We could find out this month if a vaccine works

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Hello,

It's Election Day here in the US. By the time the next edition of this newsletter hits your inbox, we could know quite a lot about the results — or very little.

In the meantime, let me be the millionth person to remind you to vote. There are 30 states that require companies to give their employees time off to vote.

The election is happening at a point in the pandemic where case counts are once again rising significantly.

"We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic," White House advisor Dr. Deborah Birx wrote in a Monday report obtained by the Washington Post.

Be sure to follow along with all of Business Insider's election night coverage including:

• The presidential race
• Senate race results
• ...and House of Representatives results

I'm spending the next few days in the Midwest before finishing up a move to Denver. I'm excited to be near family for the next year of the pandemic, enjoying a socially distanced ski season and a smidge more space to work from home!

Some team news before we get into your typical healthcare updates: We have a new reporter in our ranks!

Shelby Livingston joined us Monday as a senior reporter covering the new ways people are going to the doctor and how that's being paid for. I'll be sure to let you know when she drops her first byline, but in the meantime, be sure to follow her on Twitter and send her tips at slivingston@businessinsider.com.

Here's what's happening in healthcare on Election Day: A reminder that we'll likely know this month if a coronavirus vaccine works, an Oprah-backed healthcare company is meeting with bankers, and Texas has overtaken California as the state with the most COVID-19 infections.

We're set to find out this month whether a coronavirus vaccine works. Here's everything we know about the timeline and when you might be able to get a shot.

• By the end of this year, there will likely be more than 50 coronavirus vaccine candidates in human testing, a Business Insider review found.
• There are 241 ongoing research efforts to develop a vaccine, according to the World Health Organization.
• Here's what to expect in 2020 and 2021, with a timeline compiled of all the development efforts.

Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>

An Oprah-backed healthcare venture founded by Dr. Oz and the creator of WebMD is meeting with bankers about going public

• Healthcare startup Sharecare is meeting with bankers to explore going public in 2021, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.
• Selling itself to another company is also on the table, the person said.
• Sharecare would one of more than a dozen digital health startups to go public in the last two years.

Read the full story from Blake Dodge here>>

Texas has overtaken California as the state with the most COVID-19 infections. It has recorded more than 950,000 cases since the pandemic began.

• Texas overtook California on Saturday as the state that has recorded the most COVID-19 infections during the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• As of that day, Texas had recorded 931,750 total cases, the university said.
• On Monday, total COVID-19 cases in Texas stood at 957,108, compared to 938,883 in California, the New York Times reported.

Read the full story from Kate Duffy here>>

More stories we're reading:

• The head of the World Health Organization is in quarantine after a contact tested positive for COVID-19 (Business Insider)
• Prisons are nixing copays for prisoners who request medical care amid the pandemic (The Marshall Project)
• Inside Hims' prescribing practices that have grown it into a $1.6 billion direct-to-consumer healthcare company (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• Mask mandates have become a defining issue in Iowa (Politico)
• WATCH: Geriatricians debunk 14 aging myths (Business Insider)

Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for some post-election healthcare coverage!

- Lydia