US sees record Covid-19 cases as CDC advisory group

 Covid-19 continues to ravage the United States, even as a second coronavirus vaccine received a vote of recommendation from a committee at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization and Practices (ACIP) voted Saturday to recommend Moderna’s vaccine candidate for people 18 and older, following the US Food and Drug Administration’s decision a day earlier to authorize the vaccine for emergency use.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield must accept the group’s recommendation, which would clear the way for vaccines to be administered and add a second vaccine to the country’s arsenal at a crucial moment in the pandemic.

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Over the last week, the US averaged more than 219,000 new Covid-19 infections a day, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. There were more than 249,000 infections reported on Friday alone — another record.

One of the recent cases is Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee. She tested positive for the virus and has mild symptoms, according to a statement Saturday from Gov. Bill Lee, who said he has tested negative and is quarantining.

More than 18,000 Americans died of Covid-19 in the past week, adding to the more than 316,000 Americans that have died during the pandemic. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects that more than 237,000 Americans will die of Covid-19 in the next three months.

“We have this great news with vaccines, but we also have to look at where we are, which is that our hospitalizations are nearly double from where they were a month ago,” said emergency medicine physician Dr. Leana Wen. “We have a person dying from coronavirus basically every 30 seconds here in the US.”

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“Know that there is just so much virus all around the country,” she added, urging Americans to consider not traveling for the holidays. “The entire US is a coronavirus hot spot.”

Officials and experts try to combat vaccine hesitancy

The ACIP’s recommendation of the Moderna vaccine comes as hundreds of Americans across the country have already received their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was authorized for emergency use by the FDA last week.

Leading officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, received the Pfizer vaccine publicly Friday, in an effort to encourage public confidence.

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“This is the beginning of the end,” Adams told CNN Friday night. “Make no mistake about it, it’s going to be a hard couple of weeks. We’ve still got work to do to get over this surge, but I want people to be encouraged.”

He chose to get the vaccine on TV because he wanted the American public to “understand I’ve looked at the data, I’ve worked with the companies and I felt safe getting the vaccine,” he said.

The dean at Morehouse School of Medicine was given the vaccine live on CNN Friday morning, saying that while she understands some Black Americans are concerned because of the nation’s history of racism in medical research, she wouldn’t recommend a vaccine she doesn’t trust.

“Really, this is a life and death message for Black people about the coronavirus,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice.

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In a news conference Saturday, Adams said he was more concerned about vaccine confidence than supply, encouraging people who are hesitant to seek out information on the vaccines.

“It’s OK to ask questions,” he said. “What is not OK is to let misinformation or mistrust cause you to make a decision which is going to be bad for your health, or for your family’s health, or your community’s health.”

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“This vaccine is almost 100% certain to prevent you or your loved one from getting severe disease,” he said. “It is the way we end this pandemic.”

Dr. José Romero, the chair of the ACIP and secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, said Saturday that safety has been and will continue to be a focus in the consideration of vaccines.