Britain became the first nation in the world to start a mass vaccination campaign with what scientists are deeming a fully tested vaccine for Covid-19. Using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, UK authorities are carrying out a nearly unprecedented public health campaign of delivering shots first to healthcare workers, then elderly people with underlying conditions, and so on. The vaccine will require a “booster” shot 21 days later. Although China has already vaccinated more than a million people, the vaccine it is using is still considered experimental and has only passed through a mid-stage clinical trial. The UK is facing some criticism however from scientists who worry that the regulatory approval process for Pfizer’s vaccine was rushed. Here in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has just confirmed the safety and efficacy of the same vaccine which the government has purchased 100 million doses of – enough to vaccinate 50 million people. The FDA released a document stating that it had, “a favorable safety profile, with no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude issuance of an [emergency authorization].” 

On the same day that the UK began its inoculation efforts, news emerged that the Trump administration had been given the opportunity to lock in additional supplies from Pfizer but passed on the offer. Hoping to claim the development of a vaccine as part of his legacy Trump is hosting a vaccine summit at the White House on Tuesday where he will sign a largely symbolic executive order asserting that Americans will receive the vaccine before other nations. But Pfizer chose to develop its vaccine without direct US government funding and its representatives refused to attend Trump’s summit saying it did not want to politicize its work. Trump has fomented confusion about the virus and politicized simple precautions like wearing a mask. On Tuesday Trump loyalist Senator Ron Johnson held a Senate hearing at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that contradicted government efforts to beat the virus. The New York Times described his witnesses this way: “There is a prominent vaccine skeptic, an outspoken critic of masking and social distancing, and at least two doctors who have promoted the use of an anti-parasitic drug that government scientists have recommended against using to treat the coronavirus.” Meanwhile Assistant Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, Admiral Brett Giroir, spoke to CBS on Tuesday saying this about vaccines.

In other news President elect Joe Biden plans to name former Iraq war commander Lloyd Austin to head the Defense Department after his initial pick Michelle Flournoy faced stiff opposition from antiwar groups. If confirmed by the Senate Austin would become the nation’s first African American to lead the Pentagon. But progressives balked at this news too pointing out that Austin, a retired general,