Florida on Thursday logged its first case of the new coronavirus variant spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom.
The big picture: After Colorado and California, thisthe third U.S. state to see a case of the variant. The Florida Department of Health says it was found in a man in his 20s with no history of travel.
A new phase in the battle against the coronavirus and the beginning of Joe Biden's presidency will dominate the news this year, but there will be plenty of other changes ahead that will shape our lives, too.
Here’s what Axios’ newsletter authors and expert reporters will be watching — from the future of the economy and Big Tech's antitrust fights to the next stages in developing artificial intelligence and biotechnology. (Sign up for their newsletters here.)
The World Health Organization on Thursday listed Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Why it matters: The approval — the WHO's first for a coronavirus vaccine — may allow some countries to expedite their own regulatory approval processes so they can import and administer the vaccine quicker, the WHO said.
Why it matters: It's far below Operation Warp Speed's goal of administering 20 million doses by the end of the year, raising concerns about how long it may be until enough people are vaccinated in the U.S. for life to return to normal.
Health regulators in China said Thursday they have approved the country's first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, for general use, AP reports.
Why it matters: Like the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Sinopharm's shot is said to be cheaper and easier to store than Pfizer or Moderna's vaccines.
To set the tonefor his inauguration the next day, President-elect Biden will lead a memorial to remember and honor lives lost to COVID-19, with church-bell ringings and light shows across the country on Tue., Jan. 19, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Driving the news: The Presidential Inauguration Committee is announcing Thursday morning that a D.C. ceremony, led by Biden, will feature lights around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — the first time lighting around the Reflecting Pool has memorialized American lives lost.
More than six out of 10 Americans are hopeful about what 2021 has in store for the world, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.
The big picture: After a year dominated by the pandemic and a seemingly endless presidential election, Americans are overwhelmingly hopeful that things will get better with the pandemic — and more narrowly hopeful about Joe Biden's presidency.
Pfizer said in a statement that there are "no data" to demonstrate that a single dose of its coronavirus vaccine will provide protection from infection after 21 days.
Why it matters: The U.K. announced on Wednesday that it would shift its vaccination strategy "to give as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing the required two doses in as short a time as possible." Some provinces in Canada are doing the same.
California reported its first case of a new variant of the coronavirus that may be more transmissible, AP reports.
The big picture: California is the second state to document a confirmed case of the variant — which originated in the United Kingdom — after Colorado reported the first case in the United States on Tuesday.
