The F.D.A. confirmed that Moderna’s vaccine was highly effective in preventing Covid-19.
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The F.D.A. has issued emergency authorization for the first at-home coronavirus test.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci said it was his “strong recommendation” that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris receive a vaccine quickly.
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A snowstorm in the Northeast is threatening to snarl vaccine deliveries.
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Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and vaccines in development.
A second vaccine in the pipeline
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released new data today confirming that Moderna’s vaccine was 94.1 percent effective in preventing Covid-19. The positive review means the agency is expected to authorize the vaccine for emergency use on Friday.
Once approved, the vaccine could be given to Americans as early as Monday.
The hopeful news arrives a day after health care workers in the U.S. received the first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was given emergency authorization last Friday. Between the two vaccines, the U.S. will have enough doses to vaccinate 150 million Americans (out of about 330 million) by the middle of next year.
Moderna’s success came as a sigh of relief for the U.S., especially after two other high-profile projects that the country hoped would boost its vaccine supply stumbled in recent weeks. Muddled results from AstraZeneca and Oxford have made it unclear whether their vaccine will receive swift emergency authorization, and Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are restarting trials with a different version of their vaccine after disappointing results from early tests.
So far, there appears to be only a few differences between the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech trial showed its vaccine starting to work 10 days after the first dose, while trial data from Moderna didn’t reveal such a strong boost after the first dose. Moderna, though, produced evidence that its vaccine was effective in preventing severe illness. On this front, the numbers from Pfizer-BioNTech were too small to lead to any strong conclusions.
Based on the data, Moderna’s vaccine may be slightly less effective in people 65 and older than Pfizer-BioNTech’s. Experts noted that Moderna’s was more likely to cause headaches, sore arms and related side effects.
By next week, the U.S. may be one of the few countries administering doses of two fully tested vaccines. But many Americans say they’ll pass on a shot entirely.
A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a quarter of Americans said they probably or definitely would not take a coronavirus vaccine, with Republican, rural and Black Americans among the most hesitant. Reasons among the groups differ — Black Americans appear most worried about side effects or getting Covid-19 from the vaccine, while about a quarter of Republicans say they’ll skip a vaccine because they don’t see the virus as a threat.
The skepticism seems to be waning: Over all, 71 percent of respondents said they definitely would get a vaccine, an 8 percent increase from September, and roughly a third said they now want the vaccine as soon as possible.
Rich countries have first dibs on vaccine doses
Wealthy countries have snatched up more than half of the vaccine doses that could come onto the market by the end of next year, to the detriment of those in the developing world, according to a New York Times analysis of data on vaccine contracts collected by Duke University, Unicef and Airfinity, a science analytics company.
The inequality is jarring: Some wealthy countries have reserved enough doses to inoculate their populations many times over, while many poor nations may only be able to vaccinate 20 percent of their populations, or less, by the end of next year.
For example, The Times found that if every dose already ordered was delivered, the European Union could vaccinate its residents two times, the U.S. could immunize every American four times, and Canada could inoculate its population six times over. The bottom line for many low-income nations is that it could take until 2024 for them to obtain enough vaccines to fully immunize their populations.
The inequality in vaccine access is putting pressure on rich countries to change their plans, and some are making moves to address the disparity. Australia, Britain, Canada and the European Union have all made financial commitments to an effort to secure a billion doses for 92 poor countries, and Canada has started discussing how it might donate vaccines.
President Trump, however, has promoted vaccine nationalism at every turn and has been absent from efforts to address vaccine inequalities. However, he did sign an executive order this month stating that once the federal government determines there is a sufficient supply for Americans, it will facilitate international access to its vaccines “for allies, partners and others.”
Resurgences
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With new cases, hospitalizations and deaths all shattering records in California in recent weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state had ordered an extra 5,000 body bags, activated a mutual aid network for morgues and coroner’s offices, and stationed 60 refrigerated storage units around the state to handle remains.
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In China, authorities were investigating a cargo pilot who tested positive for the virus shortly after attending a 300-person wedding.
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Officials in the Philippines, fearing a surge in cases over the holiday season, said that anyone going out in public must wear a face shield on top of a face mask.
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South Africa announced a raft of new restrictions as the country enters a second coronavirus wave, with infections expected to rise further over the festive season.
Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states.
What else we’re following
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Russia said a clinical trial of its leading coronavirus vaccine, called Sputnik V, showed an efficacy rate of 91.4 percent.
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Even as vaccinations begin, officials across the U.S. are imposing new restrictions.
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The Supreme Court ordered federal judges in New Jersey and Colorado to reconsider rulings allowing limits on attendance at indoor religious services in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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More than 500 teachers in Georgia, Texas and cities around the country called in sick as part of a nationwide protest against standardized testing during the pandemic, along with other policies that educators say are putting them at risk.
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During India’s lockdown, migrant workers returned home on special trains provided by the government as the economy shut down. But the trains spread the virus across the country.
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A 28-year-old man was jailed for defying coronavirus restrictions by taking a jet ski across the Irish Sea to see his girlfriend.
What you’re doing
Awaiting the birth of my first grandchild, I ended up quarantining for five weeks. I had groceries delivered, worked from home and, to maintain my sanity, joined girlfriends for dinner online. As soon as the baby was born, I hit the road for the 17-hour drive. Gloved and masked at every pit stop, I had a rapid Covid test along the way. A two-hour drive later and with negative test result in hand, I was elated to meet my newborn granddaughter, one of the many special souls who chose to enter this world in the midst of Covid.
— Benita Silver, Asheville, N.C.
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Carole Landry contributed to today’s newsletter.
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