How and when will we know that a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective?

With COVID-19 vaccines currently in the final phase of study, you’ve probably been wondering how the FDA will decide if a vaccine is safe and effective.

Based on the status of the Phase 3 trials currently underway, it is unlikely that the results of these trials will be available before November. But it is likely that not just one but several of the competing COVID-19 vaccines will be shown to be safe and effective by the end of 2020. 

I am a scientist and infectious diseases specialist at the University of Virginia, where I care for patients with COVID-19 and conduct research on the pandemic. I am also a member of the World Health Organization Expert Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization. Continue reading.

Massive genetic study shows coronavirus mutating and potentially evolving amid rapid U.S. spread

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NOTE: This article is being provided free of charge by The Washington Post.

The largest U.S. genetic study of the virus, conducted in Houston, shows one viral strain outdistancing all of its competitors, and many potentially important mutations.

Scientists in Houston on Wednesday released a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus that reveals the virus’s continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious.

The new report, however, did not find that these mutations have made the virus deadlier or changed clinical outcomes. All viruses accumulate genetic mutations, and most are insignificant, scientists say.

Coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are relatively stable as viruses go, because they have a proofreading mechanism as they replicate. But every mutation is a roll of the dice, and with transmission so widespread in the United States — which continues to see tens of thousands of new, confirmed infections daily — the virus has had abundant opportunities to change, potentially with troublesome consequences, said study author James Musser of Houston Methodist Hospital. Continue reading.

For Democrats, infrastructure equals fighting climate change, creating jobs

Joe Biden is putting an infrastructure proposal that calls significant green investments front-and-center in his campaign

In Democratic politics, infrastructure and fighting climate change have become increasingly synonymous: You can’t have one without the other.

Take the $494 billion surface transportation bill that House Democrats passed July 1. Republicans criticized it as an outgrowth of the Green New Deal. Democrats embraced it for the same reason, with House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., insisting that climate change “is absolutely key for my side of the aisle.”

The Democrats’ 2020 standard-bearer, Vice President Joe Biden, is putting front-and-center in his campaign his “Build Back Better” infrastructure proposal that calls not only for building roads and bridges but also for investments in electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission buses, transit and zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035. Continue reading.

Allegations of racism have marked Trump’s presidency and become key issue as election nears

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In unguarded moments with senior aides, President Trump has maintained that Black Americans have mainly themselves to blame in their struggle for equality, hindered more by lack of initiative than societal impediments, according to current and former U.S. officials.

After phone calls with Jewish lawmakers, Trump has muttered that Jews “are only in it for themselves” and “stick together” in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties, officials said.

Trump’s private musings about Hispanics match the vitriol he has displayed in public, and his antipathy to Africa is so ingrained that when first lady Melania Trump planned a 2018 trip to that continent he railed that he “could never understand why she would want to go there.” Continue reading.

Eric Trump’s comments to Fox News come back to haunt him in new brief from NY Attorney General

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President Donald Trump’s son Eric, a major figure within the Trump Organization’s businesses, has claimed he told a court that he is willing to appear in compliance with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena.

But in a new briefing, James pointed out that Eric Trump and his legal team have in fact stated a “categorical refusal” to appear — and that one of those refusals occurred during an interview with Fox News Radio.

President Donald Trump’s son Eric, a major figure within the Trump Organization’s businesses, has claimed he told a court that he is willing to appear in compliance with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena.

But in a new briefing, James pointed out that Eric Trump and his legal team have in fact stated a “categorical refusal” to appear — and that one of those refusals occurred during an interview with Fox News Radio. Continue reading.

Ex-NSC official alleges ‘unprecedented’ intervention by White House aides in Bolton book review

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A former National Security Council (NSC) official says the White House intervened in “unprecedented” fashion in the prepublication review process of former national security adviser John Bolton’s book in an effort to deem information classified and prevent the memoir’s publication. 

Kenneth Wainstein, a lawyer for Ellen Knight, a career federal employee and a former NSC senior director who led the prepublication review of Bolton’s book, filed a letter in federal court on Wednesday detailing Knight’s concerns with the actions of White House officials in the review of Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where it Happened,” earlier this year. He writes that she harbors concerns about the potential politicization of the prepublication review process.  

Wainstein conveys Knight’s view that NSC lawyers played “an outsize role in the review process” after she informed them of her receipt of Bolton’s manuscript. Continue reading.

In the Know: September 25, 2020

Days Until the Election: 39

39 Days OUT – Let’s get to work!
If you’d like to help the DFL Party fight for criminal justice reform, better schools, wages, our environment, and health care, click here to get more involved there are events happening in your area!

Early voting!
Check out iwillvote.com/mn to learn more about early voting in person or by mail!

DFL Pop Up Shops in CD3 Today:

Eden Prairie: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, 6990 Alpine Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55346
Plymouth: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM, 16405 39th Place North, Plymouth, MN 55446 Bloomington: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM, 4733 W 99th St, Bloomington, MN 55437

Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
How Biden Might Change Trump’s Immigration Policies, Washington Post  

DFL CD 1 Candidate Dan Feehan 
Meet the Candidate: Dan Feehan, KEYC News Now  

Election News
Why Four Pivotal Swing States Likely Won’t Be Called On Election Night, FiveThirtyEight

Environmental
‘Light Years Ahead’ Of Their Elders, Young Republicans Push GOP On Climate Change, NPR  
Global warming driving California wildfire trends – study, BBC LaborJobless claims climbing in sign of ongoing distress in labor market, CBS News 

Governor Tim Walz
What would Minnesota Republicans do differently than Walz on COVID-19?, Star Tribune 

Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Republican senator turns George Floyd’s murder into pro-life argument, City Pages
Minnesota Republican asks if residents are ‘prepared’ if Black Lives Matter ‘comes to our city’,City Pages
Rematches key to control of the Minnesota Legislature, MPR News  

Representative Angie Craig (CD2)
Second Congressional District race delayed after death of Legal Marijuana Now candidate, Star tribune 

Representative Ilhan Omar (CD5)
Ilhan Omar: If Democrats want to win, focus on nonvoters, Washington Post 

Senator Amy Klobuchar 
Klobuchar Joins Bill Calling For Justice Ginsburg Capitol Monument, KXRA

Senator Tina Smith
Sen. Tina Smith to Republicans privately concerned with Trump “What matters is how you vote”, WCCO Radio

Minnesota News
COVID-19 cases already closing some Minnesota school buildings, MPR
COVID-19 cases spike at two federal prisons in Minnesota, Star Tribune
A Very Confusing Trip To Minnesota That Sums Up A Very Confusing Presidential Campaign, Buzzfeed

U.S. News
Court Orders Census Counting To Continue Through Oct. 31; Appeal Expected, NPR
House Democrats prepare new $2.4 trillion stimulus plan with unemployment aid, direct payments, CNBC
US still in first COVID-19 wave and should be prepared for ‘challenge’ of fall and winter, Fauci says, CNN

World News
Facebook suspends fake Russian accounts, warns of U.S. election hack-and-leak threat, Reuters
Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, The Hill
Germany Dismisses Military Intelligence Official After Neo-Nazi Scandals, New York Times
Thousands of Xinjiang mosques destroyed or damaged, report finds, The Guardian

Republican Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Donald Trump and Mike Pence 
Trump’s health care ‘vision’ punts on two major issues, CNN
Trump’s team plots his departure — even if he won’t, Politico
Trump’s Plan to Send Seniors $200 in Drug Coupons Is Unlikely to Come Through, New York Magazine

Republicans
Florida Republicans Take Aim At Efforts To Pay Felons’ Fines So They Can Vote, NPR
Republicans lose a round in Pennsylvania mail voting dispute, Associated Press
How Republicans in key states are preparing to run out the clock on the election, CNN

DFL Headquarters Office Hours 
Looking to buy yard signs or Biden-Harris merchandise? WE ARE FULLY STOCKED WITH SIGNS IN ALL SIZES! Stop by the DFL Headquarters on 255 East Plato Blvd in St Paul, we are now open to the public from 12:00-5:00PM Monday-Friday. 

Upcoming Events:

  • Today through November 2 — General Election Early Voting
  • September 25
    • 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM— DFL Pop Up Shop, 6990 Alpine Trl, Eden Prairie, MN 55346
    • 2:00 to 6:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, 4733 W 99th St, Bloomington, MN 55347
    • 2:00 to 6:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, 16405 39th Place N, Plymouth, MN, more information here.
  • September 26, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM — SD44 DFL Online Fall Party, log in to meet your DFL neighbors here. Online games, music from local artist Annie Enneking, skit by Seeing Red. More information here.
  • September 27 to 28 — Yom Kippur
  • September 28
    • 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, 14350 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345
    • 2:00 to 6:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, Wayzata, MN, location TBD, more information here.
  • September 29, 8:00 to 9:30 PM — Presidential Debate, Case Western Reserve University, more information and it becomes available.
  • October 1, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 DFL Virtual Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • October 5
    • 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, Excelsior, MN, location TBD, more information here.
    • 2:00 to 6:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, 6770 Chaparral Ln, Chanhassen, MN 55317
  • October 7
    • 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 DFL Virtual Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 DFL Virtual Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • October 8
    • 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, Brooklyn Park, MN, location TBD, more information here.
    • 2:00 to 6:00 PM — DFL Pop Up Shop, Maple Grove, MN, location TBD, more information here.
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD36 DFL Virtual Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD48 DFL Virtual Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • October 10, 1:30 to 3:00 PM — SD40 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • October 12
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD44 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
    • 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD49 DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for specifics.
  • October 19, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Meeting, contact them for more information.
  • October 21, 7:00 to 900 PM — CD3 DFL Central Committee Meeting, no meeting this month, please focus on supporting campaigns in your district.
  • October 22 — Presidential Debate, more information as it becomes available

CIA director ‘suppressed’ information on Russia to avoid angering Trump: Intel officials

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Intelligence officials are worried that CIA Director Gina Haspel is intentionally withholding information about Russian activities from the White House to avoid angering President Donald Trump.

Nine current and former intel officials tell Politico that intelligence on Russia “is being suppressed” because Trump simply does not want to hear about any nefarious activities being conducted by the Russians.

In fact, several sources said that Haspel has assigned CIA general counsel Courtney Elwood to review every piece of intelligence about Russia before it gets sent over to the White House, which these officials said was “unprecedented that a general counsel would be involved to this extent.” Continue reading.

Despair at CDC after Trump influence: ‘I have never seen morale this low’

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The Trump administration’s bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent efforts to meddle with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are taking a substantial toll on the nation’s foremost public health institution.

In interviews with half a dozen current and former CDC officials, they described a workforce that has seen its expertise questioned, its findings overturned for political purposes and its effectiveness in combating the pandemic undermined by partisan actors in Washington.

“I have never seen morale this low. It’s just, people are beaten down. People are beaten down partially by a public who not only distrusts us but who actually think we want to infringe on their civil liberties,” said one current CDC employee. “The other factor is the active undermining by senior members of our own administration.” Continue reading.

Whistleblower on Jared Kushner’s COVID task force says he was told to ‘fudge’ death data model

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A grandson of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy told The New Yorker that he was the whistleblower that sounded the alarm on presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s coronavirus task force to Congress.

“Americans are facing a crisis of tragic proportions, and there is an urgent need for an effective, efficient and bold response. From my few weeks as a volunteer, I believe we are falling short,” he said in the complaint in April. “I am writing to alert my representatives of these challenges and to ask that they do everything possible to help front-line health-care workers and other Americans in need.”

“I just couldn’t sleep,” Kennedy told Mayer. “I was so distressed and disturbed by what I’d seen.” Continue reading.