Black Friday makes way for online sales, cognitive overload during COVID-19, and the CDC’s messaging woes

Good morning, communicators:

AstraZeneca has announced promising results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, becoming the third company to report a successful vaccine in the fight against the global pandemic.

Pfizer and Moderna have both reported effective protection rates above 90% with their vaccines, much higher than the FDA’s 50% threshold. AstraZeneca says its vaccine is 70% effective with a potential rate at 90%, a variance caused by competing dosing strategies in its trials.

The New York Times reported:

On average, the vaccine was 70 percent effective across the two dosing plans. The company said its vaccine could be stored for at least six months in a standard refrigerator, rather than under the intense chill required by other leading coronavirus vaccines, easing the distribution of a vaccine that is also cheaper and easier to produce than some of its competitors.

Here are today’s top stories:

Retailers like Walmart and Home Depot, once hot destinations during the American post-Thanksgiving shopping holiday bonanza, are moving their annual sales and promotions ahead of the holiday season online and are stretching the sales to last over several days.