Tens of thousands of Americans have volunteered to test COVID-19 vaccines, but only about half of them got the real thing during trials.
Now, with the first vaccine rollouts and a surge in coronavirus infections, experts are debating what to do about the half that got a dummy shot.
Should everyone now be offered a vaccine? Or should the two groups in the Pfizer and Moderna studies remain intact in order to collect long-term data on how well the vaccines work?
“There’s a real tension here,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, an infectious disease specialist and former chief scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “There’s not an easy answer.”
PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon health care worker has been hospitalized after having a severe allergic reaction to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The Oregon Health Authority says the employee at Wallowa Memorial Hospital experienced anaphylaxis after receiving a first dose of the vaccine this week.
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The health authority said vaccines for COVID-19 can cause mild to moderate side effects in some people. This can include pain and swelling on the arm and sometimes fever, chills, tiredness and headache. In rare cases, some people have experienced severe allergic reactions.
Health officials will continue to track adverse reactions. So far, 38,698 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the state of Oregon since the week of Dec. 13.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
MILAN — Italy added another 462 virus deaths on Friday for a known pandemic death toll of 74,621, the highest in Europe. Italy’s daily death toll remains stubbornly high more than two months into restrictive measures and in the second week of a modified lockdown. Italy is launching its vaccine campaign and is first targeting residents of nursing homes and medical personnel.
PARIS — Ravers at an underground, curfew-violating New Year’s Eve party that drew at least 2,500 people in western France attacked police units sent to shut them down, torching a vehicle and injuring officers with bottles and stones, officials said Friday. First aid workers were distributing masks and hand gel to try to limit coronavirus infections.
CALUMET, Mich. — A judge has ordered the shutdown of a cafe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where customers have been supporting an owner who has defiantly served indoor diners despite coronavirus restrictions.Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration got a restraining order against Cafe Rosetta in Calumet, a small town in Houghton County.
BANGKOK — The Thai capital is shutting down venues including schools and entertainment parks as coronavirus cases continue to spread.Thailand reported 279 new cases on Friday including two deaths. The restrictions are in place until mid-January.
BEIJING — Two major airports in northeastern China are requiring departing passengers show a negative coronavirus test taken over the previous 72 hours before they can board their planes. Wary of another wave of infections, China is urging tens of millions of migrant workers to stay put during next month’s annual Lunar New Year holiday, usually the world’s largest annual human migration.
MIAMI — Florida health authorities reported finding evidence of the latest U.S. case of the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus strain first seen in England, saying it was detected in a man with no recent travel history. The case comes after reports in recent days of two individual cases of the United Kingdom strain of Covid-19 discovered in Colorado and California.
LATHAM, N.Y. -- Officials in upstate New York say nine nuns at a convent have died of causes related to COVID-19 in just over a month.WNYT-TV reported earlier in December that 22 sisters had tested positive. The convent’s website says it is home to 140 nuns.
GENEVA — The World Health Organization says it has cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, meaning poorer countries may soon get access to the shot already available in Europe and North America.
Cases hit new milestone
The number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases has surpassed 20 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That's nearly twice as many as the No. 2 country, India, and nearly one quarter of the more than 83 million cases globally.
