Louisiana dry ice manufacturers are preparing for the rollout of the Pfizer COVID vaccine. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Matt Doyle.”
_______________________________________
LSU could lose another one of its playmakers on offense. Jeff Palermo has the story…
_____________________________
An investigating is underway into a Monday morning house fire that claimed the lives of an 89-year-old woman and her 58-year-old son in St. Martinville. An exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says a space heater could’ve been involved.
With the weather turning colder, Rodrigue says it’s important to take safety precautions with space heaters.
Rodrigue says a working smoke detector has not been located in the home…
The deceased individuals have been identified as 89-year-old Mazel Sam and 58-year-old Gregory Sam.
_____________________________________________
Thousands of pounds of dry ice will be needed to ship and store the Pfizer COVID vaccine and dry ice companies are stepping up to make that happen. One of those is Red Ball Oxygen of Shreveport. CEO Alex Kennedy says the product is the only way that vaccine can make it from Pfizer into your arm.
When dry ice also gets too warm it sublimates, transitioning straight from solid ice to gas, meaning there’s no cleanup to worry about or chance of water contaminating vaccines.
Kennedy says it doesn’t take a lot of dry ice to keep a package of vaccines cold enough to travel from the deep freezer to distribution sites.
Red Ball is providing Shreveport pharmaceutical delivery company, Morris and Dickson, with dry ice for their deliveries to regional medical facilities. Pfizer will deliver vaccines straight to major hospitals.
Kennedy says if the Pfizer vaccine becomes the go-to vaccine for the U.S. the industry will experience a level of demand never before seen.
______________________________________________
LSU Freshman Tight End Arik Gilbert is considering opting out of the season. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says the Georgia native is apparently homesick and wants to give his body a break, but a lot of questions still remain.
Cut 9 (10) “..not a good thing.”
Higgins says there is not a lot of chemistry within the program right now and it has shown with opts outs and on-field performance.
LSU still has two more games left on its schedule and Athletics Director Scott Woodward has said the Tigers are also interested in playing a bowl game. But Higgins says this program should be anxious for the offseason to start…
Higgins expects several members of LSU’s football staff will be replaced. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini is certainly on the hot seat.
______________________________________________
Ochsner Hospital for Children is one of 24 systems around the country participating in a Pfizer COVID vaccine trial in children as young as 12 years old. Ochsner Principal Investigator, Dr. Julia Garcia-Diaz, says a new vaccine must be tested on various age groups because the reactions and efficacy could be different.
Garcia-Diaz says 50-percent of participants will be given the vaccine in two doses, 21 days apart and the other half will receive placebos. The vaccine is the same one given to adults and kids between the ages of 12 to 17 are participating in the clinical trial.
Data from the Pfizer COVID vaccine trial for adults indicates a 95-percent efficacy rate from the virus. Garcia-Diaz on why a pediatric clinical trial is needed…
She says they hope to have enough data by June of next year.