CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Americans will soon have access to a second COVID-19 vaccine.
Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, granted emergency authorization Friday to a vaccine made by Moderna, a week after giving similar clearance to one made by Pfizer and its German collaborator, BioNTech.
His is authorizing rather than approving the vaccine, because longer-term research is needed to meet the full standards for approval, which officials don t want to wait for during the public health emergency.
The speedy path to authorization was possible because the agency “cut through regulatory red tape,” Hahn said at a Friday night press conference. We worked quickly based on the urgency of this global pandemic . we have not cut corners.
No drama corona-Christmas has some secretly jumping for joy
No drama corona-Christmas has some secretly jumping for joy
Corritta Lewis, center, and her wife Mea pose with their son Caleb, 2, in Oceanside, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2020. For some planning to stay home for Christmas, giving up the hassle and family drama of holiday travel isn t such a bad deal in the end. Corritta Lewis, who has a huge extended family in Ohio, says she is looking forward to staying home with her family and avoiding the overall mania that the holiday brings. (Corritta Lewis via AP) Advertisement
Shannon O Reilly and her husband Ezequiel Viant pose for a selfie in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in 2019. She and her husband both have large extended families. Trying to squeeze in holiday visits with all leaves little meaningful face time for any, she said. (Shannon O Reilly via AP)
Paul Biris via Getty Images
Odds are you’ve had your nose or mouth swabbed for a COVID-19 diagnostic test at some point in 2020.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 217 million tests have been performed in the U.S. this year. Recently, demand for testing has gotten so high that labs and testing centers are reporting long lines and major backlogs.
At the same time, however, many people are actually refusing to get tested for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, even in cases when they know they’ve been exposed.
“Test avoidance appears to be a growing problem, at least anecdotally,” wrote Rita Rubin in a November issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Many of the same people who dismiss the need to test feel the same way about wearing a mask, in part because they think no one has the right to tell them to do either.”
Regardless of what health and safety experts say, some people will still travel during the pandemic. Here are some tips on how to do it safer if itâs necessary.
âFlying has been shown to be a safe mode of travel during the pandemic,â said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
âThe time spent in the airplane itself has been demonstrated to be safe, with thousands of flights successfully completed without evidence of transmission and only a handful of cases of transmission while in the air.â
Because of improved ventilation systems viruses may not spread easily on flights, but this is not a reason to let your guard down, Gonsenhauser said. Take precautions seriously and vigilantly adhere to recommendations on mask use, physical distancing and hand hygiene.Â