Inquiry into US Covid response has bipartisan support | First Thing

New Covid commission would inform US response to future outbreaks as well as current impact of the virus. Plus, the intimacy famine

Good morning.

A sweeping new bill with powerful bipartisan support in the US Senate would establish an inquiry into the country's Covid-19 response similar to the 9/11 Commission, among other provisions aimed at preventing the next pandemic.

In November 2019, the US was ranked first of 195 countries for pandemic preparedness in a report co-produced by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, but it has consistently had one of the worst responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, said John Farmer Jr, the senior counsel for the 9/11 Commission.

What's going to happen next? There is expected to be a UN security council meeting today, at the request of the US, to give Russia the opportunity to explain its actions. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said the US was prepared to listen" but was not going to be distracted by their propaganda".

What's happening on the ground? Tensions on the Ukraine border have continued to escalate, with Reuters reporting the Russian military build-up included supplies of blood in anticipation of casualties.