EU buys 300 million vaccine doses

The European Union has signed an agreement to purchase 300 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine being developed by BioNTech-Pfizer. The EU had already signed contracts with three other companies developing vaccines and is in talks with two further drug makers, But health commissioner Stella Kyriakides has said the vaccine would only be distributed once it has received authorisation from the European Medicines Agency. “It will not be a silver bullet that will make the virus disappear overnight,” Kyriakides warned, though she did say that the deal meant the EU was closer to having “a broad and solid vaccine portfolio.” The director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control told AFP that she thought roll out of the vaccine in the EU would “optimistically” be in the first quarter of 2021. “But I can't be more precise,” Andrea Ammon said. The FT, the BBC and Deutsche Welle have more.

Pfizer CEO cashes in on stocks

Albert Bourla, the CEO of drug maker Pfizer, sold almost $5.6 million worth of his stock in the company on Monday, the day it revealed testing of its coronavirus vaccine was performing at 90% effectiveness. Pfizer’s share price rose by almost 15% after the announcement was made. Pfizer said the sale was part of a trading plan approved in August, and some analysts have defended Bourla. But as CNBC reports, US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton had warned cautioned executives against selling stock during the pandemic because, “why would you want to even raise the question that you were doing something that was inappropriate?” Bloomberg and CNN also report.

Biden names Klain as chief of staff

Ron Klain, who was president Barack Obama’s “Ebola Czar” in 2014 and helped oversee a $787bn stimulus package amid the financial crisis in 2009, has been named by president-elect Joe Biden as his chief of staff. Klain worked as Biden’s chief of staff during his first term as vice-president and has vast experience of Capitol Hill. Biden said Klain’s “capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need…as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again.” Reuters, The Washington Post, New York Times and The Guardian all have more on Klain.

Asselborn addresses parliament

Luxembourg’s foreign minister Jean Asselborn delivered his annual report to parliament on Wednesday afternoon. Focusing on a string of his pet subjects, the minister welcomed the EU’s mechanism for withholding funds if member states break the rule of law and called for the Schengen accord to be respected by retaining open borders even during the pandemic. He also called for a fairer system for taking in asylum seekers and said that the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would improve transatlantic relations.

Appeal against Google MoU ruling

Mouvement Écologique has announced it will launch an appeal against the decision by the administrative tribunal that Google's MoU should not be made public. The environmental group argues that the MoU is an “administrative document” and that the information it contains could not possible damage the tech giant’s competitivity. Delano and Paperjam (in French) reported yesterday.

Luxembourg: 8 more covid deaths

Luxembourg's virus death toll on Wednesday reached 206 as eight more people died after being positive for Sars-CoV-2. 6.76% of tests carried out on Tuesday were positive, the health ministry reported. 181 people are hospitalized, with 38 patients in intensive care. Delano and the health ministry have more figures.

Meisch to address covid in schools

Education minister Claude Meisch will hold a press briefing this morning to address the situation of covid-19 in Luxembourg’s schools amid growing concern from parents and teachers. He will present the findings of a study into how the virus affected education facilities between the start of the new school year and the autumn half-term holidays. Delano will report on what he has to say in our noon briefing.

Hong Kong opposition quits

All 15 remaining opposition members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council are set to resign en masse on Thursday after four of their colleagues were disqualified. On Wednesday, China has passed a resolution allowing Hong Kong authorities to expel legislators deemed a threat to national security. The United States criticised the Chinese resolution and has threatened further sanctions. Reuters and The Guardian have details.

Something for the weekend

Friday 13 November: download Josh Island’s new track, ‘Fire In You’ and watch the Ben Andrews’ directed video. The Queer Little Lies festival at the Escher Theater continues with a dance performance titled “m.a.d. -mutually affirmed deviance” at 8pm. Saturday 14 November & Sunday 15 November: explore the work of 106 artists at the Bâtiment 4 collective show down in Esch. Sunday 15 November: more contemporary art is on show at Rotondes, with an exhibition by the four finalists of the Luxembourg Encouragement for Artists Prize.

Don’t “double-dip” and other food safety tips

The ever-reliable Bored Panda has listed some great food safety tips that many of us probably were unware of or simply ignore. The most worrying is that chopping boards are up to 200 times dirtier than a toilet seat. But you should also forget the so-called “5-second rule” as bacteria can attach to food as soon as it touches the floor. And in these especially sensitive times, sharing dips (“double-dipping” as Bored Panda puts it) is not a great idea--it can spread bacteria and viruses, even if the person you’re sharing with isn't visibly ill.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts