10 things you need to know today: January 16, 2021

Biden unveils plan to distribute 100 million vaccines, CDC: COVID-19 variant could be dominant by March, causing major new spikes, and more

President-elect Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

1. Biden unveils plan to distribute 100 million vaccines

President-elect Joe Biden on Friday doubled down on his plan to get 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots to Americans within his first 100 days in office, calling the rollout so far a "dismal failure." So far just 10 million Americans have gotten their first vaccine doses. If necessary, Biden said in a speech he'd invoke the Defense Production Act to ramp up vaccine production. He'd then mobilize the National Guard, FEMA, and public health workers to give the federal government a bigger role in distribution. And to ensure "equity" in vaccinations, he promised a national public education campaign and pushed states to let people 65 and older get the vaccine. These proposals build upon the $160 billion Biden promised he'd put toward vaccines in his stimulus package.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.