Science is a good thing.

November 16, 2020

Your Monday Evening Briefing

By Victoria Shannon and Judith Levitt

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

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1. Moderna said its coronavirus vaccine was 94.5 percent effective, joining Pfizer as a front-runner in the race to help end the pandemic.

Both companies plan to apply within weeks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization to begin vaccinations.

A vaccine widely available to the public is still months away. Officials said the two companies could produce enough vaccine for about 20 million people by sometime in December, with the first doses going to people in high-risk groups like health care workers, emergency medical staff and nursing home residents.

Ten other vaccine makers are also conducting big Phase 3 trials. Here is what you need to know about the Moderna vaccine and our vaccine tracker.

A half-dozen states will seek an extra layer of scrutiny to reassure the public that an F.D.A.-approved vaccine is safe amid doubts about the Trump administration’s virus response. 2. States and cities add virus restrictions as cases surge across the country. Philadelphia moved to ban indoor gatherings and shift high schools and colleges to remote learning in an attempt to stem rapidly rising case numbers. California reinstated broad restrictions statewide. See our list of state-by-state restrictions. Above, an Albuquerque, N.M., virus testing site. Cases are rising in 48 states. In other virus developments: U.S. stocks climbed further into record territory, lifted by the virus vaccine news. American Airlines canceled all but one of its daily flights from the U.S. to London, and the retailers Kroger, Wegmans and Costco added virus restrictions. The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, began 14 days of quarantine after meeting with a lawmaker who tested positive for Covid-19. Mr. Johnson was hospitalized with a severe case of the virus in April. The U.S. military has had only 777 Covid-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, out of 1.3 million active-duty troops, and only nine have died. “It’s not that hard — it’s discipline,” said Nelson Santos, a drill instructor. And a new forecast projects that a rebound in tourists to New York City could start next year but will take at least four years to return to pre-pandemic totals.