Markets rocket higher on Pfizer news; more European nations hunker down. Get the latest.
Stock markets rocketed higher Monday after Pfizer said early data show its coronavirus vaccine is effective and investors breathed a sigh of relief after days of U.S. presidential limbo ended with Democrat Joe Biden declared the president-elect.
Markets were already sharply higher on the U.S. election result when Pfizer said that data shows vaccine shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, indicating the company is on track this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators.
Any economic recovery depends on checking the pandemic, and investors pounced upon the news. Pfizer’s data is only preliminary and does not mean a vaccine is imminent. Getting the vaccine to billions of people will be a massive undertaking, even if it is approved. Read more:
Here’s an update on all developments. Scroll or swipe further for in-depth coverage.
- As he begins his transition to the presidency, Joe Biden is pivoting from a bitter campaign battle to another, more pressing fight: reining in the pandemic that has hit the world’s most powerful nation harder than any other.
- Portugal and Hungary on Monday became the latest European countries to impose curfews against the resurgent tide of coronavirus infections and deaths lashing the continent and filing its emergency wards. But glimmers of hope emerged from France, Belgium and elsewhere that tough restrictions might be starting to work.
- Belgian health authorities are confident a renewed surge of hospital admissions related to COVID-19 has peaked in the hard-hit country.
- Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said Monday that global energy producers have the ability to tweak an agreement on production cuts that could be extended through the end of 2022, signaling the anticipation of continued weakened demand for oil as the coronavirus pandemic peaks again in Europe and the United States.
For more summaries and full reports, please select from the articles below. Scroll further for the latest virus numbers.
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Biden’s coronavirus task force
President-elect Joe Biden has named the members of a team of public health and science experts to develop a blueprint for fighting the coronavirus. A look at the members:
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