total. This is the maximum amount a surviving family member will receive if a Covid vaccine turns out to be fatal.

However, experts who specialize in vaccination law say that it is difficult to navigate. “This state compensation program is very difficult to apply,” said Reiss. “The bar for compensation is very high.”

Also of concern to some vaccination injury attorneys is the fact that the CICP has turned down a large portion of the claims for compensation it has made since the program began 10 years ago. Of the 499 claims filed, The CICP has settled only 29 claims totaling more than $ 6 million.

People harmed by a Covid vaccine deserve to be compensated quickly and generously. The PREP law doesn’t do that.

Dorit Reiss

Professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law

David Carney, vice president of the Vaccine Bar Association, said the CICP could deny a claim for a variety of reasons. “One reason could be that the medical records do not support an allegation,” said Carney, who regularly deals with vaccination injury cases. “We have to process a lot of really complex questions … and provide a medical basis for why the injury occurred.”

Proof of injury as a direct result of the Covid vaccine could be difficult, Carney said. “It’s not that easy to say, ‘Hey, I got Covid treatment and now I have an injury.’ There is a lot of evidence there. “

There is also a strict one year law, which means that all claims must be made within 12 months of receiving the vaccine.

“People who are harmed by a Covid vaccine deserve to be compensated quickly and generously,” said Reiss. “The PREP Act doesn’t do that.”

Lawyers tell CNBC that it would make more sense to channel Covid vaccination violations through another program under the HHS called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program that handles applications for 16 routine vaccines instead. The program known colloquially as the “vaccination court” paid for about 70% of the petitions decided by the court from 2006 to 2018.

And since reviewing claims in 1988, the VICP has paid total compensation of approximately $ 4.4 billion. This dwarfs the approximately $ 6 million in paid services of the CICP during the life of the program.

The VICP also gives you more time to file your claim. You have three years from the date of the first symptom to claim compensation.

“The VICP provides recovery from pain and suffering, legal fees, and any medical expenses and lost wages,” said Michael Maxwell, a lawyer specialing in litigation and personal injury. “Under the CICP, it’s just lost wages and medical expenses. That’s it, unless there’s a death.”

However, the Covid-19 vaccines are not on the list of eligible vaccines.

Reiss said the best solution would be to change VICP’s rulebook to include Covid vaccines in the vaccination coverage list. “That requires a change in the law. I hope that there will be a change in the law.”