For those of us here in the United States, it's hard not to feel a sense of coronavirus relief these days. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans are fully vaccinated, infection rates are generally trending downwards across the country, and it's once again possible to leave your front door without carrying the weight of existential outbreak-related dread along with you.
But the situation could not be any more different elsewhere in the world where the virus is still spreading unchecked, like India. Just a few months ago, it seemed that the world's second-most populous country might be spared the worst of the coronavirus. Sadly, that turned out to be wishful thinking, as India is now in the grips of what's shaping up as the world's worst COVID-19 outbreak yet. Officially, more than 300,000 people are getting sick each day; unofficially, that number is likely far higher. Deaths are climbing to match, with at least 2,000 people dying every day as the country's hospital system is crushed under the load. Many Indian coronavirus patients are dying before they can even get admitted to a hospital, and those lucky enough to be hospitalized are sometimes being crammed three to a bed. India's hospitals are also woefully short of supplies like oxygen and remdesivir, a drug commonly used to treat coronavirus patients.
Unlike earlier outbreaks, India's current surge comes as multiple highly effective vaccines are available. Mass vaccination is clearly India's way out of its current hell, but the country has been slow to inoculate residents—only about 10% of India's 1.4 billion residents have received a shot so far. In part, that's because it's an immense logistical challenge to vaccinate that many people in a place where access to health care was a challenge even before the pandemic. Critics have also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of bungling India’s vaccine rollout (and wider coronavirus response). But it's also due to a lack of supply. That's a tragedy, as India is making a great deal of the world's vaccine doses—it's a little like dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean.
As my colleague Jamie Ducharme reports, India is taking steps to secure more doses. For instance, it's pausing some vaccine exports to focus on its domestic rollout—though as she points out, that might compromise vaccination campaigns in countries that were counting on Indian-made doses, potentially setting the stage for nightmarish outbreaks elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, the Biden Administration recently said it would send badly-needed raw supplies to India to help increase its vaccine output, a major shift in U.S. policy. Foreign governments are helping in other ways as well, including by sending oxygen and other supplies.
But as Jamie reports, the single best thing for India—and other countries with massive COVID-19 outbreaks—may be for countries with an excess number of vaccine doses, like the U.S., to send their extras where they're most needed in the world. Indeed, the Biden Administration announced today that it would share up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries, once it clears federal safety reviews. (It is not yet authorized for use in the U.S.)
In the meanwhile, it can be all too tempting for those of us in the U.S. and other places where the virus is under control to simply look away. Indeed, it's critical for our collective mental health to seek joy however we can right now, and it's tough to grapple with the dissonance of relative calm here and chaos abroad. But India's crisis is the world's crisis. Wherever COVID-19 spreads unchecked, it can mutate into dangerous and potentially vaccine-evading new forms, threatening global health, experts told Jamie. While it may seem beyond any of our individual powers to turn the tide of a massive viral outbreak, the least we can do is bear witness and find little ways to help.
Nearly 290.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this afternoon, of which nearly 230.8 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 28.9% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
States across the U.S. resumed use of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine over the weekend after regulators found the benefits of the shot greatly outweigh the risks. That decision came after use of the J&J shot was briefly paused this month following reports of blood clotting in 15 out of nearly 8 million recipients. However, it may take time for public faith in the J&J vaccine to recover from the episode.
Over 5 million people in the U.S. who received their first dose of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines have missed their second dose, the New York Times reports. For some, challenges scheduling a second appointment for the right brand left them confused and frustrated. For others, side effects from the first dose have left them fearful of a second. While a single shot of either two-dose vaccine has been shown to confer at least some protection, recipients are advised to get both doses to ensure maximal efficacy and longevity.
The European Union is suing vaccine maker AstraZeneca over an alleged breach of contract, Reuters reports. While the EU's contract with AstraZeneca called for the company to make its "best reasonable efforts" to deliver 180 million doses to the bloc in the second quarter of this year, the firm said in mid-March that it would only be able to ship 70 million. Europe needs all the vaccine doses it can get; only about 9% of residents have been fully vaccinated so far.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 146.8 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 3.1 million people have died. On April 25, there were 374,873 new cases and 6,968 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 2.5 million confirmed cases:
Hong Kong and Singapore are set to open a quarantine-free travel corridor one month from today, the BBC reports. The corridor was supposed to open back in November, but was delayed amid a spike in infections in Hong Kong. The deal follows a similar arrangement launched earlier this month by New Zealand and Australia.
At least 82 people are dead after a massive fire broke out in a Baghdad coronavirus hospital on Saturday, the Associated Press reports. Officials have blamed the inferno on an exploding oxygen tank.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 32 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 572,200 people have died. On April 25, there were 31,962 new cases and 279 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:
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to share new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tomorrow regarding outdoor mask use, CNN reports. It's unclear what that guidance will be, but some experts have recently called for relaxed rules on wearing a mask while outside, especially for vaccinated people who aren't lingering near others.
Need another incentive to get a COVID-19 shot? Here's one: Fully vaccinated Americans will be allowed to visit the European Union's 27 member states this summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the New York Times over the weekend. “The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” von der Leyen said. “This will enable free movement and travel to the European Union." However, she stopped short of offering a precise timetable, and added that such a change will depend on the "epidemiological situation" in both the U.S. and Europe.
Kids going to summer camp this year should be kept a minimum of three feet from one another and should be masked whenever possible, the CDC said in updated guidance issued over the weekend. Campers from different "cohorts"—groups—should stay six feet apart, as should campers and counselors. Campers should also be kept six feet apart while eating, the CDC says.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 26, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Moderna Doubles Down on mRNA
In an open letter published this morning, drugmaker Moderna further pledged to work on mRNA-based vaccines for a variety of illnesses other than COVID-19. It's already working on a cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine, and plans to start an influenza vaccine study this year. Read more here.
Our Shrinking Social Circles
Getting vaccinated means it's safer to revitalize old friendships and connections—but it's also a good moment to reevaluate who you spend time with and why, suggests writer Kate Murphy in this New York Times column. Read more here.
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 Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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