01.06.21 (wired.com)
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| Governors work to speed up vaccinations, England reaches a concerning milestone, and the EU approves the Moderna vaccine. Here’s what you should know: US governors work to speed up vaccine distribution while US daily deaths hit a record high On Tuesday the US reported its highest daily Covid-19 death toll yet, topping 3,770. Meanwhile, governors across the country are working to accelerate vaccine distribution. In Maryland, North Carolina, and Arizona, the National Guard has been mobilized to help, while California’s Gavin Newsom just promised new actions including allowing dentists to administer the vaccine after they’ve received training. On Tuesday, Operation Warp Speed also said it has distributed more than 3 million vaccines. So far 17 million doses have been sent to states and more than 4.8 million have been administered. An estimated one in 50 have Covid-19 in England as the country returns to lockdown Boris Johnson announced that one in every 50 people in England has Covid-19 on Tuesday. This number is an estimate based on an official survey aiming to account for asymptomatic cases. Earlier this week, the UK went into its third national lockdown, which is currently scheduled to last until mid-February. Johnson said that the government plans to use the next month and a half to speed up vaccination, particularly among the elderly and other vulnerable populations. The EU approves Moderna’s vaccine for conditional use The European Union’s executive commission approved Moderna’s vaccine for conditional use on Wednesday morning as cases continue to rise across the continent. This is the second vaccine approved for use, following Pfizer-BioNTech’s. The EU has ordered 80 million doses of the Moderna vaccine with an option to order 80 million more, and rollout is expected to begin next week. |