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The vaccine hunt heats up

QuickTake Tonight
Bloomberg

Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: Projection shows U.S. deaths surging by June, millions in Italy return to work, and "murder hornets" are the newest worst thing of 2020.

When will a vaccine arrive?

Dutch scientists have created a coronavirus-neutralizing antibody that may help prevent or treat Covid-19 in an early but promising step to curb the pandemic. Meanwhile, hundreds of people around the world are rolling up their sleeves to be injected with experimental vaccines as researchers enter human trials in a dozen candidates—and debate their timetables.

Oxford University scientists say chances are "pretty good" they'll know whether their potential vaccine is working by June. Ex-FDA head Scott Gottlieb said vaccines may be available "in doses sufficient to ring-fence infections in cities" by autumn and the White House aims to develop a vaccine with enough doses for Americans by January.

On Monday, the European Commission and leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the U.K. pledged more than $8 billion to "kickstart an unprecedented global cooperation" of vaccine research. U.K. PM Boris Johnson called on countries to "build an impregnable shield around all people" by mass-producing a vaccine.

$ignificant figures

3,000. The White House is privately projecting the daily U.S. Covid-19 death toll will reach that level by June, nearly twice the current toll, and new cases could rise to 200,000 a day, according to CDC documents.

$39.5 million. Elon Musk is seeking that much for two homes in Bel Air, California, which he listed after tweeting Friday that he was selling "almost all of his physical possessions."

Aug. 1. Carnival plans to set sail again on that date and is offering $28-a-night fares to woo passengers, making it the first major cruise line in the Americas to eye a reopening after virus outbreaks rocked the industry.

Highly quotable

"First espresso in two months!" More than 4 million people in Italy returned to work in a partial easing of Europe's largest lockdown, as new coronavirus cases in the country fell to the lowest level in 60 days.

"Conclusive." Trump said he'd release "a very strong report" showing the coronavirus outbreak originated in a Wuhan lab after Mike Pompeo said "enormous evidence" supported those claims without offering any proof.

"I am so excited to go back to school." After 90 days of online learning, students in Vietnam, which reported no new cases in three weeks, went back to school, where masks and temperature scans are now required.

This is not normal

Bees beware. Asian giant "murder hornets," with a sting that could be fatal to some humans, have been spotted in the U.S. for the first time, as the 2-inch killers emerge from hibernation and feast upon honeybees.

The future is now

Historic session. For the first time ever, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments via telephone and let the world listen-in live due to the virus pandemic in an extraordinary experiment for the strictly traditional body.

What's good

Unlikely savior. The Phoenix Zoo found a vital new income source after its beloved two-toed sloth, Fernando, joined Cameo, an app that charges users $50 for personalized shoutouts from the 4-year-old tree hugger.

Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive our newsletter five days a week. Follow QuickTake on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

BTW: The French city of Cannes is experimenting with a disinfectant-spraying drone to help reduce the spread of coronavirus. Watch it fly.

Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach

 

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