Month: December 2020

According to the New York Police Department, police shot and killed an armed suspect who allegedly opened fire outside a Manhattan cathedral as carolers sang on the steps of the church. 

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that none of the carolers or people nearby were injured or killed in the incident which took place outside of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Shea told reporters at a news conference that the carolers were ending their singing around 3:45 p.m. when an unidentified man opened fire near the doors of the church. Police responded immediately and opened fire at the suspect, who was struck in the head and killed, the commissioner said.

Two semi-automatic firearms were recovered from the scenee, as well as a bag allegedly contained gasoline, rope, wire, multiple knives, a Bible and tape. The NYPD said the investigation is ongoing.

Man killed after opening fire outside New York City cathedral

Via www.nbcnews.com

The shooting occurred after a Christmas concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

12/13/2020 6:07 PM

 

Editorial credit: EQRoy / Shutterstock.com

The CEO of the federal government’s vaccine initiative Operation Warp Speed said during a news conference held by the US Food and Drug Administration that the first COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed safely. 

Gen. Gustave Perna said, “I am absolutely, 100 percent, confident that we are going to distribute safely, this precious commodity this vaccine needed to defeat the enemy, Covid. Many of you want to know who will receive the first vaccine. And while I leave that up to the experts at the Health and Human Services organization, I remind you of this: Nearly 100,000 Americans have already rolled up their sleeves and participated in clinical trials across America. They were the true first recipients of the vaccine.” The news conference came after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Perna said shipping containers with the vaccine are already being packed at a Pfizer facility and that he expects the vaccine to arrive at 145 sites across the United States on Monday. Another 425 sites are expected to receive the vaccine on Tuesday and the final 66 sites will receive it on Wednesday, completing the initial delivery of Pfizer vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has met the FDA’s criteria for an emergency use authorization and that “totality of the available data provides clear evidence” that the vaccine “may be effective in preventing COVID-19.”

COVID vaccine delivery begins in the U.S. as cases surge

Via www.cbsnews.com

More than a million doses of the coronavirus vaccine are making their way through America as…

12/13/2020 6:33 PM

 

Editorial credit: Giovanni Cancemi / Shutterstock.com

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory vaccines committee voted to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use authorization. 

The vote by the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee doesn’t mean the vaccine gets immediate approval by the FDA. That decision will be made at a future time that has yet to be announced. A CDC advisory committee is scheduled to meet Sunday.

The vote concluded after a meeting in which more than a dozen experts discussed the results of Pfizer’s advance trial. Emergency use authorization is the final step necessary before millions of doses can be shipped to the American public. The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine  has already been approved for emergency use in Britain and Canada.

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine receives key FDA panel recommendation

Via www.nbcnews.com

The vote is one of the final steps towards authorization of a vaccine.

12/10/2020 5:41 PM

 

Editorial credit: Mike Mareen / Shutterstock.com