Coronavirus Watch: Trump signs relief bill, another vaccine candidate progresses

President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal as U.S. virus cases rapidly increase and the pandemic continues to inflict widespread financial damage.

What does that mean for Americans? Some of the highlights of the package include direct payments of $600, an extension of unemployment benefits and relief for small businesses struggling to retain employees. 

It's Monday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the news to know today, as of 12 p.m. EST.

• Another vaccine candidate in Phase 3: Novavax, a Maryland-based company, announced that its vaccine candidate is entering Phase 3 – the most substantial phase of testing – after early studies demonstrated "a robust immune response." Vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have each been authorized and are being administered, while candidates from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are in Phase 3 testing in the U.S.
• December has been the United States' deadliest month of the pandemic thus far, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The 64,000-plus people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. this month eclipses April's mark of 60,738.
• A woman who reported on the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak was sentenced to four years in prison by a Chinese court on charges of “picking fights and provoking trouble," her lawyer said.

COVID-19 sparks a year of tumult in politics: How 2020 changed the U.S., creating "a big fork in the road" with challenges for Biden and Trump.

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– Jay Cannon, Paste BN Network and Wires Editor, @JayTCannon on Twitter.