The Evening: Brazil Variant Protection, Sputnik V, Fast Train and More

Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Neutralizes Brazil Variant

The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine appears to be highly effective against a more contagious variant first discovered in Brazil, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, raising hopes that ongoing vaccination efforts will help curb its spread, as the Washington Post reports.

Russia's Sputnik V Could Be Made in European Union after Reported Deals

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 could be produced in Western Europe after a deal to make it in Italy was signed by Moscow’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund and Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Adienne, as Reuters’ Andrew Osborn and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber report.

Biden Extends Protective Status to Thousands of Venezuelan Migrants

The Biden administration late Monday declared an estimated 320,000 Venezuelan migrants in the United States eligible for temporary protected status, a category of legal residence that would open a path to U.S. citizenship for them under the immigration bill President Biden sent to Congress last week, as the Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung and Anthony Faiola report.

Executive Education

Navigating U.S. Foreign Assistance features a hands-on study of the latest trends and techniques today’s international development and humanitarian leaders need to successfully maximize their impact. Through seminars, case studies, and a culminating crisis simulation, participants will join a diverse network of industry professionals and pair their own unique experience with CSIS’s rich array of coaching resources. Register here.

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

3.7%

The Nasdaq rose 464.66 points, or 3.7%, to 13,073.82, its largest one-day percentage gain since November 4.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“We might plateau again at an unacceptably high level.”

— Dr. Anthony Fauci, warning in a talk today at CSIS that cases in the United States may again reach a very high level.

iDeas Lab

Compared to many countries, especially democracies, China is far less transparent about how it allocates its defense spending. For instance, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that Chinese defense-related expenditure actually reached $240 billion in 2019—nearly 40 percent higher than the official budget ($183.5 billion).

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: Scott Olson/Getty Images.) A United Airlines pilot receives a Covid-19 vaccine at United's onsite clinic at O'Hare International Airport.

Recommended Reading

“Securing the Subsea Network: A Primer for Policymakers,” by CSIS’s Jonathan Hillman.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m., join the CSIS Risk and Foresight Group for a conversation on macrotrends to keep your eye on in 2021, including massive environmental challenges, and the remaking of societies around technology.

Then, at 10:00 a.m., CSIS Burke Chair Anthony H. Cordesman sits down with John F. Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), to roll out SIGAR's newest report on the greatest threats facing U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

Later, at 2:30 p.m., CSIS's Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group welcomes Major General Richard Coffman for discussion of the plans for the Army's Next Generation Combat Vehicle, its innovative procurement approach, and applications across potential battlespaces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Video

The CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security and the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security today co-hosted discussion with Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Professor Paul Kelly, chief medical officer at the Australian Government Department of Health, on the Australian and U.S. government responses to Covid-19 variants. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

In today's episode of Babel, CSIS's Jon B. Alterman talks with Stephanie Williams, formerly the acting special representative of the UN secretary-general and the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya. They discuss the reasons why the conflict in Libya has lasted this long and her role as a mediator in the process.

Listen on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“You had to go on the lam stepping in no-man's land
Ain't nobody here on your waveband
Nobody even gonna lend you a helping hand
Oh and you're so alone can you really make it on your own
Keep on moving on a fast train”

I’m glad that so many of you wrote to me about King Solomon Burke. I had a special place in my heart for the guy. King Solomon was born in West Philadelphia and lived his early life there—same as my father. So we had that to talk about during our phone conversations. And of course we would talk about Aaron Neville, the Neville Brothers and New Orleans music.

I always found it puzzling that people like Jerry Wexler would call Solomon the greatest soul singer of them all and that Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Van Morrison knew exactly who he was, but that he was not well known to a mass audience.

Solomon died in October of 2010, he was either 70 or 74, we’re just not sure. Either way he was gone too soon. The good news is that before he died, he performed some of the great songs from “Don’t Give Up On Me” with the artists who wrote the tunes. In this case, “Fast Train” with Van Morrison.