Covid-19 vaccine: first US doses given to frontline workers – live | US news

1.11pm EST 13:11 Today so far Here’s where the day stands so far: The first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in the...

1.11pm EST13:11

Today so far

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• The first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in the US were distributed to frontline health care workers. Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse in New York, said shortly after receiving the vaccine this morning, “I feel hopeful today, relieved. … I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.”
• Members of the electoral college are meeting to formally cast their votes for president. As of now, Joe Biden has won 146 electoral votes, and Donald Trump has received 97 votes. By the end of the day, Biden is expected to have been awarded 306 votes total, bringing him one step closer to his January inauguration.
• The Wisconsin supreme court again rejected Trump’s bid to overturn Biden’s victory in the state. The conservative-leaning court ruled that the president had waited too long to file his challenge. Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote in the decision, “[T]he [Trump] Campaign is challenging the rulebook adopted before the season began.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

12.56pm EST12:56

Wisconsin supreme court rejects Trump’s attempt to overturn Biden’s victory

The Wisconsin supreme court has once again blocked Donald Trump’s effort to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

The conservative-leaning court issued a 4-3 decision rejecting the president’s attempt to invalidate more than 200,000 votes in two Democratic-leaning counties.

Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn, who joined three of his liberal colleagues to uphold Biden’s win, wrote in the decision that Trump had waited too long to file this challenge.

The president’s objections “come long after the last play or even the last game; the [Trump] Campaign is challenging the rulebook adopted before the season began,” Hagedorn wrote in the decision.

The decision is the latest in a series of legal defeats for the Trump campaign, which has already had dozens of its lawsuits dismissed or withdrawn.

Wisconsin’s ten electors are schedule to meet in about five minutes to cast their votes for Biden and Kamala Harris.

Updated
at 1.08pm EST

12.48pm EST12:48

Stacey Abrams presides over Georgia’s electoral vote count

Moments ago, Stacey Abrams presided over Georgia’s electoral vote count, as the state awarded its 16 votes to Joe Biden.

Abrams, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate whose voter registration efforts were seen as key to Biden’s victory, opened the proceedings by praising the electors as “servants for a better Georgia.”

The Recount
(@therecount)

Stacey Abrams is met with applause as Georgia electors cast their ballots for Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/BSoo8KxpiJ

December 14, 2020

“We come together today to cast our votes for Joseph R Biden and Kamala Devi Harris,” Abrams said at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta.

“It is for them, the people of Georgia, that I say today we are electors, but we are also servants — servants of a better Georgia, servants of a better future and servants of the United States of America.”

After completing the vote count, Abrams said, “I am pleased to announce that Joseph R. Biden has received 16 votes for President of the United States.”

The announcement was met with a robust round of applause from the electors gathered in the capitol.

12.34pm EST12:34

Bill and Hillary Clinton, two of New York’s electors, just cast their ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The former president and former secretary of state cast their votes by paper ballot and placed them in a ballot box at the New York capitol in Albany.

The Recount
(@therecount)

New York state electors Bill and Hillary Clinton cast their votes for Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/KH3osLjpjy

December 14, 2020

Hillary Clinton, who was defeated by Donald Trump in 2016, previously said she was one of New York’s 29 electors, and she expressed excitement about getting to cast her vote for the first woman to serve as vice-president.

As of now, 97 electoral votes have been cast for Biden, and 56 votes have been cast for Trump.

12.23pm EST12:23

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the distribution of the first coronavirus vaccine doses to frontline health care workers in New York.

“I’m proud to see New York frontline workers leading the way,” the New York Democrat said in a tweet.

Chuck Schumer
(@SenSchumer)

I’m proud to see New York frontline workers leading the way:

Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at Northwell Health in New York, has received one of the first COVID-19 vaccine shots in the United States. https://t.co/a30LRAXA6w

December 14, 2020

This morning, critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay in New York became one of the first Americans to receive Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

Lindsay received the vaccine live on camera, and she said she was “relieved” to receive the treatment after months of treating coronavirus patients.

12.00pm EST12:00

Nevada’s electors cast their votes for Joe Biden over Zoom, after state officials opted for a virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kyle Cheney
(@kyledcheney)

IN NEVADA electors are meeting via Zoom. State law requires them to vote for Biden/Harris, the deputy secretary of state tells them. pic.twitter.com/d1oVapoRzn

December 14, 2020

Nevada’s deputy secretary of state informed the electors that they were legally required to vote for Biden, who won the state by 2.4 points last month.

The electors then cast their six votes for Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris without any disruptions.

As of now, 36 electoral votes have formally been cast for Biden, and 56 votes have been cast for Donald Trump. The final count is expected to be 306 electoral votes for Biden and 232 votes for Trump.

11.46am EST11:46

The Michigan state capitol, where electors will cast their votes for Joe Biden, is also closed to the public today due to threats of violence. State legislators have been instructed to work remotely.

The Detroit News reports:

Citing ‘safety and security concerns,’ the Michigan House and Senate will close their offices in downtown Lansing on Monday as presidential electors meet in the state Capitol.

On Sunday night, House and Senate officials sent notifications about the closures to members and staff. …
Some are expecting protesters in support of Republican President Donald Trump to gather outside the building, which will be closed to the public.

The electors are scheduled to cast Michigan’s 16 electoral votes for the president-elect in about two hours.

11.35am EST11:35

A Michigan state lawmaker was stripped of his committee assignments after raising the possibility of violence during today’s electoral vote count.

Hours before Michigan’s electors were scheduled to meet and cast their ballots for Joe Biden, Republican state representative Gary Eisen said in a radio interview that there was a “Hail Mary” effort underway to disrupt the process.

When asked if he could guarantee there would be no violence in Lansing today, Eisen replied, “No.”

Lee Chatfield
(@LeeChatfield)

Threats of violence, or a refusal to denounce it, will not be tolerated in the Michigan House. Last week, a Democrat was removed from her committees. Today, a Republican has been too. We will not condone this behavior. In a Republic, we settle our differences on Election Day. pic.twitter.com/W1dnxJpaLz

December 14, 2020

As the interview attracted national attention, the Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives announced that Eisen had been stripped of his committee assignments in response to his comments.

“We as elected officials must be clear that violence has no place in our democratic process,” speaker Lee Chatfield said in a statement. “We must be held to a higher standard. Because of that, Rep. Eisen has been removed from his committee assignments for the rest of the term.”

Earlier this month, a Democratic state representative in Michigan was also stripped of her committee assignments over comments she made about Donald Trump’s supporters in a Facebook video.

Michigan’s electors are scheduled to meet at 2 pm ET to award the state’s 16 electoral votes to Biden.

11.19am EST11:19

De Blasio says New Yorkers should prepare for possibility of ‘full shutdown’

Bill de Blasio said New Yorkers should prepare for the possibility of a “full shutdown,” warning that December and January will be particularly difficult months in the city’s fight against coronavirus.

The New York mayor said he agreed with the assessment of governor Andrew Cuomo, who told the New York Times over the weekend, “If you extrapolate out at this rate of growth [of infections], you could be looking at the shutdown of New York City within a month.”

CBS News
(@CBSNews)

NYC Mayor de Blasio says he agrees with recent comment by Gov. Cuomo about preparing for possibility of a “full shutdown”

“We need to recognize that that may be coming and we’ve got to get ready for that now, because we cannot let this virus keep growing” pic.twitter.com/pN7UBgVxNI

December 14, 2020

De Blasio told reporters at a press conference this morning, “We all have it within our power to fight back this virus and overcome it in the weeks ahead, but they’re going to be tough weeks.”

The mayor added, “We need to recognize that [a full shutdown] may be coming, and we’ve got to get ready for that now because we cannot let this virus keep growing, especially at a moment where we are finally getting the vaccine and can turn the corner.”

Frontline healthcare workers received New York’s first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine earlier today, and the treatment is expected to become more widely available in the coming months.

De Blasio’s comments come three days after Cuomo announced that New York would halt indoor dining as part of the state’s strategy to limit the spread of the virus.

10.56am EST10:56

Dr Anthony Fauci, who will serve as Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, was asked when the president-elect might receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The infectious disease expert told MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson that the matter was “under discussion right now.”

“I am certain he will get vaccinated,” Fauci said. “It’s a question of when he’s going to do that.”

Like Fauci, Biden has pledged to receive the vaccine publicly in order to boost Americans’ confidence in the treatment.

10.50am EST10:50

Fauci hails ‘historic’ day as frontline workers start receiving vaccine

Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, hailed today as “historic” after frontline health care workers started receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, told MSNBC that the distribution of the vaccine proved that “science well done” can help get the country out of an emergency.

Asked by anchor Hallie Jackson when the vaccine would be widely available to the American public, Fauci said that depended on “the efficiency of the rollout” but predicted it would happen in late April or early May.

But Fauci emphasized that Americans would still be taking certain health precautions, such as wearing masks, for months after the vaccine became widely available to limit the risk of additional coronavirus outbreaks.

Fauci also reiterated his pledge to take the vaccine on camera, and he predicted he would be able to get vaccinated in the next couple of weeks.

Updated
at 11.09am EST

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