This month has brought some good news in the battle against COVID-19, as well as some bad news.

On the positive front, Pfizer announced that its COVID-19 vaccine had proven 90% effective, which is significantly better than expected. Additionally, the pharmaceutical giant expects to be able to distribute tens of millions of doses to those in most urgent need starting before the end of the year. If all goes well, the vaccine will be more widely distributed early next year, and the United States will be able to move on from this mess by the spring.