FDA head expects vaccine emergency use soon
WASHINGTON — The head of the Food and Drug Administration says his agency has told Pfizer that it “will rapidly work” to grant emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine following a positive recommendation by government advisers.
The FDA decision will kickstart an unprecedented vaccination campaign needed to eventually defeat the virus. The FDA’s greenlight of the vaccine, co-developed with BioNtech, was practically assured after the positive vote by agency advisers a day earlier.
The FDA’s brief statement came less than an hour after President Donald Trump tweeted directly at FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, complaining that FDA “is still a big, old, slow turtle.”
FDA staff have repeatedly said they expect to issue a decision within days of Thursday’s meeting. Many FDA observers predict action by Saturday ahead of a Sunday meeting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The panel of CDC advisers will vote on who should get priority for the initial shots. Federal officials plan to allocate the first 6.4 million doses of the vaccine to states based on their population.
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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania is halting school sports and other extracurricular activities, ordering gyms, theaters and casinos to close and banning indoor dining at restaurants in response to the worsening pandemic.
A day after telling Pennsylvanians of his own COVID-19 diagnosis, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the widely expected clampdown Thursday. He said it aims to slow the accelerating spread of the coronavirus and prevent hospitals from becoming overrun.
“We all hoped it would not come to this,” Wolf said at a virtual news conference, but “we need to slow the spread to save lives.”
The restrictions include a 10-person cap on indoor gatherings, a 50-person limit for outdoor gatherings and capacity restrictions at retail stores. They take effect Saturday and run through until Jan. 4.
Stocks extend losses as virus aid languishes in Congress
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street, extending their losses for the week, as efforts to provide badly needed aid to people and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic remain stalled in Congress. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% in the first few minutes of trading Friday. Energy companies and banks had some of the biggest losses, while safe-play stocks like utilities and real estate companies held up better. Disney jumped 7% after the entertainment giant announced a massive slate of new streaming offerings for its fast-growing Disney Plus service. European markets were lower and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held steady.
Inflation still a no-show, US wholesale prices up just 0.1%
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices edged up a slight 0.1% in November as weak demand caused by the pandemic has kept inflation at extremely low levels. The increase in the producer price index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, followed bigger gains of 0.3% in October and 0.4% in September, the Labor Department reported Friday. But even with those gains, wholesale prices are up just 0.8% from a year ago, far below the Federal Reserve’s target for annual price increases of 2%.
Retailers urge shoppers to buy early amid shipping crunch
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writers
NEW YORK (AP) — A number of retailers, including J.C. Penney, Lowe’s and Kohl’s, are telling shoppers they need to place their online orders soon or else pay expedited shipping fees if they want to get their packages delivered in time for the holidays. The earlier-than-usual deadlines come as more people turn to online shopping during the pandemic, creating a logjam for shipping companies as well as delivery delays. For some retailers like H&M and Lego, the deadlines have already passed. One expert estimates that a majority of retailers have pushed up deadlines by at least a day or two, with about a quarter moving them up at least a week or more. Meanwhile, behemoths like Walmart, Target and Amazon haven’t had to make any major changes.