Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus European Union leaders will meet on Thursday to try to speed up the production and rollout of vaccines in a race against the emergence of new variants that some fear could bring a third wave of the pandemic across the continent. Reuters Staff U.S.

* The World Health Organization is working with the European Commission to coordinate vaccine donations for other countries on the continent, the head of its European office said.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/26/world/covid-19-coronavirus#governors-relax-restrictions-as-infection-numbers-fall

With the coronavirus slowly receding, governors around the United States are beginning to relax pandemic restrictions.

But the rules ae being eased much in the same way as they were imposed: in a patchwork fashion that largely falls along party lines. Republicans are leaning toward rollbacks, and Democrats are staying the course or offering a more cautious approach.

On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said he was considering lifting a statewide mask mandate that has been in place since July.

“We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re going to be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon,” Mr. Abbott said.

Shorter, more frequent lockdowns could lead to fewer COVID-19 cases, study finds A new study out of Toronto suggests that shorter, but more frequent lockdowns could lead to fewer cases of COVID-19. Coronavirus

TORONTO -- A new study out of Toronto suggests that shorter, but more frequent lockdowns, could lead to fewer cases of COVID-19.

White House planning to forecast vaccine shipments months in advance The longer planning window could address concerns from governors who complained that limited shipment forecasts affect their planning abilities. Rachel Roubein POLITICO

The Biden administration is planning to provide states with estimates of their expected vaccine shipments likely months ahead of time rather than weeks, according to multiple sources with knowledge.

CDC launches VaccineFinder tool to locate Covid-19 vaccine providers Federal officials have quietly opened up access to VaccineFinder, which lets the public to search for approved Covid-19 vaccine providers. Katie Palmer STAT

Federal officials Wednesday quietly opened up access to VaccineFinder, a site that allows the U.S. public to search nationwide for approved Covid-19 vaccine providers.