7 Things: First vaccine doses in Alabama given to health care workers, McConnell calls Biden ‘president-elect,’ University of Alabama study suggests state lottery proceeds be used to pay for college and more …

7. Walmart closes third Alabama store

• After what appears to be a coronavirus outbreak related to the Walmart located on South Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, the big-box giant has decided to close the store until 7:00 a.m. Thursday to allow for crews to clean and sanitize the building.
• This is the third store in Alabama to close for this reason, with stores in Jasper and Scottsboro closing in recent days. This is all part of the company’s strategy for dealing with the coronavirus.

6. Buttigieg for transportation secretary

• Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to be the transportation secretary, a job in which he has no relevant experience. Now, there are reports that when Buttigieg was mayor of South Bend, he had some issues with potholes.
• The South Bend Tribune said that residents felt that they had the “worst pothole situation in the state,” but the decision to appoint Buttigieg has already been praised as if he would be the first openly LGBTQ+ cabinet pick in United States history. This, of course, is not true because Richard Grenell was the acting director of National Intelligence — a cabinet-level position.

5. Another former state legislator passes away

• After being diagnosed with the coronavirus, former State Rep. Richard Laird (I-Roanoake) has passed away at 81-years-old. He was a representative from 1978-2014, when he decided not to run for reelection. Laird’s death comes one week after former State Sen. Larry Dixon (R-Montgomery) died of the coronavirus, as well.
• Laird was a Democrat until 2013, which is when he switched to being an independent. He said he was “leaving the party because I think it left me a long time ago.” His passing was confirmed by his family.

4. Should state lottery pay for college?

• Some researchers from the University of Alabama have suggested that Alabama should legalize a statewide lottery and use the revenue from the lottery to pay for college tuition for students within the state. There are currently 45 states that have a lottery, and this is used as a reason to look at what should and shouldn’t be done. 
• Researchers from the Education Policy Center at UA said this should be done since the state “lacks a comprehensive student-aid program and lags far behind in college degree attainment.” They detailed that the College Promise program should be similar to the one in Tennessee.

3. McConnell has acknowledged Biden as the winner

• While speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered his congratulations to “President-elect Joe Biden,” adding, “The Electoral College has spoken.”
• McConnell also mentioned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, saying, “[A]ll Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.” With McConnell’s recent statements, it’s made many skeptical that U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) will be able to get a senator to join him in rejecting the Electoral College vote on January 6. 

2. Fauci: Give Biden, Harris, Pence and Trump the vaccine

• As the coronavirus vaccine has started being distributed across the country, Dr. Anthony Fauci has now started advocating for some of the top politicians in the country to get the vaccine soon. Fauci said that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris should be vaccinated as soon as possible for “security reasons.”
• Fauci went on to say that President Donald Trump should also get the vaccine, because while his antibodies from having the virus could last for several more months, it would be a good measure for Trump to take. He also specifically mentioned that Vice President Mike Pence should get vaccinated, as well. 

1. Vaccinations administered across the state

• The first Pfizer vaccines have been distributed across the state of Alabama as more shipments of the vaccine arrived at vaccination sites. The director of critical care at Southeast Health in Dothan Dr. Walter Doty was the first recipient.
• Half of the first round of vaccinations will go to health care workers in hospitals, 15% to EMS, 20% to hospital staff and 15% to physician offices. The vaccine has to be given in two shots done three weeks apart to be fully effective in preventing the coronavirus.