Coronavirus Likely Came From Animal, WHO Says

The virus that causes Covid-19 most likely jumped from one species to another before entering the human population and is highly unlikely to have leaked from a laboratory, a leader of a World Health Organization investigative team said today, as the WSJ reports.

Vaccine to Ship Directly to Community Health Centers under Biden Plan

The Biden administration announced today that it will begin shipping coronavirus vaccines next week directly to federally qualified community health centers, which often serve some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. The program’s first phase aims to allocate 1 million doses while increasing the number of places for people to get shots, as the Washington Post reports.

Iran Says It May Be Forced to Seek Nuclear Arms

Iran’s intelligence minister raised the possibility today that his country would be forced to seek nuclear weapons if U.S. sanctions were not lifted, an attention-grabbing break from the country’s pledge that its atomic energy program would always be peaceful, as the NYT reports.

Executive Education

CSIS is now accepting applications for the Spring 2021 Belt and Road Executive Course. Drawing insights from leading experts and the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project, this course reveals how China's $1 trillion foreign policy effort is impacting commercial and strategic realities on the ground.

Global Forecast 2021

Global Forecast is an annual collection of essays by CSIS experts focused on the critical issues facing the United States and the world in the year ahead. The latest paper, from Jonathan E. Hillman, outlines a strategy for the Biden administration to compete with China's Digital Silk Road.

Coronavirus Crisis Update

The Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response. Past guests include NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray, Covid-19 Advisory Group members Dr. Luciana Borio and Dr. Celine Gounder, chef Jose Andres, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

1.49 Million

1.49 million shots, on average, have been administered each day over the last week, up from an average of about 900,000 doses when President Biden took office.

Source: NYT

Critical Quote

“The possible path from whatever original animal species all the way through to the Huanan market could have taken a very long and convoluted path involving also movements across borders.”

— Dr. Peter K. Ben Embarek, World Health Organization

iDeas Lab

Although China's central bank has assumed a more important role in China’s overall financial governance, taking up a “dual-pillar” function that includes both monetary policymaking and macro-prudential management, it is still far from an independent central bank whose words convey great authority. A new CSIS brief from the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics investigates the bank's authority and agenda-setting power.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images.) Police fire water cannons at protesters demonstrating against the February 1 military coup in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw today.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security hosts a panel discussion on global progress in fundraising, procurement, and planning for the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines; opportunities for renewed multilateral engagement by the United States in the World Health Organization, ACT Accelerator, and COVAX; and early lessons for future epidemic preparedness and response.

Also, at 11:30 a.m., the Wilson Center will host a conversation on El Salvador's upcoming Legislative Assembly elections and the challenges facing the country's democracy nearly 30 years after the negotiated settlement of its brutal civil war.

Last, at noon, the Atlantic Council will host a live "GeoTech Hour," where experts will discuss the lessons learned, ongoing challenges, and requisite next steps to be taken when considering the intersection of geopolitics, modern technologies, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Video

Watch CSIS experts Cyrus Newlin and Pierre Morcos discuss the response and aftermath to the arrest of Alexei Navalny. They focus on the violent crackdown of protests as well as how Europe might respond to these latest developments in Russian politics.

Podcasts

On today's episode of Babel, CSIS's Jon Alterman sat down with Dr. Hanaa Almoaibed, visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East Centre, to discuss her research on how youth in Saudi Arabia view vocational school and entrepreneurship.

Listen on Spotify, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

My first favorite rock and roll group was the Supremes. They were my mom’s favorite, and I used to play their records over and over when I was very young. So of course my heart sank with the news that Supremes’ co-founder Mary Wilson had died on Monday at her home in Henderson, Nevada at 76. But Ms. Wilson’s incomparable music will live on forever; it is timeless, full of memories and smiles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Ta5TlCBR8.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Kendal Gee.