The Latest: Is 90% effective too good to be true?
Dear Reader,
There’s a lot of really good and really bad news related to Covid-19 this week. Let’s start with the good news: Pfizer and BioNTech released data suggesting that its vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing Covid-19. There are caveats, which you can read here, but there are also real reasons to be optimistic. Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said a vaccine could be available to all Americans by April 2021.
READ: What You Should Know About Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Results
The bad news is that heading into the holiday season, cases of Covid-19 continue to spread widely. U.S. hospitalizations from the virus hit a record high of nearly 62,000 on Tuesday, and new daily cases passed 139,000 for the first time. With a potential vaccine on the horizon, now is the time to be cautious.
P.S. Today I published a story about the success of Covid-19 long haulers at building a patient-led health movement. You can check it out here.
Here’s what else is new:
- Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody gets FDA emergency authorization: The decision applies only to people newly infected with the virus and came with a warning that it should not be used in hospitalized patients, the New York Times reports.
- Biden names Covid-19 crisis team: The taskforce will be led by three co-chairs: former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith from Yale University. Read more.
- More of Trump’s circle tests positive for Covid-19: Trump adviser David Bossie tested positive for the virus. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson also tested positive recently.
Follow our Medium Coronavirus Blog for regular updates, and read some of the essential stories we’ve curated below.
Be well,
Alexandra Sifferlin
Editor, Medium Coronavirus Blog
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New on the blog
There’s a lot! Let me break it down for you:
On vaccines
What Joe Biden’s Election Means for the Covid-19 Vaccine
What You Should Know About Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Results
An Epidemiologist on What to Expect From a Covid-19 Vaccine
On staying safe
Over 59,000 Americans Could Have Been Saved if Social Distancing Started Sooner
Restaurants Are the Riskiest Places You Can Go Right Now
Everything You Need to Know About Covid-19 Testing Before the Holidays
New Science Suggests How to Shorten Quarantine
Why Some Experts Say Humidifiers Could Help Against Covid-19
Critical perspectives
SARS-CoV-2 Is Behaving Like a Textbook Virus
Covid-19 is Kicking Our Ass While We Await a Hail Mary
How Covid-19 Long Haulers Created a Movement
Slovakia Is Putting Its Faith in ‘Blanket Testing’
Who Will Lead HHS and CDC Under Joe Biden?
Genetics Could Explain Why Some People With Covid-19 Get Sicker Than Others
A few more smart reads
Children Are Covid-19 Long Haulers, Too
How One Pastor Is Keeping His Midwestern Church Safe from Covid-19
We Hoped a Covid Vaccine Would Be Effective. But 90% Efficacy Is a True Game-Changer.
