Forbes - Vaccine on the horizon

Plus: YouTube blocked OANN for misleading Covid-19 info

With positive data posted this month, a Covid-19 vaccine is finally on the horizon. CDC director Robert Redfield projected today that a vaccine could become available “by the end of the second week in December.” The first recipients, he said, would most likely be healthcare workers and nursing home recipients. It won’t be long before they’re more generally available, though. And businesses are getting ready for it, with Qantas airlines already saying it will require passengers to be vaccinated before flying internationally. We’re still not out of the woods yet, though. Until a vaccine is widely available, you can expect more social distancing and mask mandates. On the bright side, research from the University of Utah today shows that states with mask mandates are seeing better economic performance than states without them. 

Business

Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of latex gloves, will shut down more than half its factories after nearly 2,500 of its workers tested positive for Covid-19.

Two Houston men have been indicted after they allegedly made a deal with a foreign government to sell 50 million N95 face masks, which they did not possess, at a rate far above the recommended price.

Science & Health

A new study from Kenya suggests that Covid-19 has been as widely spread in parts of Africa as Italy or other countries, but with far fewer severe cases. 

Polish scientists have identified several cases of Covid-19 in mink at a farm in the north of the country, prompting fears that a widespread cull will be needed to contain the disease. 

Community blood centers report that donated blood supplies are “alarmingly low” in the United States. 

On The Upside

Cost Savings: According to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, most fully insured health plans have voluntarily waived consumers’ costs for Covid-19 care.