Listen and subscribe to The Daily
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher
It’s a dark and alarming time in the struggle against the coronavirus, particularly in the United States, where hospitalizations and daily infections have surged.
But amid the gloom comes some light: A trial by the drug maker Pfizer has returned preliminary results suggesting that its vaccine is 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19.
Even more promising, the timeline — contingent on benchmarks being reached and approval being granted — is quite short. There could be enough of the vaccine for 20 million Americans by January.
With the virus raging, how strong is this new ray of hope?
INSIDE THE DAILY For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Read the latest edition here.
On today’s episode
Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.
Background reading
-
Pfizer has announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed.
-
Meet the couple behind the German company, BioNTech, that partnered with Pfizer to develop the vaccine.
There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.
We want to hear from you. Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at [email protected]. Follow Michael Barbaro on Twitter: @mikiebarb. And if you’re interested in advertising with “The Daily,” write to us at [email protected].
Carl Zimmer contributed reporting.
The Daily is made by Theo Balcomb, Andy Mills, Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Annie Brown, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, Kelly Prime, Sindhu Gnanasambandan, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Neena Pathak, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Hans Buetow, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Bianca Giaever, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Alix Spiegel, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano and Soraya Shockley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Mikayla Bouchard, Lauren Jackson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Nora Keller, Sofia Milan and Desiree Ibekwe.
