Here are some significant developments:
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) asked the White House on Tuesday to consider rushing doses to hard-hit parts of the country, including her state, rather than allocating vaccines based on population. She was rebuffed.
- World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned whether China had been transparent enough about the coronavirus’s origins and suggested that more research may be needed.
- Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will halt the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for people under 60 over concerns that it is causing rare but occasionally deadly blood clots.
- Republicans are opening a new front in the pandemic culture wars, attacking efforts by the Biden administration to develop guidelines for coronavirus vaccination passports.
- With the average number of deaths over the last seven days rising 9 percent, the total number of fatalities in the United States reached 551,000. The average of new daily cases across the country is also up 12.9 percent.
