(CNN) "I trust the science," said Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse in New York, who was among the first people in the United States to be vaccinated on Monday. Lindsay, who is Black, said she wanted to lead by example and inspire other people, who may be skeptical of getting a vaccine.
"I understand the mistrust among the minority community," she said. "I don't ask people to do anything that I would not do myself, and so I was happy to volunteer to be among the first."
Though it lasted just seconds, the shot represented a pivotal moment in history: A symbol of scientific speed and rigor; of the crushing burden borne by health care workers; of New York's journey from its dark days as the epicenter of the pandemic; and -- with two Black women front and center -- of the renewed focus on issues of race and gender, Eric Levenson writes.
But the ray of hope was overshadowed by another grim reminder of the virus' catastrophic impact. As vaccinations began, the US death toll reached a new record: 300,000. Covid-19 now kills one American every 40 seconds.
In a push to get the US to the other side of this deadly pandemic, officials are working tirelessly to tackle vaccine skepticism -- especially in minority communities.
"Nothing has been in my heart more than this issue over the past several weeks to months," US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told CNN. "I've been working with Pfizer, with Moderna, with AstraZeneca, with Johnson & Johnson, to make sure we have appropriate numbers of minorities enrolled in these vaccine trials so that people can understand that they are safe."
Adams said he's also been coordinating with faith leaders and fraternities and sororities, as well as celebrity influencers who can "use their megaphone to share the appropriate information with people, because vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest social injustices out there."
Q: Some Black and Latino Americans are still hesitant to take the vaccine. What is fueling that distrust?
A: America's history of racism in medical research and a lack of trust in the federal government is making some Black Americans and Latinos hesitant to take the vaccine, Nicquel Terry Ellis and Jason Carroll report.
But the Surgeon General has emphasized that there are now independent review boards and regulations in place to protect against incidents like the Tuskegee experiment.
Between 1932 and 1972, Black men in the Tuskegee syphilis study were deliberately left untreated so doctors could study the "natural course" of the disease, which can damage the organs -- including the brain, nerves, eyes and heart -- as it progresses.
Do you have questions about the vaccine? Send them here. International correspondents and experts will join CNN's town hall on Friday to discuss the vaccine and to examine why some in the Black community are reluctant to receive it.
Farmworkers, firefighters and flight attendants jockey for vaccine priority
With front-line health workers and nursing home residents and staff expected to get the initial doses of Covid vaccines in the US, the thornier question is figuring out who goes next.
The answer will likely depend on where you live, Kaiser Health News' Rachel Bluth and Phil Galewitz write.
While an influential federal advisory board is expected to make its recommendations later this month, state health departments and governors will make the call on who gets access to a limited number of vaccines this winter.
As a result, it's been a free-for-all in recent weeks, with manufacturers, grocers, bank tellers, dentists and drive-share companies all jostling to get a spot near the front of the line.
Europe's biggest economy is heading into lockdown. Will recession follow?
Germany, the fourth largest economy in the world, is heading into a national lockdown that could send it into another recession — a major warning as countries including the US try to battle a spike in coronavirus cases over the winter, Julia Horowitz writes.
What's happening: Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Germany would go into a "hard" lockdown starting this week and continuing through the Christmas period. Non-essential shops and schools will be shut starting on Wednesday, and Christmas gatherings will be reduced from 10 people to only five from two different households.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in an interview Monday that he thinks the country can avert another recession, thanks to government support measures, but, given the extent of the new restrictions, economists are worried.
London returns to strict lockdown as new Covid strain identified
London will return to a strict lockdown on Wednesday, amid warnings of a new strain of the virus spreading through parts of southern England. But the variant is nothing new -- or startling.
As with other new variants or strains, this one carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and it happens to be one that is now common. That does not mean the mutation has made it more easily spread -- and it certainly does not mean this variation is more dangerous.
Multiple experts in the genetics and epidemiology of viruses are noting that this one could be just a "lucky" strain that's been amplified because of a superspreader event; it could be the mutation somehow makes it spread more easily without causing more serious illness; or it could just be by chance.
Viruses mutate all the time and virtually all of these mutations are either neutral, or harmful to the virus.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday that if President-elect Joe Biden wants the newly released Covid-19 vaccine, the agency will ensure that he receives it.
Some 71% of Americans say they will "definitely or probably" get a Covid-19 vaccine, according to a survey out Tuesday from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Google has delayed a return to the office until September 2021, due to the pandemic.
Canada began rolling out Covid-19 vaccinations Monday, but officials fear supply issues due to a global scramble for early doses.
International arrival caps will leave tens of thousands of Australians stranded abroad this Christmas.
More than 30% of people in Japan want the 2021 Olympics -- due to be held in Tokyo -- canceled, a survey has found.
South Korea has reported nearly 900 new Covid-19 cases as the government considers tightening restrictions.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned Americans not to think the arrival of a vaccine means the pandemic is over.
"I don't believe we're going to be able to throw the masks away and forget about physical separation in congregate settings for a while, probably likely until we get into the late fall and early next winter," he said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual health event on Monday.
Here are three things you shouldn't do until things are under control:
"Trailer-loads that are coming out of Michigan and Wisconsin will carry this device, which has a GPS, also atmospheric pressure, motion detection, light detection and, of course, temperature. So we can see on the trailer-loads exactly where they are." -- Wes Wheeler, President of Healthcare, UPS
This week, nearly three million doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine will be delivered to more than 600 vaccination sites around the US. Today, CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean takes us behind the scenes of this historic operation and follows a vial of vaccine on its journey from manufacture to injection. Listen Now.