December 18, Friday, 2020 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

 

  1. An expert panel at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Moderna.
  2. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf says his country has failed in its response to the coronavirus with its relatively moderate approach to the pandemic. Unlike other European countries such as Britain and France, Sweden has not imposed strict measures, including lockdowns. The country has allowed restaurants and businesses to stay open.  But it has seen a surge in infections since late October , with the number of daily new cases occasionally topping 8,000.
  3.  European leaders who had been in recent contact with Emmanuel Macron are self-isolating after the French president tested positive for the coronavirus.