What the Pfizer Vaccine News Means for President-Elect Biden
In a stunning development in the coronavirus world, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this morning that, in a Phase 3 trial, its vaccine candidate, designed in collaboration with German firm BioNTech, prevented 90% of disease compared to a control group, far above the 60% benchmark that regulators are seeking. It’s both a literal and metaphorical shot in the arm as COVID-19 surges across the United States, Europe and elsewhere in the world; more than 50 million people across the world have so far been diagnosed with the disease. Just today, the U.S. crossed a new threshold, confirming its 10 millionth case.
It’s not quite time to unfurl the “mission accomplished” banner just yet, however. Pfizer needs to collect a few more weeks’ worth of data before asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the vaccine on an emergency use basis. If that is granted, the challenge will shift from development to production and distribution. Even if all goes well, it will still likely be several months until enough people are inoculated that we may finally start turning the tide against the pandemic, meaning we’re still in for what’s increasingly shaping up to be a pretty horrifying winter.
Even still, the Pfizer development is good news for the incoming Biden Administration, which has made getting the coronavirus pandemic under control a top priority. Just this morning, the Biden campaign announced a new COVID-19 task force, which includes several former Obama-, Clinton- and George H.W. Bush-era health officials. The group won’t have any real power to implement policy until Biden is sworn in as President this January; it will serve more of an advisory role until then.
In a more normal world, outgoing Trump officials would work with their incoming Biden counterparts to ensure a smooth transition, in terms of overall pandemic response, vaccine production and distribution, and all other matters. But with U.S. President Donald Trump so far refusing to face reality and concede the race, that handoff is going to be confused at best, potentially further muddling the already-discordant public-health messaging that Americans are hearing.
The Trump administration has already used the timing of Pfizer’s announcement to take credit for the encouraging results and fuel baseless speculation that the drug makers were playing politics with their vaccine results. In fact, Pfizer self-funded its vaccine development process without funding from the government's Operation Warp Speed program; the company does have a deal with the federal government to provide at least 100 million doses if its vaccine is authorized.
No matter who’s to thank for today’s good news, Pfizer’s announcement is a scientific victory worth a measured celebration, regardless of your political persuasion. For now, though, the guidance is the same as it’s been for months: stay socially distant, wear a mask, and make smart choices for your health, and the health of others around you.
More than 50.3 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 1.2 million people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Nov. 8, there were 560,969 new cases and 5,733 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 600,000 confirmed cases:
As the coronavirus continues raging around the world, an average of about 8,400 people a day are dying of COVID-19 globally, as of Saturday. About 1,000 of those deaths are happening in the U.S., around 2,000-3,000 in the European Union, while the rest are occurring elsewhere. These numbers are a grim reminder that, even as individual countries deal with worsening outbreaks themselves, the pandemic remains a global problem that will require international cooperation to solve.
As a major meeting of the World Health Organization got underway today—virtually, of course—one name, reports the New York Times, was notably absent: Taiwan. Led by President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has had one of the world’s most successful COVID-19 response efforts, and had observer status at the WHO meetings until 2016. But China, which views Taiwan as a Chinese province rather than a sovereign state, has since blocked the island’s participation, over Taiwan’s objections that the WHO is meant to be a globally representative body.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. passed 10 million coronavirus cases as of 2 p.m. E.T. today. More than 237,500 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Nov. 8, there were 105,927 new cases and 457 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
U.S. stock markets surged on the Pfizer vaccine news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 4.6% at open this morning, setting a new intraday record of 29,933 points, just shy of the unprecedented 30,000 mark. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was up 3.7% just after opening. Many of the firms that got the biggest jolt are in sectors that have been badly hit by the pandemic, including airlines and work-from-home platforms like Zoom, suggesting investors view Pfizer’s results as reason to believe the outbreak will soon come to an end.
The number of total cases recorded in the U.S. yesterday—105,927—is not a new record; the high-water mark of 128,412 was set Saturday. But it’s nevertheless remarkable that the country reported more than 100,000 new cases on a Sunday, which has generally been the day of the week with the fewest number of new reported cases, as many facilities involved in the testing-and-reporting process are closed. It’s a grim sign worth noting, and suggests that, unfortunately, Saturday’s record is unlikely to hold for long.
Ben Carson, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary, tested positive for the coronavirus earlier today, according to multiple reports. Carson, who attended an election night party at the White House, is the latest Trump official or close ally to contract the disease, a list that also includes White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former businessman Herman Cain (who died of the virus in July) and, of course, Trump himself.
Utah is enacting some of the strongest current coronavirus restrictions in the U.S., governor Gary Herbert announced yesterday; the new measures include a statewide mask mandate, a ban on private gatherings between members of different households, and a pause on extracurricular activities (including sports) for K-12 students. The state, which is dealing with one of the most intense current outbreaks in the country, is averaging nearly 90 new daily cases per 100,000 residents as of yesterday:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 9, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Biden's Challenge: Restoring a Nation's Trust in Science
Like his former boss President Barack Obama, President-Elect Joe Biden will inherit a nation deep in crisis. Among his toughest challenges: ensuring Americans have enough faith in science to follow public-health recommendations and get a coronavirus vaccine once one’s available, my colleagues Jamie Ducharme and Alice Park report. Read more here.
What Happens When You’re a Digital Nomad in a Pandemic?
Millions of people have been forced to work from home to curb the spread of the coronavirus—but some hardcore ‘digital nomads’ chose that life well before the pandemic struck, finding jobs they could do via mobile broadband or coffee shop Wi-Fi while traveling around the world. But the pandemic, which led to new quarantine rules and border closures, has deeply complicated the 21st century nomadic life, Erin Griffith reports at the New York Times. Read more here.
Your Moment of Zen: An Aural Escape
It’s been a stressful few days (weeks? months?) for everybody, and we could all use a way to catch our collective breaths. Might I suggest these beautiful field recordings with natural sound from places like Olympic National Park and the Kalahari Desert, via Audubon? Listen here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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