Forbes - V-Day In The U.K.

Plus: Police raid home of Covid-19 data scientist

Another 1,522 Americans died of Covid-19 yesterday, making the past seven days the deadliest week since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an effort to assuage fears, President Trump signed a new Executive Order today prioritizing U.S. citizens when it comes to getting vaccines -- but it remains unclear whether or not the EO actually has the power to change anything. Meanwhile, it was “V-Day” in the U.K.: the first day where the U.K. general public could get vaccinated with the newly approved Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine. (Patient number two was William Shakespeare. No, not that one.) For the U.K.’s National Health Service, this marks the beginning of the biggest immunization campaign in the organization’s history. Hopefully, the U.S. will be following suit soon.

Business

In new stimulus check negotiations, Bernie Sanders and colleagues want another round of $1,200 checks, while the White House is hoping for a $600 check compromise. 

Health costs for big employers rose less than 2% this year, the lowest in 23 years. 

Apple announced that it will launch a new digital fitness subscription service next week, an effort to reach customers who have been staying at home due to the pandemic. 

Science & Health

The CDC announced today that it plans to collect some personal data from people who receive Covid-19 vaccines. How worried should we be about privacy? 

AstraZeneca and Oxford released new data from their Covid-19 vaccine, but questions about how effective it is  still remain. 

New CDC guidelines on indoor ventilation strategies aim to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission inside.

On The Upside

The Fauci Effect: Medical school applications have jumped 18% during the pandemic, a phenomenon being dubbed “The Fauci Effect” as young adults view medical workers as heroes.