The number of people that have had the coronavirus has now surpassed 73.2 million globally, with over 1.6 million deaths.
The United States is close to declaring 17 million infections and has had more than 308,000 Covid-related lethalities, the most out of any country in the world. The curve of infections in the United States indicates that the peak of the outbreak might have been reached already, but despite the decrease in daily cases, the number still remains high - around 200,000 new Covid-19 infections per day.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New Yorkers need to prepare for another full lockdown due to the infection rate, which has remained consistently high. The US healthcare system is overloaded, with over 100,000 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus alone.
Meanwhile, the FDA is set to release its review of data about the third stage clinical trial of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. The Food and Drugs Administration will review the data this week and decide whether to recommend the vaccine for emergency use, like it did with Pfizer’s. Americans could have two approved vaccines as early as this week.
The pandemic appears to be winding down in Europe, even though the EU still has not approved of any vaccine. Germany is the country with the highest number of daily infections within the European Union but it already announced a lockdown until January 10, which may help bring down the rate of infection.
The United Kingdom, which relaxed its lockdown measures in December, is seeing a slight increase in cases, but has already started vaccinating the most vulnerable segments of the population.
As for the stock markets, today it’s worth paying attention to big tech stocks, especially Facebook. While the company is being investigated in the United States, it may also face tougher restrictions in the EU soon too. The bloc unveiled a new antitrust bill that will affect tech giants. If Facebook is found in violation of the new laws, it may be forced to separate from daughter companies WhatsApp and Instagram.
US stock indices are once again rallying today on the hopes of some sort of financial stimulus, whether it comes from Congress or the Federal Reserve.
