Travel up as COVID-19 vaccines roll out

About 5.9 million doses of the newly authorized Moderna shot against COVID-19 shipped to healthcare facilities across the United States on Monday. The vaccine wasn’t the only thing on the move: More than 1 million people per day passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints over the weekend. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised Americans that “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”

Is there still a coronavirus surge? The number of new cases and deaths per day is still trending upward, according to the CDC. New fears have arisen over a variant of the disease in the United Kingdom reported to spread much more quickly than previous strains. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the chief science adviser for the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, said Monday there’s “no hard evidence” yet that the new strain is more infectious. Scientists expect existing vaccines to be effective against it. On Sunday, a federal advisory panel recommended that people 75 and older and essential workers such as firefighters, teachers, and grocery store workers should be next in line for COVID-19 shots after healthcare workers and nursing home residents.

Dig deeper: Read a summary of the year’s coronavirus news by the editors of WORLD Magazine.