Good morning. The C.D.C. announces its suggested vaccine priorities, and we offer a timeline of when you can expect to get one.      

The obvious question on   many people’s minds is: When can I  expect to be vaccinated? While there is still a lot of uncertainty, it’s   possible to lay out a rough expected timeline. I’ve done so below, with help   from public health experts and colleagues who are covering the virus.

December: Health care workers and nursing   home residents will likely be the first people  to receive the vaccine, as the panel recommended.

Up to 40 million doses   could be available to Americans before the end of this year, from a   combination of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines. That would be enough to   vaccinate the three million people who live in long-term-care facilities, as   well as most of the country’s 21 million health care workers.

January: Keep in mind that both the Pfizer and   Moderna vaccines require a second dose a few weeks later to be effective. So   an initial batch of 40 million doses would be enough to vaccinate only 20   million people.

By early next year, Pfizer   and Moderna are likely to be able to ship about 70 million doses per month,   Moncef Slaoui, a top federal vaccine official, told The Washington Post   yesterday. People will likely receive the shots at doctor’s   offices, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as at specially created clinics in   some places, my colleague Katie Thomas says.

February and March: The next priority groups   are likely to be people over the age of 65 (and especially those over 75);   people with medical conditions that put them at risk of death if infected;   and essential workers, like those in education, food, transportation and law   enforcement.

One exception to this   second wave of vaccine recipients may be people who have already had the   virus, making them immune from it for at least some period of time.

If other companies in   addition to Pfizer and Moderna receive approval for their vaccines, the total   number shipped each month could reach 150 million by March, Slaoui said.

April, May   and June: The most likely scenario is that even people who don’t qualify   as a priority — like healthy, nonessential workers younger than 65 — will   begin receiving the vaccine by the spring. The vast majority of Americans   could be vaccinated by early summer.

Once that happens, life   will still not immediately return to normal, partly because the vaccines are   not 100 percent effective. “There will still be risks to people,” as Caitlin   Rivers, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, told me.

But those risks will be   small compared with today’s risks. Treatments continue to improve, reducing   the death rate for people who get the virus. And widespread vaccination will   sharply reduce the spread, helping protect even people for whom a vaccine is   ineffective. Rivers predicted that social gatherings will again be common and   largely safe by the summer.

All things considered, the spring   isn’t that far away, which is yet another reason for people to make extra   efforts to avoid unnecessary risks — like eating inside restaurants and   gathering indoors with friends — for the next few months.

 Abby Goodnough is a national health care correspondent. She has also  served as bureau chief in Miami and Boston, and covered education and  politics in New York City. She joined The Times in 1993.  @abbygoodnough  

 By: KDKA-TV News Staff

HARRISBURG (KDKA) – Amid a spike in coronavirus cases,  Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine says we all have to do our part if  we want things to get better.

“This is a sobering look at reality. COVID-19 continues to impact our  state and our country,” Dr. Levine said during a press conference  Monday.

This after the state reported its highest-ever number of new coronavirus cases at 4,035 on Saturday. Dr. Levine said the cases aren’t just rising  because they’re doing more testing, and pointed to the state’s rising  percent-positivity, which sits at 7% statewide compared to 6% last week.

“We all need to take steps to prevent the spread of this virus and if  we don’t, we put ourselves, our families and our communities and our  health systems at risk,” Dr. Levine said.

The state reported over 6,000 new cases in the last 48 hours, and 530 of those cases are from Allegheny County.

“It’s unnerving,” said Wes Wise.

“I think it’s really concerning. I’m glad that I only work downtown two days a week,” said John Tribley.

The rising numbers begs the question of what is causing the increase in community spread.

“I don’t know if we are getting burnt out on the social distancing and masks and all that,” Wise said.

Wise isn’t far off. According to Dr. Levine, the mitigation efforts  are still in play, but people aren’t being as honest about what they’re  doing.

“Only 21 percent of people that were asked answered the question  whether or not they frequented a business or large gathering. This  percentage unfortunately continues to decrease,” Dr. Levine said.

She urged Pennsylvanians to answer the calls of contact tracers, who she said will leave a voicemail if people don’t answer their phone.

“More and more people are not providing the information we need as part of our case investigations,” Dr. Levine said.

She went on to say, “I cannot stress enough how absolutely critical  this information is and how important it is to answer the call and  participate fully in the case investigation and contact tracing  process.”

Without that information and cooperation, Dr. Levine said there is not a clear picture.

“We might see an increase at a correction prison or a long-term care  facility, but what we are mostly seeing is that there is just community  spread. We can’t pinpoint it to one activity or one location. It’s  prevalent in the community and it’s spreading,” Dr. Levine said.

There are now 47 counties on the state’s watch list and 52 have a  percent-positivity rate higher than 5%. Levine is again calling on the  public to be aware and mask up.

“The only way we are going to get this all under control is if we all  get on the same page. We have to know what’s going on, who’s sick who  isn’t, and where you’ve been,” Tribley said.

•  AFTER IGNORING THE ADVICE OF MOST DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS, WHO HAVE GIVEN THE GOOD ADVICE OF NOT TRAVELING AND SPREADING OR RECEIVING THE COVID 19 VIRUS; LET'S GET BACK TO BASICS!

1- WEAR YOUR MASK

2-WASH YOUR HANDS

3-KEEP YOUR DISTANCE

4- SAVE YOUR NEIGHBOR'S LIFE; OR YOUR OWN

Today this writer will take a break so you can hear what plans, for the future, our President Biden has made and is making.