Axios

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that his company will know whether its coronavirus vaccine is effective by the end of October and that it has already manufactured hundreds of thousands of doses in anticipation that the vaccine will receive FDA approval.

Why it matters: There has been a major push by the Trump administration to get a coronavirus vaccine to the public this fall, though it may only be available for certain high-risk groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already urged governors to have vaccine distribution centers ready by November.

Michael Osterholm, a renowned infectious-disease expert and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that leaders must tell the truth when it comes to public health and that "telling the truth never causes panic."

Why it matters: Host Chuck Todd asked Osterholm if President Trump had made a mistake by not being upfront with the American people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the threat of a pandemic. In an interview for Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," Trump said that he was purposefully "playing it down" so as not to create a "panic."

Dozens of lockdown protesters in Melbourne, Australia, were arrested after facing off with riot police for a second straight day on Sunday, per Nine News.

The big picture: The Victorian state capital has been under a nightly curfew since Aug. 5 amid surging coronavirus cases. From midnight Sunday, the curfew was being cut by an hour to 9pm–5am. Victoria's states of emergency and disaster were extended until at least Oct. 11, as state officials confirmed Sunday 41 new cases and seven more deaths from COVID-19. All other states and territories have reported single-digit or zero cases for weeks.

Go deeper: Australia plunges into first recession in 30 years

There'll be no Peeps marshmallow candies produced for this Halloween — or Christmas or Valentine's Day either — because of the coronavirus pandemic, Just Born Quality Confections said, per Pennlive.com.

The big picture: The firm suspended production in two Pennsylvania facilities in March as the outbreak spread. Just Born resumed limited output in May, but said it won't make Peeps and other candies until next year to focus on meeting demand for next Easter. "We look forward to offering our fun seasonal shapes and packaging at all major seasons again beginning with Halloween of 2021," the company added.

Trump-appointed health department aides interfered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly COVID-19 reports “in what officials characterized as an attempt to intimidate the reports’ authors and water down their communications to health professionals,” Politico’s Dan Diamond reported late on Friday.

What it says: "[E]mails from communications aides to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other senior officials openly complained that the agency’s reports would undermine President Donald Trump's optimistic messages,” reports Diamond, citing emails reviewed by Politico and three people familiar with the matter.

A "safe little bubble" exists that's isolated from coronavirus — where people mingle without masks, ski, socialize and watch the pandemic unfold from thousands of miles away, AP reports.

The state of play: That place is Antarctica, the only continent without COVID-19. As COVID-19 has shaken diplomatic ties around the world, the 30 countries that comprise the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs decided to keep the virus out. Now, as nearly 1,000 scientists and others who wintered on the ice are seeing the sun for the first time in weeks, a global effort wants to make sure incoming colleagues don't bring the virus.

Startups are competing to use biosynthesis to produce the cannabinoids found in different strains of cannabis.

Why it matters: The market for various types of CBD — a non-psychoactive component in cannabis — for medical and nutraceutical purposes is growing rapidly, and biosynthesis promises a cheaper and more controllable method of production than growing plants.

AstraZeneca announced on Saturday it's resuming its COVID-19 vaccine trials after pausing earlier this week when a participant fell ill.

The state of play: A statement from AstraZeneca says the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority approved the company's vaccine trials through the University of Oxford to continue.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told MSNBC on Friday that it's unlikely life in the U.S. will go back to normal by the end of 2020, saying pre-coronavirus conditions may not return until "well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021."

Why it matters: Fauci's statements are at odd with recent comments from President Trump, who has repeatedly claimed without evidence that the country is ”rounding the turn” on the coronavirus pandemic.