December 1, Tuesday, 2020 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

  1. U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna has applied for emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine following positive test results. The company said the vaccine’s efficacy against COVID-19 was 94.1 percent and that no serious safety concerns were identified.
  2. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has named the top members of his economic team. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has been nominated to be the treasury secretary.
  3. The number of seriously ill patients with COVID-19 across Japan hit 472 on Monday. That is a new record high, and the health minister says it is another sign the situation is growing more serious.