This week began with a rare piece of good pandemic news: Pfizer announced that its two-part COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective at preventing disease, making it the most promising candidate yet. If borne out by yet-to-be-published data and granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a vaccine with efficacy levels that high could make a serious dent in a pandemic that continues to set new records daily in the U.S. and ravage the rest of the world.
But creating a vaccine and getting it approved are only the first steps. “The asterisk is that actually getting the vaccine to people who need it will not be easy,” says my colleague Jamie Ducharme, who recently wrote about the challenges facing Pfizer’s vaccine. Among them: the genetic material (called mRNA) used to make the vaccine breaks down unless it’s kept at ultra-low temperatures, so the vaccine must be stored at -94° F, requiring expensive specialized freezers. That complicates the rollout logistics for under-resourced communities, like rural areas, nursing homes and developing nations.
A lack of fancy freezers isn’t the only obstacle. Dosing out Pfizer’s vaccine requires a strong type of glass that’s in short supply, and distributing it requires dry ice, which is already in high demand because it’s used in food delivery. “Even once the vaccine is approved, distributing it will still be a huge logistical challenge,” Jamie says.
Some potential solutions have been proposed. Centralizing vaccine distribution in large “vaccine depots,” as some U.S. states are considering, may make it easier to corral resources. But doing so comes with additional problems, like staffing, cost and long travel times for vaccine recipients. Other, hardier vaccines could also eventually prove effective. And further medical innovation may eventually yield a version of the Pfizer vaccine that doesn’t require such extreme storage measures—but that will, of course, take time.
More than 52.7 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and nearly 1.3 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. 12, there were 606,497 new cases and 9,020 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 700,000 confirmed cases:
Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights, takes place this weekend across India just as the country’s annual pollution season begins, and experts are worried that both threats will further fuel India’s coronavirus outbreak, CNN reports. While the number of active cases in India isn’t as high as it was in September, it remains the second-leading country for cases in the world, with more than 8.7 million cases and nearly 130,000 deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that Israel will buy enough of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to cover 4 million citizens, the New York Timesreports. Vaccination is set to begin in January, but the vaccine must first be approved by American and Israeli health authorities. The deal comes as Israel has reported 322,159 cases and 2,706 total deaths.
Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the “Yorkshire Ripper” and who was convicted of murdering 13 women in northern England and attempting to kill seven more in the 1970s and 80s, died today after testing positive for the coronavirus, CNN reports. Sutcliffe, 74, was serving a life sentence in prison and had underlying health conditions.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 10.5 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. Nearly 242,500 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. 12, there were 153,496 new cases—another new daily record—and 919 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
More than 130 United States Secret Service officers who protect the White House and travel with U.S. President Donald Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus or have had to quarantine or isolate because they've had close contact with someone who has tested positive, the Washington Postreports. The spread is likely linked to the many campaign rallies Trump held before the election, during which many attendees failed to wear masks. Trump was also criticized for potentially jeopardizing Secret Service agents when he left the hospital to greet supporters while being treated for the coronavirus last month.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady announced a new stay-at-home advisory today as COVID-19 numbers climb throughout the Windy City. The advisory, which begins Monday and ends 30 days later, encourages residents to only leave their homes for school, work, grocery shopping or other essential outings—but residents won’t be penalized for flouting the suggestions. Chicagoans are also "strongly advised" to avoid travel, cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans and not have guests in their homes. The number of new and probable cases in Illinois exceeded 15,000 today, setting a record for the state.
Very few places in the U.S. have good pandemic news to report, but the Charlottesville area of Virginia is one of them. The number of new cases there has trended downwards since the start of October, and the region now has the state’s lowest positivity rate, according to the Charlottesville Tomorrow. People in the area seem to be more willing to wear masks than in the rest of the state, and strict safety rules at the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, has prevented campus breakouts.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 13, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Coronavirus-Free Countries Are Seeing Their First Cases
Remote island nations in the Pacific Ocean are beginning to report their first cases of COVID-19, my colleague Amy Gunia reports, as the virus reaches the few stretches of Earth that had so far been spared. Though they've had extra time to prepare, even a few cases can quickly overwhelm these under-resourced areas. Read more here.
The Nightmare Pandemic Economy Joe Biden Is Inheriting, in 5 Charts
When Joe Biden takes office in January, it will be the second time he enters the White House amid an economic catastrophe. But this crisis is different from the Great Recession, as the current economic situation is inexorably linked to the pandemic, my colleague Emily Barone reports. Read more here.
Health Care Workers Are Burning Out
As Americans face a third surge that eclipses the first two, health care workers are struggling to meet demand. “Some health-care workers told me that COVID-19 patients are the sickest people they’ve ever cared for: They require twice as much attention as a typical intensive-care-unit patient, for three times the normal length of stay,” writes Ed Yong in his new story for The Atlantic. Read more here.
Wisconsin’s Outbreak Is Literally Off the Charts
Wisconsin’s coronavirus situation has gotten so severe that all but seven of its counties now exceed what was previously the state’s most extreme classification for viral spread, NBC 15 reports. To adjust the scale, health officials there recently created a new top category: "critically high," which means at least 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents. Read more 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 Mandy Oaklander and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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