U.S. President Joe Biden sparked countless headlines Friday when he equated Facebook’s failure to control COVID-19 misinformation with "killing people." The Biden-versus-Facebook news cycle is starting to die down—but the fight between the White House and Big Tech is just beginning, my colleagues Alana Abramson and Vera Bergengruen report.
The Biden Administration has signaled numerous times that it will be combative toward Big Tech. Biden, for example, tapped industry critics for top positions at the Federal Trade Commission and the National Economic Council, and called for an end to laws that prevent social media companies from being held liable for harmful content posted on their sites. Earlier this month, Biden’s surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, also urged social media companies to "take responsibility for assessing the harms" of health misinformation shared on their platforms.
It’s no secret that the content people see online can shape or reinforce their beliefs. A recent University of Pennsylvania study found that people who relied on social media for their news had lower trust in U.S. health officials and COVID-19 vaccines than people who followed mainstream news outlets. That’s not shocking, given the number of COVID-19 conspiracy theories circulating largely unchecked online. Of 77 recent "high-performing" vaccine misinformation posts, 71% did not receive a fact-checking label, Alana and Vera report.
Facebook is not alone in having to deal with rampant misinformation, of course. (The company, for its part, accused Biden of using its platform as a scapegoat for his administration’s own pandemic shortcomings.) Just yesterday, Twitter temporarily suspended Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for posting incorrect information about COVID-19 vaccines. And YouTube yesterday unveiled a new effort to promote health information from authoritative sources.
Being aware of the problem, however, is not the same as solving it. On that front, there's still lots of work to be done—and the Biden Administration isn't done pushing for it.
About 390.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of yesterday afternoon, of which some 338.2 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 48.6% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
More than 190.8 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 4 million people have died. On July 19, there were 465,370 new cases and 6,865 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's every country that has reported over 3 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 34.1 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 609,200 people have died. On July 19, there were 52,111 new cases and 212 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:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of July 20, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
With demand for COVID-19 shots dropping off, U.S. states are sitting on a huge stockpile of about-to-expire vaccines—enough to immunize at least 13 million people, STAT estimates. State health officials have reportedly begged the Biden Administration to reclaim the shots and distribute them to countries in need, but have been turned down due to "legal and logistical challenges," per STAT.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released dueling recommendations for school reopening. The AAP’s new guidelines say all staff and students older than 2 should wear masks in schools—even if they are vaccinated—to guard against variants and protect those who have not gotten their shots. The CDC, meanwhile, said vaccinated people could go without masks, while unvaccinated individuals should continue wearing them. Both organizations emphasize the importance of getting kids back in the classroom, but the opposing takes on masks will likely sow confusion as schools prepare to welcome students this fall.
In higher education news, a federal judge ruled yesterday that Indiana University can require students and staff to get vaccinated before returning to campus this fall. The decision—which came after a group of eight students sued IU over its vaccine mandate—is a high-profile win for the hundreds of U.S. schools that have made policies requiring vaccines. But a similar lawsuit is underway in California, and several states have banned such mandates. In short: the conversation over vaccine requirements on college campuses is far from over.
Almost 16 months after sealing itself off from foreign travelers, Canada will reopen its border with the U.S. on August 9. It may allow other international travelers into the country the following month, depending on case counts and viral spread at that time. Anyone who enters Canada, however, must show proof of full vaccination.
COVID-19 is killing so many people in Indonesia, regular citizens are volunteering to help with funeral preparations, Al Jazeera reports. The country has recorded more than 73,000 COVID-19 deaths, including some 1,300 just yesterday. But with testing scarce and hospitals overwhelmed, experts said far more people are likely dying without ever being diagnosed with or treated for the virus.
France and Italy are mulling new restrictions on unvaccinated people, likely moving toward systems under which those who have not gotten their shots could be barred from eating inside restaurants or forbidden from visiting indoor cultural and recreational sites. With the Delta variant spreading, the countries seem to be redoubling efforts to prevent another surge.
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 Jamie Ducharme and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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