BitGou: Friday Morning Briefing: Some big U.S. pharmacies will not check ID before administering COVID-19 vaccines

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Many U.S. pharmacies say they will not be checking IDs before administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door open to those who do not meet states’ guidelines to jump the line.

While the United States has distributed more than 30 million vaccine doses, a little over 11 million had been administered as of Thursday, a lag that prompted U.S. health secretary Alex Azar to call on states to begin vaccinating the vulnerable older population and those with certain chronic health conditions to get more vaccines into arms.

U.S. retailers face a choice of strictly enforcing state eligibility rules with on-site identity checks, or rely on an honor system that could allow people to ignore those guidelines but also get more people inoculated.

COVID vaccine rollout slow and uncertain in Europe
Many European Union nations say they are receiving lower-than-expected supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and complain in internal meetings of uncertainty over future deliveries, EU officials told Reuters, as distribution proceeds unevenly among EU states.

Trust in vaccines put at risk by European regulator hack
Europe's medicines regulator said some of the emails leaked on the internet from the cyber attack it disclosed last month had been manipulated by the perpetrators in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines.

Some U.S. nursing home residents face vaccine delays
A former Arkansas health official is sounding alarms about the pace of coronavirus vaccines being administered to residents of long-term care facilities under a U.S. plan that puts major pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens in charge of many of the shots.

Global polls shows higher mistrust of Russia, China shots
People across the world are generally likely to say yes to getting a COVID-19 vaccine, but would be more distrustful of shots made in China or Russia than those developed in Germany or the United States, an international poll showed on Friday.

China rolls out vaccine to developing nations
China is stealing a march on Western drugmakers in the COVID-19 vaccine race in developing nations, with Indonesia and Turkey rolling out huge campaigns with a Chinese shot this week, Brazil to follow soon, and even EU member Hungary signing up.

Track the global spread with our live interactive here.

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Pollution, African beer, SAP.
AB InBev takes on South Africa’s government over alcohol bans, and SAP gives investors little reason to hope for a sunnier future. Catch up with the latest pandemic-related financial insights.

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U.S.

President-elect Joe Biden outlined a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal, saying bold investment was needed to jump-start the economy and accelerate the distribution of vaccines to bring the coronavirus under control.

Biden will outline his plan to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 as he prepares to take office amid soaring infection rates and an early rollout by the Trump administration he called “a dismal failure.”

Federal prosecutors offered an ominous new assessment of last week’s siege of the Capitol by Trump’s supporters, saying in a court filing that rioters intended 'to capture and assassinate elected officials'. Prosecutors offered that view in a filing asking a judge to detain Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man and QAnon conspiracy theorist who was famously photographed wearing horns as he stood at the desk of Vice President Mike Pence in the chamber of the U.S. Senate.

United by political grievances, they came in costumes, snapping selfies, calling themselves patriots. Some came armed for battle and planning for “war.” As authorities begin to charge the rioters in the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, court documents paint a picture of a diverse mob that included both citizens with mainstream careers - police officers, a flower shop owner, a state lawmaker, military veterans, even an Olympic medalist - as well as Americans on the fringe. One was a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group. Another had a caveman costume beneath a police bulletproof vest. One served time in prison for attempted murder.

Inside Trump’s final days: Reuters spoke to more than a dozen Trump administration officials with a window into the closing act of his presidency. They described a shrinking circle of loyal aides who are struggling to contain an increasingly fretful, angry and isolated president – one seemingly still clinging to unfounded claims of election fraud - and to keep the White House functioning until Biden assumes power.

The timing of Trump’s impeachment trial could come into clearer focus on Friday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to take questions about her next steps at a morning news conference at the Capitol.

When a U.S. appeals court declared that Florida could make it harder for convicted felons to vote - a ruling decried by civil rights activists - the impact of President Donald Trump’s conservative judicial appointments was plain to see. During his four years in office, Trump's transformation of the federal judiciary has not been limited to his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices. Since taking office in 2017, Trump appointed 54 judges to the U.S. appeals courts — a record pace. By comparison, former President Barack Obama appointed 55 appellate court judges during his eight years in office.

Business and Economy

Wall Street cheers on Biden stimulus plan but worries about the cost

The stimulus package, unveiled by Biden, has been widely anticipated by Wall Street and has helped lift the broad S&P 500 index nearly 3% in the week since Democratic challengers won both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats, giving Democrats full control of Congress.

4 min read

Trump administration takes final swipes at China and its companies

The Trump administration took another swipe at China and its biggest firms, imposing sanctions on officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea and imposing an investment ban on nine more firms. China firmly opposes new sanctions by the United States on its companies, the foreign ministry said, after the Trump administration added nine Chinese firms to the Pentagon’s list of companies.

7 min read

Trump's China tech war backfires on automakers as chips run short

Automakers around the world are shutting assembly lines because of a global shortage of semiconductors that in some cases has been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s actions against key Chinese chip factories, industry officials said.

5 min read

Exclusive: Goldman eyes deals to boost Marcus

Goldman Sachs is considering acquisitions to bulk up its consumer banking unit Marcus, after the Wall Street firm slowed loan and deposit growth at its fledgling business last year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, three bank sources said.

4 min read