Good news about vaccines boosts stock market and national optimism

Officials in the Trump administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, celebrated the news Monday and credited Operation Warp Speed, the billion-dollar vaccine development initiative that has bankrolled vaccine research.

The company first sought to distance itself from the Trump administration Sunday, when Dr. Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s head of vaccine development, told the New York Times, “We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.”

However, Pfizer clarified Monday that it was, in fact, part of Warp Speed in that the company struck a deal with the Department of Health and Human Services in July for $1.95 billion to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine when it has been proven safe and effective by the FDA.

Pfizer, which developed the vaccine with the German drug manufacturer BioNTech, will be the first drugmaker to have produced a vaccine shown to be both safe and effective.

There was more good news Monday on the vaccine front: Novavax said it had been granted fast-track authorization by the FDA for its coronavirus vaccine. The move will expedite the review of the vaccine once Novavax completes phase three trials. The company plans to begin phase three trials in the United States and Mexico near the end of November.

The U.S. hit a new milestone Monday, with more than 10 million infections confirmed to date. More than 237,800 people have died due to COVID-19.

The coronavirus has continued to surge most acutely in the Midwest, a region that was spared early in the pandemic. In South Dakota, for instance, the test positive rate has hovered around 54% every day for the past week. Similarly, the test positive rates in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Idaho have averaged 15.9%, 37.1%, and 39.3% over the past week, respectively.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency late Sunday night, introducing new coronavirus restrictions in an effort to slow the rapidly accelerating spread of the virus and ease the burden on hospitals.

“The situation is dire and unsustainable,” the state said in the announcement. “We must take action now to protect our hospitals and healthcare workers and to avoid further devastation on our families, communities, and businesses.”

Utah reported 2,383 cases on Sunday. The state has reported over 2,000 cases every day since Tuesday, more than double the summer peak of 875 in July.

The new restrictions include a statewide mask mandate, a prohibition on large gatherings, and the closing of bars by 10 p.m.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California counties may soon be returning to more restrictive COVID-19 “tiers.”

“I anticipate that we’ll see some counties moving backwards, not forwards,” Newsom said Monday.

Newsom revealed at his press conference that virus cases in the Golden State had risen 7,212 in the last 24 hours. Additionally, the 14-day average of COVID-19-related hospitalizations was up 28% and cases in the ICU had increased by 27%.

Apparent President-elect Joe Biden pushed for widespread mask-wearing in his first policy address since last week’s disputed election.

“This election is over. It’s time to put aside the partisanship and the rhetoric that’s designed to demonize one another. It’s time to end the politicization of basic, responsible public health steps such as mask-wearing and social distancing,” Biden said Monday in Wilmington, Delaware.

He added, “Please, I implore you, wear a mask. Do it for yourself. Do it for your neighbor. A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start pulling the country together.”

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, 69, has tested positive for COVID-19. Carson was diagnosed with the virus at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday. He had been experiencing coronavirus symptoms but did not remain in the hospital. His deputy chief of staff told ABC News, the outlet that first reported the diagnosis, that Carson was “in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics, which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”

The HUD secretary was one of approximately 150 people at the White House in the wee hours last Wednesday morning to hear President Trump address the nation as votes were being tallied. Several people who were at the event have since tested positive for the virus.

In Los Angeles, domestic violence calls to police increased during the pandemic, but actual domestic violence crimes declined, according to new research from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

When Los Angeles went into lockdown from March to late May, domestic violence calls to 911 increased 13% compared to 2018-2019, while calls to the hotline increased 152%. Yet, actual domestic violence incidents declined 15% during the lockdown. There was also a small drop in domestic violence arrests.

While seemingly contradictory, the authors argue that the results can be reconciled as it is possible that the “calls came from disturbances or conflicts that were not actually criminal incidents.” They hypothesize in the paper, which has not yet undergone peer review, that the increase in calls may have come from neighbors who “might have been more likely to call police during the shutdown because they are spending more time at home or because of exposure to informational campaigns about the danger of increased [domestic violence] during the pandemic.”