The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a devastating toll: more than 2 million people have died, and millions of others have gotten sick, sometimes seriously so. However, the pandemic's full consequences are harder to measure. What's happening, for instance, to the millions of children still learning from home—and the people who care for them?
It may take decades to fully assess the educational damage caused by COVID-19, but the existing evidence doesn't look good: UNICEF estimated in September that 1 billion children were at risk of falling behind in school. In some places, kids are heading back to the classroom, but rarely all of them—as my colleague Katie Reilly reports, only 37.8% of U.S. K-12 students are attending schools offering daily in-person classes, while 38.2% are attending schools offering virtual instruction only.
Behind every child stuck at home is an adult who must care for them throughout the work day—and in most cases, that's a woman. We need to get children back in school not only for the sake of their education, but also to ensure women aren't forced to sacrifice their careers to care for their families. If that trend continues, it could widen the gender poverty gap and threaten families' financial security.
President Joe Biden has said he wants to reopen most schools within his first 100 days in office—so, by April 30. Unfortunately, as Katie reports, that won't be easy. The virus' rampant spread in many communities makes it riskier to open schools, especially because many teachers remain unvaccinated. With only a few months of the school year left, many schools are unlikely to reopen before summer.
Still, the Biden team is trying. Katie points out that the President is asking Congress to give schools more funding and directing his administration to share guidance and data to help them reopen, as experts urged the federal government to do months ago. The key thing to remember, as Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last week: "We'e not going to get back to normal until we get the children back in school."
While 37.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, only about 26 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker—representing 7.8% of the overall U.S. population.
Russia's Sputnik vaccine is 91.6% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe disease, according to a study published today in The Lancet. The research, a randomized Phase 3 trial that followed nearly 22,000 vaccinated adults in Moscow, also found that the vaccine was safe, with only 0.3% of people in the vaccine group reporting serious adverse events, none of which are thought to be related to the shot itself. The results rebut concerns over the Russian vaccine, and suggest it will be a welcome new weapon in the global fight to end the pandemic.
Moderna has proposed a novel way to inoculate more people: putting 50% more vaccine in each vial, thereby raising the number of doses per vial from 10 to 15, the New York Times reports. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could decide whether to O.K. the move within the next few weeks. The industry standard is 10 doses per vial, but Moderna has found that its vials are big enough to hold the additional doses without breaking.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 103.4 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 2.2 million people have died. On Feb. 1, there were 443,547 new cases and 10,068 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here is every country with over 1.5 million confirmed cases:
The Palestinian Authority launched a vaccination campaign today after health workers received 2,000 doses from Israel, with additional supply from Russia and Covax expected in the coming days, Reuters reports. Israel has one of the most successful vaccine programs in the world, but activists have criticized the country for failing to do enough to aid inoculation efforts in Palestinian areas.
A 100-year-old British World War II veteran who raised £33 million for the United Kingdom's National Health Service has died after being infected with the coronavirus, the BBC reported today. Sir Tom Moore received global praise after soliciting donations for taking laps around his garden before his birthday in April.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 26.3 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 443,000 people have died. On Feb. 1, there were 130,759 new cases and 1,881 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
The Biden Administration will begin sending vaccines to about 6,500 pharmacies starting on Feb. 11, COVID-19 czar Jeffrey Zients announced during a White House briefing today. Up to 40,000 pharmacies across the country could eventually provide vaccinations as the national supply increases. "This will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities, and it's an important component to delivering vaccines equitably," Zients said. The Biden Administration also announced it will increase the number of doses it's sending to states to 10.5 million a week, a 22% jump.
Andrew Yang, a former presidential candidate who's now running for mayor of New York City, announced today that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. "I'm experiencing mild symptoms, but am otherwise feeling well and in good spirits," Yang wrote on Twitter.
A Wyoming state lawmaker who opposed COVID-19 restrictions died after testing positive for the virus, according to his son, the Associated Press reports. Roy Edwards, 66, was initially told by a medical professional that he had sinusitis, but was hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19 after his condition worsened.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Feb. 2, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Comparing the Vaccines
Although it's key to remember that receiving any FDA-authorized is safer than going unvaccinated, there are some differences between the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines (the lattermost of which is not yet authorized, but should be soon). Here, STAT breaks down those differences. Read more here.
The United Kingdom's Variant Hunt
England is conducting door-to-door testing in some communities to limit the spread of a new coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa, the AP reports. Read more here.
The Mental Health Toll For Children
Pandemic-related stress and loneliness has had a devastating impact on many people's mental health—including children, who are showing increased risk of suicide, NPR reports. Read more here, and if you or someone you love needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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