As of Tuesday, December 8, 2020, Montana reports 69,346 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 859 new cases reported in the last day: 129 in Cascade County, 126 in Flathead County, 89 in Lewis & Clark County, 71 in Yellowstone County, 63 in Gallatin County, 56 in Missoula County, 44 in Silver Bow County, and more new cases in 33 more Montana counties. Statewide, 2,909 people have been hospitalized, and 479 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 17,448. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Cascade, and Lewis & Clark Counties. 763 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Twenty-one more deaths have been logged since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 285,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 15,100,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Britain is the first nation to roll out the clinically approved BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus. The vaccine’s first recipient is Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week. She received the first shot of the vaccine on Tuesday in Coventry, England, to fanfare from the medical community and press. Symbolism aside, the reality is that even wealthy countries such as the U.S. and the United Kingdom face an enormous logistical challenge in trying to vaccinate priority groups — let alone everyone else. Professor Stephen Powis, Britain’s National Health Service’s medical director, said Sunday ahead of the rollout, “This feels like the beginning of the end. But, of course, it is a marathon, not a sprint, and it will take many months to vaccinate everybody who needs vaccination.”

COVID is now the leading cause of death in the United States and fourth on the list in Montana (behind heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease).

The Trump administration passed up the chance to lock in more Pfizer vaccine doses. The White House reportedly declined “multiple” offers from Pfizer to strike a deal on more vaccines for the second quarter of 2021. A former FDA commissioner and a member of Pfizer’s board of directors said that President Donald Trump’s administration declined to secure millions of additional doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine when it had the chance. That decision could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until Pfizer fulfills other international contracts.

The Montana Legislature is slated to begin January 4, and with just four weeks to go, the public, lobbyists, staff, and legislators thought that two days of meetings of the Rules Committee would decide the format of the session, but the Rules Committee adjourned without deciding how to convene. Democratic legislators proposed to hold the legislative session virtually, as legislative meetings have been conducted all year. Democrats also proposed delaying the session until a vaccine is readily available, or holding a hybrid session, with a few people at the capitol and most others participating remotely. Democrats proposed that at a minimum, public health protocols like face masks, social distancing, and frequent cleaning be followed, but Republicans, in the majority in both the House and Senate, refused to consider the proposals. The committees will meet again next week.