CDC director says vaccine for general public likely available in 2021

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield attends a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee reviewing coronavirus response efforts on September 16 in Washington, DC.  Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that he thinks it will be the late second quarter or third quarter of 2021 before a Covid-19 vaccine is generally available to the American public. 

When asked when he thought there would be a vaccine ready to administer to the American public, Redfield said he thought that there would be vaccine initially available sometime between November and December, but “very limited supply and will have to be prioritized.” 

Redfield said that he thought the vaccination would begin in November and December “and then will pick up, and it will be in a prioritized way. It will be those first responders and those at greatest risk for death, and then eventually that will expand.” 

Watch:

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott speaks at a pre-game press conference at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019, in Santa Clara, California. Alika Jenner/Getty Images

On the day the Big Ten conference announced a return plan for a fall football season, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott released a statement noting the conference still has significant issues to solve before considering its own return to play. 

Scott sites health restrictions currently in place in California and Oregon that prevent football teams from practicing. There are six Pac-12 universities in those states. Scott also hints to concerns regarding the poor air quality created from the wildfires raging in the western United States. 

The Pac-12 remains the lone Power 5 conference that does not have a plan in place to play football this fall. 

Here's the statement from the commissioner:

3M is a company known for scotch tapes and post-it notes but during the coronavirus pandemic, it has become the largest producer of N95 masks. However, even as the company ramped up production and is on its way to produce 95 million masks a month this fall and 2 billion by the end of 2020, it’s still facing a challenge to meet the demand for the masks, CEO Mike Roman says.

“We are working in partnership with other companies to look at ways that you can reuse N95s. We're also exploring ways to bring other kinds of respiratory solutions. We have reusable respirators, which are another solution. They can't meet all of the demand either but there are other things we're doing to fight them at every angle,” he added.

A lesson already being learned from this pandemic and production process is that investing in inventory and capacity is key.

“Broadly, we were not ready for the demand,” he told CNN about pandemic preparedness at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court is seen on June 30 in Washington, DC. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that when the new term begins in October, the justices will hear oral arguments by phone, continuing the format it used for arguments last May due to the pandemic. 

When does the new SCOTUS term start: The new term will launch the first Monday of October with the backdrop of possibly the most litigious presidential election in recent years playing out on the public scene. Emergency election related petitions are likely to come to the high court before the election and possibly after the vote. 

The court has not yet determined plans for the November and December argument sessions. 

Last spring marked the first time the justices heard their cases over the phone and the experiment significantly changed how arguments played out. 

Instead of a free for all with the justices interrupting each other and peppering advocates with a barrage of questions, the court proceeded in order of seniority with each justice having time to ask a series of questions.

For the most part, the experiment won good reviews with advocates expressing satisfaction that they were able to get their answers out without interruption. In addition, the new system attracted Justice Clarence Thomas who rarely asks questions in open court, but spoke up frequently by telephone. The session marked the first time, the public could listen in to a live audio feed.

Men's business attire is displayed in the window of a Manhattan clothier on September 15 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Retail sales ticked up in August from the previous month but at a slower pace after the enhanced unemployment benefits provided by the federal government ended. 

US retail sales rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That's below the 1% predicted by economists surveyed by Refinitv. In July, retail sales grew 0.9%, the Commerce Department said. That gain already was significantly slower than the 8.4% gain in June.

A supplemental $600 weekly unemployment insurance, which had been part of the government's first stimulus bill, ran out at the end of July. Since then, Congress has been unable to agree another boost to jobless benefits. President Trump signed an executive order to bolster benefits again, although by less money, by diverting funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Consumer spending is the biggest engine of US economic growth, and retail sales are an important component of that. The report from the Commerce Department, however, does not include spending on services — things like hair-cuts, medical care and financial services. 

Some economists say continued growth in retail sales depends on future government stimulus funds and relief to people who have lost their jobs. 

Some background: Retail sales slumped to a seven-year low in April as the coronavirus prompted stores across the country to shut their doors. Sales bounced back to pre-pandemic levels in July.

Although retail sales have bounced back, the spending has not gone to all retailers equally.

So far in 2020, nearly 8,000 stores have said they will permanently close, according to Coresight Research, a retail research and advisory firm. It anticipates closures will set a new annual record this year with as many as 25,000, breaking last year's record 9,302 closures tracked by the firm.

Nine clubs in England's Football League will be allowed to admit up to 1,000 fans in this weekend’s games as part of a pilot scheme to test the return of supporters, the English Football League (EFL) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The games will be spread out across English football’s second tier Championship (hosting two games), third tier League One (hosting four games) and fourth tier League Two (hosting three games).

EFL Chair, Rick Parry said: “It’s encouraging that we are in a position to move forward with the next phase of the pilot programme and give a small number of our Clubs the opportunity to welcome back up to a 1,000 fans this week."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that plans for stadiums to be up to a third full starting Thursday, Oct. 1 would be reviewed.

New York State is back under 1% Covid-19 infection rate after breaking its nearly 40-day streak. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that of the 75,087 tests reported yesterday, 652 were positive, which is .87% of the total. 

The state hit a 1% positivity rate Tuesday after being under the 1% threshold for 39 days.

A general view of a residential area of the Rhondda Fach valley is seen on September 10 in Stanleytown, Wales. Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

The Welsh government has locked down one of the nation’s biggest regions — barring people from entering or leaving — following a sharp increase in coronavirus cases.

Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the south of Wales, is the second county to be locked down. It has a population of nearly 240,000 people. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:

The new measures will be imposed on Thursday from 1 p.m. ET. The rules apply to everyone living within the Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The government said people will not be allowed to enter or leave the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council area without a reasonable excuse.

Enforcement of the new restrictions will be undertaken by the local authority and by the police.

The Big Ten logo is displayed on the field before an NCAA college football game in Iowa City, Iowa, on August 31, 2019. Charlie Neibergall/AP/File

The Big Ten Conference will play football this fall after all. On Wednesday, the conference reversed its postponement decision made last month.

The Big Ten announced the season will start the weekend of Oct. 23 and 24. 

The conference will require student-athletes, coaches, trainers and other individuals that are on the field for all practices and games to undergo daily antigen testing.

Test results must be completed and recorded prior to each practice or game. Student-athletes who test positive for the coronavirus through point of contact (POC) daily testing would require a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm the result of the POC test.

Some context: The Big Ten announced on August 11 that it was postponing the 2020-21 fall sports season because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Hear latest on CNN: