New vaccine, more cases in US, Europe: Coronavirus live news | US & Canada

US firm Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5 percent effective, becoming the 2nd promising announcement in the battle against COVID-19.

• More than 54 million people have contracted COVID-19 globally and 1,319,267​ have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• Infections, hospitalisations and deaths continue to surge across much of the United States and states have imposed new restrictions.
• Governments in Europe scramble amid an alarming rise in case numbers.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. This is Jihan Abdalla.

65 virus cases, with 1 cluster, among WHO Geneva staff

The World Health Organization has recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including at least one cluster of infections, an internal email obtained by The Associated Press showed.

The revelation came amid a surge of cases in Europe, host country Switzerland, and the city of Geneva, in particular, and the email said about half of the infections were in people who had been working from home. But 32 were in staff who had been working on the premises of the headquarters building.

Dow jumps 360 points on Moderna COVID-19 vaccine news

The Dow and S&P 500 indexes rallied on Monday after Moderna said preliminary trial data showed its COVID-19 vaccine to be 94.5 percent effective – the second promising announcement from the vaccine front in as many weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted more than 364 points or 1.23 percent at the open of trading on Wall Street, bringing the 30-share index within striking distance of the 30,000 mark.

Read more here.

Moderna said preliminary data from a continuing phase three study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine showed it to be 94.5 percent effective [Hans Pennink/AP Photo]

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5 percent effective

US biotech firm Moderna Inc on Monday said preliminary data from a continuing phase three study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine showed it to be 94.5 percent effective.

“This is a pivotal moment in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate,” said Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel in a statement. “This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease.”

Read more here.