| Covid-19 vaccinations begin in the US; the Electoral College affirms Joe Biden's victory. Today, Explained Live with Dr. Fauci has a new date and time: Tuesday, December 15, at 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT. RSVP now. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. | | | | | | | | | | | | - The first Covid-19 vaccines outside of a clinical trial were administered in the US on Monday, marking the start of the most ambitious mass vaccination campaign in the country's history. [Vox / Umair Irfan]
- According to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, ICU nurse Sandra Lindsay was the first person in the country to receive the vaccine, which was produced jointly by Pfizer and BioNTech. [BuzzFeed / Amber Jamieson]
- The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which clinical trials suggest is almost 95 percent effective in preventing Covid-19, received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday. [Stat / Helen Branswell]
- And the first batch of vaccines, which were sent to all 50 states by truck and cargo plane Sunday, contains 2.9 million doses, with more held in reserve for a second shot. To be fully effective, the second dose should be administered three weeks after the first. [Vox / Cameron Peters]
- According to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the US hopes to administer about 20 million vaccinations in December and is planning to have 100 million people vaccinated in the US by the end of February. [Twitter / Face the Nation]
- Another vaccine, developed by Moderna, could be approved for use soon. An independent FDA advisory panel is set to convene Thursday to review the vaccine, and officials say an EUA could come Friday. [Washington Post / Paulina Firozi, Meryl Kornfield, and Josh Dawsey]
- Both vaccines are not a moment too soon in coming. The US this month is dealing with the worst surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths of the pandemic, and experts warn that the coming months may be equally grim. [CNN / Sara Sidner, Dakin Andone, and Julia Jones]
- On Monday, the US surpassed 300,000 recorded Covid-19 deaths, less than a week after reporting more than 3,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day for the first time. [Twitter / NBC News]
| | | Joe Biden wins the presidency — again | | - On Monday, the Electoral College voted to formally elect Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Every state but Hawaii has reported its electoral votes, and Biden is expected to win by a margin of 306 votes to President Donald Trump's 232. [Washington Post / Elise Viebeck, Madison Walls, and Ashlyn Still]
- Usually, the official vote is an unremarkable formality, coming almost six weeks after the election. Trump, however, has launched an unprecedented — and thus far unsuccessful — attempt to subvert democracy in the wake of his election defeat. [NYT / Jim Rutenberg and Nick Corasaniti]
- In at least six states that Biden won, rogue contingents of Republican electors also met Monday to vote for Trump. As Politico's Kyle Cheney explained, though, there's "no legal force" behind those votes. [Twitter / Kyle Cheney]
- The safety of electors has also been a major concern. Electors in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin received police escorts on their way to Monday's vote, and Arizona electors met at an undisclosed location. [CNN / Chandelis Duster]
- In Michigan, the state capitol, where electors met to cast their votes for Biden, was closed to the public on Monday in response to a "credible threat of violence." [Detroit Free Press / Dave Boucher]
- No legal or extralegal efforts by Trump and his allies have succeeded in derailing the process, however. The next step will take place on January 6, when Congress convenes to count the electoral votes, and Biden will be sworn in on January 20. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]
| | | | | | | Attorney General Bill Barr, who drew Trump's ire for contradicting the president's election fraud lies, will leave the Trump administration next week. | | | | | | | "I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe. We're in a pandemic and so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic and to not give up too soon. There's light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to continue to wear a mask, to social distance." | | | | | | | | | | |
Third Way's Josh Freed and Jackie Kempfer explain a path forward for low-carbon policy in a time of divided government. [Spotify / Matthew Yglesias] | | | | | | | | |  | 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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