Trump chief of staff Meadows to cooperate with Capitol attack panel – live | US news

An expert committee has recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve Merk’s Covid pill for high-risk adults.

The drug, molnupiravir, has been shown to reduce hospitalization and death from the Delta, Mu and Gamma variants. The pill, which if authorized would likely be recommended only for patients who are older and have comorbidities that make them extra vulnerable to Covid-19, could be available by the end of the year.

A similar treatment from Pfizer has been shown to be more effective than Merk’s drug, and will likely also get authorization in the coming weeks.

Joe Biden is speaking to widespread applause in Rosemount, Minnesota, but it appears not everyone was happy to see him.

A pool report noted that about 100 anti-Biden people gathered near the location, one person waving a “Build Back Broke” sign playing on the Build Back Better Act. Others waved Trump flags and wore shirts with the coded “Let’s Go Brandon” message that translates to “Fuck Joe Biden” – while others waved signs just flat-out reading “Fuck you, Joe Biden”.

Joe Biden is addressing the nation’s infrastructure now. He noted that in 2007, Minnesota was one of the first to sound the alarm over the country’s infrastructure when the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapsed, killing 13 and injuring 145.

“Our infrastructure used to be rated the best in the world,” he said. “According to the World Economic Forum, we now rank 13th in the world. We’re turning things around in a big way now, and it starts with roads and bridges.”

Joe Biden took the opportunity to urge, once again, all Americans to not only get vaccinated but to get their booster shots.

“The best protection is to get fully vaccinated, getting a booster shot,” he said. “I urge all Americans who haven’t gotten it yet to get it done, get it done today.”

Joe Biden is in Rosemount, Minnesota to talk about the bipartisan infrastructure law. But first, he addressed the school shooting in Oxford, Michigan:

“My heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one,” he said. “You have to know that whole community has to be in a state of shock right now.”

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has more to say on the Build Back Better Act and the Democrats’ hope to pass it through the Senate by Christmas Day – 25 December.

The Centers for Disease Control have updated their coronavirus-related travel advisories for Niger, Papua New Guinea, Poland and Trinidad and Tobago.

The CDC now lists all four countries under Level 4, which is categorized as Very High for Covid-19. Officials advise Americans to avoid travel to these countries, and if travel to these countries is necessary, to make sure to be fully vaccinated before doing so.

Dr Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon best known as the host of TV’s Dr Oz Show, is planning to run for Pennsylvania’s open US Senate seat as a Republican, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke to the Associated Press.

The Fox News host Sean Hannity has trailed an announcement from Oz in primetime tonight.

Should Oz run, he would bring unrivaled name recognition and wealth to a race expected to among the nation’s most competitive and could determine control of the Senate next year.

Oz became a household name after gaining fame as a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show.

He has also experienced controversy, notably when in 2015 a group of prominent American physicians called on Columbia University medical school to sever its links with Oz for “an egregious lack of integrity” over the promotion of “quack treatments” not supported by scientific evidence, “in the interest of personal financial gain”.

In 2016 he hosted Donald Trump on his show. In 2018, Trump appointed him to a White House council on fitness.

More than 100m adults are eligible for a booster shot but have not gotten one, said Jeff Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator.

“If you are one of the 100m who are eligible for a booster, get a booster,” he said. “If you have kids, get them vaccinated.”

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control, urged Americans to get their vaccines and their booster shots as soon as they can.

“We have the tools and surveillance in place to identify the omicron variant,” Walensky said. “We also have the tools to prevent omicron from increasing the strain on our economy and healthcare system.”

Dr Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, is holding a press briefing about the new omicron variant of Covid-19.

Fauci says at the moment, there is too much unknown about the new variant. While the mutations make it look it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant – which in itself was more transmissible than the original virus – Fauci said at the moment, “It’s difficult to infer.”

In terms of how effective the vaccines will be against the new variant, Fauci is still confident that the vaccine, with the added booster shots, will do a lot.

“As with other variants, although partial immune escape may occur, vaccines and in particular boosters give a level of antibody that, even with variants like Delta, give you a degree of cross-protection, particularly against severe disease,” Fauci said.

At the moment it’s still unknown if there are any unusual symptoms associated with the omicron variant. “But we do not know and it is too early to tell,” Fauci warned.