News: Axios PM: Axios' new variant tracker

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Axios PM: Axios' new variant tracker

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Presented By JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Axios PM

By Mike Allen ·Apr 01, 2021

Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 394 words, a 1.5-minute read.

1 big thing: Axios' new variant tracker

The growing fourth wave is giving new urgency to experts who say we must vaccinate fast to prevent a more serious vaccine variant that could render current vaccines ineffective.

Why it matters: The CDC is watching the following "variants of concern," report Axios' Eileen Drage O'Reilly and Will Chase, who today published an Axios tracker for COVID-19 variants. (Bookmark it here.)

Data: CDC/Axios Research/GISAID; Graphic: Will Chase/Axios; Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Of special concern is the fast-spreading "U.K. variant" (in the purple below), but the CDC is also watching the "New York variants" (in dark blue), which accounted for a big share of variant cases reported over the last month.

Axios is using 60-day averages to give a snapshot of recent history while maintaining a good level of accuracy.

Data: GISAID; Chart: Will Chase/Axios

The big picture: Growing evidence shows the three authorized vaccines currently offer protection against the variants.

But the more people who lack immunity, the more people who give the virus chances to mutate into new variants.

Go deeper:

2. ⚾ Pictures of America: Opening Day!

Fans outside Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia today, before Opening Day game between Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Photo: Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports via Reuters

😱 The Nats-Mets opener in Washington tonight was postponed — hours before the first pitch — after one of Washington's players tested positive. The player was on the charter flight from Florida spring training to Washington, then the bus from Dulles. Four other players + one staff member are quarantining after contact tracing. (WashPost)

Sunrise at Fenway in Boston today. Photo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

🌧 Red Sox opener (v. O's), which'll bring fans to Fenway Park for the first time in more than a year, is postponed to tomorrow due to intermittent rain. (Boston Globe)

Photo: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports via Reuters

Yankees fans tailgate atop a Bronx parking garage before Opening Day game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

A message from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

One in three American adults have a criminal record

JPMorgan Chase is helping people with criminal backgrounds build in-demand skills and gain access to employment by:

Advancing a policy agenda that reduces barriers to employment; and
Removing questions about criminal backgrounds from job applications.

3. Catch up quick

Courteney Ross, George Floyd's former girlfriend, answers questions today.

Courteney Ross, George Floyd's girlfriend, answers questions today. Photo: Court TV via AP

Chauvin trial: A paramedic testified "[multiple officers] were still on top" of George Floyd as they arrived. Go deeper.
George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross, who was in a relationship with him when he died, recounted her first encounter with Floyd — one of her favorite stories, she said. Go deeper.
Scoop: Dish Network complained to the FCC that T-Mobile is rushing to shut down a network still used by millions of Dish's Boost Mobile customers, Ina Fried reports.
The S&P 500 crossed the 4,000 mark, a little over a year after the index hit its pandemic low of 2,192. Go deeper.

4. "Top Chef" bubble: Filming in lockdown

Tonight's "First Impressions" episode of "Top Chef." From left: Chris Viaud, Roscoe Hall, Shota Nakajima. Photo: David Moir/Bravo

Season 18 of "Top Chef" — filmed in Portland, Oregon, and premiering tonight at 8 p.m. ET — adapted to COVID with virtual grocery shopping, socially distanced judges and hotel rooms instead of a shared home for the chefs, USA Today reports.

The "season premiere opens with ... chefs [sharing] personal stories of shutting down their acclaimed restaurants and furloughing staff" because of lockdowns.

Some differences:

Host Padma Lakshmi had to watch contestants from afar instead of walking between stations.
Waiters wore masks when bringing judges food.
Guest judges were asked to quarantine.