Moderna seeks emergency FDA approval of its coronavirus vaccine.JOEL SAGET/Getty Images
Moderna announced Monday it will apply for emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration that could see its coronavirus vaccine ready to be administered to Americans before Christmas. The drugmaker announced the analysis of its complete data set came back over the weekend and showed the vaccine to be 94 percent effective. That confirms the company’s initial data analysis released two weeks ago. Moderna’s application comes 10 days after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech submitted their bid for emergency use of their vaccine candidate to the FDA. There are still regulatory hurdles that each vaccine must clear, but if both are confirmed to be safe and effective, there could be enough supply to vaccinate some 20 million Americans by the end of the year.
The Moderna vaccine, developed in conjunction with government researchers at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, underwent a 30,000-person clinical trial that tested the vaccine against a placebo. The company said of the 30,000 participants, 196 cases of Covid-19 were detected and just 11 of those were from the group receiving the vaccine. Even more encouraging is that all 30 severe cases of the disease were found in the group receiving the placebo. Moderna also reported the vaccine to be equally effective across different demographic groups accounting for age, race, and gender.
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Moderna said it will also seek approval from regulators in Europe, the U.K., and Canada. “The FDA has pledged that before it decides to roll out any COVID-19 vaccines, its scientific advisers will publicly debate whether there’s enough evidence behind each candidate,” the Associated Press reports. “First up on Dec. 10, Pfizer and BioNTech will present data suggesting their vaccine candidate is 95% effective. Moderna said its turn at this ‘science court’ is expected exactly a week later, on Dec. 17.”
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told the New York Times the company was on track to produce enough doses of the vaccine in 2021 to protect between 250 and 500 million people. “The first shots of the two vaccines are likely to go to certain groups, including health care workers, essential workers like police officers, people in other critical industries and employees and residents in nursing homes,” the New York Times reports. “On Tuesday, a panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet to determine how to allocate initial supplies of vaccine.”
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Like many, Slate staffers have engaged in some retail therapy throughout the pandemic. Our favorite things have offered more than indulgence—they are genuinely useful, too, and they make great gifts. Who right now doesn’t need a little more comfort and joy?
After stocking up on TP and refilling my sock drawer, one of the first pandemic purchases I made was a pair of Glerups slippers, and eight months later they are, unlike me, still going strong. Made from a single piece of wool felt, they’re durable and cozy, but they don’t smother your feet or make you sweat (which, as someone who’s tossed many stunk-up pairs, is a big plus). The soles are sturdy enough for a run to the mailbox—or, if you choose rubber instead of soft leather, the corner store—and you can swap the slip-on model for ankle boots if you’re especially prone to cold toes. One warning: Your loved ones will be struck with envy if you buy these for yourself, so be prepared to give some as gifts, too. —Sam Adams, senior editor, culture
When the weather gets cold, I like to keep my head and feet as warm as possible. At home, this means wearing my sleeping hat during waking hours, and as of last month, this pair of pink moccasins as well (they come in other colors too). They’re soft, warm, light on my feet, and the bright stitching makes them extra fun! —Becky Zhang, software engineer intern
As fall approached, I decided I needed a new hoodie. You know, appropriate enough for work Zooms but cozy enough for moping in bed. The one I found, Alternative Apparel’s Rocky sweatshirt, comes in many colors, including a cheery bright yellow that allows me to serve as a kind of seasonal affective disorder–fighting sun lamp for my family. The sweatshirt pills a lot and sheds lint like crazy, but boy is it soft and comfy. Take seriously the words of Amazon reviewer Greg D: “If you’re a dude that wears polo shirts and flip flops this is your jam. For the real men: don’t waste your money.” Never have I more wanted to be a dude that wears polo shirts and flip-flops than in the accursed year 2020, so this sweatshirt is perfect for me. —Dan Kois, senior writer
My go-to in pandemic time has been this sweatshirt from Old Navy in various colors. It’s cheap, it’s flattering enough, and it’s lined with that soft fleecy stuff that so many so-called sweatshirts these days don’t have, which in my opinion disqualifies them. This is the real deal. —Lili Loofbourow, staff writer
Before the pandemic, I didn’t own any plain, long-sleeve shirts. I found them unexciting and preferred button-downs or a T-shirt-sweater combination. But now that I am spending most of my time inside, there’s something very appealing about the simplicity of just pulling on two items of clothing (pants and a shirt) and being done with getting dressed. This fleece shirt from Uniqlo is very soft and warm without being sweaty—and forgiving without being schlubby. —Cleo Levin, commerce production associate
I recently bought a Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker, and I’m obsessed with it. I haven’t stocked up on a ton of K-Cup pods yet, but I did buy several boxes of Entenmann’s Hot Chocolate Single Serve Cups. It’s been a huge pick-me-up, especially after a long day of meetings. —Jasmine Ellis, associate producer
I’ve never been one to make coffee at home. Prior to the pandemic, I treasured my breaks during the workday to get coffee, either by myself or with a co-worker, usually at D.C.’s TCB or La Colombe. On the weekends, I would stroll down H St. NE to the Wydown for a latte or a pour over. When the pandemic started, coffee runs were one of the first things to go. I wanted to invest in a home coffee setup that gave me some of the feeling of going to a coffee shop, so I bought a beautiful copper coated kettle from Barista Warrior along with a midsize Chemex. They look great on my counter and have enabled me to enjoy passable pour overs from the comfort of my own home, alongside the paper and some homemade pastries. —Mark Morgioni, senior director of research and data
If you are someone who drinks as much tea as I do (a truly unconscionable amount) and also likes to try many types of it, you can’t go wrong with an easy-to-use, fast-working Brentwood electric kettle. It just takes a few steps: Fill the kettle with water, drop a few tea bags inside the infuser, and set it to heating—within a few minutes, you’ll have all the tea you need to get through the day. Many close to me will be disappointed that I do not use older-fashioned methods for tea brewing, with stovetop pots and loose leaves, and I get that. But I gotta be honest: The speed, efficiency, and durability of this kettle have been a godsend each time I’ve needed to gulp down multiple mugs to wake myself up, warm myself up during a cold day, or prepare a steaming-hot thermos of comfort to steel myself for the outside world. —Nitish Pahwa, copy editor
These porcelain bowls are not the most exciting or snazzy gift in the world, but I’m obsessed with them. Have you ever found yourself thinking, why am i trying to cram a salad into this tiny normal-sized bowl? Guess what? These are the perfect depth and width for culinary endeavors like tossing lettuce and arranging elaborate soups like ramen. I use them constantly. —Laura Bennett, editorial director
Nothing has entertained my kids better through this pandemic than our Swedish wall gym. It is expensive, but if you have the space, it is the gift that keeps on giving. It turns any wall into a fully functional playground, perfect for your little stuck-at-home monkeys. —Elizabeth Newcamp, co-host, Mom and Dad Are Fighting
In April, when I realized just how much attentive hand-washing was in my family’s future, I decided to go all-in and now have these square Simplehuman soap dispensers at every sink. Before I found these, my 3-year-old and I were constantly frustrated by the flimsy bottles and pumps that encase typical hand soaps. I tried buying empty dispensers on the cheap from random sellers on Amazon but finally ponied up for these, and I’m so glad I did. They have a large pumping lever that’s easy to press when you only have one hand free and sit solidly on the side of the sink; at refill time, there’s no fuss, because they have a wide opening that makes pouring easy. I like to fill them from our ever-present gallon of Dr. Bronner’s lavender soap. —Rebecca Onion, staff writer
Salon visits may be few and far between these days, but good hair still makes me feel good. This hot air brush has cut down the time it takes for an at-home blowout, which is good because somehow I have less time now. I love not having to manage a brush in one hand and a blow dryer in the other. —Elizabeth Newcamp, co-host, Mom and Dad Are Fighting
Spending so much time at home has me nit-picking every little stain and mark on my walls. This year we let the kids draw with chalk all over the outside of the house. It wouldn’t come off with a hose, so I splurged on this small pressure washer and have since cleaned everything with it from our trash cans, to the wooden steps, to the car. —Natalie Matthews-Ramo, designer
This clock tells the time accurately (so far as I can tell), is easy to adjust, and didn’t cost very much money. It makes our kitchen feel like a diner (or at least a sitcom set decorator’s idea of a diner), which is nice considering we can’t go to a diner right now. Plus, more things should be orange. —Josh Levin, national editor
I’ve been slowly expanding my collection of vinyl records. I’d purchased a record player just prior to the start of the pandemic, and now that I’m home more, I’m able to enjoy it all day long. I play whatever I’m in the mood for, and I love the grittiness of the sound. —Amanda Yeh, executive assistant and office manager
It is certainly counterintuitive that a planner has given me comfort in this year of countless canceled plans and endless blank days stretched before me, but somehow it has. While I was on vacation back in January, before I knew what horrors 2020 held in store, I picked up an adorable and glittery monthly schedule book sporting on its cover a bow-tied cat with a curiously cocked head from Daiso. I hadn’t used a physical planner in ages, but it was a cute and cheap souvenir. I mostly forgot about it until March, when we were all suddenly forced to work from home and I saw my focus wane as the tolls of the pandemic began to come clear. Since then, I’ve diligently used the planner’s calendar boxes to make daily work to-do lists, chronicle my Zoom happy hours, and remember my virtual yoga classes. It’s grounding to see the days laid out so starkly, allowing me to take each one at a time. I haven’t been able to track down an exact replica of my dollar-store find, but I’m eyeing a fewoptions for next year, something that will bring a little whimsy, and also focus, to each day of 2021, no matter what’s ahead. —Abby McIntyre, assistant managing editor
The pandemic purchase I made that I love the most is my Nintendo Switch (just like everybody else), but the ones that have made the greatest material improvement to my life are the three charging cables I bought for my MacBook. For a few weeks I was schlepping my single cable along with my laptop everywhere. Now I keep a charger in every room, so I can plug my laptop in from any of the places that I might want to sit. —Gabriel Roth, editorial director, audio
A friend recommended this basic exercise bike to me, and it has been a dream for us. Who needs Peloton? This little guy is reasonably priced, compact, and totally serviceable. No frills! Just pedals! —Laura Bennett, editorial director
Last year, as I laid out in the sun recovering after a half-marathon, a friend let me borrow his Theragun deep tissue massager. It was magical, and my boyfriend and I have decided it’s time to invest in one of our own. Since quarantine, we’ve been biking, and begging each other for massages after long rides, when we’re both tired, is getting old. Also, now that I am not constrained by “office norms,” I sit in a creepy little balled up state at my computer all the time, and my back could use some work too. —Susan Matthews, news director
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Joe Biden jogs offstage after a campaign rally at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden suffered a hairline fracture of his foot Saturday while engaging in one of the most presidential acts of performative vigor—playing around with his dog. The 78-year-old apparently slipped and twisted his ankle horsing around with the family German shepherd, Major, during the post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Biden went to see an orthopedic specialist Sunday afternoon in Delaware.
“Initial x-rays did not show any obvious fracture, but his clinical exam warranted more detailed imaging,” said Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the director of executive medicine at The George Washington Medical Faculty Associates and Biden’s primary care doctor for more than a decade. “Follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden’s lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the mid-foot. It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks.”
Current president, Donald Trump, responded on Twitter surely out of legitimate concern and good will and not sarcasm.
Since this is a pet post, as well as an orthopedic one, here is a fuller picture at the Bidens’ pet situation—and plans. “They have another German shepherd, Champ, and have announced plans to get a cat when they move into the White House next year, as well,” the New York Times notes. “Mr. Trump had no pet during his four years in the White House.” Sad!
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I’m a child care provider for three families. I spend my mornings with one family, the “Howards,” and afternoons alternating between the other two families. I’ve been doing this since September, and so far it’s been good. We have all been transparent about our activities outside of the time we spend together. The Howards planned to travel to spend time with both sets of grandparents over the Thanksgiving holiday. After speaking with my spouse and the other families, we all decided that the Howards would need to quarantine for two weeks and have negative COVID tests before I return to care for their children. The Howards wanted to quarantine for one week. When I told them that we wanted two weeks of quarantine, they canceled their trip. I was glad to hear that they decided to follow CDC advice and stay home for the holidays.
Then, a few days ago, the kids and I were playing in their basement and the 4-year-old said, “We have to clean the basement because my grandparents will be here in three sleeps.” I had the day off yesterday, so today I asked the kid when their grandparents were arriving and got an excited “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow” response. The parents haven’t said anything about this. I’m worried that they are having their parents come over and are trying to keep it a secret to avoid quarantine. This exposes me, my spouse, and two other families. What do I do? How do I bring this up with the Howards?
—Dreading Confrontation in D.C.
Dear Dreading,
It’s too late to do anything about this situation, but I hope you had the dreaded confrontation, and that you quit working for the Howards. Your situation is precarious for everyone involved, and it’s hard to imagine how you can move forward with this family if you can’t trust them to be honest with you about their potential COVID risks. My extremely optimistic hope is that the other families you work for will recognize that since you’ve made your decision in part to protect them, they have a responsibility to help you recoup the lost income. In addition to an early holiday bonus, they could help you find a more trustworthy third family for your morning shift.
Dear Care and Feeding,
My husband wants a second child, and I’m not sure whether I do. We have a 2-year-old son and a fairly “traditional” household (much to my chagrin) because he is the primary breadwinner while I have a financially unreliable, creative profession. I’ve taken on the lion’s share of child-rearing duties, which we’d discussed, but it’s become clear to me that I don’t want to become the mom whose identity is first a mom who then does her art on the side. I want to be an artist who happens to have a kid. And I don’t see how with my husband’s line of work and its demands, having a second child will help me achieve the life I want for myself.
I have larger underlying concerns as well. I have complex PTSD from childhood abuse as well as bipolar II disorder—both of which were triggered, however mildly, with the birth of our first child (and unplanned C-section). Although I’m on pregnancy-safe medication that works for me, it’s possible both will be triggered again with the added stress of a new baby. On one hand, if the pandemic persists as it has and child care is not an option, I don’t know how I will manage two little ones on my own because my husband is an essential worker who works out of the house. On the other hand, if we see a COVID vaccine, there would definitely be ways to outsource care that could be positive for our kids (day care, nanny, etc.), but I have too many traumatic associations with being neglected as a child and wishing so badly that my dysfunctional and abusive parents would not have given birth to me if they were going to be so selfish. It’s difficult to reconcile these feelings with my own mom guilt, which then drives me to give my kid 200 percent of me, to my detriment.
Since I know I have that limitation, isn’t it wiser to be “one and done”? My husband feels increasing pressure to have another child. He had a very happy childhood with a brother he loved, and his parents are getting older and always envisioned a big family for him. He is also in his early 40s and I am in my mid- to late 30s, which he thinks adds urgency to this conversation. Is it possible to have a life we can both be happy with while having just one child? So many of my friends (mostly with more than one baby) remind me that while it’s hard in the beginning, I’ll benefit from my kids’ friendship as they get older. Am I operating out of fear and overthinking how hard it will be with a second child?
—Mom of One (For Now)
Dear Mom of One,
You’ve listed a lot of extremely valid internally motivated reasons you’re wary of having a second child and only externally motivated reasons you might consider having one. If you’d said even once “but part of me really wants another kid!” I’d say go for it, in spite of all your excellent reasons not to. But based on your letter it seems like your husband is the one who wants another kid and you really, really don’t—at least not right now. I’m here to say that’s more than OK. Own your decision, feel secure in it, and then be straightforward with your husband about where you stand on this. He needs to quit pressuring you and get on board with your decision. Being a supportive, loving partner entails supporting your life goals and dreams the way you have been supporting his by providing the majority of the child care for the kid you already have, not second-guessing you and making you second-guess yourself.
• If you missed Sunday’s Care and Feeding column, read it here.
How do I do anything but screen time and my job at the same time? I have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old. In the spring, they were home full time with me while I worked. My husband works outside the home as an essential worker. During the spring, it was incredibly difficult, but I made it possible through incredible leniency. I’d put the baby (who was still a baby then) into a carrier, put on a movie for the 2-year-old, and try to get work done. It was awful. But day care reopened in July, and I actually started being productive again. Now, the kids are back home because COVID is spiking again, they’re older, and my tools from six months ago no longer work. The baby only has one nap now instead of two. My older daughter is having tantrums. They love to play on the stairs together. I can’t get any work done. I’m the main breadwinner. I need my job. I can’t bring in a babysitter right now. What do I do other than movies over and over and over again? I feel like a horrible parent and a horrible worker. Are there any options other than movies when I’m trying to have back-to-back meetings over Zoom?
—Defeated in Philadelphia
Dear Defeated,
You’re not a horrible parent and you shouldn’t be made to feel like a horrible worker. We’re in a horrible situation, and it’s not your fault. In the short term, some Frozen marathons and next-level baby-proofing (get the kind of gates made for large dog breeds for those stairs) will get you through. Please try to feel as little guilt about that as possible. In the coming weeks, though, you’re going to have to figure out something more sustainable. If your job is not amenable to any kind of flexibility, leave, or accommodation, maybe there is a sitter who will agree to test, quarantine, and bubble with your family. This may be overly optimistic, but in some states, children of essential workers are given priority in emergency child care arrangements, and though it sounds like you might not live in one of those states, new options may have become available since the last time you checked. Some degree of risk will still be involved, but your livelihood, your mental health, and the kids’ safety may outweigh the risk.
For more of Slate’s parenting coverage, listen to Mom and Dad Are Fighting
Dear Care and Feeding,
I am Jewish (Reform) and I plan to raise my kids (twins, 3 years old) Jewish as well. I’m not terribly spiritual or observant, but the twins are now old enough to participate in the major holidays, which has been fun. They started preschool this year and are thriving (everybody is staying healthy so far, thank goodness). However, it’s a Christian preschool, and they just sent home the December calendar, and, as you might imagine … things get rather Jesus-y (e.g. chapel, a birthday party for Jesus). They already came home talking about God, which is fine. I was disappointed that they first heard about it there, but that’s on me—largely because I’m not sure how to broach such topics. My question: During the Christmas season, how do I talk to little kids about different beliefs, and try to guide them to the faith I’d like them to have, while respecting the faith of others? What would be the best language or tone or approach, and how do I pitch such abstract concepts to toddlers?
—Unsure Semite
Dear Unsure Semite,
If you plan to raise your kids Jewish, it’s time to put those plans into action! I’m guessing you’re not thinking of uprooting them from their current preschool—I wouldn’t either, Jesus notwithstanding—but as long as you keep them there, it’s on you to provide some counterprogramming. Joining the local Reform temple is a big commitment, and if you’re not ready to do that until your kids are a bit older, or if you can’t find a nearby temple whose politics you agree with, I’m right there with you. Happily, there are a wealth of books and online resources for people in exactly our predicament because it’s such a common one. I’m a fan of the website Kveller, which has pointed me to free Zoom Shabbat singalongs that were an unexpected early-pandemic hit for my family. Start out simple by establishing some family traditions of your own, without trying to compete with Christmas (nothing can, especially not poor old Hanukkah). And when it comes to discussions about faith, you might start by introducing your Judaism-inflected thoughts on toddler-appropriate concepts—like sharing and the cycle of the year—and work your way up to tackling G-d. Also, I wanted to make sure you and all millennial parents know there’s spiritual guidance available via Hulu—specifically, the Rugrats Hanukkah and Passover episodes, which are basically part of the Talmud.
—Emily
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My friend and I are both women married to men, with kids (she’s bisexual). She’s funny and we have good rapport. But she is constantly saying and doing things that I would find inappropriate and unacceptable from a male friend. In public she calls me her wife and makes lewd comments about our imaginary sex life to retail workers, waiters, you name it. She repeatedly talks about how good my breasts look. She constantly says we should leave our husbands and live together. What should I do?
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In search of the perfect gift? Read more of Slate’s holiday gift guideshere.
We all have people on our gift list who delight in the practical. They may take exceptional pleasure in things that make their days easier. They may relish in having just the right tool to solve a problem. They live to be prepared. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite gifts for these sensible people in your life. Even if you’re not the type to get excited about a tool kit, we’re willing to bet they will be.
It’s common to find yourself at a restaurant or theater (or, at least, it was in pre-pandemic times) having to choose between precariously balancing your belongings on the back of a chair or resigning yourself to dirtying your handbag on the ground. However, there is a solution: Future Tense editor Torie Bosch loves the Clipa2 bag hanger, “a handsome little ring that you can use to hang your bag from any surface.”
Those still working from home will welcome the chance to make their daily routine more comfortable. A pair of house shoes can relieve a bit of the stress people’s feet may feel from walking around bare- or sock-footed all day. Former staff writer Ruth Graham wrote: “These slides are not about style. They’re about performance: They are built to help you shuffle around indoors with maximum ease.”
Your loved one who likes to be prepared for any situation will appreciate the gift of a mini flashlight. “This superlatively tiny flashlight … has come in handy so many times since my dad gifted me one last Christmas,” wrote Shannon Palus. “It easily hangs out in a purse, ready to save the night when you realize you could use a little more light and don’t want to wear down your phone battery. It’s also perfect to throw in your daypack for peace of mind, in case you get stuck on a hike past sundown.”
A portable water filter is also a helpful item if you want to be equipped on the go. Former Slatester Christina Djossa wrote, “Whether you’re camping, traveling, or living in a place where clean water is scarce, the LifeStraw bottle can easily filter water from lakes or streams and remove any bacteria or chemicals.”
The winter blues are real, and with the pandemic leaving us housebound, we’ll be feeling them more acutely than ever this year. Back in March, Palus wrote of this sun lamp, “I’ve been turning it on for a bit in the morning to fill my bedroom with a full-force ray of light for 20 minutes or so. … That little bit of ‘sun’ light is nice; it is really truly nice, and I need as much of that as possible right now.”
Constant hand-washing coupled with cold weather makes good hand cream a necessity. Evan Rieder, a dermatologist at NYU Langone, told Cleo Levin he recommends CeraVe Hand Cream “because it’s hypoallergenic, nongreasy, and blends into your skin nicely.” He advised buying a few tubes and placing them strategically around your house.
Everyone’s internet has needed an upgrade as we work from home and Zoom for school. If your loved one is constantly grumbling about poor connections or frozen screens, consider gifting a mesh network to vastly improve your home’s Wi-Fi. “Reviewers have praised this version for its easy setup, reasonable price, and reliable coverage,” we wrote when this three-pack went on sale recently.
If someone in your life has just moved out on their own (or is an apartment dweller or homeowner who simply has yet to invest in a full set of hex keys), they may appreciate this 39-piece tool kit. “When I moved into my first apartment, my roommate’s toolkit quickly became the most popular item on the block; everyone was texting her to borrow it,” Natalia Winkelman wrote. “Hanging pictures, building furniture, small home repairs—we hadn’t realized it, but a toolkit was basically a prerequisite for living on our own.”
Beyond tools and gadgets, clothing is also a good place to get practical. Winter accessories can be essential for surviving the outdoors in the cold parts of the country. Staff writer Rebecca Onion said, “Insulated, waterproof gloves are … key. For years, I tried to tell myself that the thin fleece ones I used for running were enough for a couple of hours in the snow with my kid. They were not.”
As long as masks remain a part of our daily lives, we may as well wear ones that we really like. And by now, we could all benefit from refreshing our supply. Palus (who’s Slate’s health reporter) prefers Old Navy masks, because they “do not pull on the ears, and the ear loops are soft. The fabric feels crisp. They do not feel suffocating to wear, and because they fit comfortably over my nose (you have to cover your nose for masks to work!), I don’t find myself fidgeting with them.” They’d make a great stocking stuffer too.
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Judge Amy Coney Barrett listens as she is nominated to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House on Sept. 26.Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
Critics of conservative originalism have charged that it is just a fancy word used to reach conservative results and sanction discrimination. The Supreme Court’s blockbuster census case, Trump v. New York, which will be argued on Monday, will be a major test of whether there is a principled core to conservative originalism. It will help show whether the court’s conservatives are willing to follow the Constitution’s text and history where it leads.
Throughout his presidency, President Donald Trump has flouted the parts of the Constitution he does not like. Trump v. New York involves President Trump’s decision to disregard the federal government’s constitutional obligation to count all persons residing in the United States in apportioning representatives for Congress. On July 21, President Trump announced it would be the “policy of the United States to exclude from the apportionment base aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status,” disregarding the fact that the Constitution explicitly requires counting all persons in the apportionment base in order to ensure equal representation for all persons.
The constitutional question in Trump v. New York is open and shut. The Constitution, through Article I and the Fourteenth Amendment, explicitly requires the federal government to conduct an “actual Enumeration” of the people and to count the “whole number of persons in each State” to apportion representatives to Congress. The Constitution’s Framers wrote the requirement to conduct a census count of the people directly into the Constitution—the first nation in history to do so—in order to prevent manipulation of our democracy. It is fundamental to our democracy that the government cannot rig the census by excluding persons living in the United States from the count used to apportion representatives to Congress.
The import of the Constitution’s text is clear. Immigrants residing in the United States—regardless of their citizenship status—are persons who must be counted for apportionment purposes. The Constitution does not give the president the power to pick and choose among the people who live in the United States and decide that some people should be excluded from the constitutionally mandated census count used to apportion representatives to Congress simply because they are undocumented immigrants. By seeking to treat undocumented immigrants as non-persons, the president has run afoul of the basic constitutional rule that our system of political representation depends on a count of the entire populace.
In some parts of the Constitution, our charter explicitly uses the term “citizens,” but the Framers chose to utilize the broader term “persons” in mandating a count of the nation’s populace in apportioning representatives to Congress. The Census Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment draw no distinction between citizens and non-citizens. The sweeping language chosen by the Framers requires that the “whole immigrant population should be numbered with the people and counted as part of them,” as John Bingham argued during the debates over the Fourteenth Amendment.
In fact, the question whether noncitizens should be excluded from the apportionment base was discussed at length during the debates over the Fourteenth Amendment. During those debates, many members of Congress urged that only citizens or voters should be counted in determining congressional representation, insisting that foreigners who had arrived in America should not count for purposes of apportioning representatives to Congress. Following more than seven months of heated debate in Congress, the Fourteenth Amendment reaffirmed the federal government’s duty to count the nation’s whole population, including the entire immigration population, in apportioning representatives to Congress.
To get around the Constitution’s plain command to count all persons, the Trump administration makes the specious claim that “the Constitution does not specifically define which persons must be included in the apportionment base” and that the president has discretion to exclude all undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base on the theory that they are not truly inhabitants of the United States, even if they have lived here for many years. This argument deserves to be laughed out of court.
In some cases, conservative and progressive originalists may reasonably disagree about what the Constitution means. Not here.
The Constitution’s text and history unambiguously answer whether the president can treat undocumented immigrants as non-persons and exclude them from the apportionment base. He cannot. The Constitution’s text requires counting all persons—regardless of where they are from—in apportioning representatives to Congress. As history shows, the decision to count all persons was a conscious choice, reflecting the basic idea that all persons—whether they are citizens or not—deserve to be represented in the halls of Congress. Our Constitution’s Framers designed a system of government in which immigrants—regardless of their citizenship status—are entitled to equal representation. President Trump simply cannot abide this fundamental aspect of our constitutional democracy.
Trump v. New York poses a basic test of constitutional fidelity to long settled constitutional principles at the core of our democracy. If Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the Supreme Court’s conservative originalists fail this test, it will go a long way to defining the Roberts court going forward.
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Not all of the contenders involve needles!Heather Hazzan/Flickr Creative Commons 2.0
With three COVID-19 vaccines sharing preliminary data from large-scale human trials, and dozens more in the works, it is time to start thinking about which COVID-19 vaccine is the best vaccine, subjectively speaking. In the coming weeks and months, the Food and Drug Administration will be carefully reviewing data to determine which candidates to approve for use with health care workers, and then the general population. We will all soon (not soon enough, but soon) have to decide which vaccine to actually get.
The process is going to involve a tangle of super-cold storage distribution puzzles, ethical considerations around prioritization for high-risk groups, and pharmaceutical companies scrambling to pipet their products into enough syringes for the country (and world) to reach herd immunity. As the experts have said, due to these logistical quagmires, “we will probably take whatever we are able to get access to,” and also that “one should feel quite happy about that.” Fine! Nevertheless, we live in a country where health care is a commodity. So it is our right—nay, our duty as Americans to have opinions about which life-saving inoculation we would prefer to have needled into our arm tissue.
What follows are the top 10 American-led (or partly-USA-funded or somehow-USA-related) vaccine options. (Yes, efforts with which America has nothing to do could well yield all the best vaccines, in the end—based on the trajectory the overall pandemic has so far taken, that’s probably what will happen. But it would take a few more steps and agreements to have those options at your local doctor’s office.) Like any good experiment, the rankings are subject to change with new data—and there may yet be game-changing new data, as all of the promising vaccines are still in ongoing phase three trials, and have only just begun being scrutinized by scientists and regulators. And like any ranking of things on the internet, our list is based on a questionable amount of interaction with the vaccine itself (in this case: zero). Really, when the times comes, you will probably just be grateful to take whatever vaccine you are offered (or whatever your doctors tells you to get). But in the meantime, here we go!
1. The Dolly Parton Vaccine
Due to her friendship with a doctor at Vanderbilt, and also due to being perfect, Parton donated a million dollars to COVID-19 research this spring. Some of that money ended up partially funding Moderna’s vaccine, which Parton herself reportedly learned when Moderna published a preliminary report in the New England Journal of Medicine in November. For some sense of scale, I will tell you that the U.S. government contributed a billion dollars to this particular vaccine. Creating a vaccine is pricey.
The Moderna vaccine is genuinely very promising so far: in early data from the phase three trial the vaccine had an efficacy of 94.5 percent. While the effectiveness of the vaccine out in the real world could be a little different, that’s much higher than the 70 percent efficacy rate that Anthony Fauci had said he would settle for early on in the pandemic. The company says it will apply to for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) “in the coming weeks,” so it could also be one of the first vaccines on the market. We tend to choose our alcohol, clothes, and even water by how proximate they are to famous people, and now we can follow through with that commitment when selecting an immunization against a deadly virus too.
2. The Sticker Vaccine
A vaccine that is a tiny sticker that goes on your finger is in early development at the University of Pittsburgh. The sticker is covered in “microneedles,” which means they are so tiny you can barely feel them. (If you want to practice, you can get all kinds of skin-care stuff that involves microneedles patches.) You almost certainly will not be getting this vaccine as your first coronavirus vaccine because, to be clear, this is not yet in clinical trials (though you can throw your name in the hat to participate). There haven’t actually been any big updates on it recently—there was a “shows promise in mice” headline back April—but I am pulling for it in case we end up needing an annual coronavirus vaccine, the way that we do with the flu. Because again: the vaccine is a sticker. It is therefore a very good vaccine. I bet a lot of people would take a vaccine that comes as a sticker.
But there is one problem with the Pfizer vaccine. It needs to be kept at minus 80 degrees Celsius. Have we fully absorbed how cold this is? While this is not as cold as the coldest outdoor temperature on planet Earth ever recorded using instruments at ground level—that would be minus 89 degrees Celsius, at a Russian outpost on the East Antarctic Plateau in July of 1938—it sure is close! This means it is pricey to ship and store, and will be harder to get to rural areas, which tend to not have tons of the high-tech storage capabilities it requires. You can’t even open the freezer where it’s kept too many times in a single day, or else it might be rendered useless.
Tied for 4 and 5: The Pill Vaccines
Sort of like the sticker vaccine, efforts from Vaxart, and Merck (along with IAVI), each earn a relatively high ranking purely for their lack of big needles. In fact, these oral vaccines involve no needles at all. It’s still very early days for these, which are in the first phase of clinical trials. The most recent public data (in the case of Vaxart) involves a press release on something called a Hamster Challenge Study. So: we’ll see. But pill vaccines would be cool, and easy to take.
6. The SARS Vaccine
This one’s a bit maddening! Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital researchers have had a vaccine for SARS-CoV (the current coronavirus’ cousin) just hanging out in a freezer for years. They’d shown that it protected against SARS in animals, but when the SARS furor died down, they couldn’t get enough funding to keep working on it. And then SARS-CoV-2 came along and we all realized that it sure would have been awfully useful to have years of human safety and efficacy data on a vaccine for a similar-ish virus! Once the current coronavirus started wreaking havoc, the researchers booted things up again, licensing the repurposed SARS vaccine to a company in India, where it is now undergoing early clinical trials for COVID-19.
7. The Cigarette Vaccine
According to the New York Times vaccine tracker, there is a vaccine made by “Kentucky BioProcessing, an American subsidiary of British American Tobacco, the maker of Lucky Strike” slated to start a Phase 1 clinical trial right about now. The basis for this vaccine comes from “a wild relative of tobacco called Nicotiana benthamiana [engineered to make] viral proteins.” I do not have any reason to think this vaccine will end up being delivered in the form of an actual cigarette, but if it works, what a turnaround for tobacco’s track record with human health.
8. The Single-Dose Vaccine
The vaccines on this list that involve needles all require two doses, spaced a few weeks apart. Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine involves getting jabbed just once. Well, maybe: the company, which has the single-dose clinical trial in-progress now, recently decided it will run a two-dose clinical trial as well, just in case.
9. The Underdog Vaccine
The biotech firm Novavax is just 33 years old, and has never actually succeeded in making a vaccine that made it to market. But despite being described by the news arm of science journal Science for being “tiny Novavax,” the ETA for the company’s phase 3 data is early next year. That’s not first, but it’s not bad, either.
In the meantime, there’s a burgeoning cottage industry of personal essays from participants in Novavax trials. “The charming young doctor smiled broadly and said ‘that’s a really good question’ for all the world as though everyone he saw had not asked the same question,” wrote one trial participant in the Guardian (the question was if the participant could peace out of the Novavax trial if another vaccine was approved in the meantime; the answer was yes). Another participant wrote in Market Watch that “there’s a monthly ‘vaccine registry’ newsletter, the latest of which insisted that it does make sense to keep researching and trying.” That author admitted that “I still root for Novavax,” which makes sense because he has already (potentially) gotten that vaccine, and I have to admit, I find the commitment admirable.
10. The ‘Whoops’ Vaccine
AstraZeneca and Oxford’s vaccine is either 62 percent effective or 90 percent effective, depending on whether you’re looking at data from trial participants who were given the correct dose, or participants who received an accidental, smaller dose, respectively. This error revealed that a lower first dose of the vaccine might actually be more effective. This isn’t scientific kismet, as the company is trying to spin it, so much as “monumental fuck-up,” since a clinical trial is not the place to knock things around and see what happens! And there have been some, well a bunch, of other criticisms, too. None of this is a great sign for the AstraZeneca vaccine, though it could still get FDA approval (the agency has so far refused to talk to the press about the consequences of the error for the EUA process). But really, mistakes are why we have the FDA, independent experts, and, in extreme cases, endearingly handsome whistleblowers.
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