COVID-19 vaccination campaign begins

As healthcare workers across the country began receiving Pfizer’s coronavirus shot on Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration geared up to consider a second vaccine later this week. The agency is set to debate whether to grant emergency use authorization to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.

How quickly will vaccines become available? Hospitals are staggering vaccinations for their workers to give them time to recover from side effects like temporary fever, fatigue, and aches. Nursing home residents, who comprise nearly 40 percent of the current COVID-19 death toll, are also high priority to receive the immunizations, along with those who work in the facilities. But the two-shot regimen won’t be available for most other Americans until the spring.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour about how Europe is preparing for Christmas under the shadow of the pandemic.