Weeks of December 21 and 28, 2020

This week's episode covers six MMWR COVID-19 reports. The first discusses interim recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP the second COVID-19 vaccine available under Emergency Use Authorization in the U.S. The second report focuses on ACIP's recommendations for the next phases of who should receive COVID-19 vaccines. The third report describes how antigen tests can be fast and inexpensive but sometimes require a second test to confirm the result. The fourth report is a joint CDC-WHO report that details how innovations in testing and sampling, transportation and data visualization allowed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to keep investigating and detecting polio despite unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fifth report looks into the household spread of COVID-19 and implications of shortening the quarantine period. The last report is a COVID-19 Stats that illustrates how COVID-19 rates changed over time by age group and highlights crucial data to drive public health action.