Moderna Vaccine Close To FDA Authorization

Plus: U.S. nears 4,000 Covid-19 deaths per day

As cases in the U.S. continue to shatter records, some more good news came from the Federal Government today. At an independent vaccine committee meeting, infectious disease experts voted to endorse Moderna’s mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 for FDA Emergency Use Authorization. This means that there is only one more step, official authorization from the FDA, before members of the public can start getting vaccinated with Moderna’s vaccine. It will be a huge win to have two vaccines available to protect against Covid-19 after the FDA authorized Pfizer’s vaccine last week. Speaking of Pfizer -- its vaccine may be authorized by the government, but that doesn’t mean the two organizations are playing nice. After multiple comments from HHS Secretary Azar this week that Pfizer has been struggling with vaccine manufacturing, the big pharma company hit back and responded that they have plenty of vaccine doses available -- they’re just sitting in a warehouse waiting for the government to tell them where to go. 

Business

A Covid-19 relief deal is closed to being finalized, but what’s holding lawmakers up? Funding for entertainment venues, nutrition programs and more are still being hotly debated. 

A new report found that the Pfizer vaccine vials hold more doses of the vaccine than previously thought, increasing the U.S.’s supply of this Covid-19 vaccine by 40%. 

Science & Health

Dr. Anthony Fauci says that if enough people get vaccinated against Covid-19, life could return to normal as soon as this coming Fall. 

Take a read through these stirring stores of healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.

On The Upside

Stress Less: New research shows that people who are labeled as “hypersensitive” might actually be better at handling stress -- like this pandemic.