COVID vaccines are here, what happens now?

+ the Electoral College meets today͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ US Edition - Today's top story: My university will be getting COVID-19 vaccines soon – here's how my team will get doses into arms [View in browser]( US Edition | 14 December 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair The U.S. now has a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use. This is welcome news, but vaccines don’t stop a virus; vaccination does. With millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine en route to health systems around the country, the final phase of this nearly year-long effort is just beginning. The University of California, San Francisco, is set to receive its first shipment of vaccines any day now. Desi Kotis, an associate dean and professor of pharmacy, is the person in charge of the vaccine rollout in one of California’s biggest health care systems. She explains her team’s [step-by-step plan]( to get the most vulnerable people vaccinated as fast and as equitably as possible. Also today: - [Why individual rights and state rights aren’t opposites]( - [The ethics of pardons]( - [A hospital that dispenses healthy food]( Daniel Merino Assistant Editor: Science, Health, Environment After receiving the vaccine, health systems have a complicated job ahead of them. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan [My university will be getting COVID-19 vaccines soon – here’s how my team will get doses into arms]( Desi Kotis, University of California, San Francisco Health systems around the US are on the cusp of receiving COVID-19 vaccines. At the end of this months-long effort are the nitty-gritty details of how health care providers are giving people the vaccine. Politics/Election '20 - [Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society]( Martha Ackelsberg, Smith College The absence of effective government policy doesn't make citizens free. It takes away their power, leaving them less able to act to address their needs. That's especially clear during the pandemic. - [Why does the Electoral College exist, and how does it work? 5 essential reads]( Jeff Inglis, The Conversation Five scholars explain different aspects of the history, workings and effects of the Electoral College. - [Puerto Rico wants statehood – but only Congress can make it the 51st state in the United States]( Rashid Carlos Jamil Marcano Rivera, Indiana University Lawmakers are unlikely to grant Puerto Rico's request for admission into the Union – unless, perhaps, the Democrats win both Senate seats in Georgia's Jan. 5 runoff election. Health + Medicine - [Who is doing all those COVID-19 tests? Why you should care about medical laboratory professionals]( Rodney E. Rohde, Texas State University The pandemic is placing strain not just on doctors and nurses but the medical laboratory professionals who conduct the billions of medical tests behind the scenes. - [A hospital that prescribes free nutritious food to families who need more than medical care]( Diana Cuy Castellanos, University of Dayton Dayton Children’s Hospital has begun to screen patients and their families for food insecurity, referring many of them to its 'Food Pharm.' Ethics + Religion - [Pardon me? An ethicist’s guide to what is proper when it comes to presidential pardons]( Scott Davidson, West Virginia University Speculation has swirled over whom President Trump may pardon before leaving office. But why do presidents have the right to pardon, and how should it be used? - [On the first day of Christmas…teachers got a legal headache over blurring the line between church and state]( Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton Educators walk an fine line when it comes to marking religious holidays. But in so doing, are they missing an opportunity for teachable moments on faith issues? Education - [Why getting back to ‘normal’ doesn’t have to involve police in schools]( Stanley S. Litow, Duke University A former deputy chancellor of New York City schools explains why the police don't need to patrol the nation's public schools. Environment + Energy - [Taking fish out of fish feed can make aquaculture a more sustainable food source]( Pallab Sarker, University of California, Santa Cruz Fish farms feed millions of people around the world, but they also consume a lot of fish that are dried or ground up to make aquafeed. Researchers are developing more sustainable alternatives. Science + Technology - [W.E.B. Du Bois embraced science to fight racism as editor of NAACP’s magazine The Crisis]( Jordan Besek, University at Buffalo As editor of the magazine for 24 years, Du Bois featured articles about biology, evolution, archaeology in Africa and more to refute the rampant scientific racism of the early 20th century. - [Mermaids aren’t real – but they’ve fascinated people around the world for ages]( Peter Goggin, Arizona State University Mermaids are not real, but are meaningful to people around the world. Most read on site - [Scientists suggest US embassies were hit with high-power microwaves – here’s how the weapons work]( Edl Schamiloglu, University of New Mexico High-power microwave weapons are useful for disabling electronics. They might also be behind the ailments suffered by US diplomats and CIA agents in Cuba and China. - [Fragments of energy – not waves or particles – may be the fundamental building blocks of the universe]( Larry M. Silverberg, North Carolina State University Field theory describes the universe as energy flowing along unending lines. With this perspective, it is possible to define a new fundamental building block of matter. - [Oregon just decriminalized all drugs – here’s why voters passed this groundbreaking reform]( Scott Akins, Oregon State University; Clayton Mosher, Washington State University Possessing heroin, cocaine, meth and other drugs for personal use is no longer a criminal offense in Oregon. The idea is to get people with problem drug use help, not punishment. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451