COVID-19
COVID-19 VACCINE THIS MORNING.... AS THE VICE PRESIDENT, WIFE
KAREN AND SURGEON GENERAL JEROME
ADAMS, WERE ALL ADMINISTERED THE
VACCINE AT A PUBLIC EVENT IN
WASHINGTON, D.C.... THE
ON-CAMERA EVENT IS PART OF
FEDERAL EFFORTS TO BUILD
CONFIDENCE AMONG THE PUBLIC IN
THE VACCINE'S SAFETY....
PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHO IS STILL
RECEIVING THE BENEFITS OF THE
MONO-CLONAL ANTIBODY COCKTAIL,
HE WAS GIVEN DURING HIS RECOVERY
FROM COVID-19 IN OCTOBER, SAYS
HE WILL NOT BE ADMINISTERED A
CORONAVIRUS VACCINE UNTIL IT'S
RECOMMENDED BY THE WHITE HOUSE
MEDICAL TEAM.... PRESIDENT-ELECT
JOE BIDEN AND VICE
PRESIDENT-ELECT KAMALA HARRIS
SAY THEY'LL RECEIVE THE VACCINE
IN A PUBLIC SETTING IN THE
COMING WEEKS.... ###
THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PFIZER
VACCINE HAS ARRIVED IN SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.... THIS IS JUST THE
BEGINNING OF AN HISTORIC
VACCINATION EFFORT.... SOUTHEAST
TEXAS HEALTHCARE WORKERS, WERE
THE FIRST TO GET THEIR DOSE OF
THE NEW COVID-19 VACCINE....
BAPTIST HOSPITAL, THE MEDICAL
CENTER AND CHRISTUS SAINT
ELIZABETH EACH RECEIVING A
SHIPMENT OF 975 DOSES
YESTERDAY.... ###
CHRISTY WRIGHT, BECAME THE
FIRST TO RECEIVE TO THE COVID-19
VACCINE IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS....
SHE'S A NURSE AT THE MEDICAL
CENTER.... THE HOSPITAL PROVIDED
THESE IMAGES.... FOR
CHRISTY, THIS WAS PERSONAL....
THIS PAST SUMMER, HER MOTHER AND
FATHER CONTRACTED THE VIRUS, AND
SHE LOST HER DAD IN AUGUST....
SO TAKING THIS VACCINE
YESTERDAY WASN'T SOMETHING SHE
HAD TO THINK TWICE ABOUT....
CHRISTY, SAYING, QUOTE-- "I
WANT TO DO ALL I CAN TO HELP NOT
SPREAD THIS DEADLY VIRUS."
MEANWHILE, THIS MORNING BAPTIST
HOSPITAL IS ADMINISTRATING IT'S
FIRST ROUND OF SHOTS TO A SMALL
GROUP OF EMPLOYEES.... WHILE THE
HOSPITAL RECIEVED IT'S SHIPMENT
ON THURSDAY, THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM
WAITED UNTIL TODAY TO START
GIVING THE INJECTIONS.... OUR
12NEWS REPORTER KARA WILLIS WAS
OUT THERE.... KARA TELL US
ABOUT THE PROCESS?
NICK-- THIS WAS JUST A
"TRIAL RUN" FOR A SMALL GROUP OF
HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES. THE HOSPITAL
HAS SET-UP A VACCINATION CLINIC
AND THE STAFF WANTED TO MAKE
SURE THINGS RUN SMOOTHLY SO THEY
CAN ADMINISTER MORE INJECTIONS
ON MONDAY.
THIS WEEK CONTINUES TO BE
HISTORIC FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS
WHO RECEIVED THE FIRST DOSES OF
THE COVID-19 VACCINE. DOCTOR RAY
CALLAS -- A BEAUMONT
ANESTHESIOLOGIST-- WAS AMONG THE
FIRST TO GET A VACCINE AT
BAPTIST HOSPITAL. DR. CALLAS HAD
HIS OWN FIGHT WITH COVID-19
EARLIER THIS YEAR. SO FOR HIM--
TODAY IS VERY MEANINGFUL. AND
HE'S HOPEFUL SOUTHEAST TEXANS
WILL FOLLOW HIS LEAD. AND
PEOPLE WILL HAVE FAITH THAT THE
VACCINE WILL DO WHAT IT'S MEANT
TO DO--ENDING THIS PANDEMIC ONCE
AND FOR ALL. "IT WAS EXCITING
FOR ME BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS
WHAT AMERICA NEEDS INORDER TO
GET US OUT THIS CRAZY TIME WE'RE
LIVING IN, I WOULD HIGHLY
RECOMMEND TO GET OFF THE FENCE.
IT'S NOT A LIVE VIRUS, IT'S
TOTALLY A PROTEIN OF MRNA AND I
WOULD RECOMMEND EVERYONE GET
THIS."
DOCTOR CALLAS SAYS THAT IF
YOU'RE
YOU'RE
WORRIED
WORRIED ABOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS--THAT HE DIDN'T FEEL THE SHOT AT ALL. YOU MAY FEEL A BIT
OF FATIGUE OR A HEADACHE AFTER
RECEIVING THE VACCINE, BUT THIS
SHOULDN'T STOP YOU FROM
CONSIDERING TAKING IT ONCE IT
BECOMES AVAILABLE TO YOU. AS
ALWAYS, DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU
HAVE CONCERNS.
ON MONDAY-- MORE HOSPITAL STAFF
MEMBERS ARE SHEDUELED FOR THEIR
TURN TO RECIEVE THE COVID- 19
VACCINE. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE VACCINE DISTRIBUTION
PROCESS, YOU CAN LEARN MORE ON
OUR WEBSITE AT 12NEWSNOW.COM
SLASH CORONAVIRUS. IN STUDIO,
KARA WILLIS 12NEWS.
THE FIRST COVID-19 VACCINE HAS
BEEN GRANTED EMERGENCY USE
AUTHORIZATION BY THE F-D-A, AND
A SECOND IS BEING EVALUATED....
BOTH ARE M-R-N-A VACCINES, A NEW
TYPE OF VACCINE TECHNOLOGY....
DOCTOR THAD STAPPEN-BECK,
STUDIES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AT
CLEVELAND CLINIC.... HE SAYS
M-R-N-A IS A TINY PIECE OF
GENETIC MATERIAL INSIDE THE
COVID-19 VIRUS.... WHEN COVID-19
M- R-N-A IS USED IN A VACCINE,
IT'S ENGINEERED AND ENCODED TO
ACTIVATE THE BODY'S IMMUNE
SYSTEM TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS....
WHILE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
M-R-N-A HAS BEEN USED IN HUMAN
VACCINES, DOCTOR STAPPEN- BECK
SAYS THE METHOD HAS BEEN
EXTENSIVELY STUDIED FOR THIRTY
YEARS.... SO WHEN COVID-19 HIT,
THE TECHNOLOGY WAS PERFECTLY
POISED AND A VACCINE COULD BE
DEVELOPED QUICKLY.... HE ADDS,
THE CORONAVIRUS M-R- N-A INSIDE
THE VACCINE HAS BEEN CAREFULLY
ENGINEERED NOT TO INFECT ANYONE,
OR INTERACT WITH SOMEONE'S OWN
GENETIC
GENETIC MATERIAL.... ### "THE MAIN TAKE AWAY IS THAT IT'S A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE
VACCINE. WHAT'S VERY EXCITING IS
THAT THE SAME APPROACH HAS BEEN
USED BY TWO DIFFERENT COMPANIES.
AND ESSENTIALLY THEY HAVE THE
SAME RESULTS. THEY HAD REALLY NO
MAJOR SAFETY CONCERNS IN EITHER
OF THE MAJOR TRIALS THAT HAVE
BEEN DONE WITH THESE VACCINES"
DONE
DONE WITH
DONE WITH THESE VACCINES" PER FEDERAL ADVISORS, BOTH M-
R-N-A
R-N-A VACCINES WILL FIRST BE ADMINISTERED TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS, PLUS RESIDENTS AND
STAFF OF LONG TERM CARE
FACILITIES.
THIS COMES AS YESTERDAY WAS YET
ANOTHER RECORD DAY FOR CASES....
AT HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
INCLUDING PARTS OF CALIFORNIA,
THERE IS AN ALARMING SHORTAGE OF
BEDS AND STAFF.... MIGUEL
ALMAGUER HAS MORE ON THE
STORY....
STORY....
AFTERNOON--IT'S ADLIB SKYCAM
VERY
VERY PLACE AMERICANS TURN FOR HELP ... NOW FACING A CRISIS OF I WASN'T GETTING GETTING THE
CARE THAT I NEED AND I WAS
AFRAID THAT I WAS GOING TO GET
COVID. THIS MORNING THE VERY
PLACE AMERICANS TURN FOR HELP
... NOW FACING A CRISIS OF THEIR
OWN.
TAKING A LOOK OUTSIDE THIS
AFTERNOON--IT'S ADLIB SKYCAM
LET'S
LET'S GET
LET'S GET AN UPDATE NOW ON YOUR FORECAST. JEFF IS IN OUR
"STORM
"STORM TRACKER CENTER" WITH A LOOK AT YOUR AFTERNOON FORECAST. SHORT TERM FORECAST TRIANGLE
TODAY: MORNING SUN WITH
INCREASING AFTERNOON CLOUDINESS,
COOL, BREEZY AND DRY. HIGH
NEAR: 62. WINDS: EAST BECOMING
SOUTHEAST 5-15 MPH. LAKES AREA
TODAY: MORNING SUNNY WITH
INCREASING AFTERNOON CLOUDINESS,
COOL AND DRY. HIGH NEAR: 60.
WINDS: EAST BECOMING SOUTHEAST
5-10 MPH. TRIANGLE TONIGHT:
CLOUDY AND WARMER. LOW NEAR:
54. WINDS: SE 5-15 MPH. LAKES
AREA TONIGHT: CLOUDY AND
WARMER. LOW NEAR: 49. WINDS:
SE 5-10 MPH. ROLL OPEN
HARDIN JEFFERSON I-S-D WILL
DISCONTINUE VIRTUAL LEARNING IN
THE NEW YEAR.... THE
DISTRICT MAKING THE
WILL
WILL DISCONTINUE VIRTUAL LEARNING IN THE NEW YEAR.... THE DISTRICT MAKING THE
ANNOUNCEMENT, AS A STUDENT, WHO
WAS ON A DISTRICT BUS ON MONDAY,
TESTED POSITIVE.... IN A
STATEMNET, HJ-ISD SAID THAT LESS
THAN 10- PERCENT OF STUDENTS
REMAIN AT HOME, LEARNING
VIRTUALLY.... IF PARENTS
WANT TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR
STUDENT AT HOME, THEY ARE GOING
TO HAVE TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION
FORM....
WE'RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT
BEAUMONT BUSINESS WOMAN BIGUITA
HERNANDEZ-SMITH-- SHE PLANS
ON RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF THE
CITY. HERNANDEZ-SMITH AND HER
FAMILY HAVE LIVED IN BEAUMONT
FOR FOUR YEARS. HER PLATFORM
INCLUDES -- EDUCATION
--TRAINING AND JOBS FOR
SOUTHEAST TEXANS. SHE SAYS
UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT RELATIONS ARE ALSO
HIGH ON HER LIST OF
PRIORITIES... ALONG WITH
RESTORING DOWNTOWN.
TEXAS IS LEADING A 10-STATE
LAWSUIT AGAINST GOOGLE, ACCUSING
THE COMPANY OF NOT BEING FAIR
WHEN IT COMES TO ADVERTISING.
PROSECUTORS ARGUE THE INTERNET
GIANT EXCLUDES-- AND UNFAIRLY
TAXES THEIR COMPETITION. OUTSIDE
ATTORNEYS FROM HOUSTON, CHICAGO
AND WASHINGTON, D.C. WILL BE
LEADING THE CASE. IT'S NOT THE
FIRST LAWSUIT THE STATE HAS
JOINED AGAINST THE COMPANY-- BUT
IT'S FIRST ONE THEY'RE LEADING.