Details are emerging on the cards that will be issued by the federal government confirming Americans have received the coronavirus vaccine. 

“Everyone will be issued a written card that they can put in their wallet that will tell them what they had and when their next dose is due,” Kelly Moore, associate director of the Immunization Action Coalition, said Wednesday, according to CNN. “Let’s do the simple, easy thing first. Everyone’s going to get that.”

Moore added that clinics providing vaccinations will also report what vaccine is administered to state immunization registries. Numerous clinics will also give patients the option to provide their phone numbers so they can be sent a reminder to take their second dose of the vaccine.

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Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, told the network that all vaccinations administered will be recorded with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Pentagon has also issued details about the vaccine kits that will be assembled by the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. They include the card, alcohol wipes, a mask and a needle and syringe.

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Gen. Gustave Perna, Operation Warp Speed’s chief operating officer, said in November that 100 million vaccine kits are prepared for deployment.

Pfizer and Moderna are both expected to receive emergency use authorization for their vaccine candidates in mid-December. The Pfizer vaccine, which will be under discussion at the Food and Drug Administration next Thursday, could be shipped as early as the following week if it is approved, according to an Operation Warp Speed document. Moderna, meanwhile, will be discussed on Dec. 17 and could have the first shipments sent out Dec. 22.

With initial supplies limited, officials have said front-line health care and long-term care workers will be prioritized for the first doses of the vaccine. The vaccine will likely be more widely available to the general population in the early months of 2021.

The head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) European operations on Thursday hailed the various coronavirus vaccines in the pipeline as a “potentially game-changing” development.

“The more candidates we have, the more opportunities for success,” European director Hans Kluge said in a news briefing Thursday, according to Reuters. “Vaccines, combined with other public health measures, bring the end of an acute phase of the pandemic and the rebuilding of economies within reach.”

On Wednesday, the U.K. issued an emergency authorization to Pfizer and German firm BioNTech’s vaccine, the first nation to do so. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to consider the drug for an emergency use authorization next week, while similar approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is also pending.

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Kluge said it would be at individual countries’ discretion who takes priority to receive the vaccine. Most countries have indicated the initial doses will go to health care workers and at-risk groups such as the elderly.

Kluge noted that it was still incumbent on individuals and government officials to work to contain and mitigate the virus before vaccines become widely available.

“[T]he virus still has the potential to do enormous damage unless we do everything in our power to stop its spread,” he said, according to The Associated Press, adding “it is imperative that we continue to practice basic protective behaviors such as mask-wearing” during the period when supplies are limited.

Siddhartha Datta, the WHO’s program manager for vaccine preventable diseases, said the EMA and the WHO have asked Britain to share the data that formed the basis for its approval.

“This decision is a big decision by any of the national regulatory authorities, because it will instill trust in the system,” Datta said, according to Reuters. “It’s extremely important that this process is robust, the process is based on evidence and a decision is being made and shared in a transparent mode.”

Hong Kong will restrict public gatherings to a maximum of two people as part of its latest attempts to stem the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a Monday briefing that the two-person limitation will apply to athletic venues and restaurant tables. Civil servants will also return to working from home, Lam said, and restaurant dine-in service will end at 10:00 p.m.

Civil servants working from home previously led to the delay of services such as extensions of work visas. Civil service jobs comprise about 4.6 percent of the city’s workers, or more than 177,000 people.

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The new restrictions are set to last two weeks after taking effect Wednesday.

Lam said venues like swimming pools and mahjong parlors will close. The city had planned an air travel bubble with Singapore but the new infections have delayed those plans, according to the publication.

Hong Kong imposed similar measures in July during its worst virus outbreak to date. The city reported 76 new cases of the virus Monday. Most were locally-transmitted cases, while officials were unable to trace nine. Officials previously announced it would re-close schools as a mitigation measure, according to Bloomberg.

Hong Kong Health Secretary Sophia Chan also announced last week that the city would close nightclubs and bars, as well as entertainment venues like karaoke cafes, to stem the outbreak.

“There are multiple transmission chains in the community. We need to tighten all social-distancing measures, because the pandemic is severe,” she said in a news conference.

Hong Kong has seen just over 6,400 cases and 109 deaths from the virus.

Former President Obama’s chief economist said on Sunday that Democrats should accept a smaller coronavirus relief package if necessary in order to get at least minimal relief to Americans. 

Former White House Chief Economist Austan Goolsbee told CNN’s “Inside Politics” that he’s “not an expert on the political negotiations” but he said he hopes that Congress can agree on a relief package soon because Americans are “really hurting.”

“It’s not jumpstarting growth,” Goolsbee, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, said, explaining why the coronavirus money is relief, rather than stimulus. “It’s just keeping people from being evicted, keeping businesses from shutting down permanently from what was supposed to be a temporary shock.” 

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“So if they have to accept half a loaf, then they should accept half a loaf, and then let’s try to get another half of a loaf,” he added. “But right now is really touch and go, and I wish both sides could see that.”

CNN’s Manu Raju noted that 26 million Americans say they don’t have enough to eat and 6 million Americans say they are at risk of eviction or foreclosure in the next two months. 

“There’s a great risk that we could stall out or even have a double-dip recession if we continue to let this virus rage out of control like this,” Goolsbee said. “And in an environment like that where you got millions of people literally saying they can’t put food on the table, there’s got to be some relief.”

Goolsbee’s comments come after coronavirus relief talks between the White House, Republicans and Democrats have stalled for months and many of the provisions in a massive relief bill passed this spring are poised to expire. Republicans and Democrats have been unable to agree on both the topline spending figure and the specifics of what to include in the bill.

The White House proposed a $1.6 trillion coronavirus package last month, which was promptly rejected by Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiObama chief economist says Democrats should accept smaller coronavirus relief package if necessary The five biggest challenges facing President-elect Biden Democrats were united on top issues this Congress — but will it hold? MORE (D-Calif.), who said it didn’t offer enough.

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“This isn’t half a loaf,” Pelosi told Bloomberg at the time. “What they’re offering is the heel of the loaf.”

House Democrats have called for a $2.2 trillion relief package prioritizing federal unemployment benefits, state funding and a second round of stimulus checks. 

But Republicans have said that is too much money, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFive things to know about Georgia’s Senate runoffs Obama chief economist says Democrats should accept smaller coronavirus relief package if necessary Memo to Biden: Go big — use the moment to not only rebuild but to rebuild differently MORE pushing for a $500 billion bill that would focus on aid for schools and small businesses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set the risk of COVID-19 in Mexico to its highest level and is urging travelers to avoid going to the country.

The CDC set its risk level to level four, which is “very high,” warning that going to the country “may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.”

The organization urges those going to Mexico to get a viral test up to three days before the trip and between three to five days after the trip. It also urges all travelers to stay home for seven days after travel. 

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While in the country, the CDC recommends staying at least six feet or two meters apart from those not traveling with you and to wear a mask. 

Mexico last month passed 100,000 fatalities from COVID-19, making it the fourth country in the world to reach the grim milestone. It also surpassed 1 million coronavirus infections. 

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing on Monday that “Mexico is in bad shape,” according to The Associated Press. He urged its leaders to be serious about the virus. 

Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has been criticized by some for downplaying the spread of the virus and for his overall handling of the pandemic. 

There have been 1,122,362 cases of COVID-19 in Mexico since the pandemic began, according to a count from Johns Hopkins University, and more than 106,000 people have died.

However, health officials have warned that actual coronavirus numbers could be higher due to low levels of testing.

Interpol issued a global warning Wednesday alerting its members that organized crime networks could try to sell counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines or attempt to steal real shots as the world ramps up efforts to distribute an immunization.

The global police coordination agency sent out an orange alert to police in 194 countries urging them to prepare for the threat, saying the pandemic has already “triggered unprecedented opportunistic and predatory criminal behaviour.” 

“As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organizations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

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“Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives,” Stock added. “It is essential that law enforcement is as prepared as possible for what will be an onslaught of all types of criminal activity linked to the COVID-19 vaccine, which is why INTERPOL has issued this global warning.”

The organization urged cooperation between law enforcement and health regulatory bodies on approval and distribution of vaccines to make sure that the shots put into the supply chain originate from legitimate health officials and are authentic. 

Beyond targeting vaccines, organized criminals are also expected to try to distribute “unauthorized and falsified testing kits.” Interpol also warned of cyber threats, saying an investigation by its cybercrime unit of roughly 3,000 pharmaceutical websites believed to be selling illegal products, over 1,700 contained phishing or spamming malware. 

The warning comes as countries around the world lay the groundwork for vaccine distribution after a handful of studies show a number of strong candidates. The U.K. became the first nation in the world to approve Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use after data showed it to be 95 percent effective.

— Summerslam tickets which went on sale this week sold out in one day. The event will be held on August 20 live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

— Monday’s Raw – live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA is also legitimately sold out. The attendance will be around 15,000 – making it one of the best attended WWE events of the year.

— According to a report at pwinsider.com, Eve Torres will be brought in by WWE for WrestleMania 33 on Sunday but it is not known what her role will be. She joins what is said to be a number of past female talent who have been contacted over the last few months about appearing at the event, perhaps figuring into the Smackdown women’s title match.

— Jim Ross announced on Twitter that his wife Jan was an organ donor and that her liver, lungs and kidneys have been successfully donated.

My wife Jan is an #OrganDonor and thus far her lungs, liver & kidneys have found recipients.
More good news coming.

Join me in Orlando.. pic.twitter.com/9hm3XDhMZR

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) March 25, 2017