Coronavirus Watch: Another vaccine trial enters Phase 3. This one may need just 1 shot

Johnson & Johnson says it's entering the final trial stage for its candidate COVID-19 vaccine, the only vaccine candidate to make it to that stage that could require just one dose.

That's significant because it could ease the potential challenges of delivering a safe and effective vaccine to the American public. The other drug makers currently in Phase 3 trials are producing vaccine candidates that would require two shots.

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here is the most significant news of the day, as of 12:30 p.m. ET:

• While Johnson & Johnson plans to enroll 60,000 participants worldwide, the FDA is also preparing to announce a higher standard for emergency authorization of a coronavirus vaccine in an effort to gain public trust, according to reports from the New York Times and Washington Post on Tuesday.
• Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the same Senate panel that since-reversed changes to the agency's testing guidelines that drew sharp criticism last month from infectious disease experts were misinterpreted. The guidelines said asymptomatic people may not need a COVID-19 test after exposure to the virus, but the agency has since reinforced the need for all people who have been exposed to get tested.
• New York City has seen an uptick in coronavirus cases in several neighborhoods that is causing city officials "significant concern."
• The Miami-Dade County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to start a staggered reopening plan on Oct. 14 in the country's fourth-largest district. 
• Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court for the final time Wednesday. A public viewing was being held outdoors on the front portico of the court for two days.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 6.9 million cases and 201,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Five states – Minnesota, Montana, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming – set records for new cases in a week through late Tuesday while Montana a record number of deaths in a week. Globally, there have been more than 31.6 million cases and 972,000 fatalities. 

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– Ryan Miller, breaking news reporter, @RyanW_Miller