Hey News-Changers!

The Georgia Senate runoff elections are really starting to heat up, as a record-breaking 940,000 voters have already requested their absentee ballots. (If you’re an eligible Georgia voter, here’s a friendly reminder that the deadline to register to vote is December 7!)

It’s clear that voters aren’t letting the pandemic keep them from making their voices heard at the polls, despite the recent surge in cases. The good news is, it’s looking like we may have an approved vaccine soon to protect against the virus. Keep reading to get caught up on the progress so far!

Let’s Do This,

Jackie

Coronavirus Vaccines Are Coming: Here’s What You Need to Know

Coronavirus cases are currently spiking across the US, with the rate of new cases and deaths reaching peaks not seen since May -- once again hospitals are overwhelmed and states are tightening up their restrictions. Amid all of it, progress from vaccine candidates show a potential end in sight. Here’s the latest.

What Vaccines Are Available?

The two most promising vaccine candidates are from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna. Studies of these vaccines have concluded that they’re 95% and 94% effective against COVID-19, respectively. (These are Phase 3 studies -- large-scale clinical trials with tens of thousands of participants as a final or near-final test of efficacy and safety.)

The vaccines are administered in two separate doses over the course of three or four weeks.

Are They Safe?

The Phase 3 trials showed “no serious safety concerns” and were within the safety data milestones required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, about 10-15% of participants did experience side effects like fever, chills, muscle aches and headache, lasting up to a day and a half after their first dose.

Medical experts want to remind folks that, while unpleasant, these short-term side effects are a necessary challenge to eliminating the much more dangerous impact of the coronavirus.

“We really need to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” says Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association. “They are going to know they had a vaccine. They are probably not going to feel wonderful. But they’ve got to come back for that second dose.”

When Will They Be Ready?

Both Pfizer and Moderna have applied for emergency use authorizations (EUAs) from the FDA, which would allow for expedited distribution of a vaccine in order to respond to the current public health emergency. If approved, the first doses of the vaccine could be ready by the end of December.

Based on a recent meeting by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), it seems like health care workers will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by older folks living in care facilities.

Beyond that, each state has a working group of public health officials that’ll help determine their own vaccine campaigns and priority groups. States are likely to prioritize essential workers and folks with pre-existing conditions, and those outside of those priority groups may need to wait until spring of 2021 or later to get vaccinated.

So What Does This Mean?

These vaccines are bringing a lot of hope for overcoming the pandemic in 2021, but we can’t forget about the work that still needs to be done right now to keep one another safe.

It’ll be a while before the vaccine is available to the general public, and that means all of our current health guidance still stands. Maintain physical distance, limit your exposure to others, wash your hands, and always wear a mask in public.

TAKE ACTION: For now, one of the most powerful tools we have for slowing the spread of the virus are masks. Use our easy guide to make your own DIY no-sew masks to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Why aren’t more people talking about… how President Trump is about to hand over sacred Apache land to a mining company?

And why aren’t more people *also* talking about… how Facebook’s algorithm is allowing anti-Semitic hate groups to flourish on the platform?

Meanwhile, in Scotland… the country is the first to make period products free for all who need them.

My hero today is… 8-year-old Aaron Pacheco, whose plant business helped move his family from a shed to a home.

This week in Black joy… Harvard elects its first Black student body president and an 18-year-old’s prom dress photoshoot goes viral after her prom is canceled.

Today in viral cuteness… these shelter dogs got their very own Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m obsessed with… this “no thoughts, head empty” playlist of pleasant Nintendo music.