A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed the use of a COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna in the largest vaccination effort in American history.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation and quickly OK the vaccine.
Once emergency use authorization is granted, Moderna will begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home patients.
The U.S. started the rollout of vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech earlier this week.
Moderna shot shown similar protection with 94 percent effectiveness against the coronavirus.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after an adviser of his contracted the disease.
A spokeswoman for the incoming president says Cedric Richmond was not in "close contact" with Biden as defined by the Centers for Disease Control.
Figures from Johns Hopkins University show that U.S. COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 310,000 with the national case count topping 17.1 million.
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Debra Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary to oversee the country's vast natural resources including tribal lands.
The Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico is a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo.
Vladimir Putin has discussed relations with US President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration in an interview following the Russian president's annual news conference.
He says the Russian government is already familiar with most of the likely members of the Biden administration.
"He is very experienced, he's been in politics all his life. But there is a well-known formula: it's the routine that makes the king. So, it's all about how the team is built."
During the annual news conference, Putin expressed hope that Biden's administration will move to extend the last remaining US-Russian arms control treaty, set to expire in early February.
Russia will miss the Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Games as the Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed a two-year ban on the country on Thursday stemming from a doping scandal.
The ban also prevents Russia from participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Russia was initially given a four-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The final decision from CAS resulted from an arbitration hearing between WADA and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency last month.
Russians athletes will still be allowed to compete at the international tournaments, but only as neutrals.
The head of the EU commission says countries in the bloc will begin inoculating people against the coronavirus on Dec. 27.
An expert panel of the European Medicines Agency will convene on Monday to evaluate the vaccine made by U.S. company Pfizer and German partner BioNTech, with an approval expected before Christmas.
A second vaccine by Moderna is expected to be approved in early January.
Saudi Arabia has kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign, a week after authorities approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Tech firm Huawei has chosen the Business Park in the French city of Brumath as the venue for its first manufacturing plant in Europe.
With an investment of 200 million euros, the plant will initially create 300 jobs.
It aims to produce one billion euros worth of mobile network technology solutions per year for customers in Europe, which is Huawei's largest overseas market.