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Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson.

It's day 78 since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.

Our main story? So many companies and organizations have publicly entered the contest to develop a coronavirus vaccine,

from Johnson & Johnson to the University of Oxford.

But one drug giant with the storied history of battling pandemics, Merck, had said nothing about joining the race for months.

Now we know it has been quietly developing two vaccine candidates and a pill to treat COVID-19.

But the drug maker is hesitant to commit to a quick timeline.

But first, here's what happened today.

The ranks of people collecting unemployment in the U.S.

shrank for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

It's a sign people are starting to return to work.

But make no mistake, millions of Americans still filed new jobless claims. A measure of the ongoing benefit claims in state programs fell to 21.1 million, according to the Labor Department.

Analysts had expected the number to rise.

Despite the positive sign, economists expect the recovery from the pandemic to take years.

And with no vaccine or significant treatment yet, it's unlikely will return to normal activity

anytime soon.

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