1. It is officially spring, but a season typically defined by renewal feels more like a season of worry.

Coronavirus cases — significantly down since the U.S. peak in January — have plateaued this month at about 55,000 new infections a day, a level public health officials say is still too high. But some governors are already starting to relax restrictions.

“History has shown us that when you have that plateauing, that’s usually the forerunner of another surge — we’ve actually seen that in the European Union,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, adding, “the more people get vaccinated, the less likelihood that there is going to be a surge.”

Large parts of France, above in Paris, as well as Italy, Poland and other regions are back in lockdown as they try to stop a third wave. The latest outbreaks are a stark reminder that not enough people have been inoculated to blunt the impact of a rush of new infections.

Only about 13 percent of Europeans have received a first dose, compared with 23 percent in the U.S. and 40 percent in Britain. The slow rollout in Europe can be explained by a cascade of small decisions that have led to increasingly long delays.

The New York Times