Week in review: Vaccine brings new hope in virus fight [The Record, Stockton, Calif] A vaccine that comes at possibly the darkest period yet in the coronavirus pandemic is bringing new hope and the prospect of a break for area and state hospitals under siege by a crush of critical coronavirus patients. More: First San Joaquin County frontline health care workers receive COVID-19 vaccine By week’s end, as the county’s death toll had hit 561 and California recorded more than 41,000 new cases and 300 deaths in a single day Friday, health care workers were continuing to receive the new Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The rollout will continue over the coming days, weeks and months in phases, with the highest risk first in line. By phase 4, everyone in the U.S. should have a chance for the shot.