Tyson Foods Struggles to Get Enough Vaccines for Its Employees
An employee of Tyson Foods puts on a second protective mask outside the company’s meat processing plant, which was hit by an outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), in Waterloo, Iowa, USA
Jeffrey Becker | USA TODAY NETWORK | REUTERS
Tyson Foods recently launched an effort to immunize its factory employees in Missouri, Illinois and Virginia. According to CNBC’s Bertha Coombs, the meat processing company was only able to get 1,000 doses.
The company has been able to receive 25 to 50 doses at a time so far this month to immunize its health and safety workers over the age of 65, but Tyson Foods has 120,000 workers in two dozen states.
“We are not showing the chance to get vaccine for our team members,” explained Tom Brower, Tyson’s senior vice president for health and safety.
More than 12,500 Tyson Foods employees contracted Covid-19, according to the watchdog group Food Environmental Reporting Network. Tyson did not confirm the reports, claiming it kept his workers safe.
–Ryk Mendez
Pfizer asks FDA to approve approval of vaccination of doses at higher temperatures
A photo taken on January 15, 2021 shows a pharmacist holding gloves with a vial of the undiluted Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19, stored at -70 ° in a super-freezer of Le Mans Hospital , Northern France, as the country launches a vaccination campaign to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
Jean-Francois Monier | AFP | Getty Images
Pfizer said it was seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration to store its Covid-19 vaccine for two weeks at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.
The vaccine, developed with German medicine maker BioNTech, currently has to be stored in ultra-cold freezers that hold between 112 and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Pfizer said it had submitted new data to the U.S. agency showing the vaccine is stable between minus 13 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
The vaccine is shipped in a special thermal container that can be used for up to 30 days as temporary storage by refilling with dry ice every five days. The move could make the vaccine easier to transport through the U.S., at a time when the rate of vaccinations has been slow.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Former Aetna CEO on how to speed up US vaccine deployment
The Biden administration this week plans to double the number of vaccines sent directly to pharmacies from one million to two million doses per week, with the goal of reaching 40,000 pharmacies nationwide. Mark Bertolini, former CEO and chairman of Aetna, has joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss.
Pfizer vaccine slows infection rate, may be effective after first dose, according to studies
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Sergio Perez | Reuters
In a wave of encouraging news, two Israeli studies have shown that the Pfizer vaccine, made with German BioNTech, could have a major impact on virus transmission, Reuters reported.
A study by Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health found that the Pfizer vaccine reduces infection rates in asymptomatic cases by 89.4% and in symptomatic cases by 93.7%, according to the wire service.
A separate study by the Israeli Sheba Medical Center found that hospital staff who received their first dose in January saw a reduction in symptomatic Covid-19 within 15 to 28 days, and that the overall reduction in infections, including asymptomatic cases, 75% were.
–Terri Cullen
Biotechnology expert Geoffrey Porges discusses the effectiveness of vaccines against variants
Following the launch of a recent study on the impact of the B.1.351 variant, first found in South Africa, on the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, Geoffrey Porges, director of therapeutic research and senior biotechnology analyst at SVB Leerink, joined CNBC’s “Worldwide” Exchange “to discuss the implications.
Daily average of new US Covid cases drops in 43 states
According to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, the United States sees a decline in the new Covid cases on an average of seven days in 43 states. Only Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming reported an increase in the seven-day average of new cases.
Serious Covid cases have stabilized in Washington, which has an average of seven days from 704 current hospitalizations, down 3.9% from a week earlier. Hospitalizations are declining in the other 49 states.
This data provided by JHU is collected from dozens of state and local agencies with different reporting methods and accuracy levels. Comparisons with the average of seven days help to eradicate inconsistencies in state reporting procedures.
—Melodie Warner