Sources say federal health officials will recommend a third dose of the mRNA COVID vaccines to be given about eight months after the second dose.

The Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine may not be as effective as vaccines that use mRNA technology (Pfizer and Moderna), according to a new study.

The White House COVID-19 response team provided an update on the pandemic on Monday afternoon. The guidance was very conservative but does provide a road map for those who are fully vaccinated to begin seeing other people. “CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people can visit with unvaccinated people from one other household, indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing as long as the unvaccinated people and any members of their household are not at high risk for severe COVID-19 disease,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. Fully vaccinated means at last two weeks past the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine -- or four weeks past the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. AdWatch the press briefing below via the embedded video:Fully vaccinated people can gather without masks, CDC saysFully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials.

DETROIT – Members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team said that President Joe Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines doses in 100 days is on track for success. Nationally, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to decrease. There is also great concern that a new, more contagious variants of the virus could reverse that downward trend. The CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, warned that too many people are giving the new variants an easy path to spread. “Based on contact tracing and review of recent variant cases -- not wearing masks and participating in in-person social gatherings have contributed to the variance spread,” Walensky said.

In spite of the CDC warnings, a lot of people are planning to see family on Thanksgiving. Because coronavirus can be spread while someone is asymptomatic or presymptomatic, there’s no way to know if your family is being infected. After months of carefully following COVID-19 restrictions, the family gathered for a birthday party. Those infected spread the virus to three other relatives who didn’t attend the party. By staying apart, we can fight this virus together.”The family does not have plans to gather for Thanksgiving.

With rapidly increasing case counts across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it is recommending against all travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. The CDC is instead urging Americans to stay home and celebrate with only the people in your household. “The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people who live in your household,” said Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz. “We’re recommending not traveling this Thanksgiving.”Sauber-Schatz leads the task force that wrote the CDC guidelines urging Americans to change their traditional Thanksgiving plans. A recent study found that 20% of Americans still plan to gather with more than 10 people.

When it comes to COVID testing, we’ve been hearing about growing lines and delayed results. But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new emergency use authorization for an at-home test. The new test by California-based Lucira is a nasal swab test that can provide a result within 30 minutes and is for use by anyone ages 14 and older if their healthcare provider thinks they may have COVID-19. The nasal swab test involves swirling a patient’s self-collected sample swab in a vial, which is then placed in the test unit. The FDA did not talk about the price of the test but the company’s website indicated that the test is intended to cost less than $50.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden is warning the United States is “still facing a very dark winter” as he unveils plans for addressing COVID-19 pandemic. Even as hopes of a vaccine lifted stocks, Biden said Monday another 200,000 lives could be lost before it is widely available. The Democratic president-elect and vice president-elect sat at separate, individual socially distanced tables and took notes as the members introduced themselves on Monday. The task force briefing was at the Queen, a theater in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden’s campaign built a studio and other communications infrastructure and has spent months organizing virtual meetings and speeches. Also part of the group is Rick Bright, a whistleblower who was demoted after criticizing the Trump administration’s pandemic response.

DETROIT The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States has passed 3.5 million infections. On Thursday afternoon, Johns Hopkins University reported more than 138,000 deaths. July 16, 2020 -- Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 71,842; Death toll now at 6,101The hardest hit areas are struggling with diminishing resources. READ: Why high COVID-19 survival rate is no reason to relax safety measuresAt least 39 states are reporting an increase in the number of coronavirus cases from the week before. Thats despite the rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the state.