September 6 coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked states to be ready to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by late October. 

Drugmaker Pfizer thinks it will have enough data to ask the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize its potential vaccine next month.

Most experts think it's unlikely -- but not impossible -- that a vaccine will be ready ahead of the US election. But with at least seven candidates in phase 3 trials, it's very likely that at least one successful vaccine will emerge in the months to come. Pharmaceutical companies are also racing to develop effective treatments for the disease.

An effective vaccine has been touted as the magic bullet that will allow the global economy to quickly shift back into gear. Yet there are reasons why the recovery may be slow going: vaccines are typically not 100% effective and there will be a limited number of doses to go around.

Distribution could be a problem, both between countries and within them. Even if those challenges are overcome, some people may choose not to take the vaccine.

Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, wrote recently in a research note that there are a range of potential outcomes for economies once a vaccine is certified. And it would be wrong, he said, to assume that a vaccine will transform the economic outlook for next year.

"At one end of the spectrum lies a highly effective vaccine that is produced and distributed quickly. At the other lies a less effective vaccine that faces significant production and distribution challenges and would be in relatively short supply in 2021," he said. "In most scenarios in between, it is likely that containment measures, including social distancing and restrictions on some foreign travel, will remain in place for the foreseeable future."

Read the full analysis:

Covid-19 can have lasting impacts on the body, but preliminary research is finding that patients not only can recover over time, but can do so faster with pulmonary rehabilitation.

Two early research reports which will be presented today at the European Respiratory Society International Congress describe how a severe Covid-19 infection can leave lasting lung damage and, in some cases, even psychological wounds.

"The bad news is that people show lung impairment from COVID-19 weeks after discharge; the good news is that the impairment tends to ameliorate over time, which suggests the lungs have a mechanism for repairing themselves," Dr. Sabina Sahanic, a clinical PhD student at the University Clinic in Innsbruck, Austria, who was involved in one of the reports, said in a news release.

Sahanic's research included data on 86 patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms who were enrolled in the study between April and June.

"About 50% of our study population showed a persisting shortness of breath six weeks after discharge from hospital that improved slightly until visit two," Sahanic said.

"Regarding our CT findings, we found that about 88% of our study population still showed pathological findings in visit one, which ameliorated to 56% in visit two."

The second study, presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress on Friday, found that patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation early in their recovery process showed improvements in a range of areas, including:

• Lung capacity
• Balance
• Muscle strength
• Fatigue

Neither study has yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and more research will be needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge among a larger and more diverse group of patients.

Read more:

Brazil recorded 14,521 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry on Sunday, bringing its total number of infections to 4,137,521.

Another 447 virus-related deaths were also recorded, raising Brazil's death toll to 126,650.

The United States is the only country to have recorded more coronavirus cases than Brazil.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

Biden campaign senior adviser Symone Sanders was on Fox News this morning to discuss the development of the coronavirus vaccine.

Sanders said the Biden camp would support a Covid-19 vaccine that is ready before the election and threw out a hypothetical end of October date. 

"We all want a vaccine," Sanders said, "the question is how will it be distributed?"

A President that couldn't effectively manage personal protective equipment distribution can't be trusted to do the same with a life-saving vaccine, she said.

CNN's Rebecca Grandahl contributed to this report

The state of New York has maintained a positive Covid-19 infection rate below 1% for 30 straight days, a release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said. 

The state had a positive infection rate of 0.85% reported Saturday, the release said.

Hospitalizations across the state have dropped to 410 which is the lowest number since March 16, according to the release. 

"We know based on experience that an incremental, data-driven reopening is the best way to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers. As this virus continues to be a national crisis, it's clear that caution is a virtue, not a vice," Cuomo said.

The governor added: "Our infection rate has been below 1% for 30 days, and New Yorkers can help us keep that streak going by wearing masks, socially distancing, and washing their hands. Our actions today determine the rate of infection tomorrow, so as the Labor Day weekend continues, I urge everyone to be smart so we don't see a spike in the weeks ahead."

The United Kingdom has recorded 2,988 new Covid-19 cases in a 24-hour period — the highest daily number since May, according to government figures published on Sunday.

The UK’s total recorded case number now stands at 347,152. 

In addition, two people with Covid-19 have died, bringing the UK government's official death toll to 41,551 on Sunday. 

In response to the new figures, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Cases rising across the UK - 2988 being reported today compared to 1813 yesterday. This reminds us again of the need to be very vigilant and comply with all the facts."

Comparisons should be made with caution because the number of tests being processed has increased since May.

When asked to clarify her running mate Joe Biden’s stance on a federal mask mandate— Sen. Kamala Harris confirmed that it would just be a standard, appearing to walk back a legally enforceable action versus a strong suggestion.

“It would be a standard,” Harris said on CNN. “This is not about in terms of the priorities of Joe Biden and myself, this is not about punishment. It's not about big brother. It is simply about saying what a leader says in times of crisis. You look at world war II, you look at the great depression where leaders said, we each have to sacrifice for the sake of the nation and the collective. And that's what this is about.”

The California Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate did not clarify how that standard would be enforceable, instead she faulted the President for playing politics on the issue making it difficult to bring everyone else along.

Watch:

Seven more areas in France have been added to the Covid-19 "active circulation zone," or "red zone," according to a decree published on Sunday, bringing the total number to 28. 

In red zones, the authorities have the power to apply measures such as making masks compulsory outdoors and closing bars and restaurants.

France is made up of 101 administrative divisions called "departments" and now 28 of these are "red zones."

The Nord, Bas-Rhin, Seine-Maritime, Côte-d'Or (four ‘departments’ home to the urban areas of Lille, Rouen, Le Havre, Strasbourg and Dijon), the two "departments" of Corsica (South Corsica and Haute-Corse) and the island of Reunion have been added to the list.

This post has been updated to accurately reflect the number of departments in France.

Kamala Harris would not say whether she would take a vaccine for Covid-19 that is approved and distributed before the election, saying she does not trust President Trump, and that it would have to come from a credible source of information, according to an interview she did with CNN.

Harris spoke inside Founder’s Library at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington, DC with CNN's Dana Bash.

“Well, I think that's going to be an issue for all of us,” the Democratic vice presidential candidate said. “I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it. He wants us to inject bleach. No, I will not take his word.”

Harris did not project confidence that public health experts and scientists would get the last word about a vaccine.

“[I]f past is prologue that they will not, they'll be muzzled, they'll be suppressed, they will be sidelined because he's looking at election coming up in less than 60 days. And he's grasping for whatever he can get to pretend that he has been a leader on this issue when it's not," she said.