From the New York Times, unlike above our own. This is a daily today We are now seeing a major step forward. As President Biden accelerates, plans for manufacturing vaccines were now interact, have enough vaccines supply for every adult in America by the end of May and several states race to fully wheeled, and it is now time two open Texas, one hundred percent from my colleague, science writer- calls them on the steed

The pandemic. It's Thursday March force Karl Marx. This Once we have just entered marks, the one you're anniversary of the pandemic, for I think a lot of us, especially those of us who live in New York, because that's when life started to change he dramatically and now, a year into this pandemic, it seems like, were in a relatively good place. The daily infection rates has now been falling consistently for weeks and we Americans are being vaccinated and growing numbers, but we're all terrified that variants of the virus will ruin everything. Does that more or less feel like where things are kind of

We are convinced ourselves starting two January, ninth or so that, we were skiing down a slope there was, can take us all the way straight down to the end of this pandemic, and it is true. We had an arrow. It around January. Ninth about a quarter the million new cases every day which was horrific, the highest we'd ever reached in this pandemic, and we did go down and down and down and down and down, but then actually people may not have noticed, but towards the end of February, like very twentieth, twenty first that ski run stopped. We levelled out and bowed sixty seven thousand cases on average a day and that's where we ve been ever since

so that long file for now has stopped. I honestly do not realise that that this, as you call it ski sloped down of declining info It has basically halted just bear in mind that we had a peak in the spring than we had a higher peak in the summer. A way higher peak in this in January, and now we're just back down to the summer peak- and some are we ve convinced ourselves that that's Kay em. If you remember in the summer, we were all freaking out rightly so, because tens of thousands People were getting covert every single day and I was out of control, so we're still out of control were just less out of control than we were in January. Now, it's possible that as we move forward, this key slope will start to go down again and we could pick up speed and have another

climbing cases, but for a while now it's just been flat so far. What explains that? Why have those declines in infections stopped? You know it. Gonna, take a while to sort this all out, but the there are two clear possibilities. One is that people have been looking at these dramatic decline for weeks now and have decided that the pandemic is officially over. The governor of Texas, literally just announced that Texas is open for business one hundred percent. Bright, and the CDC is actually asking these politicians to just slow the role a little, because we still have these relatively very high cases, that may be one reason why we have gone from this really dramatic decline to a flat stretch, in other words, human behaviour,

both starting to get together more and be less cautious and sharing viruses got it. Ok. What is the second possible solution? The second possible explanation is that we are starting to see the effect of the variants. Scientists have had their eyes and dozens of variance just to see just how dangerous they might be, and there definitely three that have really gotten them worried and they actually, give them a name for that. They call them variants of concern. They have credibly poetic names. There's be one one: seven b, one three one and a few one. Ok! Well, where shall we start? We just our would be one one. Seven has that's the one that has really been on fire in the United States

we want to win. Seven was first identified in the United Kingdom and its here since December, probably in the United States, and it has doubling, maybe every nine or ten days or so Now, our up to twenty five percent of all krona viruses in the United States are estimated to be one when seven, so it has swelled up in Florida that maybe actually Much higher, and maybe thirty six percent or so of the variants. This is a very contagious variant, enforced it may also be a rather level variant, just how much more lethal their current estimates. Are maybe thirty percent more lethal, maybe even more that's a serious escalation. Yes, it is, it is just the fact that it is more contagious is dangerous, because that can eventually led to just more cases overall

and more cases me more people going to the hospital and more people dying right now on top of that, that it's more lethal, it's really something that you want a crash in. What's our understanding of how this variant is responding to the currently available vaccines in responding to the vaccines just like all the other kind of viruses in Israel, for example, they ve been rolling out vaccines at an incredible pace and they can actually see the decline in hospitalizations and other effects have covered nineteen, they got lots of bewilderment seven there and that does not seem to be affecting the vaccine it is great news- and we also have to remember that things like man, and the social distancing and good ventilation. They work against bewilderment seven too, that we have to be really diligent with all those measures who really bring below seven down conditions,

locked down that might really to crash an outbreak of some other variants. Just not going to be never be one when seven, but if you are really diligent about controlling the train mission of this variant. You can make a difference and that's great further vaccines, because vaccines work best when the cases are low. Ok onto the second variant of concern, Second area of concern is called be one three five one that was first identified in South Africa. It's in the United States, the Centre for Disease Control has recorded so far fifty three cases in sixteen different states and what kind of risk does it purpose, so the big risk that people are worried about is that it seems like this virus is good evading defences? So, for example, if you got covered

nineteen from another variant, undeveloped, immunity, Taranto bodies, be one three five one might be. We'll get past those antibodies and get into yourselves anyway. So I could read factual it. Could we in fact you that is an especially unwelcome development? It is unwelcome now this is something that happens with viruses all the time, so, for example, with influenza, you know influenza evolves and then immunity might have had by having the flu before doesn't prevent you from getting the flu again. So you know it's not shocking, but it is disappointing and what about this variance response to vaccines? This variance response to vaccines has really brought up. People in the vaccine business short time. It has really worried them. It just so happens that, where this variant took off, South Africa was also the place where, a number of vaccine companies were running trials, so they could actually

see how well the vaccines worked against, be one three five one and then make compared to other countries where the variant was not yet common, and you can see that there are vaccines at work, pretty well are very well in other countries and in South Africa they didn't work well at all. So that tell that the antibodies they were producing where we get vaccinated with the first generation of vaccines may not work as well against, be won through five one feel still give some protection, but not as much protection as we had hoped from the initial results of vaccines to given all of that. What is the reality of this Very I'm guessing its pretty. I there is actually no evidence is that it's more lethal than other variants, so you know at least we don't have to worry about that and what about the third therein? The third very is p. One p. One was first idea,

fight in Brazil, it too is in the United States. There are only so far ten cases that have been identified in five states, so this one is seems to be the rarest of all as far as we can tell. But you know when I talk to expert, and say: ok, always variants. You know which one really worries you, some of them say pay one one is the one that that keeps them up at night, and why do they fear at the most of these three variants of concern? They fear it because p, one has a pretty extraordinary origin story, it arose in a city called monastic, which is it is a bit over two million people in the Amazon now in the spring last year, monopolised won through a terrible time with nineteen. The city was ravage, the cemeteries were overflowing and then later scientists,

estimated that maybe, as many as seventy five percent of people got infected while it's a huge amount. Now the true might be somewhat lower, but in any case a lot of people got infected and so some people are saying well, maybe Manaos has heard immunity now. I maybe they don't have to get worried about huge surges in the future because they ve been through this and they have immunity vector to be wrong, because in December days are you going through and even figures by heart and soul, What is going on as they investigated this new second outbreak. They discovered that a new variant had arisen. I was driving the outbreak called p one. Got it the one that some scientists now fear above all else and a place like the United States. Yet, whether they're taking a look at it more

closely since its discovery and their finding that not only does it spread quickly appears to be able to evade antibodies, Maybe antibodies that people developed from a previous infection, some me some people are getting re infected in manassa, and you know it also raises concerns about vaccines, for example. However, vaccines work against p one and the reason that they fear it is that p, one has left him and ass. It is found throughout Brazil and in many other countries, including the United States and now Have to wait and see is people I'm going to behave in These new homes, as it did a man ass right, which would include re infecting people who had previously garden corona virus, potentially Moscow it could

take off and in fact people have never had covered for maybe in fact people who have had covered before it might, even in fact people who ve gotten vaccinated, ok. Well, what do we know about how vaccines will or one protect against this We know very little about how vaccine will our won't work against p. One there's been. No, Maxine trial in a place where there is lots of p one. That would be the best way to learn about it. Scientists have done experiments where They put the p one virus and a test tube with cells and watched them, in fact, the cells and then throw in antibodies produced from vaccines, and it looks at least a test tube like one, is able to get away from some of those antibodies and get into the cells, but you know we're not tested. So the fact that antibodies are less effective against p. One then

kinds of kroner. Viruses doesn't really tell us exactly how much vaccines will be harmed in effectiveness. So one of the recent scientists are freak out by the Syrian is because they don't know how it will respond to vaccines, correct it's kind of a wild card. If it took off even more people, might be getting infected, even though their vaccinated, we just don't know we'd, No, and you know, we would like to have more certainty as we're trying to bring this pandemic to an end, and we have this this variant, that popped out of monopolies and is now moving around the world, we still don't know a lot about it. When we talk about variance, it had been our assumption that we had reached a point in the pandemic, where they're just warrant that many people left to in fact right to account

nation of previous infections and vaccinations. The number of folks who remain vulnerable was supposed to have shrunk, and the idea was that the virus would slowly run out of potential hosts, but the variants that you are discussing here and their features, including their ability to dodge antibodies and reinforce people and potentially out wit, vaccines. That would seem to change that calculation about fewer hosts being available. Yes, when you are talking about so called her community, you're sort of assuming that that immunity I saw the carnival is that are out there. They ve, got p? Why are a big one? Three five one floating around that can evade some others antibodies. The vaccines are less effective against it

and that hurt immunity is in quite what you had hoped. But you know that is something that site. Scan deal with. We know how to deal with new variant. I mean no variant is going to be a match against a really great vaccination campaign. We get a lot of people vaccinated as fast as possible. It just going to make it really hard for all these different variants to get from person to person and the faster we do it the better shape. Gonna be it

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eyes for use in the? U S, what exactly do we need to know about it and how it fits into everything that we ve been talking about? Well, this is the first Vaccine has been authorized as just a single shot, so it is effective in preventing covered nineteen with just one those appears to have milder less common side effects when you get vaccinated. Also, in terms of the aching answer. The fever herbs seemed like there's a bit less of that, and also it can be kept. In refrigerator? For three months and stages: fine, as opposed to Pfizer and modernity, vaccines which have to be kept frozen. So it's a want easier and a lot of different ways and how

possible that a single dose can accomplish in this vaccine. What two doses is required to accomplish with the other vaccines we have so far from Madeira and Sir well, when Johnson Johnson was testing out the vaccine and this early in mice and monkeys. They were really struck by the fact that even after one doze, these Anna We were getting really strong production, Evanna Bodies and when I gave them a dose of the krona virus. This vaccine it around good job with just one dosage. Fighting it off, so they said: hey, let's go for one windows, interesting because we're in a pandemic- and you know, if we can use a million doses to vaccinate Emily, people. Instead of half a million people, we're gonna go a long way to helping to stop this pandemic. So that is the choice that they aid and now we know that

one dose of Johnson just a vaccine, is effective at preventing covered ninety. So it is not to delicate or complicated question. How does the Johnstone Johnson vaccine as a single dose stack up against the Madonna and Pfizer vaccines in terms of effectiveness. So Madonna and Pfizer haven't efficacy of ninety five percent. So that's a measure of how much they reduce your risk of getting sick Johnson Johnson's. Would they found and efficacy in a United States of seventy two percent. But you have to be careful with those kinds of comparisons, because Johnson Johnson was carrying out their trial. Different time then Pfizer Madonna did Pfizer Madonna started their trial July. Johnson Johnson didn't start for a couple months after that, so by the time

Their Johnson Johnson had a lot of recruits getting vaccinated. We were in the middle of a really intense surge of covered, much bigger than when we dealt with before and what vaccine developers. Found- is that if you run a trial when greater hi, you might end up with an efficacy estimate that ends up being low and that's just because your volunteers are getting exposure, the virus more, they have more of a chance of getting infected if rates are low, people just might not have the opportunity to get sick in the first place, and you don't really put your vaccine to as much of a test that passing using people in clinical trials might catch the corona virus at higher rates at a more serious time at a pandemic which could make Johnson Johnson's vaccine see. Effective? Then? Perhaps you really is that's correct. There are ways that you can test to vaccines head to head under exactly identical conditions the really important, but in of a pandemic were not able to do that. So we have these.

Dependent trials, and the key thing is that They all work well and not only that, but Johnson Johnson's vaccine. Actually, Is there a high efficacy for keeping you from getting severe cove at three to send you to the hospital and put you at risk of death after about twenty eight days after vaccinations Nobody went to the hospital from the vaccinated groups with Johnson Johnson's vaccine, so that gives you a sense that this thing is going to protect you, and so we three good options for getting vaccinated and being protected from this disease. Right a colleague of ours telling us early on in the pandemic that any vaccine that is fifty percent or more effective, is spectacular and all three of these vaccines are well beyond that,

effective us. Yet they all go way beyond the threshold of the FDA said last year for a colonel virus vaccine, and the fact is that when scientists take a look Add how much benefit there will be waiting to use a really effective vaccine verses, pushing out a less effective vaccine very quickly. It turns out that waiting is just a mistake. Given the wires more time to spread and a second people and to kill people so the faster than we can get all of vaccines out the more effective we're gonna be added. Driving down the pandemic and getting ahead of the variants. So I don't have a words in your mouth, but tell me if I'm right here to those who are listening and thank you themselves. Well, if I had a choice, I think I would like ex vaccine. Why vaccine it sounds like the reality, as you would be very lucky to have any of these three vaccines, no matter which one you just get the first vaccine that you,

tat. You should not be waiting around waiting for your favorite bespoke vaccine to become available. In that time, you could get covert right so get the first authorize vaccine that you can. It is going to reduce your risk of getting covered nineteen and its also going to reduce your risk of passing on the virus to other people we are starting to see that there is evidence that these vaccines, including Johnson Johnson's, reduce transmission and that's really important. That is going to bring down the overall burden of the epidemic across the whole country call. You said that variants are no match for a good vaccinate, campaign, which makes you wonder where exactly we are in the? U S, vaccination campaign at this moment and how Johnson Johnson's vaccine might change that if at all,

we're doing pretty well, I would say over fifty million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine work. Towards two million people a day getting vaccinated, and that is going to increase. So we can, agent, three million people getting vaccinated day, maybe for night Johnson Johnson, is going to help this increase in a big way meeting with four million doses that they're gonna be able to supply a meal lay now. They're authorized and Johnson seven and mark, which is a very experienced vaccine manufacturer, have entered into a partnership brokered through the buying administration. To ramp up their supply. Even more Pfizer and Madonna. Have us

entered into agreements to be supplying hundreds of millions of more doses as well and just on Tuesday, president binding made a big announcement. He said that there will be enough doses of the coroner vice vaccine available for the entire adult population. Of the. U s by the end of May, which is kind of a shockingly new early deadline that really changes. People's expectations, it really is because, before

and was shooting for the end of July. So he has just brought his scheduler by two months, and that suggests that, between all three of these vaccines and the wrapping up of production, the countries clearly just starting to hit it stride and is essentially going to build a get vaccines to adults in the country faster than we thought. Well, certainly, the vaccine companies are gonna, get those vaccine. The question is: are we going to be able to get those vaccines to people quickly, and that is gonna come down to really good distribution systems across all the states, but right now, it's a real patchwork and that is a legacy of are you know, state based healthcare system where each state is left to its own devices Some of them are doing well in some of them are definitely not we ve got a lot of vaccines coming, and so we,

really need to be efficient and getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as we can, and I guess crawl, then the question becomes: how does everything we're talking about interact and on what schedule right, vaccine distribution, variance, blossoming and spreading and reopening things like the one we just learned about it? Texas back one hundred percent. When we know not, everyone, Texas has a vaccinated and the variants are spreading is gonna be a very complicated spring and summer. You know we could see a huge fourth surge. I really hope we don't, but if we aren't careful, we can let the variants take off and explode before enough. People are vaccinated but if we vaccinate quickly while were keeping our masks and being careful and make sure that all the states are doing as good a jobs, I can t get vaccines to everybody we can reach.

Gee? I don't get this pandemic behind us in a way that saves a lot of lives. Ass. This I ask everyone, our show: have you gotten your vaccine? I'm not gonna my vaccine yet, but I am really Stoke too in the state of Connecticut. They are going to open up my age group March. Twenty second say you know, having been reporting on vaccines for about a year now when I start reporting on these things, I didn't know if these facts in what exist and now one of them is about to go into my arm, and I am really looking forward to it which everyone it is right. We're. All we ask is that you are currently experience. Absolutely there will be selfies thanks, Chrome, thanks a lot

On Wednesday, in during an event at the White House, President Biden was asked by reporters about the decision by Texas and later Mississippi and their mask requirements, I hope average realised by now. We must make a difference we are on the process of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this too. These, because the way in which we were able to get vaccines and people's arms Biden called in a mistake. Lastly, the last thing we need is the interval. Thank you, timing, swine take ass, forget it still mad right. Back.

Twenty twenty one, mental health is finally cool, but therapy doesn't have to be sitting around. Just talking about feelings. Therapy can whatever you want to be battling stress or feeling in secure its time, to stop being ashamed of human struggles and start being happy better. Up on line therapy offers videophone and live chat sessions plus its more affordable than in person there be, but just as effective for ten percent off your first month visit better help, dot com, slash the Daily better hd, lp dot com, slash the daily hears. What else you need to know the times reports that the capital police force is preparing for another possible assault on the capital building after obtaining intelligence of a potential blocked by militia to attack the building. Today, in response to that intelligence, the House of Representatives cancelled plans for a legislative session on Thursday to

Lloyd, having law makers in the buildings. The plot appeared to be inspired by supporters of Cuban on the pro trumbull conspiracy theory, and we want to address the recent allegations that have been made against me during a Conference on Wednesday in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo apologised to the women who have accused him of sexual harassment, but said that he did not planned tourism. Because of that, I now understand that I acted in a way tat made people feel uncomfortable.

It was unintentional and I truly any deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I am embarrassed by it and does not easy to say, but that's true. The women have accused corner of inappropriate comments and conduct, including unsolicited kissing. My during his new contracts, homo insisted, had never inappropriately touched anyone. Tidies episode was produced by Rachel question and Nina Potter. It was edited plaintive shot and Energy Davis. Lip and engineered by coy shrapnel

that's it for the daily unworkable by sea tomorrow. This path cast is supported by the University of Pennsylvania, Fifteen years ago, pen researchers developed the idea to use messenger RNA to make a vaccine today that technique has been used in several corona virus vaccines around the world. The University of Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of vaccine research for more than fifty years. It's all discovered, taught and made it pen visit pen today, dot you pen, DOT Eu for more information.