Live updates: Russian vaccine over 91% effective against coronavirus, peer-reviewed test results show

Here are some significant developments:

  • President Biden met with 10 moderate Republican senators proposing a much smaller coronavirus relief bill than the one the president wants. No deal was reached.
  • Anthony S. Fauci, chief medical adviser for the Biden administration’s coronavirus response team, sat down with The Washington Post’s David Ignatius to discuss virus variants, vaccination rollouts and when Americans can return to “normal.”
  • The rate of new infections is declining in the United States after rapid increases over the holiday season. The seven-day average of new cases was down 13 percent. Deaths, however, increased by 2 percent, following record hospitalizations, according to data tracked by The Washington Post.
  • Montgomery County, Md., health officials have confirmed two cases of the variant found in South Africa.
  • Capt. Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old veteran who raised almost $45 million for Britain’s National Health Service by repeatedly walking the length of his garden during the nationwide lockdown last year, has died, his family announced Tuesday.
  • A fast, at-home coronavirus test will be available to Americans later this year, after the White House announced a $231.8 million contract with the test’s Australian maker, Ellum.
  • Data on race and ethnicity was not collected for nearly half of the people receiving vaccines for the first month they were available, threatening efforts to ensure an equitable response to the pandemic.
Source: WP