Thread by @VanityFair

With its COVID-19 response, the Biden administration had hoped to reclaim America’s role as a global public-health leader. But a dramatic uptick in domestic cases meant the world would have to wait. vntyfr.com/JspYBUB

Notably, @KatherineEban reveals that the contracts the Trump administration signed with vaccine manufacturers prohibit the U.S. from sharing its surplus doses with the rest of the world.

Though designed to ensure that manufacturers retain liability protection, the legal parameters “must change” before the U.S. can do anything to help the rest of the world, one senior administration official said.

And as the administration attempts to navigate those hurdles, federal entities that might work on overseas donations are instead being tasked with vaccinating more Americans in the wake of CDC director Rochelle Walensky’s warning of “impending doom.”

Still: “I am confident that we will overcome any obstacles,” one senior White House official tells V.F. Read the full story from @KatherineEban now. vntyfr.com/7tP0xhE