The Food and Drug Administration cleared the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, for emergency use on Friday, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a final clearance on Saturday.JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images
As Pfizer plans to begin shipping doses of the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by American regulators for emergency use Sunday, a host of new restrictions on business activities go into effect in Massachusetts, where the death toll has passed 11,000.
Massachusetts expects to receive 59,475 doses in its first shipment, which could land in the state Monday or Tuesday, according to Dr. Paul Biddinger, who led the stateâs vaccine advisory group.
As a business reporter, I write about small businesses opening and closing, manufacturing, food and drink, labor issues and economic data. I particularly love writing about the impact of state and federal policy on local businesses. I also do some education reporting, covering colleges in southeastern Connecticut and regional K-12 issues.
Erica Moser
As a business reporter, I write about small businesses opening and closing, manufacturing, food and drink, labor issues and economic data. I particularly love writing about the impact of state and federal policy on local businesses. I also do some education reporting, covering colleges in southeastern Connecticut and regional K-12 issues.
US officials said 36 states want vaccines shipped to long-term care facilities
The Food and Drug Administration could give emergency approval to the vaccine from Pfizer as soon as this week. An expert panel met Thursday to review the drug company s application for an emergency use authorization.
It s then set to review Moderna s request for emergency approval of its vaccine. Both require two doses given weeks apart.
US health officials have said millions of doses of a vaccine could be shipped out within a day of its emergency approval. Governors and their health departments have been busy planning where those vaccines will go.
Published: 12/9/2020 2:48:56 PM
As coronavirus cases surge across the state, local assisted living facilities and nursing homes are bracing for what could be a long and isolated winter.
With more than 800 new positive COVID-19 tests reported on Tuesday, just one day after the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced more than 1,000 new cases on Monday for the first time since the pandemic began, the safety of those in regional facilities is the issue that keeps those in charge awake at night.
Locally, there have no outbreaks like those currently taking place at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton, where 28 people have died due to COVID-19 as of press time Wednesday, and like others previously reported at Greenbriar in Nashua and Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Center in Manchester.