January 7: Chinese authorities identify and isolate a novel coronavirus as the
causative agent of the outbreak.
January 22: The WHO confirms human-to-human spread of the novel coronavirus.
January 31: The WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern.
February 23: As Italy becomes a global COVID-19 hotspot, the Italian government
issues Decree-Law No. 6
March 11: The WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic.
April 10: The U.S. surpasses Italy as the global leader for reported deaths due to
COVID-19 (23,036 deaths)

May 2: World Health Organization renews is emergency declaration from three
months prior calling the pandemic a global health crisis.
May 28: United States coronavirus (COVID-19) death toll surpasses 100,000.
June 8: The World Bank states that COVID-19 will plunge the Global Economy into
the worst recession since World War II.
June 11: The United States passes 2 million confirmed cases of the virus.
July 1: The European Union announces it will allow travelers from 14 countries
outside the bloc to visit EU countries, months after it shut its external borders in
response to the pandemic.

September 22: United States coronavirus death toll surpasses 200,000.
October 7: New Zealand declares itself virus free.
December 1: Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use
Authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 vaccine – the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
December 18: The U.S.Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use
Authorization for the second COVID-19 vaccine – the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
December 30: AstraZenica and University of Oxford’s vaccine approved for
emergency use in the UK and will begin distribution in the New Year.

January 26: Worldwide COVID-19 cases surpass 100 million.
February 27: FDA approves emergency use authorization for Johnson and
Johnson one shot COVID-19 vaccine.
March 14: Several countries, including Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, and Norway
suspend dispensing AstaZeneca COVID vaccine over concerns of blood clotting.
March 30: According to a 120-page report from WHO, the novel coronavirus that
causes Covid-19 probably spread to people through an animal, and probably
started spreading among humans no more than a month or two before it was noticed in December of 2019.
April 17: The global tally of deaths from Covid-19 surpasses 3 million.

June 1: The Delta variant, first identified in India in late 2020, becomes the
dominant variant in the U.S. The variant kicks off a third wave of infections during
the summer of 2021.
July 27: After a substantial upswing in cases due to the Delta variant, CDC
releases updated guidance for everyone in areas with substantial or high
transmission to wear a mask while indoors.
August 6: CDC study shows that among people previously infected with
COVID-19, reinfection was less than half as likely among those who were
vaccinated after their first infection.
August 30: ACIP recommends Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for people ages 16
years and older.

October 21: CDC endorses ACIP recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots for
people who are 65 years and older, and people 18 years and older who live in
long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, and who live or work in high risk settings.
October 29: New CDC study provides further evidence that COVID-19 vaccines
offer higher protection than previous COVID-19 infection.
November 2: CDC endorses ACIP recommendation that children ages 5 to 11
years be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.
November 26: World Health Organization classifies a new variant, Omicron, as a
variant of concern after it was first reported by scientists in South Africa. The
variant has several mutations in the spike protein that concern scientists around
the world.
November 29: CDC recommends that everyone over 18 years old who received a
Pfizer or Moderna vaccine receive a COVID-19 booster shot 6 months after
they are fully vaccinated.