Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

VIRUS TODAY: 1 million cases in 5 days, FDA meets on vaccine

A Food and Drug Administration panel is meeting to decide whether to endorse the Pfizer vaccine

Via AP news wire
Thursday 10 December 2020 20:38 GMT
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak Pennsylvania
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak Pennsylvania (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Here's what's happening Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:

THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

— A Food and Drug Administration panel is meeting to decide whether to endorse the Pfizer vaccine. What normally would be a dull scientific event has attracted a massive following as the world anxiously awaits word on a vaccine.

— The U.S. recorded more than 3,000 new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday as hospitals sink deeper into crisis. That exceeds the number of Americans who died on Sept. 11 and D-Day.

— With the virus surging and new restrictions taking effect nationwide, more Americans are applying for unemployment. The 853,000 people who sought jobless benefits last week was the most since September.

THE NUMBERS: More than 1 million people have tested positive for the virus in the last five days. The U.S. is averaging 2,279 deaths per day.

QUOTABLE: "No one asked for this pandemic. I am trying to play the cards I am dealt with, and I have a really bad hand.” - Montrell McGraw, an out-of-work restaurant employee in New Orleans.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: As the virus tears through the country, plenty of people are still commuting to work, on trains, buses and cars. The commute has become an anxiety-ridden ordeal for many of them.

ON THE HORIZON: The FDA has to sign off on the recommendation from the panel discussing the Pfizer drug.

___

Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in