The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday, the highest one-day total yet, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine.
The previous record was 2,603 deaths on April 15, according to the university, which has been tracking the global pandemic since it began.
The U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of cases — 15.5 million — and deaths, with more than 291,000. India is second in the number of confirmed cases, at 9.7 million, and Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll, at almost 179,000.
A U.S. government advisory panel convened Thursday to decide whether to endorse mass use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration was the next-to-last hurdle before the expected start of the biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
Depending on how fast the FDA signs off on the panel’s recommendation, shots could begin within days.
“The American public demands and deserves a rigorous, comprehensive and independent review of the data,” said FDA’s Dr. Doran Fink, who described agency scientists working nights, weekends and over Thanksgiving to get that done.
The FDA is not required to follow the committee’s advice but is widely expected to do so. Once that happens, the U.S. will begin shipping millions of doses of the shot.
Later this month, the FDA is expected to pass judgment on another vaccine, developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health, that has proved about as protective as Pfizer’s. Vaccine candidates by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are also in the pipeline.
The initial supplies from Pfizer and Moderna will be limited and reserved primarily for health care workers and nursing home patients, with other vulnerable groups next in line until the shots become widely available on demand, something that will probably not happen until the spring.
The meeting of experts on vaccine development, infectious diseases and medical statistics came as the coronavirus continues surging across much of the world.
Hanging over the meeting was a warning from British officials that people with a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t get the vaccine. Government authorities there are investigating two reports of reactions that occurred Tuesday, when Britain became the first country in the West to begin mass vaccinations against the scourge.
Still, a positive recommendation and speedy U.S. approval appeared nearly certain after FDA scientists issued an overwhelmingly positive initial review of the vaccine earlier this week.
The FDA said results from Pfizer’s large, ongoing study showed the shot, which was developed with Germany’s BioNTech, was more than 90% effective across people of different ages, races and underlying health conditions, including diabetes and obesity. No major safety problems were uncovered. Common side effects included fever, fatigue and pain at the injection site.
“The data presented in the briefing report were consistent with what we heard before and are really exciting,” said Dr. William Moss, head of Johns Hopkins University’s International Vaccine Access Center. “Nothing that I see would delay an emergency use authorization.”
The meeting also represented an opportunity for regulators to try to boost public confidence in the breakneck development process that has produced the Pfizer vaccine and a string of other upcoming shots with remarkable speed — less than a year after the virus was identified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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