Still unclear how long COVID vaccine protection lasts
COVID vaccine arrives as 72 million infected and 1.6 million have died worldwide
(ABC News) –A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 72.2 million people and killed over 1.6 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Latest headlines:
- COVID-19 has now killed 300,267 Americans
- 20 million Americans to get 1st vaccine dose by end of December: HHS secretary
- Texas hospital gives its 1st COVID-19 vaccine to worker who cleans emergency room
- 2nd health worker vaccinated in NY lost family member to COVID-19
- Critical care nurse becomes 1st New Yorker, possibly 1st American, to receive vaccine
National Guard to help distribute vaccine
National Guard commanders from Ohio, West Virginia and Oklahoma detailed the limited role their members will play in their respective states.
It will work with state departments of health to break down the large 975-batch Pfizer packages into smaller packages as needed, and use rented vehicles and equipment to transfer packages from main hubs to satellite sites for further distribution.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler contributed to this report
COVID-19 has now killed 300,267 Americans
The grim milestone comes after the United States logged 3,124 deaths in a single day last week, the highest one-day death toll reported since the outbreak began.
Still unclear how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts: FDA
At the very least, a two-shot vaccination should offer at least several months of protection, Marks explained during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association on Monday.
“It’s at least probably on the order of four to six months,” Marks said. “The question is, will it reach out to a year? Hopefully, yes. But I think we’ll have those data in the not so different future.”
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
