The Daily Valet. - 12/11/20, Friday

✔️ The Vaccine Gets a Green Light

Friday, December 11th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I kind of feel like $156,000 for a TV (even a really big TV) is a lot.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

The Vaccine Gets a Green Light

Paving the way to approval and healthcare workers getting shots next week

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine passed a critical milestone on Thursday when an independent panel of experts formally recommended that the FDA authorize the vaccine, reports the New York Times.

In a 17-4 vote (with one abstention), the government advisers concluded that the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech appears safe and effective for emergency use in adults and teenagers 16 and over.

While there are a number of remaining unknowns about the vaccine, in an emergency, “the question is whether you know enough” to press ahead, said panel member Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He concluded that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Because the FDA is known to pretty much always follow the advice of its advisory panels, the vaccine should be approved as early as Saturday.

After it’s cleared, the first shipment of 6.4 million doses will leave warehouses within 24 hours, according to federal officials. About half of those doses will be sent across the country, and the other half will be reserved for the initial recipients to receive their second dose about three weeks later.

More than 100 FDA employees have been working around the clock to review Pfizer’s application (which was submitted on Nov. 20), compressing what would've taken months of analysis into weeks. And, with any luck, this authorization will soon be followed by one for Moderna’s version, which uses similar technology.

↦ FYI: When might you expect your 1st COVID-19 shot? NPR examines the proposed timelines.

Chances for Economic Relief Grow Dimmer

It shouldn’t be this difficult, right?

Congressional bickering over a new financial relief package escalated Thursday as lawmakers traded blame and put negotiations over critical legislation on the brink of collapse, reports the Washington Post.

The major sticking point? A shield against lawsuits for businesses, health care facilities and schools—a top GOP issue. Making a compromise even less likely, ABC News confirmed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled through staff that he is not in favor of a $908 billion bipartisan proposal, saying it would not be supported by most in his conference

Congressional leaders continue to stress the importance of approving a rescue package in the coming days to prevent about 12 million Americans from losing unemployment benefits and stopping families across the country from getting tossed out of their homes.

Despite multiple attempts to reach a deal, lawmakers still haven't resolved disputes that, according to CNBC, “have driven months of failure to respond to a once-in-a-century health and economic crisis ... It remains unclear what kind of package could garner the support of both the GOP-controlled Senate and Democratic-held House.”

↦ FYI: Both House and Senate leaders say they won't break for the holidays without passing an aid measure.

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Samsung’s 110-Inch MicroLED TV Is Here

It’s impressive ... and it’s basically all screen

Samsung debuted its MicroLED technology in 2018 with the modular system known as The Wall. Now it's bringing the same tech home with a 110-inch model for your home, reports Uncrate.

Announced this week in Korea, Samsung claims a 99.99% screen-to-body ratio, meaning the bezel is essentially removed from the nine-foot display.

MicroLED is widely viewed as next-gen TV tech, inheriting the best traits of OLED and LCD TVs but with nearly none of the disadvantages. According to Mashable, the new TV has 4K resolution, a wide color gamut, a powerful new Micro AI Processor, and a lifespan of up to 100,000 hours.

With an eight million pixel display, Samsung says its screen can deliver complete color accuracy in images captured with even high-end DSLR cameras. The company isn't being very forthcoming about price yet, but ZDNet reports that the cost would be 170 million won, which shakes out to about $156,000.

↦ Hear That? The built-in sound system has a cool feature: the TV can track objects moving on the screen, and project the sound to follow the action.

Streaming Just Keeps Getting Better

Disney+ just made a major push forward

It's been a big month for streaming, and it's only been ten days. First, Discovery unveiled its streaming service. Then Warner Bros. said its strategy for 2021 would be to release its slate of films on HBO Max and in theaters at the same time.

On Thursday, Disney announced 100 new projects, with most of them heading straight to streaming services. The slate includes everything from new Marvel and Star Wars series on the fast-growing Disney+ platform to new reality TV from the Kardashians for Hulu.

"The fact is, we're only getting started," Disney's executive chairman Bob Iger said with a smile at the end of the Disney presentation. And he makes a good point.

According to the company, Disney+ now has 86 million subscribers. So it is raising its projections (and its prices). The company now projects that the service will have around to 250 million subscribers in just three years. That's a huge jump from its initial projections last year of 60 million to 90 million.

↦ What to Watch: The Verge has pulled together their picks for the best 50 series and films coming.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

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