President Biden has moved up the deadline for states to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to all adults by April 19, instead of May 1. This comes as daily cases are on the rise and new variants continue to spread, including the U.K. variant, which has now been reported in every state and could account for 70% of cases in Michigan, which is seeing a major surge. The U.S. has now delivered over 168 million vaccine doses, the highest number in the world. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says richer countries must urgently combat vast global vaccine inequities.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Scaling up production and equitable distribution remains the major barrier to ending the acute stage of this pandemic. It is a travesty that in some countries health workers and those at-risk groups remain completely unvaccinated.”

Brazil recorded over 4,000 daily COVID-19 deaths for the first time, bringing its total death toll to nearly 337,000, second only to the U.S.

India reported a record of nearly 116,000 new cases Wednesday, taking its total caseload to 12.8 million, the third highest in the world after Brazil and the U.S.