The coronavirus outbreak in the United States continues to spread at an alarming rate, with new infections totaling almost 50,000 on Wednesday, a new daily record for the nation. This new total comes only a day after top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned the public that the daily infection rate could reach as high as 100,000 a day if Americans do not start taking the necessary health precautions to slow the spread. Due to the enduring and uncontained viral spread, many states in the Southern and Western parts of the nation have begun to reinstate social restrictions and increase their public mask policies.
Nevertheless, many health experts are warning the public against summer gatherings, with many of the recent state outbreaks being traced back to the Memorial Day holiday in late-May. With the upcoming Independence Day holiday this weekend and the continued mass social gatherings garnered at protest demonstrations, the United States has a long road ahead towards a traceable and controlled viral spread.
Total Global Cases: Over 10.79 Million
Total Deaths: Over 518,000
Total Recovered: Over 5.93 Million
Vaccine Update
One of the potential coronavirus vaccines developed in partnership by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer
The clinical trial randomly assigned 45 healthy participants who received one of three different doses of the vaccine or a placebo: groups of 12 received either a 10-30-or-100-microgram dose of the vaccine BNT162b1, while 9 received a placebo. While the two groups who received lower microgram doses were given two rounds of injections within three weeks, the 12 that received 100-micrograms were not given a second dose due to adverse health reactions in half of the participants. A substantial portion of the participant pool developed fevers following injection, with the percentage of those reporting fevers correlating to higher dose amount. However, none of the side effects were determined to be serious.
The potential vaccine offered a strong immunity response, with all participants who received the vaccine developing significant levels of COVID-19 antibodies. The company noted that the levels of neutralizing antibodies were even higher than those found in recovered COVID-19 patients.
"We are encouraged by the clinical data of BNT162b1, one of four mRNA constructs we are evaluating clinically, and for which we have positive, preliminary, topline findings," Pfizer's Head of Vaccine Research and Development Dr. Kathrin Jansen stated in a release. "We are dedicated to develop potentially groundbreaking vaccines and medicines, and in the face of this global health crisis, we approach this goal with the utmost urgency. We look forward to publishing our clinical data in a peer-reviewed journal as quickly as possible."
The vaccine will need to be tested further to prove it is at least 50% effective against COVID-19 infection, with the company's planning to conduct larger clinical trials this summer.
