This archive report was first published on 19 May 2020.
Monday Evening Briefing ¶
Published May 19, 2020
Good evening. Here's the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderna, a biotech company, is set to begin testing a vaccine for COVID-19 on 600 people, with thousands more to follow in July. While the findings are encouraging, they do not prove that the vaccine works.
The development, along with signals from the Federal Reserve chair that the central bank has more firepower to lend to recovery efforts, pushed Wall Street to its best day in about six weeks.
As the pandemic continues to spread, vaccines are seen as the best and perhaps only hope of stopping or even slowing it down. The outbreak has sickened nearly five million people worldwide, killed 315,000, and locked down entire countries.
President Trump has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug whose effectiveness against the coronavirus is unproven, as a preventive measure. He has no symptoms of COVID-19.
The outbreak has spread to the White House, where two members of the staff have tested positive for the virus.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has come under criticism for its response to the pandemic. The U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services sharply criticized the W.H.O. for its failure to obtain the information needed to combat the outbreak.
More than two-thirds of states have relaxed restrictions in a significant way. Office workers in Texas can now return to work in limited capacities, despite the state's reporting its deadliest day yet last week.
Investigations are underway into the dismissal of the State Department watchdog, who was examining the potential misuse of a political appointee to do personal errands for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Scientists are studying the impact of human activity on amphibians, which are emerging from hibernation and heading for vernal pools to mate. The migrations in the northeastern U.S. coincide with a drop in vehicular traffic during the pandemic.
Wildlife officials are also concerned about the Argentine black and white tegu, an invasive lizard species from South America that can grow up to four feet long.
As people look for ways to cope with the pandemic, some are finding joy in unexpected places. A daytime, by-the-hour version of Airbnb is offering a reprieve to those who are stuck with people they don't want to be around.
