Forbes - Good News And Bad News: Vaccine Edition

Plus: California lifts stay-at-home order, but cases still high

Even though there are already two vaccines authorized to prevent Covid-19, more are needed to get a handle on the pandemic. Unfortunately, some vaccine trials are going better than others. The good news: Moderna, which already has a Covid-19 vaccine authorized, just launched a trial for a booster vaccine that would be more effective against the B. 1.351 variant of Covid-19 that was first reported in South Africa. The bad news: pharma giant Merck pulled the plug today on its version of a Covid-19 vaccine after trial data showed that it wasn’t very effective. And speaking of vaccines, here’s what the states that are doing the best job at the vaccine rollout are doing differently from the rest. 

Business

CVS and Walgreens announced they have vaccinated more than 3 million elderly residents of nursing homes. 

Google has become the most recent company to turn some of its empty offices into Covid-19 vaccination sites. 

Money can’t buy happiness, but it may help buy you better Covid-19 outcomes,  according to a new study. 

Science & Health

A new study shows that the risk of severe allergic reactions with Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is very low. 

Covid-19 has led to one of the sharpest life expectancy drops in decades. 

Australia announced new travel restrictions after New Zealand reported its first Covid-19 case in months.

On The Upside

Beer Is Benched: For the first time in 37 years, Budweiser is skipping its famous Super Bowl ads. Instead, the company is donating money to raise awareness of Covid-19 vaccines.