Seriously, what do we have to do to get one of these? It’s just not fair. (Previously.)
From one conservative hero to another
Mitch McConnell’s work is done here
Tantalizingly close but not quite there for Democrats
An encouraging vaccine update
A Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca AZN 0.08% PLC showed a promising immune response and low levels of adverse reactions in the elderly and older adults, according to an interim analysis that the drugmaker said was encouraging.
The vaccine, now in late-stage human trials aimed at showing its efficacy and safety, is a front-runner in the global sprint for a shot to protect lives and jump-start economies hobbled by the pandemic. Trials in the U.K. could produce results before year-end, fueling hopes among scientists and government leaders that a vaccine might be available for high-risk groups here by early 2021.
The results showed positive outcomes for adults over 56, including the especially higher-risk age group of those 70 and older, and were based on analysis of previously conducted interim safety and immune-response data, AstraZeneca and Oxford said Monday.
Just what we need as COVID-19 cases surge: an understaffed HHS
At least 27 political appointees have exited the embattled Health and Human Services department since the start of the Covid-19 crisis in February, according to a POLITICO review, and senior leaders are bracing for dozens more officials to depart swiftly if President Donald Trump loses re-election.
Such a wave of departures would leave only a shell staff shepherding the department through a uniquely challenging winter of coronavirus outbreaks and drug and vaccine authorizations until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, according to interviews with 17 current and former HHS officials, some of whom requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
Three southern toss-ups
In the final stretch of the campaign, we find three Southern battlegrounds that could still go either way. Our estimates show Joe Biden with just a two-point edge over President Trump in Florida, Biden up four points in North Carolina, and the contest even in Georgia. …
[V]ery different views on the coronavirus pandemic still shape the race in all these states. In all, most Biden voters are very concerned about getting it, and Mr. Trump’s voters, by comparison, are far less concerned. Biden also gets better marks overall on how he would handle the outbreak.
An early-vote trend that could prove decisive on Election Night
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