Day 10: "Wake-up call." - a podcast by Matt Kiser

1/ Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe illness in a global study. In the U.S., the vaccine was 72% effective, but the efficacy rate dropped to 57% in South Africa, where a highly contagious variant is driving new cases. The vaccine was particularly effective at stopping severe disease in all regions, preventing 85% of severe infections and 100% of hospitalizations and deaths. Johnson and Johnson said it planned to apply for emergency authorization of its vaccine from the FDA, putting it on track to receive clearance later in February. (Washington Post / Bloomberg / Politico / New York Times / The Guardian / NBC News)

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  ? Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”

  
  


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  Global: Total confirmed cases: ~101,880,000; deaths: ~2,202,000

  
  


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  U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~25,875,000; deaths: ~436,000

  
  


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  Source: Johns Hopkins University

  
  


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  Dr. Anthony Fauci called the new coronavirus variants a “wake-up call” to move faster on vaccinating the population. The highly transmissible variant, known as B.1351, has been identified in more than two dozen countries and has played a role in prompting Canada, Britain and Germany to introduce new travel bans. (Washington Post)

  
  


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  The Pentagon could send active-duty troops to assist with vaccines at roughly 100 vaccine sites nationwide. (New York Times)

  
  

2/ The Trump administration spent $200 million to send more than 8,700 ventilators to countries around the world last year with no way to keep track of where they ended up. In only 12 of 43 countries did the federal government have a good idea where the ventilators are. And, a Government Accountability Office report said it was unable to identify the Trump administration’s “criteria used for what ventilators went to what countries.” (Washington Post)

3/ There are currently 106 pending Republican-backed bills across 28 states that would restrict access to voting despite the 2020 election being “the most secure in American history.” Nearly a year ago, there were 35 restrictive bills pending across 15 states. (The Guardian / Brennan Center for Justice / The Hill)

• A Republican Arizona lawmaker introduced a bill that would give the state Legislature the ability to revoke the secretary of state’s election certification at any time before the presidential i...

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