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Is the U.S. losing the race against coronavirus variants? Yes. But are vaccinations about to accelerate in a big way? Yes. But does everyone still need to take it easy, keep their masks on, and give it a few more weeks before licking the doorknobs at Applebee’s? Public-health experts sure seem to think so.
- CDC chief Rochelle Walensky warned on Monday that she felt a sense of “impending doom” about a potential fourth surge: “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.” Walensky was fighting back tears, which top health officials are only allowed to do by law when they are very distressed, because the U.S. coronavirus plateau has vanished: The seven-day average for new daily cases is now at nearly 60,000, up 10 percent from the previous week. Hospitalizations and deaths have begun to rise, too.
- Much of that reversal can be traced to governors rolling back safety restrictions prematurely as the more contagious coronavirus strains wreak havoc, and it’s not limited to GOP-led states (though Florida’s “win over the virus by inviting it to spring break” strategy is not going great). New York is back at the top of the infection-rate chart, six weeks after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) reopened indoor dining in New York City. Michigan is seeing an alarming surge driven largely by young people, with dozens of outbreaks reported in schools.
- On Monday, President Biden urged state and local leaders to maintain and reimpose mask mandates, and pause their reopening plans. So far, roughly 15.8 percent of the American population has been fully vaccinated—not a chunky enough segment to slow the spread of the virus, or to justify a more relaxed public-health posture. In recognition of the fact that this crisis won’t be over in a matter of days, the Biden administration has extended the CDC’s eviction moratorium through the end of June.
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Here’s the good news: We won’t be quite so outpaced by the variants for long.
- Biden announced that at least 90 percent of U.S. adults will be eligible to get a vaccine by April 19. By that time, the federal government will have expanded the number of pharmacies receiving vaccine shipments from 17,000 to 40,000, meaning the vast majority of Americans will be able to access a vaccination site within five miles of their home. At least 31 states have already announced they’ll start jabbing everyone in sight in the coming days. In New York, anyone over age 30 will be eligible as of Tuesday.
- Here’s the other good news: A new CDC study found the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be highly effective at preventing infections—both symptomatic and asymptomatic—under real-world conditions. The study looked at nearly 4,000 health-care workers, first responders, and others on the front lines between mid-December and mid-March. Even with the spooky new strains already circulating, the vaccines were 80 percent effective two weeks after the first dose, and up to 90 percent effective two weeks after the second dose.
The vaccine news continues to be overwhelmingly good, but the nation’s coronavirus situation is increasingly tenuous. Optimism can’t mean pre-emptive celebration: Either we pair vaccinations with the basic safety measures we know to work, or thousands of people will never celebrate at all.
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It’s high time for Washington DC to become a state. You know it, DC residents know it, and these funky new shirts we designed know it, too. Slip one on and help us spread the word! As always, a portion of every order at the Crooked Store goes to VoteRiders, an organization working to inform citizens of their state’s voter ID requirements and help them secure the documents they need to vote. Support DC statehood, voting access, and fresh spring fits at the Crooked Store →
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Opening arguments and testimony began in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin on Monday, before a multiracial jury. The case will hinge on the cause of George Floyd’s death: Prosecutors played the harrowing video of Chauvin suffocating Floyd for jurors during their opening statements, saying that Chauvin used lethal force and Floyd died of oxygen deprivation as a result. The defense argued that Floyd died as a result of an underlying heart condition, his use of fentanyl, and “the adrenaline flowing through his body.” (The Hennepin County medical examiner concluded that Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes 29 seconds was, in fact, a significant factor in his death.) The prosecution’s first witness was 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry, who said she had a gut feeling that “something wasn’t right” when she realized the camera on Floyd and Chauvin wasn’t frozen, and called a police sergeant. Later, a mixed martial arts fighter who had tried to intervene testified that he believed Chauvin was killing Floyd. The trial is being livestreamed, a first in Minnesota history—you can watch each day’s proceedings here.
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- The big stuck boat is stuck no more, though big-boat experts warn that it may be forever stuck...in our hearts.
- Myanmar’s military killed at least 114 people on Saturday, the deadliest day since the coup on February 1. In response, the Biden administration has suspended a trade pact with Myanmar until a democratically elected government is reinstated.
- A Michigan judge dismissed terrorism charges against three men who allegedly plotted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI): “There has to be some form of intent here to incite mayhem.” Judge Michael Klaeren did feel there was enough evidence for the three remaining charges of gang membership, providing material support for terrorism, and using a firearm during a felony.
- The NAACP and several other organizations have filed another lawsuit challenging Georgia’s new voter-suppression law.
- Inspired by their terrible neighbors, Florida Republicans are considering a bill that would make it a crime to give voters food or water.
- Anywho, here’s how Koch-funded dark-money groups are trying to block the passage of H.R.1 through the filibuster, after realizing they had no chance of drumming up public opposition—even among right-wing voters.
- Deborah Birx tried to make us all forget that she was Donald Trump's loyal coronavirus toady in a new CNN documentary, and Trump responded with a lengthy, insane attack suggesting that he, at least, has forgotten all about it.
- Severe flash floods in Nashville, TN, over the weekend left at least four people dead. The storm brought the second-highest 48 hour rainfall total in the city’s history.
- Nike has sued the designer behind Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes, which Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) tweeted about in the voice of a pastor who’s about to be arrested for embezzlement: “Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it's ‘exclusive.’ But do you know what's more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul.”
- Trump crashed a Mar-a-Lago wedding to rant about the election, like some kind of tacky Victorian ghost.
- Once in a blue moon, a very important FOIA request gets a quick response.
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Tennessee and Arkansas have become the latest states to pass anti-trans sports bills, joining Mississippi in the shame corner. On Monday, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would ban access to gender-affirming treatments to trans minors, sending it to the desk of Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR). Chase Strangio, the ACLU’s deputy director for transgender justice called the bill “the single most extreme anti-trans law to ever pass through a state legislature.” Last week, a pediatric doctor in Arkansas testified in the state Senate that her ER treated multiple kids who attempted suicide after the bill passed the House. Twenty-eight states are currently considering anti-trans bills, which fall into two main categories: Banning trans girls from participating in school sports, and restricting trans kids’ access to health care. One bit of great news in a very bleak trend: South Dakota’s anti-trans sports bill has bitten the dust, after legislators rejected Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R-SD) changes and failed to override her veto. Here’s where to keep track of all active anti-trans bills, so you can scream at your state lawmakers accordingly.
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The Biden administration has announced a plan to greatly expand wind farms along the East Coast, and generate enough power for more than 10 million homes by the end of the decade.
The Education Department will erase the federal student-loan debts of tens of thousands of borrowers who have significant disabilities.
A New York judge ruled that the state must immediately start offering coronavirus vaccines to all incarcerated people.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would consider boycotting the MLB All-Star Game if it’s held in Atlanta as scheduled, increasing pressure on the league to take a stand against Georgia’s voter-suppression law.
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