A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 738,000 people worldwide.
Over 20 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 5 million diagnosed cases and at least 164,502 deaths.
Tuesday's headlines:
Federal government partners with Moderna to make 100M vaccine doses
CDC issues guidance to schools on dealing with 'mask bullying'
Pac-12, Big Ten postpone football season
Over 800 students quarantined in Georgia school district
Hawaii, South Dakota, Virgin Islands added to NY, NJ, CT travel list
9:53 p.m.: Gov't partners with Moderna to produce 100M vaccine doses
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense announced that they have made an agreement with Moderna to manufacture and deliver 100 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Under the deal, worth up to $1.525 billion, Moderna will manufacture the vaccine doses while clinical trials are underway. The federal government will own the vaccine doses. If authorized by the FDA and used in a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, they will be available to Americans at no cost, though health care professionals could charge for administering them.
As part of the deal, the U.S. government has the option to purchase up to an 400 million additional doses. Moderna is developing the vaccine, which began its Phase 3 clinical trial on July 27, in collaboration with the government.
"Never before has a vaccine in the developed world have gone from Phase 1 to Phase 3 as quickly as the Moderna vaccine," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a call with reporters Tuesday night.
The Trump administration has similar agreements in place with five other vaccine developers: Pfizer, Novavax, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.
6:47 p.m.: CDC issues guidance on dealing with 'mask bullying'
The CDC has released new guidance for K-12 schools on face masks, including having a plan in place to address bullying and angry parents.
"Stigma, discrimination, or bullying may arise due to wearing or not wearing a cloth face covering," the CDC states. "Schools should have a plan to prevent and address harmful or inappropriate behavior."
The CDC also notes that since not all families may agree with mask policies, "schools should have a plan to address challenges that may arise and refer parents, caregivers, and guardians to CDC's guidance on cloth face coverings."
The CDC recommends that people ages 2 and up who do not have trouble breathing should wear cloth face coverings in public settings and when around those outside their household, as part of mitigation measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
In its new school guidance, the CDC also suggests that schools remind parents and staff to avoid touching the outside of the mask, and to wash their hands after they do. It also recommends adding cloth face coverings to "back to school" shopping lists.
Informative article