Coronavirus Watch: Biden is acting quickly on COVID-19 orders

States are running out of COVID-19 vaccine doses. Tens of thousands of people who managed to get vaccination appointments are seeing them canceled. And just 14 million people in the U.S. have received a first shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden is expected to sign 10 executive orders and other directives aimed at jump-starting the administration's national strategy to defeat the pandemic. On Wednesday, he signed several orders pertaining to providing support for Americans affected by the pandemic. He also plans to:

• Create a new "testing board" to expand testing for the virus
• Order a national strategy to reopen schools
• Require masks in most planes, trains and airports

It's Thursday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news that you need to know:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the U.S. will resume funding for the World Health Organization and intends to join the COVAX Facility, a project to deploy COVID-19 vaccines to people in need around the world.
• Results from clinical trials of the vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson are expected by the end of this month. The vaccine could dramatically speed up the fight against the pandemic because it would require only one dose and would not need to be stored at super-cold temperatures.
• New CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the agency will extend an order preventing landlords from evicting tenants to March 31, protecting as many as 40 million Americans from displacement.
• A drug developed by Eli Lilly and Company dramatically reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 among nursing home residents, the company found.
• The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 900,000, pointing to ongoing job cuts amid the pandemic.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 24.4 million COVID-19 cases and 407,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Cases continue to surge worldwide. There have been more than 97.1 million cases and more than 2 million deaths. See the numbers in your area here, check out where cases are rising here, and see how many vaccines your state has received here.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck