A version of this story appeared in the February 19 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
“But also, as the weeks and months go by, as you vaccinate more and more people, you have a vaccine that works against this variant,” Fauci added. “So if we roll out the vaccine … and get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can while we maintain the public health measures, we should be in good stead.”
Biden will also pledge an additional $2 billion in funding contingent on contributions from other nations and dose delivery targets being met, as fears mount that the longer it takes to achieve vaccination globally, the greater the risk that new variants may flourish.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is chairing the meeting, will call on world leaders to cut the time it takes to develop new vaccines down to 100 days. The UK, which has secured enough doses to cover its population four times over, has pledged to send the bulk of future surplus vaccines to COVAX. In contrast, US administration officials said no decision had been made on directly donating its surplus doses to other countries – a key part in speeding up efforts to get the world’s population vaccinated.
COVAX hopes to provide vaccinations to at least 20% of the population of the world’s poorest countries by the end of this year. There have been questions as to whether it could achieve that goal, due to challenges in acquiring sufficient funding and supplies. The US contribution will make up significant ground, but many say it is not enough.
The unfair reality is just 10 countries have administered 75% of the world’s available Covid-19 vaccine supply, while more than 130 nations haven’t even received their first doses, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said this week. Rich countries are on track to stockpile over 1 billion “more doses of Covid-19 vaccines than they need to fully vaccinate all their citizens … leaving billions of people with little hope of receiving a vaccine this year,” analysis by the One Campaign found.
The United States is on the brink of recording 500,000 deaths from Covid-19 – meaning that one in 660 Americans have now died from the disease.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED
Q: Are the US winter storms affecting Covid-19 vaccination distribution?
A: Vaccine distribution in states and cities across the US is slowing down because of winter storms that left more than a third of the continental US with below-zero temperatures Monday.
That can be worrisome for people who were set to receive their second dose of the two-dose Covid-19 vaccines, which are supposed to have a second inoculation administered three or four weeks after the first. If you’re one of those people, there’s good news.
Q: J&J’s vaccine has lower efficacy than Moderna and Pfizer. Is it a second-class vaccine?
Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you’re facing: +1 347-322-0415.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Separately, a team at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna published a letter in the same journal outlining findings from an experiment they reported last month. They also reported a reduction in the antibody response to viruses genetically engineered to look like the B.1.351 variant – but not enough of a reduction to make the vaccine work any less.
There’s more evidence that a single dose of coronavirus vaccine might be enough to significantly reduce disease. An Israeli study found that people who got a single dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine were increasingly less likely to develop Covid-19 symptoms as time passed, and they were 85% less likely to get sick two to four weeks after getting their first shot. Canadian researchers also found that one dose of the vaccine provided more than 90% protection.
The findings are likely to bolster calls to delay second doses in order to give as many people as possible the protection of a first dose of the scarce vaccines. The United Kingdom has taken this approach in recent weeks.
It comes after Pfizer/BioNTech announced Thursday that the first participants of its global Covid-19 vaccine trial for pregnant women have received their first doses.
European countries caught in a vaccine no man’s land
Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are still waiting to receive their first vaccine shipments, while rollouts in Albania and Northern Macedonia have so far been limited to a few hundred people.
The Western Balkan countries are key allies and possible future members of the European Union, but they have been left out of the bloc’s immediate vaccine supply plans. And they are also not a top priority for programs like COVAX, which are designed to help the world’s poorest countries access vaccines.
Not willing to wait, the strategically placed region is scrambling to secure vaccines from China and Russia, Ivana Kottasová reports.
Taiwan blames ‘external forces’ for blocking BioNTech vaccine deal. China says it had nothing to do with it
The Chinese government has denied it obstructed Taiwan’s coronavirus vaccine purchase from BioNTech, calling it a “pure fabrication,” after the island’s health minister revealed that its deal with the German drugmaker fell through at the last minute due to possible “political pressure,” Nectar Gan reports.
A day earlier, Taiwanese health minister Chen Shih-chung said in a radio interview that Taiwan and BioNTech were about to sign a deal for 5 million vaccine doses in December, when the company suddenly backed out. “In the process of (discussing the deal) I had always worried that there would be external forces intervening,” Chen said, without naming any country. “We believe there was political pressure,” he said. “Back then we had already prepared our press release. But certain people don’t want Taiwan to be too happy.”
This device is crucial in the fight against Covid. It may not work on dark skin
ON OUR RADAR
- As the WHO investigated origins of Covid-19 in China this month, Beijing pushed a baseless conspiracy that the virus emerged from a US laboratory.
- Stop disinfecting your groceries. Food and food packaging are highly unlikely to spread Covid-19, experts say.
- The level of Covid-19 cases among children reflects measures of wider community transmission, not whether schools were open, a CNN analysis found.
- Grocery store workers have been stocking shelves, handling customers and keeping stores tidy in challenging and sometimes dangerous pandemic conditions, but the vaccine remains elusive to them.
TOP TIP
As of Wednesday, users can connect their Google Maps accounts with their Google Pay wallets and make transportation-related payments without ever leaving the app. By bypassing parking meters and train ticket machines, people can save time and also avoid public areas — a plus during the pandemic. Read more.
Diving in the oceans, marine biologist Erika Woolsey has seen first-hand how coral reefs and sea life are being damaged by climate change. It has made her determined to find a way for others to share her experience – including those who can’t easily explore the ocean. Through her non-profit, The Hydrous, Woolsey is using virtual reality to “bring the ocean to everyone.”
During the pandemic, the San Francisco-based collective of scientists, filmmakers and divers is taking people on immersive virtual dives to create a sense of “universal ocean empathy,” raising awareness of reef damage and inspiring action to protect our seas. Here’s how.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“Nobody wants to experience any side effects, but I can safely say they shouldn’t cause you alarm or be a reason, by any means, to avoid the vaccine.” – CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
In today’s episode, Dr. Gupta answers listeners’ questions about the vaccine, from new avenues of distribution to the question on everyone’s mind: What am I allowed to do now that I’ve had my shots? Listen now.

















