The Trump administration has selected five companies as the most likely to produce a Covid-19 vaccine, a White House coronavirus task force source tells CNN.
The same source added that the decision came from “Operation Warp Speed,” which seeks to quickly ramp up production, organize distribution and determine who gets the first doses of a potential vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has previously suggested January as a potential date for a vaccine, but vaccines typically take years to produce.
The New York Times first reported that the administration had selected five companies most likely to produce a vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday it is “very concerned” about the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in Haiti.
By the numbers: Haiti has reported at least 2,507 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and at least 48 deaths, according to the latest report by the Haitian Ministry of Health from June 1.
“We are very concerned about Haiti at the moment because of its unique circumstances, unique fragility and the fact that the disease is accelerating in a highly vulnerable population”, WHO’s Executive Director for Health Emergencies, Michael Ryan, said in a press conference.
“What has been common to many regions has been intense community transmission and it is clear that once community transmission has been established it’s very difficult to root the virus out.”
Two thousand Brazilians will participate in June tests of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in partnership with AstraZeneca pharmaceutical, the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp) said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian Ministry of Health approved the start of the study, in which 1,000 patients in São Paulo and 1,000 more in Rio de Janeiro will be vaccinated.
The country is the first site of these vaccination tests outside the United Kingdom.
The study will happen as Brazil is registering an increase in the number of cases and deaths. Tuesday’s reported death toll of 1,262 was a record for a 24-hour period.
Brazil’s biggest cities have still started relaxing social isolation rules imposed since mid-March.
“The most important thing is to carry out this stage of the study now when the epidemiological curve is still rising and the results may be more assertive”, the lead investigator of the study in Brazil and Unifesp researcher, Lily Yin Weckx, said.
The official registration of the vaccine is expected to be made later this year in the United Kingdom, Unifesp said in its statement.
Brazil has the second-highest number of cases after the United States.
At least seven regions in New York are ready to enter phase two and reopen restaurants for outdoor seating from tomorrow, according to a news release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.
Restaurants in Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North County, the Southern Tier and Western New York can all reopen for outdoor seating, the release says.
Here are the guidelines restaurants must follow:
- Outdoor tables must be six feet apart
- All staff must wear face coverings
- Customers must also wear face coverings when not seated
New York state reported its lowest daily coronavirus death toll in months, with 49 deaths reported yesterday. The state confirmed 1,045 additional cases of Covid-19 for a statewide total of 374,085.
“Covid-19 is still a real threat and we’re still battling it. I know it’s not on the front pages today, but it is still in people and in society,” Cuomo said. “But thanks to the people of New York and the nurses, doctors and essential workers, today we have the lowest number of hospitalizations ever and we have the lowest death toll ever. We are continuously evaluating activities that can be safely reopened, and today we are adding outdoor seating at restaurants to phase two.”
