Coronavirus Watch: UK becomes first country to approve Pfizer vaccine

The United Kingdom has become the first western country to approve widespread use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech.

The British government said the first shots will be given next week. Studies show it is up to 95% effective.

Some context: China and Russia have already begun a mass rollout of their own vaccines. However, they have done so before completing late-stage clinical trials. 

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's what to know today, as of 10:30 a.m. ET:

• Who gets the vaccine first? Public health officials voted Tuesday to add residents of long-term care facilities to front-line health care workers as the first Americans to get a vaccine. The advisory panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered advice on who should get specific vaccines and when, but each state ultimately makes the call.
• The CDC will soon trim quarantine rules for close contact with an infected person to seven to 10 days from 14.
• After a months-long impasse, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a temporary $908 billion coronavirus aid package that would run until April but not include a second round of stimulus checks.
• The CDC is urging Americans to avoid all travel to Mexico as that country grapples with rising COVID-19 deaths. The CDC has placed Mexico in the Level 4 risk category, which is the highest risk level for COVID-19.
• Hong Kong is limiting most gatherings to just two people and ordering compulsory testing of workers at retirement homes and facilities for people with disabilities.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 13.7 million cases and 270,000 deaths. Globally, there have been 64 million cases and 1.48 million fatalities. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.

What do you want to know about the vaccine? We're taking your vaccine questions through this online form, and we'll answer them here.

You asked: What are the side effects of the coronavirus vaccine? Are there long-term effects? 

Most people who get a COVID-19 vaccine will endure side effects, particularly after a second dose. All three candidate vaccines reported mild or moderate side effects, mostly pain at the injection site, fatigue, and aching muscles and joints for a day or two.

"A sore arm and feeling crummy for a day or two is a lot better than COVID," said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of health policy and of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

If someone is going to have a bad reaction to a vaccine, it is likely to occur in the first six weeks after vaccination, according to medical experts. But experts still don’t know the long-term effects of the vaccines and won’t know until after the trials are completed and researchers monitor participants in the real world for years after.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck