Tyson Foods is struggling to provide enough vaccines for its employees
A Tyson Foods employee wears a second protective mask outside the company’s meat processing plant, which was hit by an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Waterloo, Iowa, USA.
Jeffrey Becker | USA TODAY’S NETWORK REUTERS
Tyson Foods recently began an effort to immunize plant employees in Missouri, Illinois and Virginia. The meat processing company managed to deliver only 1,000 doses, according to CNBC’s Bertha Coombs.
The company has managed to receive between 25 and 50 doses at some point so far this month to immunize its health and safety workers over the age of 65, but Tyson Foods has 120,000 workers in two dozen states. .
“We don’t turn down an opportunity to get a vaccine for our team members,” said Tom Brower, Tyson’s senior vice president for health and safety.
More than 12,500 Tyson Foods workers have contracted Covid-19, according to the Food Network Reporting Network. Tyson has not confirmed these reports and claims that he has kept his workers safe.
–Bogat Mendez
Pfizer is asking the FDA to approve keeping vaccine doses at higher temperatures
A photo taken on January 15, 2021, shows a pharmacist holding in his gloves a bottle of the Pfizer-BioNTech undiluted vaccine for Covid-19, stored at -70 ° in a freezer of the hospital in Le Mans, northwestern France, as The country is conducting a vaccination campaign to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.
Jean-Francois Monier | AFP | Getty Images
Pfizer said it is seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration to keep its Covid-19 vaccine for two weeks at common temperatures in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.
The vaccine, which was developed in conjunction with German doctor BioNTech, must now be stored in ultra-cold freezers that keep it between minus 112 and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Pfizer said it had sent new data to the US agency showing that the vaccine is stable between minus 13 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
The vaccine is shipped in a special thermal container that can be used as temporary storage for up to 30 days by refilling with dry ice every five days. The move could make the vaccine easier to transport to the United States at a time when the rate of inoculation has been slow.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Former Aetna CEO on how to pick up the US vaccine
The Biden administration announced this week plans to double the number of vaccines delivered directly to pharmacies from one million to two million doses per week, with the aim of reaching 40,000 pharmacies nationwide. Mark Bertolini, former CEO and president of Aetna, joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” group to discuss.
Pfizer vaccine reduces infection rates, may be effective after the first dose, studies show
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Sergio Perez | Reuters
In a series of encouraging news, two Israeli studies have shown that the Pfizer vaccine, developed together with BioNTech in Germany, could have a profound impact on the transmission of the virus, reports Reuters.
A study by Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health found that the Pfizer vaccine reduces infection rates in asymptomatic cases by 89.4% and in symptomatic cases by 93.7%, the wire service reported.
A separate study by Sheba Medical Center in Israel found that hospital staff who received the first dose in January had an 85% reduction in symptomatic Covid-19 within 15 to 28 days, and a general reduction in infections. including asymptomatic cases, was 75%.
–Terri Cullen
Biotechnology expert Geoffrey Porges discusses the effectiveness of vaccines against variants
Following the launch of a recent study on the impact of variant B.1.351, first found in South Africa, on the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines, Geoffrey Porges, director of therapeutic research and senior biotechnology analyst at SVB Leerink, joined CNBC “Worldwide Change” to discuss the implications.
The daily average of new Covid cases in the USA decreases in 43 states
The United States has seen a decline in new Covid cases, averaging seven days in 43 states, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Only Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming reported an average seven-day increase in new cases.
Severe cases of Covid have stabilized in Washington, which has a seven-day average of 704 current hospitalizations, down 3.9 percent from a week earlier. Hospitalizations are declining in the other 49 states.
This data provided by JHU is collected from dozens of state and local agencies that have different reporting methodologies and levels of accuracy. Seven-day average comparisons help mitigate inconsistencies in state reporting procedures.
—Melodie Warner