News Room

Scott Simon, Host: More than 250 employees at meatpacking plants across the country have died of COVID-19. Congress is investigating the outbreaks, and companies are trying to stem the coronavirus infections. In North Carolina, one large Tyson Foods poultry plant is making some workplace changes. Keri Brown of member station WFDD has this report.

Keri Brown, Byline: The Tyson complex is nestled in the center of Wilkesboro. It's a massive facility employing around 3,000 people. That's a lot for this small rural community. The town manager of Wilkesboro, Ken Noland, says it's a challenging time for both the region and Tyson.

As the Biden administration works to accelerate the U.S. coronavirus vaccine rollout, it could soon have a new tool: A single-dose vaccine that can survive up to three months in an ordinary refrigerator. Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson released data on January 29 showing that its single-dose version provided strong protection against COVID-19. On February 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released an analysis of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine confirming that it is safe and effective, and on February 26 a review committee within the agency recommended that the FDA authorize the shot for emergency use.

Millions of Americans are not getting their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine within the recommended time period for ensuring optimal protection from COVID-19, according to a CBS MoneyWatch review of the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Wednesday, just over 2.8 million Americans who had received their first shot — nearly 12% of those vaccinated — had not gotten their second dose within the 28-day interval prescribed for Moderna’s vaccine, one of two approved for use in the U.S. The other vaccine, jointly produced by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, is supposed to be administered 21 days after getting a first dose.

The U.S. government has invested billions of dollars in manufacturing, used a wartime act dozens of times to boost supplies and yet there is still not enough COVID-19 vaccine on the way to meet demand—or even the government’s own goals for national immunization. President Joe Biden, in remarks at the National Institutes of Health in Feburary, said the nation is “now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July.” But at the current rate of production, Pfizer and Moderna will miss their targets of providing at least 100 million doses each by the end of March, let alone 200 million more doses each has promised by July.

First, I would like to thank you for your excellent coverage of the COVID-19 in our region and beyond. Having data transparency and information now are imperative as we wage the battle against the coronavirus. In the article, ”COVID-19 cases spike at UMass,” on Saturday, Feb. 6, it is stated that the state of Massachusetts has received 896,300 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and 681, 472 doses have been administered. However, the CDC reports on the same date that Massachusetts has received 1,229,075 doses and has administered 652,929. It is understandable that there may be some delays in updating the reports. It appears that over 350,000 doses are somehow unaccounted for in the state of Massachusetts.