FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021 file photo, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. effort to rapidly develop COVID-19 vaccines, speaks during a news conference in Washington. On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, GlaxoSmithKline said Slaoui has been fired as chair of a medical research company over sexual harassment allegations. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)The former chief science adviser for the U.S. effort to rapidly develop COVID-19 vaccines has been fired from the board of directors of a medical research company over sexual harassment allegations, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Wednesday. Slaoui served as chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, which was launched under the Trump administration to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. GlaxoSmithKline said its investigation began after it received a letter in February outlining the allegations of “sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct."

BALTIMORE (AP) – The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed 400,000 on Tuesday in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts a singular failure. The running total of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is nearly equal to the number of Americans killed in World War II. It is just short of the estimated 409,000 Americans who died in 2019 of strokes, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined. While the count is based on figures supplied by government agencies around the world, the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of inadequate testing and cases inaccurately attributed to other causes early on. It took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed 400,000 in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts to be a singular failure. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed 400,000 on Tuesday in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts a singular failure. It is just short of the estimated 409,000 Americans who died in 2019 of strokes, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined. The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. were in early February 2020, both of them in Santa Clara County, California. While the count is based on figures supplied by government agencies around the world, the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of inadequate testing and cases inaccurately attributed to other causes early on.

Officials heading the U.S.’ Operation Warp Speed program in charge of organizing the nation’s COVID vaccine rollout provided an update on their efforts Tuesday. Federal officials in charge of organizing and distributing coronavirus vaccines to states -- who then, in turn, are responsible for distributing vaccines among their residents -- said on Jan. 12 that the system is operating as planned, despite many states arguing that the rollout has moved too slowly. Read: Governors scramble to speed vaccine effort after slow startThose leading the federal operation say states experiencing issues with vaccine delays likely had their own issues with data collection and/or reporting. Watch the full report in the video player above. More: National news

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines around the country is not meeting the goal of what has been originally expected, officials said. However, Michigan’s numbers will be increasing even more, as 486 facilities in the state are currently offering the vaccine. Veterans have now been added to the list of those allowed to receive the vaccine in the state. On Wednesday, vaccinations for veterans were given out at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center for the first time. Thankfully, under the Biden-Harris administration, it’s clear that we will have officials that listen to science, data, and subject matter experts.” Gov.

(Youngrae Kim/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Pfizer said Wednesday it will supply the U.S. government with an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement between the pharmaceutical giant and the Trump administration. The government also has an option to purchase an additional 400 million doses. The cost to taxpayers: $1.95 billion for the additional 100 million doses. To aid vaccine production, the government said it is using its authority under a Cold War-era law that allows it to direct private manufacturing. The government began shipping the Pfizer vaccine to states last week, and the one from Moderna this week.

Moderna’s vaccine comes under the umbrella of the government’s own effort, which is called Operation Warp Speed. That public-private endeavor was designed to have millions of vaccine doses ready and available to ship once a shot received FDA approval. Earlier, U.S. officials had said they were discussing the purchase of another 100 million doses of Pfizer vaccine for delivery as early as the middle of next year. Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one. Operation Warp Speed is on track to have about 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of this month, of which about 20 million would be allocated for first vaccinations.

Vice President Mike Pence receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Washington. Conspicuously absent: President Donald Trump, who has remained largely out of sight five days into the largest vaccination campaign in the nation’s history. Trump did appear at a White House “summit” ahead of the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the Pfizer vaccine last week. “Don’t let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines,” Trump has told reporters. “It simply isn’t good enough to have Vice President Pence as a proxy."

Meanwhile, the FDA said late Wednesday that some Pfizer vaccine vials may contain more than the standard five doses. The Trump administration has come under scathing criticism from congressional Democrats after news leaked out last week about the missed opportunity to secure more vaccine. A second vaccine from Moderna appears headed for Food and Drug Administration approval within days, and more vaccine candidates are advancing through clinical trials. Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one. Pfizer was not as closely involved with Operation Warp Speed as other manufacturers, preferring to retain control over its own development and manufacturing.

PORTAGE, Mich. – On Sunday morning, the first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will leave the company’s manufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan. You can watch live coverage in the video player below. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. US officials say the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. WATCH LIVE COVERAGE

DETROIT – U.S. officials say the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. On Friday, the United States granted an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. According to CNN, Pfizer has told reporters covering its rollout that it expects the first shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine to leave the Michigan facility Sunday morning. On Saturday, the US Food and Drug Administration held a press conference on the first COVID-19 vaccine authorization. New COVID-19 cases are slowing but deaths continue to rise in Michigan.

Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states, said Army Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development program. Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. Perna compared the vaccine distribution effort to D-Day, the U.S.-led military offensive that turned the tide in World War II. The vaccine was timed to arrive Monday so health workers could receive the shots and begin giving them, Perna said. The announcement came after revelations that the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for delivery in the second quarter of 2021.

WARREN, Mich. – A Metro Detroit woman is part of Operation Warp Speed, the team that’s working to push the COVID-19 vaccine to people across the country. After months of logistical planning, Operation Warp Speed must now leap into practice. Waren’s Marion Whicker is on loan to the government from TACOM and she has been part of the logistical planning. The first lot that will leave Pfizer will be 6.5 million doses. Pfizer will continue to ramp up production so that by Dec. 20 there should be another 12 to 15 million doses available to be shipped from Kalamazoo.

Trump led Tuesday's White House event celebrating “Operation Warp Speed,” his administration's effort to produce and distribute safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19. Pfizer developed its vaccine outside of “Operation Warp Speed,” but is partnering with the federal government on manufacturing and distribution. Trump administration officials insist that such plans have been developed, with the bulk of the work falling to states and local governments to ensure their most vulnerable populations are vaccinated first. The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of outside vaccine experts is to meet Thursday to conduct a final review of the Pfizer vaccine, and it will meet later this month on the Moderna version. Plans call for distributing and then administering about 40 million doses of the two companies’ vaccines by the end of the year — with the first doses shipping within hours of FDA clearance.

The military theme originated in the May 15 announcement of the creation of Operation Warp Speed. “We will defeat the enemy.”But it has been Trump, not Perna, who has miscast the military's role. Trump said in his initial announcement the military would “deploy every plane, truck and soldier required" to distribute a vaccine when ready. “There will not be this vision that some people have that there will be Army trucks driving through the streets delivering vaccine,” Perna said Oct. 27. The prominence of military officials in Operation Warp Speed has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where some have questioned whether an outsize military leadership role would marginalize public health agencies.

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):9 p.m.Republicans will have at least 203 seats in the next House, giving them enough wins to assure that Democrats will have fewer members next year. Democrats went into Election Day with a 232-197 House advantage, plus an independent and five open seats. ___2:10 p.m.President Donald Trump is like a “heavyweight champion in the final round of fighting,” television commentator Geraldo Rivera says after chatting with Trump on the phone. The White House says President Donald Trump will make remarks Friday on Operation Warp Speed, the multi-agency effort to get a vaccine to the public quickly and safely. Trump has avoided public gatherings since Election Day and has declined to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Watch live coverage as President Trump gives an update on Operation Warp Speed and his administration’s coronavirus response. This live stream has ended.

DETROIT – Operation Warp Speed has the goal of getting a COVID-19 vaccine distributed throughout the United States. Once a vaccine receives emergency use authorization from the FDA, it will go from the makers to the arms of citizens. Part of the team working tirelessly behind the scenes is Marion Whicker from Warren. She is on loan to Washington D.C. as the Deputy Chief for Supply, Productions and Distribution to Operation Warp Speed. Between 8 and 9 million of those will be moved to administer sites around the country within 24 hours.

The regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, will also increase what Medicare pays hospitals for COVID-19 treatments. Under Wednesday’s announcement:Seniors with traditional Medicare will pay nothing for COVID-19 vaccines, and any copays and deductibles are waived. The government will pay private Medicare Advantage plans to administer the vaccine to seniors. Workplace and individual health insurance plans will cover the COVID-19 vaccine as a preventive service, with no cost sharing. State Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance plans will have to provide vaccines for free for the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency.

The top executives of nine drugmakers likely to produce the first vaccines against the new coronavirus signed an unprecedented pledge meant to boost public confidence in any approved vaccines. Meanwhile, public health officials have expressed doubt that adequate data on vaccine safety and effectiveness would be available before November. BioNTech has partnered with Pfizer on one of the three vaccines now in the final round of human testing. Last week, the Merck and Pfizer CEOs joined chief executives of three other companies that are testing COVID-19 drugs and vaccines to pledge that they wont seek even emergency approval without solid results in final stage human testing. They added that extra transparency on testing results and the approval process is needed.

WASHINGTON The White House says President Donald Trump will visit North Carolina on Monday to tour a business that is participating in work on a COVID-19 vaccine. The White House said Trump is expected to speak about the collaboration between the administration and the private sector to rapidly develop a vaccine and ensure rapid distribution once ready. North Carolina is a key battleground state in the coming election, and Trumps visit marks his 10th trip to the state during his presidency. The biotechnology facility Trump will visit is the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Innovation Center in Morrisville, a suburb of Raleigh. The White House said the company is manufacturing key components of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Novavax, an American vaccine development company based in Maryland.