Axios

Americans 75 and older along with roughly 30 million "frontline essential workers" should be next in line to get coronavirus vaccinations, a group of experts that make recommendations to the CDC voted on Sunday, per the New York Times.

Why it matters: Adults over 75 are eight times more likely to be hospitalized after contracting the coronavirus. Essential workers are at an elevated risk for COVID-19 infections and are disproportionately people of color, who face higher mortality rates from the coronavirus than white people.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Sunday there are "no indications" that a new strain of COVID-19, said to be identified in England, will slow U.S. vaccination efforts.

Driving the news: Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium have announced plans to restrict travel from the U.K. due to concerns over the new variant, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "may be up to 70% more transmissible" than the original version of the disease.

It's a fitting end to a crappy year: White House officials are calling us in a panic about President Trump’s erratic behavior. England is panicking about a possible super-spreading virus strain. And vaccine distribution is hitting bumps.

Why it matters: Incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain was right when he warned of a "very, very, very dark winter."

The first shipments of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine were sent from a distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on Sunday morning, AP reports.

Why it matters: The planned delivery of millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine, which has a 94.1% efficacy rate, comes amid a dangerously high coronavirus caseload across the country that could be exacerbated by holiday travel.

About 21 million people entered full lockdown restrictions in London, southeast and eastern England and Wales Sunday to curb the spread of a highly infectious new strain of COVID-19.

For the record: The World Health Organization tweeted that it's in "close contact" with British officials on the variant, as the Dutch government introduced a ban on passenger flights from the United Kingdom, effective Sunday morning through Jan. 1, after finding a case with the same strain in the Netherlands.

A CDC advisory committee on Saturday voted to recommend Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate for people 18 years and older, per CNN.

Driving the news: The recommendation comes a day after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from the attending physician of Congress on Friday.

The latest: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) received the first dose of the vaccine on Saturday, saying afterwards, "[a]s the vaccine is being distributed, we must all continue wearing masks and engage in social distancing. That is how we will beat this virus and end this terrible pandemic.”

Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the member of Operation Warp Speed responsible for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, apologized on Saturday for the "miscommunication" with states over the number of doses they will receive next week, AP reports.

Why it matters: The general's apology comes after multiple governors said they were told that their states would receive between 25%-40% fewer vaccine doses than originally projected.

Airports Council International (ACI) has advised airports worldwide to step up their security to protect COVID-19 vaccine shipments, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: INTERPOL issued a global alert earlier this month, warning law enforcement agencies to prepare for organized crime networks that may target COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online.

China quickly, systematically and relentlessly suppressed the truth about the coronavirus from its citizens and the world, according to a detailed investigation by The New York Times and Pro Publica.

Why it matters: China is America's chief rival for world dominance — and routinely uses government-directed propaganda, lies and heavy-handed silencing to get an edge over its people and rivals.

Austria and Switzerland have both announced they will impose lockdown measures as novel coronavirus cases climb in each country.

By the numbers: Austria has more than 337,000 confirmed cases and over 5,200 deaths to date, while Switzerland has seen nearly 404,000 confirmed cases and over 6,500 deaths, per data from Johns Hopkins University.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, one day after it was endorsed by a panel of independent experts.

Why it matters: The authorization of a second coronavirus vaccine, coming exactly one week after the FDA cleared Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for emergency use, increases vaccine access for millions of Americans and marks another milestone on the country’s path to curbing the pandemic.