Coronavirus Watch: Fauci emails made public

What was Dr. Anthony Fauci really thinking during the early days of the pandemic?

Hundreds of emails obtained by The Washington Post and other media organizations reveal his written responses to hundreds of people, including George Gao, a top infectious disease official in China who sent Fauci an encouraging note when he was being criticized for supporting social distancing rules.

"Thank you for your kind note," Fauci replied. "All is well despite some crazy people in this world."

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• President Joe Biden was set to unveil plans Wednesday to recruit 1,000 Black-owned barbershops and salons to provide "Shots at the Shop" and promote the nationwide vaccination effort.
• Vaccine interchangeability? Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who got the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for the second.
• The Ohio Lottery planned to announce the next winners of the state’s Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prizes tonight. Most of Ohio's COVID-related health orders, such as mask requirements, capacity limits and social-distancing guidelines, are ending today.
• The European Union launched the EU Digital COVID Certificate, a "digital pass" that will create a single hub for all EU citizens to hold their vaccination and COVID-19 status as they cross borders and travel.
• Alaska has begun offering coronavirus vaccinations at airports in time for the summer travel season.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 33 million COVID-19 cases and 595,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 171 million cases and more than 3.5 million deaths. Nearly 51% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 41% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck