Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and former First Ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter discuss the important role of COVID-19 vaccination in getting back to the moments we miss and love. To get the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccines, visit .
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Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and their respective former first ladies are part of a newly released ad campaign urging Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine when it is their turn, a push that is aimed squarely at combating vaccine skepticism.
There are two ads in the campaign: a minute-long, more personal spot that shows the four former presidents and former first ladies receiving their vaccines, and another that features Clinton, Bush and Obama standing together to urge Americans to step up and get vaccinated.
Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush are pictured on January 20, 2021. Those former presidents, as well as Jimmy Carter, are part of a newly released ad campaign urging Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine when it is their turn.
Pandemic year 2: Vaccines, variants, and other developments
Pandemic year 2: Vaccines, variants, and other developments
Updated
A year after the , the U.S. still has a long way to go before the coronavirus is under control. But this second year of life with SARS-CoV-2 has started off with a bang, with a new White House administration promising major changes to the nation’s pandemic response and millions of vaccine doses being administered daily.
While the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were the big news of 2020—and are now being injected into the arms of over a million Americans each day�2021 has brought new vaccine trial results from Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, and Russia’s Sputnik V. Some results have been more promising than others, stirring experts to debate the balance between vaccine effectiveness and the challenges of availability and distribution. Meanwhile, researchers are scrambling to learn how each of these vaccines will perform when met with the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 that are taking hold across the globe.
The Biden administration has been announcing executive orders and new initiatives left and right, putting more scientists in charge of pandemic response and pushing to get vaccines to as many Americans as possible. The CDC has continued to issue new guidelines as they’ve developed more safety measures to prevent transmission of the virus, like suggesting doubling up on masks and guidelines on how to keep school kids safe during in-person classes.
With so much changing every day, it can be hard to keep up with all the news. That’s why has constructed a timeline of how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out so far in 2021, using White House briefings and news reports. Here’s what President Biden and his administration have accomplished since he took office in January, and what the virus—and its novel variants—have been up to since then.
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Jan. 20-21: Biden takes office, issues executive orders
Updated
President Joe Biden wasted no time after his Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony. He signed in office, several of which related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He mandated masks and social distancing in federal buildings, set up a specific department to coordinate the federal response to the pandemic, rejoined the World Health Organization, and extended the moratoriums on foreclosures, evictions, and student loan payments.
Jan. 25, Jan. 28: New coronavirus variants from Brazil and South Africa reported in the US
Updated
Two new, more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in the United States in late January. The by way of a resident who had traveled to Brazil, while the from South Africa had no history of travel to countries where the variant has been confirmed.
Jan. 26: Biden administration purchases 200 million vaccine doses
Updated
To vaccinate all 300 million Americans with the necessary two doses, health care providers will need 600 million units of the vaccine. That’s why that by summer it will have purchased the additional 200 million shots needed to meet that mark.
Jan. 27: First press briefing with new White House COVID-19 team
Updated
Jeffrey Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, led the Biden administration's . Immediate goals include increasing the number of both vaccination sites and health care providers who can administer the vaccines. In general, the message was one of urgency—plus relief to have scientists back at the helm of the nation’s pandemic response.
Jan. 28: Novavax releases vaccine trial results
Updated
Preliminary clinical trial results from the United Kingdom showed that the . Results from a study in South Africa were less promising, with only 49% effectiveness.
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Jan. 28: Biden expands Affordable Care Act coverage
Updated
The White House opened a after determining that millions of Americans eligible for ACA health coverage remain uninsured. President Biden also took steps to like work requirements for Medicaid and limitations for Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.
Jan. 29: Johnson & Johnson releases vaccine trial results
Updated
Like the Novavax results the day before, disappointed some experts with just a 66% effectiveness against moderate to severe COVID-19. These results varied by location, with effectiveness slightly higher in the U.S. (72%) and lower in Latin America (66%) and South Africa (57%). However, with only a single shot, the vaccine prevented serious disease progression—hospitalization or death—which means it could still find a place in the world’s overall pandemic response.
Feb. 1: More Americans vaccinated than have tested positive
Updated
By the start of February, in the U.S.—more doses than the number of people who have tested positive since the virus first reached the U.S. in January 2020. Just over 6 million people had already received both doses by this date, and the U.S. continues to administer over a million shots per day.
Feb. 2: Results for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine
Updated
The more vaccine options, the merrier. Russia announced results from its Sputnik V clinical trials: , and 100% effective against severe disease progression. No severe or moderate cases were reported in the vaccinated group of 14,964 people.
Feb. 6: Over 2 million vaccinations in one day
Updated
For the first time, the U.S. administered , bringing the national tally to over 40 million doses administered and more than 8 million people fully vaccinated.
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Feb. 9: WHO task force examines virus origins
Updated
The WHO task force investigating the origins of SARS-CoV-2 in China held a , announcing that they’d found no evidence that the virus jumped straight from bats to humans, or that it could have escaped from the virus lab in Wuhan. An intermediate carrier for the disease is currently the most likely hypothesis, though much more research is needed to confirm.
Feb. 10: COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force members announced
Updated
The White House announced the members of a new COVID-19 task force focused on . The team will work to analyze issues such as disparities in COVID-19 cases, hospital stays, and deaths among racial and geographic lines.
Feb. 10: CDC recommends doubling up on masks
Updated
Two masks are better than one: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended . The CDC especially recommends layering a cloth mask over a surgical mask, but in general, the idea is to improve the seal around the edges of often ill-fitting masks.
Feb. 12: CDC releases new guidance on school reopenings
Updated
Long-awaited guidance on school reopenings arrived on Feb. 12, when the CDC announced new, science-based strategies for determining . In general, the guidelines say that depending on current community transmission rates, as long as they follow proper masking, social distancing, handwashing, cleaning, and contact tracing protocol.
Feb. 14: Over 1,000 reported cases of B.1.1.7 variant
Updated
The CDC is closely following the in the U.S. The B.1.351 variant, first identified in South Carolina, has now shown up 21 times in 10 states, while the P.1 variant first found in Minnesota has been reported five times in four states. But there's another strain, B.1.1.7, which is ringing alarm bells: It’s up to 1,523 reported cases in 42 states as of Feb. 18.
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Feb. 21: 500,000 Americans have died from COVID-19
Updated
According to an NBC News tally, the U.S. reached a new milestone on Feb. 21: . Other trackers, such as Johns Hopkins and the CDC, haven’t reached this milestone yet due to differences in accounting, but they will likely cross that threshold within a few days. California leads the rankings with over 49,000 deaths.
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Feb. 27: Johnson & Johnson vaccine authorized by FDA
Updated
The U.S. added a third COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal when the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) gave Emergency Use Authorization to Johnson & Johnson. —the first shown to prevent severe COVID-19 disease with a single dose—were shipped out the next day, to be administered during the week of March 1. While that initial 3.9 million doses represents the entirety of Johnson & Johnson's current supply, the pharmaceutical company has promised to ramp up its production. It is expected to deliver 16 million doses to the U.S. by the end of March and 100 million by summer 2021.
March 2: States begin lifting mask restrictions, opening 100%
Updated
Multiple states in the first week of March related to COVID-19, with Mississippi and Texas announcing the lifting all restrictions and West Virginia following close behind 6 barring some sustained restrictions for standing room congregation. Alabama, Arizona, and Connecticut similarly loosened rules. Throughout the pandemic, some states including Alaska and Georgia resisted ever implementing statewide mask mandates.
