Note that some links may require registration or subscription. According to new research, cases of the U.K. variant in the U.S. could be doubling every 10 days. ( CNBC) South Africa stopped use of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine after preliminary data showed it was less effective against mild and moderate cases of the South African variant. ( New York Times) As of Monday at 8:00 a.m. EST, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. reached 27,008,565 cases and 463,482 deaths, up more than 82,000 cases and 22,000 deaths from a week ago. And the latest CDC data indicate over 59 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S., with over 41 million administered (69%).