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Weeks before states expect to receive their first shipments of Covid-19 vaccines, conflicting messages from the federal government have obscured exactly how many doses may arrive. Some governors, including New York’s Andrew Cuomo and California’s Gavin Newsom, have made splashy announcements about how much of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s vaccines they expect should the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize them this month. Other states can’t provide a solid answer given how quickly estimates change.

Forget one-time holiday deals. “We’re seeing a different transformation in the retail market and e-commerce is taking off in ways that are unbelievable,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois. That means you will need to do more research for the best price. “It’s prudent for people to sign up for a variety of retailers online and have emails come because they’ll tell you when their sales are,” Jacobson said. This year mindful gifts that focus on self-care or that can be used at home are topping holiday lists.

Recent announcements by Pfizer and BioNTech SE, Moderna, and AstraZeneca on their coronavirus vaccines have been promising. With so many companies racing to develop a vaccine, there are certain to be additional announcements forthcoming, ideally with comparable or even better efficacy data, less stringent cold-chain storage requirements, and even less adverse side effects. Although there are many more hurdles to traverse, establishing the efficacy of a vaccine in less than one year is nothing short of remarkable.

College basketball has kicked off, with hundreds of games on the schedule over the next few weeks. At the same time, holiday travel and celebrations sparked fears of new surges in COVID-19 cases across the nation. If ever there was a perfect storm of uncertainty surrounding college sports, this is it. The college basketball season has not started under ideal conditions. Infections have been reported among several high-profile coaches, including Scott Drew of Baylor (ranked No. 2 in the coaches' preseason poll), Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.

For supply chains hobbled in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, it won’t be easy to hobble the pandemic in 2021 by distributing millions of doses of vaccine in the U.S. alone. Airlines and trucking companies tasked with delivering the vaccine will need to figure out how to keep the vaccines as cold as minus 70 degrees Celsius. The airline industry will need to be ready to transport millions of doses despite being pummeled so badly by the pandemic that it was forced to slash services and reduce fleets.