| Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine nears authorization; more details emerge about a large-scale hacking attack. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. | | | | | | | A second Covid vaccine nears approval | | | | | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images | | - Covid-19 vaccinations are already underway around the US — and more doses could be coming soon after an independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday voted 20 to 0 (with one abstention) to recommend Moderna's vaccine for emergency use. [Vox / Umair Irfan]
- The next step in the process is a formal emergency use authorization from the FDA, which is expected this Friday. Vaccinations with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine could begin early next week. [NYT / Denise Grady, Abby Goodnough, Carl Zimmer, and Katherine J. Wu]
- Not only is the Moderna vaccine more than 94 percent effective — about the same as its Pfizer/BioNTech counterpart — it doesn't require the same extreme cold temperatures to transport and store, which should make distribution easier. [CBS News]
- Nearly 6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine could ship right away after an EUA is issued, with more to come. In total, the US has purchased 200 million doses from Moderna. [CNBC / Berkeley Lovelace Jr.]
- Those doses are sorely needed in the US right now. The country reported a record number of new Covid-19 cases Wednesday — more than 245,000 — and nearly as many Thursday. Wednesday also saw a new fatality record: 3,611 people dead in one day from the virus. [New York Times]
- The distribution of the already-authorized Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, though, hasn't gone as smoothly as could be hoped. Pfizer indicated Thursday that it had "millions more doses" ready to ship but hadn't received instructions from the federal vaccine effort, named Operation Warp Speed. [Washington Post / Isaac Stanley-Becker, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Lena H. Sun, and Josh Dawsey]
- On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence, as well as second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams, received the vaccine on camera Friday to boost public confidence. [AP / Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin]
- President-elect Joe Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden will do the same this coming Monday. "It's important to us ... to send a clear message to the public that it's safe," Biden spokesperson Jen Psaki said. [Politico / Alice Miranda Ollstein]
| | | Wide-ranging hack poses "a grave risk to the federal government" | | | After a week of alarming revelations, here's what we know about a major hack targeting multiple US government agencies and at least one private company. - Reporting indicates that at least six federal departments — Defense, Commerce, Treasury, State, Homeland Security, and Energy — were breached in the attack, as was Microsoft. [Vox / Alex Ward]
- More details are still emerging, but government officials have suggested that a Russian hacking group called Cozy Bear, which has been involved in several previous attacks in the US, is likely responsible. The group has ties to Russian intelligence. [Recode / Sara Morrison]
- According to the New York Times, officials believe the goal of the attack was likely "traditional espionage" — but it's possible the hackers could mount a far more damaging attack if they wanted to. [NYT / David E. Sanger and Nicole Perlroth]
- The federal government has also warned that the attack, which appears to have been perpetrated using malware inserted into a network safety tool produced by the cybersecurity company SolarWinds, is "significant and ongoing." [Guardian / Kari Paul]
- Among other targets, portions of the National Nuclear Security Administration network appear to have been compromised in the attack, though officials say that no "mission essential national security functions" of the agency were affected. [Politico / Natasha Bertrand and Eric Wolff]
- The hacking effort is believed to have begun in March, if not earlier, and there's no easy way to repair the security breach: According to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, "removing the threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging." [CNBC / Sam Shead]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | "We need to push back against frankly — you know, excuse my French — this both sides bullshit. No, Ron Johnson just blocked $1,200 checks. We got to get out there and we need to say, Republicans have blocked $400 checks, Republicans have blocked retroactive benefits." | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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