(CNN) The US topped 10 million coronavirus cases on Monday, just hours after drugmaker Pfizer announced that an early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine trial showed it is more than 90% effective -- a much better than expected efficacy if the trend continues.
World leaders welcomed the breakthrough and stocks surged in hopes of an economic recovery, as Pfizer said it plans to seek emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If it "goes along smoothly" then "we may have doses that we're able to give to people" sometime in December, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN.
The vaccine uses a never-before-approved technology called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to produce an immune response in people who are vaccinated, which bodes well for other vaccine candidates "using the same platform," Fauci said.
Preliminary results show no safety concerns but more data is needed to determine how long protection from the vaccine could last, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, told CNN. The company expects to have manufactured up to 50 million vaccine doses globally this year, and 1.3 billion next year. It's not clear whether the Covid-19 vaccine will become a yearly or season shot, but Bourla says it is likely that periodical jabs will be needed.
But there are a number of logistical challenges to rolling out the vaccine, especially since Pfizer's shot needs to be kept at -94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius). "There's a whole suite of very experienced and talented people at Pfizer who are solely working on this, an army of people, and so it's going to be important to work with the authorities with state governments and others to provide that supply chain," said Dr. John Burkhardt, Pfizer's vice president of research and development.
Q: When will we be able to get access to the Pfizer vaccine?
A: If it's approved for use, a limited number of doses may be available for people by the end of this year. But it won't be available "in any meaningful way well into the first quarter of next year and then second and third quarter for many people" in America, said Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Countries will also have to prioritize who gets the vaccine first. The UK, which said it would have 10 million doses of the vaccine manufactured and made available by the end of 2020, plans to inoculate the most vulnerable first, like care home workers and the elderly.
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Brazil suspends trials of China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine
Brazil's health regulator has suspended trials of a Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine following a "serious adverse event" involving a volunteer recipient, according to sources cited by CNN Brasil. The pause in testing marks a potential setback for one of China's leading vaccine candidates, Nectar Gan reports.
An incident reported on October 29 led to the trial being suspended in order to better evaluate the data and assess the risk, according to a note from Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency. The note did not provide details on the nature of the serious event or where it took place, citing privacy concerns. Sinovac said in a statement on Tuesday that it was "confident in the safety of the vaccine," without giving a reason for the reported suspension.
One-fifth of Covid-19 patients get a psychiatric diagnosis within 90 days
People who have had Covid-19 may have an increased risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety or depression, according to a study believed to be the largest so far on links between the coronavirus and mental health challenges.
In the three months after testing positive for Covid-19, almost one in five survivors (18%) were found to get a psychiatric diagnosis. This is about twice as likely as for other groups of patients with different illnesses and conditions analyzed as part of the study over the same period. "The study reports that patients have a somewhat higher risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, mainly anxiety or depression, after a Covid-19 diagnosis than after certain other medical events," said David Curtis, retired consultant psychiatrist and honorary professor at University College London and Queen Mary University of London.
FDA gives emergency OK to Lilly's antibody treatment for Covid-19
Eli Lilly and Co's monoclonal antibody therapy, used to treat mild to moderate coronavirus infections in adults and children, was given an emergency use authorization, the FDA said Monday. The single antibody treatment, called bamlanivimab, must be infused in a hospital or other health care setting, Maggie Fox and Jen Christensen report.
It is the first monoclonal antibody to be authorized for Covid-19 treatment.. The idea is to kick-start an immune response against infection. The authorization was based on a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October, which found the treatment seemed to lower the risk of hospitalization and ease some symptoms in a small number of patients.
There are ways to see the people you love safely over Thanksgiving, says CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, but it won't be easy.
"No matter who you voted for, please don't forget to protect yourself and others from Covid-19." -- CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
In today's episode, Dr. Gupta explores the pandemic response plan of President-elect Joe Biden, as well as promising vaccine news from Pfizer. Listen Now.