U.S. to Share up to 60 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine with Other nations

The Biden administration, under intense pressure to do more to address the global coronavirus pandemic intends to share up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with other nations, so long as the doses clear a safety review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, as the NYT reports.

Dive Deeper: “The Time Is Now for U.S. Global Leadership on Covid-19 Vaccines,” by CSIS’ Steve Morrison, Katherine Bliss and Anna McCaffrey.

Biden Pledges Assistance for India

Amid an unprecedented rise of coronavirus cases and deaths in India, President Biden spoke with the country’s prime minister and pledged assistance, as the Washington Post reports.

Iranian Ships Swarmed U.S. Coast Guard Vessels in Persian Gulf

A group of boats from Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed two U.S. Coast Guard ships earlier this month in the Persian Gulf, the first such incident in a year. The incident occurred April 2, as the WSJ reports.

Executive Education

Join leading CSIS experts for an upcoming course on Economic Statecraft and explore the wide range of tools U.S. policymakers use to support U.S. economic and strategic objectives. Register now.

Mexico Matters

The Mexico Matters podcast series highlights key developments in Mexico and their impact on the United States. Hosted by Mariana Campero, each episode brings in-depth analysis, commentary, and conversations on an array of subjects ranging from economics, trade, and energy to national security, foreign policy, and business. 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

571,000

The United States is still seeing an average of 50,000 to 60,000 new cases a day, and the death toll has passed 571,000.

Source: Washington Post

Critical Quote

“Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need.”

— President Joe Biden

iDeas Lab

CSIS's Covid-19 Response Update shows that new Department of Defense cases of Covid-19 decreased over the past week, with the seven-day average decreasing by 4% to 709 new cases as of April 23. This marks a return to declining incidence in DoD new cases after they increased last week.

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: Daffa Ramya Kanzuddin/AFP/Getty Images.) Naval officers throw flowers into the sea at the port of Semarang on April 26, 2021, as sign of respect for the submarine that disappeared off the coast of Bali and has been found cracked into pieces on the seafloor with all 53 crew killed in the disaster.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m., the CSIS Southeast Asia Program will host a conversation on key issues in the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership featuring keynote remarks from Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United States Ha Kim Ngoc.

Then, at 10:30 a.m., the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program will examine how NATO allies can revitalize the alliance’s political cohesion, featuring Ambassador Muriel Domenach, Permanent Representative of France to NATO and MdB Omid Nouripour, Foreign Policy Spokesperson for the German Green party.

Later, at 5:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council will host a public discussion to hear firsthand from Central American migrants and humanitarian organizations on the human journey, and opportunities for the United States to best collaborate with the region’s leaders.

Video

Earlier today, I hosted this season's first Schieffer Series event featuring three expert nonpartisan panelists to discuss voting rights and voter suppression in America. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

On the latest episode of Inside Cyber Diplomacy, Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland joined the podcast to discuss his work as Chair of the OEWG, how his previous UN experience helped him foster diplomatic engagement.

Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Smiles

If not for the pandemic, yesterday would have marked the close of the first weekend of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. There is nothing like Jazz Fest, the vibe there can’t be replicated anywhere else. The people who know this best work at WWOZ, the incomparable New Orleans listener supported radio station that live streams parts of the Festival each year.

To make up for what we are missing, WWOZ curated a Jazz Fest lineup consisting of classic performances dating back to 1970 and filled up last weekend with great music that you can listen to as if it were live over the web. If you missed it they’ll do the same thing starting this Thursday to mark what would be Jazz Fest’s concluding weekend.

Last Saturday on WWOZ, I heard an incredible set by the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, a Louisiana supergroup consisting of Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Corey Duplechin, Johnny Vidacovich, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone, and Waylon Thibodeaux. The joyful noise sounded something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFqaoDXkKmM.

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.