Coronavirus cases in the U.S. spike by 60,000 on Tuesday

On Tuesday, confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 60,000. Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani joins The First Trade with Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous to discuss.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: Welcome back to "The First Trade." The daily number of coronavirus cases are on the rise again. According to John Hopkins University, the US reported 60,000 new cases Tuesday. Joining us now is Yahoo Finance health care reporter, Anjalee Khemlani. Anjalee, what are these rising numbers saying to us?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Well, Brian, what they're telling us is exactly what experts have predicted, and that is that we are facing, in fact, this next wave, this third peak, questions about what wave it is, but this third peak in the US right now. And it is concerning, because this is the time of year where we have upper respiratory viruses thriving, and so that is leading into a lot of concerns about what is going to happen when it comes to these cases, which we've already seen are hitting hospitals across the nation. And really, when we look at what that means, while we are better prepared, there are some treatments, there are some protocols that are being utilized, there is still no actual treatment for the virus, and there are no protocols that are completely failsafe. And so as of right now as it stands, it just means a hard winter ahead, as we've heard multiple experts say in the past several months.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And Anjalee, what is Pfizer doing to ramp up for its possible vaccine in a very short amount of time?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: So we know that actually, not just Pfizer, but many vaccine companies that are in the race are in fact doing the same. Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, etc, have all committed to sort of pre-producing these vaccines, whether or not they know that they're going to be working. And right now, we know that Pfizer has made available sort of images of their plans in around the world actually, one in Michigan here, and the plan is to really use or build up the process that is necessary. With the mRNA technology, one of the major concerns is the cold storage. It has very extreme cold temperatures, and so what the timeline looks like is three days from production to shipment to the actual venue, which would be a clinic or a hospital or any place where the vaccine could be administered. And with more than, with millions of doses really being produced per day globally, they're looking at that three day timeline to be able to do all this.

Now, that concern continues to be that last mile after it is in fact in the hands of Pfizer's, you know, logistics chain. After it gets to the point of landing on the tarmac and then needing to be driven to the point of site, that is where some concerns are about whether or not, you know, cold storage can be maintained, because you will have to then break apart these refrigerators and ship from there. So this is just bringing to light, "The Wall Street Journal" did a report on this, and this is bringing to light the concerns that many experts have been vocalizing throughout the process, because the mRNA any technology needs such cold storage.

BRIAN SOZZI: Anjalee Khemlani, thank you so much.