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By Edward Deitch, NBC Nightly News

Good Monday afternoon. A third Covid-19 vaccine candidate has been shown to be effective as the largest number of air travelers since March were screened at airport checkpoints, a worrying sign for the spread of the virus, while President-elect Biden announced a number of key cabinet choices.

Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.

AstraZeneca reports positive results of its vaccine candidate

AstraZeneca today became the third pharmaceutical company to announce positive results for a potential Covid-19 vaccine. The company said its vaccine, developed with Oxford University, was up to 90 percent effective.

In early analysis of its late-stage clinical trials, the vaccine was 70.4 percent effective overall in preventing Covid-19. Oxford studied two different doses of the vaccine. In one, the drug was 62 percent effective when given in two standard doses. In the other, it was 90 percent effective when the first dose was cut in half.

Vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna showed about 95 percent protection.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper than the others and easier to store. AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said “this vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against Covid-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency.”

Dr. Jha discusses 3rd COVID-19 vaccine candidate: ‘I’d be pretty comfortable getting any of them’

The vaccine news comes as the number of Covid-19 cases in the United States since the pandemic began reached 12.3 million, with almost 258,000 deaths. More than 83,000 Americans are now hospitalized with Covid-19, placing growing pressure on hospitals around the country. Denver is among the cities having trouble keeping up with demand for testing.

A study by Washington University in St. Louis said the number of confirmed cases is likely to increase to 20 million by the end of January, almost double the current level. One of the researchers, Professor Raphael Thomadsen, said that “even small increases in social distancing can have a large effect on the number of cases we observe in the next two and a half months.”

As the numbers surge, Los Angeles County will prohibit indoor and outdoor dining starting Wednesday at restaurants, breweries and wineries for a minimum of three weeks.

Nevada strengthened its mask mandate, requiring masks anytime people are around others not part of their immediate families, including private gatherings inside and outside.

Kentucky, which saw its highest weekly number of Covid cases, closed in-person instruction in all public and private schools.

Despite warnings against holiday travel with Covid cases increasing, the TSA screened more than one million passengers at airport security checkpoints yesterday, more than on any day since the pandemic began in March.

It was a troubling sign that people traveling to visit their families for the Thanksgiving holiday could increase the spread of the virus.

TSA sees highest passenger screening since mid-March

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Antony Blinken for secretary of state. Blinken was a deputy secretary of state under former President Obama and is expected to return to closer cooperation with U.S. allies in trying to solve global issues.

Biden will nominate Jake Sullivan as national security adviser. Sullivan, who worked closely with Blinken, served as Vice President Biden’s national security adviser and was a close adviser to Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state.

And the president-elect will nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a veteran of the Foreign Service who has held diplomatic posts around the world, as ambassador to the United Nations.

Biden said he will nominate Avril Haines, a former deputy CIA director, as director of national intelligence, making her the first woman to hold that post; Alejandro Mayorkas, a former deputy Homeland Security secretary, to head the department; and former Secretary of State John Kerry as special presidential envoy for climate change.

He will nominate Janet Yellen as treasury secretary. Yellen, a former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, would be the first woman to hold the job if she is confirmed by the Senate.

Biden to nominate Janet Yellen for treasury secretary

With election officials in Michigan and Pennsylvania expected to meet to certify the election results, Republicans in Pennsylvania mounted a last-minute legal challenge, asking a state court to stop the certification. Meanwhile, pressure increased from some Republicans for President Trump to acknowledge his defeat by President-elect Biden.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly traveled to Saudi Arabia over the weekend and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was the first known meeting between the crown prince and Netanyahu and was a potential breakthrough for Israel as it pushes for acceptance in the region.

General Motors said it will recall almost 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs because of potential problems with their Takata air bag inflators. The vehicles are from the 2007-2014 model years and include some Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra and GMC Yukon vehicles.

Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app.

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