Dec 23, 2020 - Health
Over 1 million people in U.S. have received the COVID-19 vaccine
Oriana Gonzalez
Photo: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
More than 1 million people in the U.S. have received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: The U.S. began its largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history last week as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths surged nationwide.
9,465,725 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been distributed as of Wednesday.
1,008,025 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered.
Of note: The CDC does not yet have data on the number of the Moderna vaccine doses administered. The FDA granted Moderna an emergency use authorization for its vaccine late last week.
The U.S. has recorded over 18 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 324,000 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon, per Johns Hopkins University data.
Some 117,777 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday evening, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The big picture: Health care workers and people living in long-term care facilities, as well as some lawmakers, were the first to receive the vaccine in the U.S.
A CDC advisory board recommended that people over the age of 75 and front-line essential workers be in the next group to receive the vaccine.
Go deeper: U.S. buys another 100 million doses of Pfizer vaccine
Jan 29, 2021 - Health
WHO says most pregnant women can now receive coronavirus vaccine
A doctor administering Moderna's coronavirus vaccine at a university hospital in Essen, Germany, on Jan. 18. Photo: Lukas Schulze/Getty Images
The World Health Organization has altered its guidance for pregnant women who wish to receive the coronavirus vaccine, saying now that those at high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 or who have comorbidities that increase their risk of severe disease, may be vaccinated.
Why it matters: The WHO drew backlash for its previous guidance that did not recommend pregnant women be inoculated with vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, even though data indicated that pregnancy increased the risk of developing severe illness from the virus.
Jan 29, 2021 - World
EU grants conditional approval of AstraZeneca vaccine
Photo: Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
The European Commission on Friday granted conditional approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for people 18 years and older.
Why it matters: This is the third vaccine to receive approval from the commission, coming hours after the Emergency Medicines Agency recommended its authorization.
Ex-CDC director Tom Frieden on the next COVID-19 vaccines
Americans fortunate enough to receive COVID vaccines now, outside of clinical trials, are getting shots made by either Pfizer or Moderna. But newly released data from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson suggests that more vaccines could be on the way, with J&J's requiring a single dose.
Axios Re:Cap digs into the news and why it matters with Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC, as COVID-19 variants spread globally.