SWC’s Fast Five

Vaccines, again, we know but there’s more to understand about them including you likely won’t get to pick the one you get; that cyberattack that seems distant and far away but likely will come to each of our doorsteps; MLB makes a symbolic but important gesture and, well, we’ll just call it waste water news.

So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:

1 Called the worst-ever cyberattack on U.S. government will reach into business and households

The long list of affected U.S. government entities reportedly includes the Commerce Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, the Treasury Department, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Postal Service and the National Institutes of Health. The malware has also likely infected computers at thousands of private companies and organizations.

2 What’s different about Moderna

A late-stage trial with more than 30,000 participants showed the vaccine to be safe and more than 94 percent effective but is approved for use only in adults. More research is needed with teens. Pregnant and nursing women and those severely immunocompromised were not included in large enough numbers to provide clear guidance but will not be specifically excluded from receiving the vaccine.

3 What’s not so different between Moderna and Pfizer vaccines

Both use mRNA technology which teaches cells to make a protein that prompts an immune response, have more than 94 percent efficacy rates and have mild side effects. The differences flow to those who transport and give the vaccines.

4 Better late than never MLB

In the centennial year of the founding of the Negro Leagues, the MLB elevates it to major league status, “correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history.” Black representation at the top level of baseball has waned in recent years, falling to about 8 percent of MLB, down from nearly 20 percent in the 1980s.

5 Astronaut urine – this invention can turn it, and yours, into drinking water back home

Developments in space technology, like LED lighting, have brought benefits to the average Earthling. Now this water purification system designed to reuse every drop on moisture on the International Space Station has the potential to provide clean drinking water at home.