Vaccine causes serious but non-fatal allergic reaction in health-care worker

6 min readDec 16, 2020

The United States could have two coronavirus vaccines by the time the week is over: Moderna’s vaccine was found “highly effective” in a detailed review by Food and Drug Administration scientists and appears to be on track for approval by regulators.

But a health-care worker in Alaska had a serious allergic reaction and was hospitalized after getting the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and is in stable condition, according to two people familiar with the situation. Authorities have not released further details about the incident, which echoes two similar cases in the United Kingdom last week involving serious but non-fatal allergic reactions to the vaccine.

Here are some significant developments:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has gone into quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday. That might explain why so many people were no-shows at his holiday party.
The FDA has authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that can be taken at home without a prescription and yields immediate results. Another rapid home-test kit was approved last month, but it required a prescription from a doctor.
An estimated 7.8 million people fell into poverty from June to November as stimulus expired and the pandemic continued to weigh on the U.S. economy, according to new research using Census Data to track financial hardship.
U.S. retail sales slumped 1.1 percent in November, more than expected, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, as the pandemic kept early holiday shoppers home across the country.
People in Britain should look to the rise of infections in the U.S. after Thanksgiving as an example of what not to do over Christmas, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a Wednesday interview with Sky News.
Nearly 16.7 million coronavirus cases and 303,000 fatalities have been reported in the U.S. since February.

Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter | Mapping the spread of the coronavirus: Across the U.S. | Worldwide | Vaccine tracker | Has someone close to you died of covid-19? Share your story with The Washington Post.

Sen. Steve Daines says congressional relief package coming soon

Negotiations on Capitol Hill on the $900 billion coronavirus relief package went through the night Tuesday night, and some are hopeful for a resolution by this weekend, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday.

“Leader McConnell has been very clear with all of us that we are going to pass some kind of stimulus relief package before we go home for the holidays,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we are going to see a package announced this morning, most likely.”

The deal, a bipartisan proposal released by congressional leaders this week, would not include aid to state and local governments or liability protections for businesses, Daines said.

“We don’t want to see relief going to states that already had physical problems before covid,” he said. “We want to make sure everything we’re doing is targeted on the covid challenge.”

Kirk Cameron’s Christmas carol gathering in California prompts sharp criticism

Actor Kirk Cameron, best known for his starring role in the sitcom “Growing Pains,” is facing a backlash after holding a Christmas carol gathering in Southern California amid a significant surge in the coronavirus.

The event took place Sunday at a Ventura County mall in Thousand Oaks, where only a few of the hundreds of participants were seen wearing masks or practicing social distancing as they sang Christmas carols.

The actor used his Instagram account to urge people to attend what he called a “peaceful Christmas protest” and an occasion to celebrate people’s “God given liberties.”

He later posted videos and defended the event. “People had such a great time. It lifted our spirits. Over 500 people gathered,” he wrote.

The gathering prompted sharp criticism from local officials, as the state experiences a significant surge in the coronavirus that has hospitals operating at maximum capacity and, in some counties, already facing a dangerous shortage of ICU beds.

“Liberty and freedom are very fragile and they come with great responsibility,” Thousand Oaks Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña, told ABC News. “Continuing to hold large gatherings and ignoring all guidelines, I feel, is un-Christian.”

Los Angeles County has fewer than ICU 100 beds open, while Ventura County has less than 1 percent capacity, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In a sobering statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Tuesday that the number of covid-19 deaths has increased so rapidly that the state purchased 5,000 body bags to prepare for thousands of potential additional deaths.

“This is not the flu. This is not something to be trifled with. This is a deadly disease,” he said at a news conference.

Vaccine causes serious but non-fatal allergic reaction in health-care worker

Sen. Steve Daines says congressional relief package coming soon

Kirk Cameron’s Christmas carol gathering in California prompts sharp criticism

Written by Nasrinmnc