Direct payments of $1,400 have started to hit bank accounts, days after President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill. Nearly 70 million U.S. residents have received at least one vaccine dose, with about 11% of the population fully vaccinated. Georgia has dropped the age of eligibility for vaccinations to 55. Millions more Californians are now eligible after the state expanded vaccine access for people with preexisting conditions and disabilities. Los Angeles is offering the vaccine to people living or working in congregate facilities including prisons and shelters for unhoused people. Republican voters have become one of the largest unvaccinated groups in the country. A recent poll found over 40% of Republicans said they would not get vaccinated, versus less than 15% of Democrats. Over the weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci called on former President Trump, who was secretly inoculated before he left office, to encourage people to get vaccinated. As crowds of spring break revelers hit the beach in Florida and elsewhere, Dr. Fauci also warned, again, that rolling back public health measures too soon could lead to new outbreaks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: “We’re not in the end zone yet. And that’s one of the issues, that when you plateau, there’s always the risk of a surge. That’s exactly what the Europeans have experienced.”