The Covid-era battle for hearts and minds. China and Russia got into the vaccine diplomacy game early in Latin America and the Caribbean. Now that nearly half the U.S. population is fully immunized, Washington has entered the ring. This week’s big move was a U.S. donation to Haiti, which received its first vaccines yet. Check out our new tracker to see where U.S. dose donations are landing in the region. 

On the eve of major protests, Cuba authorized its homegrown Abdala vaccine for emergency use. Learn about this and other major developments in our Latin America vaccine tracker.

From variants to COVAX shipments, see our coronavirus guide for more resources.

Chile’s tea leaves. The country holds presidential primaries Sunday, giving a glimpse of what’s to come in a race where two mayors from Santiago province—Daniel Jadue of the leftist Communist Party and Joaquín Lavín of the conservative Let’s Go Chile coalition—are frontrunners. Check our poll tracker.

THEY SAID WHAT?

• Argentina surpassed 100,000 lives lost to Covid as the Delta variant advances. 
• El Salvador imposed a 90-day ban on mass gatherings amid a rise in cases. 
• Parents are footing the bill for Mexico’s lengthy, pandemic-related school closures.