The cavalry is coming. That is the quote from top health officials responding to today's

news of the second major vaccine breakthrough in just the last two weeks. Much needed hope

during the darkest time so far in the pandemic.

It's only Thursday, but it's been an exciting week so far in the world of a coronavirus

vaccine. On Monday, vaccine maker Moderna announced that early trial results show that

its vaccine is almost 95% effective. On Tuesday, drug company Pfizer announced it now has

enough safety data from its own trial and is preparing to file for an emergency use authorization.

This week, Pfizer says its vaccine is also nearly 95% effective and that there have been

no serious safety concerns among participants in the two months since they received the shots.

Just think about that. By Christmas, people outside of a clinical trial for the first time

could be receiving the coronavirus vaccine, a vaccine for a disease that didn't even

exist one year ago. If the data bear out, 95% is astonishingly effective. Keep in mind,

the Food and Drug Administration said they would consider an emergency use authorization

if effectiveness was around 50%. And here we are talking about 90% plus. But one thing

about Pfizer's vaccine is that it has to be stored at incredibly cold temperatures and

that's going to make distribution more challenging, not impossible, but more challenging. Moderna's

vaccine doesn't have to be stored at temperatures quite as cold, but both vaccines do require

two doses. Now, let's take a look at next steps. So they're going to apply to the FDA.

And then once they apply to the FDA, and this is really important, the FDA is already

told its vaccine advisory committee to hold three days for a meeting. That's December 8th,

9th and 10th. Traditionally, it's at the end of the last day of those meetings when

they give the green light or the red light. I hope you recognize that I've always been

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