CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline

December 12, 2019

A cluster of patients in China’s Hubei Province, in the city of Wuhan, begin to experience the symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness that does not respond well to standard treatments.

January1, 2020

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan is closed amid worries in China of a reprise of the 2002–2004 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-1) outbreak.

January 3, 2020

China informs WHO that they have identified over 40 cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology.

January 7, 2020

Public health officials in China identify a novel coronavirus as the causative agent of the outbreak.

CDC establishes an incident management structure to guide their response to the novel coronavirus by following the preparedness plan for developing tests and managing cases made for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

January 10, 2020

WHO begins using the phrase “2019 Novel Coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV” to refer to disease causing the outbreak in Wuhan, China.

CDC publishes information about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus on its website.

Edward C. Holmes of the University of Sydney, Australia posts online that the viral genome sequence of the unknown pneumonia causing the outbreak in Wuhan has been uploaded to GenBank as “Wuhan-Hu-1” (MN908947) and will be released shortly. He does so on behalf of Yong-Zhen Zhang of Fudan University, Shanghai in collaboration with the Shanghai School of Public Health, the Central Hospital of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control, and the University of Sydney. Hours later, Holmes and Zhang publish the sequence.

January 13, 2020

The Thailand Ministry of Public Health confirms the first laboratory-confirmed case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus outside of China.

January 15, 2020

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reports an additional laboratory-confirmed case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus outside of China.

January 19, 2020

Worldwide, 282 laboratory-confirmed cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus have been reported in four countries: China (278 cases), Thailand (2 cases), Japan (1 case) and the Republic of Korea (1 case).

January 21, 2020

CDC artists Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins create “an identity” for the SARS-CoV-2 virus by designing the red and white virus image.

Chinese government officials confirm that human-to-human transmission is driving the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in China.

January 23, 2020

Wuhan, China— a city of 11 million people— is placed under lockdown due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak.

January 24, 2020

CDC confirms a travel-related infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Illinois, bringing the total number of cases in the U.S. to two.

January 27, 2020

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces that it will take “critical actions to advance development of novel coronavirus medical countermeasures” with interagency partners, including CDC.

January 28, 2020

CDC issues a Level 3 Travel Health Notice— advising travelers to avoid all non-essential travel to China due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak.

The U.S. government relocates U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China back to the U.S. due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

January 30, 2020

CDC confirms that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has now spread between two people in Illinois with no history of recent travel. This is the first recorded instance of person-to-person spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the U.S and brings the total number of cases up to seven.

February 3, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directs all flights from China and all passengers who have traveled to China within the last 14 days to be routed through one of eleven airports in the U.S. for enhanced screening procedures and possible quarantine. U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei province within 14 days of their return are subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine;, U.S. citizens who have been in other areas of mainland China within 14 days of their return are subject to 14 days of self-quarantine with health monitoring;, and foreign nationals (other than immediate family of U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and flight crew) who have traveled in China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) within 14 days of their arrival, will be denied entry into the U.S.

CDC submits an emergency use authorization (EUA) to FDA to expedite approval for a CDC developed SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test.

February 5, 2020

CDC begins shipping its laboratory test kit to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, “CDC 2019-nCoV Real Time RT-PCR,” to select domestic and international laboratories.

CDC medical officer teams meet additional planes carrying passengers from Wuhan, China at Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, CA, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, and Eppley Airfield in Omaha, NE to screen the passengers for the symptoms of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). All passengers are placed under mandatory 14-day quarantine orders.

February 10, 2020

Worldwide deaths from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus reach 1,013. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has now killed more people than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) outbreak, which claimed 774 lives globally from November 2002 to July 2003.

February 13, 2020

CDC confirms the 15th case of COVID-19 in the U.S.

February 23, 2020

As Italy becomes a global COVID-19 hotspot, the Italian government issues Decree-Law No. 6, containing urgent measures to contain and manage the epidemiological emergency caused by COVID-19, effectively locking down the country.

February 28, 2020

CDC reports four additional presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in California, Oregon, and Washington: one case is likely travel-related, but three are likely due to community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the U.S.

March 1, 2020

CDC creates a hospitalization surveillance network for the SARS-CoV-2 virus called “COVID-NET” to track the numbers and rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations by modifying existing respiratory virus surveillance networks that monitor for hospitalizations associated with influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

March 6, 2020

The Grand Princess cruise ship is stranded off the California coast after officials learn that a California man who had traveled on the ship last month contracted COIVID-19 and died. The California Air National Guard drops off a limited supply of testing kits by helicopter; more than 3,500 people are aboard the ship, but only 46 are able to be tested and 21 (mostly crew members) test positive.

March 12, 2020

FDA no longer requires CDC to perform confirmatory testing for a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

March 14, 2020

CDC issues a “no sail order” for all cruise ships— calling for them to cease activity in all waters that the U.S. holds jurisdiction over.

March 16, 2020

CDC launches “Clara-Bot,” a COVID-19 symptom checker, on its website.

New and old guidelines begin circulating among state health departments for who gets critical care in the event of ventilator shortages: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania use a point system prioritizing patients by likelihood of benefitting from ICU care, while New York’s 2015 plan relies on “exclusion criteria”— a list of medical conditions that would make a patient ineligible, like traumatic brain injury, severe burns, or cardiac arrest. Alabama’s exclusion criteria list, released in 2010 and since removed from publication, included both “severe or profound mental retardation” and “moderate to severe dementia.”

March 19, 2020

CDC asks healthy people to donate blood if they are able amid a national shortage of blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

California governor Gavin Newsom issues a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of COVID-19 instructing residents to only leave their homes when necessary and shutting down all but essential businesses.

March 28, 2020

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the White House extends all social distancing measures until through the end of April 2020.

FDA issues an EUA to allow hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate products to be added the Strategic National Stockpile for the treatment of COVID-19.

CDC distributes a Health Alert Network (HAN) warning against using chloroquine phosphate without the recommendation of a doctor or pharmacy after one person is made seriously ill and a second dies from ingesting non-pharmaceutical chloroquine phosphate (a chemical aquariums use that is commercially available for purchase at stores or online) to prevent or treat COVID-19.

CDC issues a domestic travel advisory for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut due to high community transmission of COVID-19 in those states, urging residents to refrain from all non-essential domestic travel for at least 14 days, effective immediately.

April 3, 2020

At a White House press briefing, CDC announces new mask wearing guidelines and recommends that all people wear a mask when outside of the home.

CDC warns the public about phone scams and phishing attacks that appear to originate from CDC and ask for donations from individuals. This is government impersonation fraud— federal agencies do not request donations from the public.

April 6, 2020

Hundreds of doctors and civil rights groups urge CDC and the U.S. government to release race and ethnicity data on COVID-19 case-numbers in order to reveal the true impact of the virus on communities of color.

April 8, 2020

HHS announces first contract for ventilator production under the Defense Production Act with General Motors.

April 10, 2020

With over 18,600 confirmed deaths and more than 500,000 confirmed cases in under four months, the U.S. is the country with the most reported COVID-19 cases and deaths, surpassing Italy and Spain as a global hot-spot for the virus.

With 159,937 confirmed cases, New York State now has more reported cases of COVID-19 than Spain (153,000), Italy (143,000), or China (82,000). Amid critical hospital bed and ventilator shortages, aerial images emerge of workers in hazmat suits burying coffins in mass graves at Hart Island off the Bronx, an area used for over 150 years by New York City officials as a mass burial site for those with no next-of-kin or who cannot afford funerals.

April 16, 2020

The Trump Administration releases a plan outlining how states should reopen, calling for states or metropolitan areas to meet benchmarks like reducing COVID-19 cases or deaths before reopening or stopping mitigation strategies (like required masking), also known as “gating

April 22, 2020

After two pet cats in separate areas of New York state test positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, CDC recommends that people restrict their pets’ interactions with other people or animals outside their household to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

April 24, 2020

Georgia, Alaska, and Oklahoma begin to partially reopen their states despite concerns from health experts saying it was too early to reopen.

April 28, 2020

Polls show that many people in the U.S., particularly those ages under 30 years or making less than $40,000 per year, plan to defer medical care because of the cost of treatment due to the lack of insurance or being under-insured, potentially leading to the further spread of COVID-19, the under-reporting of case numbers, and excess deaths from COVID-19 and other preventable diseases.

May 1, 2020

FDA issues an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the use of the antiviral drug Remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in people who are hospitalized with severe disease.

CDC develops the “PPE Burn Rate Calculator,” a spreadsheet-based model made to help healthcare facilities plan and optimize the use of personal protective equipment or PPE for the COVID-19 response and publishes it on the Apple and Android App stores.

CDC launches the SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES), a national network to provide real-time genomic sequencing data to public health response teams investigating COVID-19 cases, allowing them to track the SARS-CoV-2 virus as it evolves.

As some countries discuss re-opening, WHO convenes the International Health Regulation Emergency Committee for a third time and declares that the global COVID-19 pandemic remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

May 9, 2020

The unemployment rate in the U.S. is 14.7%— the highest since the Great Depression. With 20.5 million people out of work, the hospitality, leisure, and healthcare industries take the greatest hits overall, affecting essential workers, people with lower incomes, and racial and ethnic minority workers disproportionally.

May 12, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), testifies before the U.S. Senate that experts believe more people have died from COVID-19 than have been officially reported and warns against “re-opening” too quickly.

May 18, 2020

HHS awards states, territories, and local jurisdictions $11 billion in new funding to support testing for COVID-19: CDC will provide $10.25 billion to states, territories, and local jurisdictions through CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) will provide $750 million to IHS, tribal, and urban Indian Health programs to expand testing capacity.

Navajo Nation now has the highest COVID-19 infection rate per capita in the U.S.

May 22, 2020

The Lancet publishes a large study showing that COVID-19 patients who received the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine die at higher rates and experience more cardiac complications than COVID-19 patients who do not receive the drug. This study will shortly be retracted due to data misuse, but multiple other studies have since shown that hydroxychloroquine is neither harmful nor beneficial in the treatment of COVID-19.

May 28, 2020

The recorded death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. surpasses 100,000.

June 8, 2020

The World Bank states that the COVID-19 pandemic will plunge the global economy into the worst recession since World War II.

June 13, 2020

CDC releases consolidated guidelines for COVID-19 testing— including for nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and high-density critical infrastructure workplaces, like food production facilities.

June 16, 2020

HHS announces that COVID-19 vaccines will be provided free of charge to older adults and other groups experiencing disproportionate impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

June 22, 2020

The journal Science Translational Medicine releases a study suggesting that as many as 80% of the Americans who sought care for flu-like illnesses in March 2020 were likely infected with undetected COVID-19.

June 25, 2020

CDC expands the list of people at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness by removing the specific age threshold, instead noting that risk increases with age. CDC also includes people experiencing chronic kidney disease, COPD, obesity, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, and type 2 diabetes, and those who are immunocompromised from solid organ transplants.

June 30, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci warns a Senate committee that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. could soon rise from 40,000 to 100,000 new infections every day, likely overwhelming an already burdened healthcare system.

July 7, 2020

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpasses 3 million.

The U.S. begins the process of withdrawing from WHO.

July 14, 2020

CDC again calls on all people to wear cloth face masks when leaving their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, calling masks “a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19.”

Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia have both the greatest percentage of adults who are currently uninsured and the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases.

July 16, 2020

Many states, including California, Michigan, and Indiana postpone re-opening plans as COVID-19 case numbers rise.

The U.S. reports a record number of COVID-19 infections in a single day, with 75,600 new cases reported.

CDC extends the no sail order for all cruise ships through September 30, 2020.

July 23, 2020

CDC releases resources for school administrators, teachers, parents, guardians, and caregivers to help build appropriate public health strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19 in a school environment.

August 4, 2020

A study finds that more than 50% of all people living in rural areas in the U.S. have no intensive care unit (ICU) beds available (only 3% of the communities with higher incomes had no ICU beds). High rates of COVID-19 infections, chronic health conditions, limited testing, and inadequate access to healthcare could all lead to significant COVID-19 mortality among people living in rural communities.

August 12, 2020

Obesity is found to increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19 disease, especially among men and younger people– even when isolated from racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic disparities.

August 15, 2020

FDA issues an EUA to the Yale School of Public Health for its rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 SalivaDirect. The test uses a new and more flexible method of containing and processing saliva samples when testing for COVID-19, allowing laboratories to increase capacity and efficiency in testing.

August 19, 2020

After CDC studies show that American Indians and Alaska Natives are among the racial and ethnic minority group at higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes, CDC provides more that $200 million in COVID-19 funding to Indian Country.

August 23, 2020

FDA issues an EUA for use of convalescent plasma (the liquid component of blood that, when taken from someone who has recently recovered from an infection, can contain antibodies to that illness) to treat people hospitalized with severe COVID-19.

August 26, 2020

FDA issues an EUA for Abbott’s BinaxNOW Covid-19 Test Kit— a rapid antigen test that can detect a COVID-19 infection in 15 minutes using the same technology as a flu test.

September 1, 2020

The U.S. and China decline to join the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility, or COVAX, a global program spearheaded by WHO that aims to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines worldwide— more than 170 other nations sign on.

September 11, 2020

CDC releases data in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) showing that because of concerns about COVID-19, an estimated 41% of U.S. adults had delayed or avoided seeking medical care, including urgent or emergency care. Unpaid caregivers for adults, people with underlying medical conditions, Black adults, non-White Hispanic adults, young adults, and people with disabilities are the most affected.

September 15, 2020

CDC releases data in MMWR from a study showing that people who recently tested positive for the SAR-CoV-2 virus were more than twice as likely to have recently dined out and more than four times as likely to have recently visited a bar or café.

CDC releases an infographic guide to help schools mitigate COVID-19 transmission in schools.

September 21, 2020

Johnson & Johnson begins phase 3 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine with 60,000 participants. The J&J vaccine does not need to be frozen and may require just one shot.

September 23, 2020

HHS and CDC awards states, territories, and local jurisdictions $200 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in new funding to support vaccine distribution for COVID-19.

September 30, 2020

CDC extends the no sail order for all cruise ships through October 31, 2020.

October 5, 2020

More staff at the White House, including the press secretary, test positive for COVID-19.

CDC updates its “How COVID-19 is Spread” guidelines to acknowledge the potential for the airborne spread of the COVID-19 virus— even when 6 feet of social distance is maintained if the area is poorly ventilated or enclosed and activities occur that require heavy breathing, like singing or exercise.

October 7, 2020

New Zealand lifts restrictions and declares COVID-19 “beaten” after a cluster of 179 cases in Auckland (the country’s largest outbreak yet) is fully contained.

October 30, 2020

CDC announces the end of the no sail order for cruise ship companies, replacing it with a conditional sail order that requires companies to meet testing and safety requirements and to test those rules on simulated voyages before cruises resume.

November 9, 2020

FDA issues an EUA for Eli Lilly’s drug Bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment that mimics the immune system’s response to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and appears to protect patients at increased risk from a COVID-19 infection progressing to more severe forms of disease.

November 13, 2020

Two weeks after large groups gathered for Halloween celebrations, COVID-19 case numbers spike across the U.S.

November 17, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses the need to understand the “long COVID” symptoms like persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sporadic fevers, and concentration issues, that as many as one-third of patients experience for weeks or months after contracting COVID-19.

November 20, 2020

As COVID-19 case numbers in the U.S. surge past 11 million, CDC recommends that Americans stay home for Thanksgiving and avoid contact with all people not living in their household for the last 14 days.

November 23, 2020

FDA grants an EUA for a COVID-19 antibody treatment manufactured by Regeneron. In a clinical trial of 800 people, the drug significantly reduced virus levels within days.

December 11, 2020

FDA issues an EUA for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

ACIP recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for all people ages 16 years or older for the prevention of COVID-19

December 17, 2020

CDC records the highest number of drug overdose deaths ever in a 12-month period ending in May 2020 in the U.S.—more than 81,000. Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) increased by 38%, methamphetamines by 35%, and cocaine (likely linked to co-use or contamination of cocaine with illicitly manufactured fentanyl or heroin) by 27%.

December 19, 2020

ACIP recommends the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in persons ages 18 years or older for the prevention of COVID-19.

December 23, 2020

The Trump Administration announces the purchase of 100 million additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

December 24, 2020

More than 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. in just 10 days: healthcare workers and older adults living in long-term care facilities are the first to be vaccinated with the goal of vaccinating every person as soon as enough vaccine doses are available

December 28, 2020

Proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure is mandated for all foreign national travelers entering the U.S. from the U.K. due to the highly transmissible COVID-19 B.1.1.7 / “Alpha” variant circulating in the U.K.

December 30, 2020

The Oxford University / AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for emergency use in the U.K. Within a week, 530,000 doses are available for care-home residents, adults ages 80 years and older, and healthcare workers.

December 31, 2020

One year anniversary of the first reported case of COVID-19 to WHO.

2.8 million people in the U.S. have received a COVID-19 vaccine dose— far short of the nation’s goal of 20 million.

January 6, 2021

HHS and CDC announce plans to provide $22 billion in funding for states, localities, and territories to support expanded COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

January 18, 2021

The reported death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. surpasses 400,000.

January 21, 2021

The Biden Administration announces the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response, an outline of 7 goals to restore trust, vaccinate, test, and treat COVID-19 while protecting schools, businesses, and workers in addition to advancing health equity and building the nation’s preparedness for future pandemics, calling it “a wartime undertaking.”

The Biden Administration reverses the Trump Administration’s attempt to withdraw from WHO and joins the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility “COVAX”, a program aimed at vaccinating people in low- and middle-income countries against COVID-19.

January 25, 2021

The first case of the COVID-19 P.1 / “Gamma” variant, first identified by scientists in Brazil, is detected in Minnesota.

January 28, 2021

The first case of the COVID-19 B 1.351 / “Beta” variant, first identified by scientists in South Africa, is detected in South Carolina.

January 30, 2021

As part of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel, CDC requires face masks to be worn by all travelers while on public transportation and inside transportation hubs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 effective February 2, 2021.

February 16, 2021

Vaccine distribution is disrupted in several states, including Texas, Missouri, Alabama, and New Hampshire, due to severe winter storms.

February 21, 2021

The recorded COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. surpasses 500,000.

February 28, 2021

ACIP recommends Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for all people ages 18 years and older.

March 2, 2021

The Biden Administration directs all states to make pre-K-12 teachers, school staff, and childcare workers eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations and to prioritize this group during the month of March within the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. After this directive, the number of states where these essential workers are eligible to be vaccinated increases by more than 50%.

March 11, 2021

First anniversary of WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic.

The Biden Administration announces plans for all adult Americans to be eligible and able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, 2021. They plan to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible by delivering vaccines to 700 community health centers in under-resourced communities, doubling the number of pharmacies providing COVID-19 vaccines and the number of federally run mass vaccination centers, deploying more than 4,000 active-duty troops to support these efforts, and by launching the “Find a Vaccination Website” and a 1-800 Number.

The Biden Administration signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law. The stimulus bill includes funding for expanded unemployment benefits, rental assistance, and COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as extending the child tax credit for one year and providing direct cash payments of up to $1,400 per person.

The Biden Administration announces a $1.75 billion investment in expanding genomic sequencing to identity and track new variants and $50 billion to expand the nation’s testing capabilities.

March 14, 2021

Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, and Norway suspend distribution of AstaZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as the European Union (EU) investigates if the shot may be linked to reports of blood clots.

March 18, 2021

The U.S. announces it will send 4 million unused doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine from its stockpile to Mexico and Canada.

After 13 European countries halt distribution of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine pending review, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announces that they did not find any evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots, and while they were unable to definitively rule out a link between rare blood clots events and the vaccine, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is still considered safe, is effective, and the benefits of this vaccine still outweigh its risks.

March 25, 2021

CDC announces $300 million in funding for states, localities, territories, tribes, and tribal organizations for community health worker (CHW) services to address: 1) disparities in access to COVID-19 related services, such as testing, contact tracing, and immunization; 2) factors that increase risk of severe COVID-19 illness, such as chronic diseases, smoking, and pregnancy; and 3) community public health needs that have been exacerbated by COVID-19, such as health and mental health care access and food insecurity.

CDC announces a plan to provide the patients and staff of dialysis clinics easy access to COVID-19 vaccinations on-site. People with chronic kidney disease on dialysis who contract COVID-19 are at higher risk of severe adverse health outcomes— half require hospitalization and 20% – 30% die. Additionally, advanced stage chronic kidney disease disproportionately affects African Americans, Non-White Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives. To date, only 35% of healthcare workers in U.S. dialysis centers have been vaccinated.

March 31, 2021

CDC, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), launches the community health testing program called “Say Yes! COVID Test” in Pitt County, North Carolina and Chattanooga/Hamilton County, Tennessee, providing 160,000 residents with access to free, at-home COVID-19 tests to use up to three times a week for one month in an effort determine if frequent self-testing can reduce community spread of COVID-19.

April 3, 2021

CDC announces $3 billion in additional funding for expanded COVID-19 vaccination programs.

April 8, 2021

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky releases a statement on racism and health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, writing: “Yet, the disparities seen over the past year were not a result of COVID-19. Instead, the pandemic illuminated inequities that have existed for generations and revealed for all of America a known, but often unaddressed, epidemic impacting public health: racism.”

April 21, 2021

More than 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S.

April 27, 2021

In March 2021, according to data from the Census Bureau, 18 million adults (16% of Black adults, 16% of Latino adults, and 6% of White adults) and up to 8.8 million children, over one-fifth of Black and Latino children, lived in a household without enough food sometime in the last seven days.

May 10, 2021

FDA expands the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include all adolescents ages 12–15 years.

May 14, 2021

CDC finds that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by approximately 94%.

June 1, 2021

The COVID-19 B.1.617.2 / “Delta” variant, first identified in India, becomes the dominant variant in the U.S. The variant begins a third wave of infections during the summer of 2021.

June 7, 2021

CDC finds that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by 91% and protect against severe illness and hospitalization if a breakthrough infection does occur.

June 24, 2021

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky extends the eviction moratorium through July 31, 2021, in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

July 6, 2021

American Indian and Alaska Natives had some of the highest rates of hospitalization and death in the U.S. early in the pandemic, but American Indian and Alaskan Native vaccination campaigns are succeeding: CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker shows that American Indians and Alaskan Natives have the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S.

July 16, 2021

CDC issues an exception for unaccompanied non-citizen children under Title 42, the order suspending the right to introduce non-citizen persons into the U.S. due to the increased risk from COVID-19.

July 27, 2021

Amid a Delta variant surge, CDC releases updated masking guidance recommending that everyone in areas with substantial or high transmission wear a mask indoors.

August 2, 2021

CDC extends Title 42, the order suspending the right to introduce non-citizen persons into the U.S. at the nation’s southern and northern land borders, except for the unaccompanied non-citizen children covered under the July 16, 2021, order, due to the increased risk from COVID-19.

CDC reports that the Indian Health Service (IHIS) has administered 1,497,047 COVID-19 vaccine doses— more than 70,000 shots given daily.

August 6, 2021

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that unvaccinated individuals are more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated after initially contracting the virus – in other words, COVID-19 vaccines offer stronger protection than natural immunity alone

August 13, 2021

ACIP recommends an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine after the two-dose vaccine series for all people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems.

August 23, 2021

FDA fully approves the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for all people ages 18 years and older. Full FDA approval further reinforces that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to meet the agency’s high standards for safety, effectiveness, and consistent quality in manufacturing.

September 1, 2021

CDC releases a digital toolkit for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and their caregivers to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, with communication resources like videos, stories, posters, and interactive activities about getting tested, vaccinated, masking, and social distancing. To date, CDC has also released more than 40 videos and 25 web resources in American Sign Language (ASL) on COVID-19.

September 17, 2021

The Biden Administration, working through CDC, invests $2.1 billion in funding for state, local, and territorial public health departments to give them the resources needed to prevent infections in healthcare settings, detect and contain infectious organisms, enhance laboratory capacity, and combat infectious disease threats, including COVID-19.

September 29, 2021

CDC issues an urgent health advisory to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who are trying to become pregnant. More than 22,000 pregnant people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and 161 have died. COVID-19 in pregnant people carries a two-fold risk of admission to intensive care, a 70% increased risk of death, and adverse pregnancy outcomes that can include preterm birth, stillbirth, and the admission of a newborn into the ICU with COVID-19

October 7, 2021

More than 140,000 children in the U.S. have lost their primary or secondary caregiver to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of every 168 American Indian and Alaska Native children, 1 of every 310 Black children, 1 of every 412 non-White Hispanic children, 1 of every 612 Asian children, and 1 of every 753 White children have now experienced orphanhood or the death of caregivers.

CDC adds mental health conditions to the list of risk factors associated with severe illness from COVID-19.

October 26, 2021

CDC announces $26 million in funding for CDC’s new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA).

November 2, 2021

ACIP recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages 5–11 years.

November 8, 2021

All non-citizens who are traveling to the U.S. will now be required to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their vaccination status to fly to the U.S. All travelers will continue to be required to show a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test taken no more than three days before they board their flights.

November 19, 2021

Amid worries of an upcoming Omicron surge, CDC strengthens its recommendation urging that everyone ages 18 years and older who received a Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster after they are fully vaccinated.

November 26, 2021

WHO designates the COVID-19 “Omicron” variant, first identified by scientists in South Africa, as a “variant of concern.” Changes in the spike protein of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, concern scientists around the world due to the potential for increased transmissibility and decreased vaccine protection.

December 1, 2021

The first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. is detected by the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health.

December 3, 2021

FDA revises the emergency use authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly’s two monoclonal antibodies, Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab, to allow the drugs to be used together for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in all pediatric patients, including newborns, who have a positive COVID-19 test and are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.

December 8, 2021

FDA issues an EUA for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a treatment of two monoclonal antibodies for the pre-exposure prevention of COVID-19 in adults and children ages 12 years and older who weigh at least 88 pounds and have moderate to severely compromised immune function or a history of severe adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines.

December 15, 2021

The recorded death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 800,000 in the U.S. One in every 100 people ages 65 years and older in the U.S. has died.

December 17, 2021

CDC releases two reports in MMWR highlighting the use of test-to-stay practices to help keep students in school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

December 22, 2021

FDA authorizes Pfizer’s anti-viral pill Paxlovid to treat COVID-19 under an EUA for adults and children ages 12 years and older who weigh at least 88 pounds who test positive and are at high risk for progression to severe disease. It is the first treatment for COVID-19 that is taken orally and can be used at home.

December 27, 2021

CDC shortens the recommended isolation period for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask around others if they are asymptomatic or if their symptoms are resolving (resolving is defined as without a fever for 24 hours).

CDC updates the recommended quarantine period for people exposed to someone with COVID-19 to wear a mask around others for 10 days and get tested on day 5 if you have been boosted or vaccinated within the last 6 months. If the exposed individual is unvaccinated, CDC now recommends a quarantine period of 5 days, followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days.

January 1, 2022

As Delta and Omicron spread, New York state records its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began – with 114,082 new confirmed cases.

January 4, 2022

ACIP shortens the recommended time between the primary vaccination series and a booster shot for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from 6 months to 5 months.

ACIP recommends that moderately or severely immunocompromised children ages 5–11 years receive an additional primary dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 28 days after their second shot.

January 7, 2022

FDA amends the EUA for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to shorten the time between the primary series of the vaccine and a booster dose from at least 5 months to 6 months for individuals ages 18 years and older. The same day, CDC endorses the FDA’s recommendation.

January 14, 2022

CDC updates guidelines on masks to emphasize fit, comfort, and consistent wear.

In one month, the daily average of new COVID-19 infections reported in the U.S. spikes from 119,215 to 805,062.

January 19, 2022

To help meet the demand for testing during the Omicron surge, the Biden Administration purchases 1 billion COVID-19 tests and creates an online portal where people can order free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

January 24, 2022

FDA further revises the EUA for Eli Lilly’s two monoclonal antibodies, Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab, to limit their use after the treatment is shown to be ineffective against the Omicron variant.

FDA revises the EUA for Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody, Regen-cov, to limit its use after the treatment is shown to be ineffective against the Omicron variant.

The Omicron variant now accounts for approximately 99% of all current COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

February 4, 2022

ACIP recommends the use of Moderna’s vaccine for all people ages 18 years and older.

The death rate from COVID-19 climbs 30% in two weeks amid an Omicron surge, with more than 2,600 people dying from COVID-19 each day.

The number of recorded deaths in the U.S. due to COVID-19 surpasses 900,000.

February 11, 2022

CDC releases data showing that COVID-19 vaccine boosters remain safe and were highly effective against severe disease during the Omicron and Delta variant surges for everyone ages 5 years and older.

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that the Omicron variant rose from 1% of all infections in the U.S. to 99% of all infections in just 6 weeks (compared to 18 weeks for Delta).

February 18, 2022

CDC releases two reports in MMWR on pediatric emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommends increased awareness of the health concerns among children and adolescents that could arise due to delayed medical care and heightened emotional distress, especially for adolescent girls (ages 12–17 years).

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirms that a child in Wisconsin has died from multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 infection in children.

March 3, 2022

CDC updates the “COVID-19 Community Level,” showing that more than 90% of the U.S. population is in a location with either low or medium COVID-19 community transmission level.

The U.S. has now donated more than 480 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 110 countries.

March 5, 2022

More than 10 billion people have received a COVID-19 vaccine, with WHO reporting that 10,704,043,684 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. About 56% of the world is now fully vaccinated, but many regions still lack access, especially on the African continent where less than 20% of the total population is currently vaccinated.

March 10, 2022

On CDC’s recommendation, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extends the mask requirement for all public transportation and transportation hubs through April 18, 2022.

The number of recorded deaths due to COVID-19 surpasses 6 million worldwide, with WHO reporting 6,019,085 confirmed deaths. The true number is likely much higher.

The number of recorded COVID-19 cases surpasses 450 million worldwide, with WHO reporting 450,229,635 confirmed infections. The true number is likely much higher.

March 12, 2022

CDC estimates that 23% of all current COVID-19 infections in the U.S. are caused by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, with initial data suggesting that BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than the Omicron BA.1 variant.

March 15, 2022

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that the COVID-19 hospitalization rate among infants and children ages 4 years and younger was 5 times higher during the peak of the Omicron variant surge when compared to the Delta variant– 63% of those children hospitalized had no underlying medical conditions.

After officially recording more than 43 million COVID-19 cases, India begins vaccinating adolescents ages 12–14 years with the COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax and schools reopen after two years of closures.

CDC outlines its goals for the third year of a global COVID-19 response: to increase vaccination levels around the world, reduce spread of COVID-19 and its impact, expand scientific knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and strengthen public health leadership while improving long-term health security worldwide.

March 18, 2022

CDC releases data in two MMWRs showing that adults who received 3 doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine were 94% less likely to be put on a ventilator or die from COVID-19 during the Omicron surge compared to non-vaccinated adults in the U.S. and that Black adults are currently 4 times more likely to be hospitalized than White adults.

March 24, 2022

Data from the Census Bureau shows that deaths in the U.S. between 2019 – 2020 increased by approximately 19% after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. That is the largest spike in mortality in the U.S. in 100 years.

March 29, 2022

CDC and FDA both recommend a second mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster for immunocompromised individuals and all adults ages 50 and older 4 months after their last booster dose.

CDC recommends that all adults who received a primary vaccine series and booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine receive a second booster dose with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC recommends that all adults who received a primary vaccine series and booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine receive a second booster dose with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

March 31, 2022

CDC releases data from the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) showing that from January 2021 – June 2021 among high-school aged adolescents: 44% report feeling persistently sad or hopeless; 55% report emotional abuse in the home; 11% report physical abuse in the home; and 29% report job loss by an adult in the home. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and female youth reported the poorest overall mental health, the most emotional abuse by a parent or caregiver, and attempted suicide more their peers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 8, 2022

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that the risk for cardiac complications in all age groups was significantly higher after COVID-19 infection when compared to after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

April 18, 2022

CDC’s mask mandate for indoor public transportation is struck down by a judge in Florida.

April 19, 2022

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that of the children ages 5–11 years who were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first few months of the Omicron surge, 3 in 10 had no underlying medical conditions, 9 in 10 were unvaccinated, and 2 in 10 required ICU care.

April 22, 2022

For the second year in a row, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S.– after heart disease and cancer.

April 27, 2022

It is estimated that during 2000–2018, measles vaccines prevented 23.2 million deaths, but delays in routine vaccinations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and crises in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Afghanistan have led to a nearly 80% worldwide rise in measles cases in 2022.

April 30, 2022

The current proportion of the U.S. population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 broken down by age group is: 5–11, 28%; 12–17, 59%; 18–49, 69%; 50–64, 80%; and ≥65 years, 90%.

May 3, 2022

CDC recommends that everyone continue to wear a mask while in indoor transportation hubs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 – but this is no longer legally enforceable.

May 10, 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 35% increase in the firearm homicide rate, resulting in the highest firearm homicide rate in more than 25 years. Firearm homicide rates are the highest among males, adolescents, young adults, and non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people. Rates of firearm suicide remained high, increasing most notably among American Indian and Alaska Native males ages 10–44, and are highest in rural areas.

May 16, 2022

Researchers from Brown University School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, estimate that approximately 50% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were vaccine-preventable deaths.

May 25, 2022

CDC releases data in MMWR showing that COVID-19 survivors are twice as likely to develop a pulmonary embolism or respiratory condition and that approximately 1 in 5 adults now have at least one health condition that may be attributable to a previous COVID-19 infection.

May 27, 2022

North Korea reports a total of 3.27 million “fever patients.”

May 31, 2022

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asks a federal appeals court to overturn the order that declared CDC’s mandate requiring individuals to wear masks on public transportation unlawful.

Authorities in Shanghai announce that they are partially reopening China’s largest city after two months of a COVID-19 lockdown that has kept millions of people strictly in their homes and employed both mass testing and isolation of anyone infected with COVID-19 in centralized facilities.

June 2, 2022

A Kaiser Foundation study tested three widespread false statements about COVID-19 vaccines: “pregnant women should not get the COVID-19 vaccine; it is unsafe for women who are breastfeeding to get a COVID-19 vaccine; and the COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to cause infertility.” Vaccine misinformation is so pervasive that about six in ten U.S. adults and seven in ten women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant either believed or were unsure about at least one of these false statements.

June 18, 2022

ACIP recommends Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines for everyone ages 6 months – 5 years, expanding vaccine eligibility to over 20 million additional children in the U.S. All people ages 6 months and older are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.

June 30, 2022

As COVID-19 case numbers rise across the U.S. due to the highly transmissible omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5., FDA calls for Omicron-specific updates to COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in fall 2022.

July 8, 2022

New York Department of Health recommends that all people should wear N95, KN95, or KF94 masks in all public indoor settings and when in crowded outdoor areas due to high community transmission of COVID-19.

FDA fully approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 12–15 years. Full FDA approval further reinforces that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to meet the agency’s high standards for safety, effectiveness, and consistent quality in manufacturing.