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COVID-19 vaccine campaigns could be faster, industry says

Pfizer Has Million Of Doses Of Vaccine Sitting In Warehouse

On Thursday, Pfizer released a statement to deny claims that it was having issues producing its COVID-19 vaccine. The statement comes after officials in more than a dozen states complained that they were receiving fewer doses than promised. According to Business Insider, Trump officials claimed there were "manufacturing challenges." In its statement, Pfizer said it was "not having any production issues." It revealed it has millions of doses sitting in a warehouse, awaiting government orders on where to ship them to. Two anonymous Trump officials told the Associated Press the doses are in storage on purpose. The doses are being held back to ensure that people who had their first shot can get the second one.

The Trump Admin. Rejected Offer For More Vaccines

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that in November Pfizer offered the Trump Administration more COVID-19 vaccines. Gottlieb says the Trump administration rejected the offer. The NY Times reports that Pres. Trump rejected 100 million doses of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine over the summer. According to Business Insider the COVID-19 vaccine deployment campaign started Monday, December 14th.

Banking Association Asks For Tellers To Be Deemed 'Essential Workers'

It's generally thought that once the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, front-line healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be first in line. But according to Gizmodo, bank tellers may get to skip the line--past them, and past the over-65's and those with underlying conditions. The industry trade group American Bankers Association has asked federal health authorities to designate consumer-facing bank employees as 'essential workers.' Such a designation would give them vaccine prioritization once the Federal Food and Drug Administration grants emergency-use authorization. To date, the U.S. has seen nearly 15 million COVID-19 cases and 280,000 deaths--the most in the world. The CDC predicts 19,500 new deaths will be reported during the week of Christmas, and that another 300,000 COVID-19 cases will be added in December.

COVID Vaccine May Rebound Travel