14 December,2020 08:20 AM IST | Kalamazoo | Agencies
Trucks carrying the first shipment of the COVID vaccine leave Pfizer's Global Supply facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Sunday. PIC/AFP
The first trucks carrying a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States pulled out of a Michigan manufacturing facility Sunday, with the shots that are critical to stopping the nation's coronavirus outbreak destined to reach states a day later. Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will set in motion the biggest vaccination effort in American history at a critical juncture of the pandemic that has killed 1.6 million and sickened 71 million worldwide.
Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be sent out, and the priority is health care workers and nursing home residents as cases, hospitalisations and deaths soar in the US. With numbers likely to get worse over the holidays, the vaccine is offering a bright spot in the fight against COVID-19 that's killed nearly 3 lakh Americans.
Federal officials say the first shipments of Pfizer's vaccine will be staggered, arriving in 145 distribution centres on Monday, with an additional 425 sites getting shipments on Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. The vaccine, co-developed by German partner BioNTech, is being doled out based on each state's adult population.
The vaccine is heading to hospitals and other sites that can store it at extremely low temperatures - about 94 degrees below zero. Pfizer is using containers with dry ice and GPS-enabled sensors to ensure each shipment stays colder than the weather in Antarctica.
Doses should be delivered to all vaccination sites identified by states, such as local pharmacies, within three weeks, federal officials said. The rollout will ensure there is enough vaccine to give people the two doses needed for full protection against COVID-19. That means the government is holding back 3 million doses to give those vaccinated in the first round a second shot a few weeks later. Another vaccine by Moderna will be reviewed by an expert panel next week and soon afterward could be allowed for public use.
Brazil has vaccination plan, but no date
Brazil's government has presented a Supreme Court justice with a immunisation plan that provides initially for only enough shots for about a quarter of the population and does not indicate a start date. The document, which was made public on Saturday, was submitted by President Jair Bolsonaro's administration the previous night to judge Ricardo Lewandoswki, who had ordered the report after an opposition political party filed a lawsuit seeking details on the immunisation plans. The plan calls for the government to provide shots for priority groups amounting to about 51 million people, just under 25% of Brazil's 212 million people.
Countries grapple with surge, some impose tighter curbs
Japan's daily COVID cases hit record high
Japan's daily cases have exceeded 3,000 for the first time while the government delays stricter measures for fear of hurting the economy ahead of the holiday season. The 3,030 new cases, including 621 in Tokyo, took Japan's national tally to 1,77,287 with 2,562 deaths, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. Experts say serious cases are on the rise, putting an extra burden on hospitals. They urged authorities to suspend out-of-town trips and request stores to close early.
South Korea records 1,030 new cases
South Korea has set another record for its daily coronavirus tally with 1,030, as authorities struggle to suppress the virus's spread. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday the additional cases including two deaths raised the national caseload to 42,766 with 580 fatalities. About 80% of the new cases were found in Seoul area.
China locks down 2.5 lakh people
Chinese authorities have locked down an area of more than 2,50,000 people after half a dozen cases were confirmed near the Russian border in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. Bus service has been suspended, schools closed and production halted at factories not making daily necessities. Restaurants were told to stop dine-in.
Germany closes schools, most stores
Germany is closing most stores and schools, and further limiting social contacts in an effort to drive down the rate of infections. Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and the governors of Germany's 16 states agreed on Sunday to step up the country's lockdown measures from December 16 to January 10 to stop the exponential rise of cases. Existing restrictions imposed in November failed to significantly reduce the number of new infections, Merkel said. Germany recorded 20,200 new cases and 321 deaths on Sunday.
4,19,180
Total no. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours
7,02,28,447
Total no. of cases worldwide
16,07,732
Total no. of deaths worldwide
Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins
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