Missed opportunity: U.S. and vaccine diplomacy

Good morning, NBC News readers.

Today we are taking a look at vaccine diplomacy, a tragic train accident and how First Lady Jill Biden managed to pull off an April Fool’s prank.

Here’s what we’re watching this Friday morning.

Although China and Russia deny it, experts say they are beginning to see how Beijing’s and Moscow’s strategy of selling or donating their vaccines abroad is greasing the wheels of their international relationships and allowing them to expand their influence throughout the world.

It’s a development that should cause grave concern for the United States and other democracies, according to former U.S. ambassadors and other ex-diplomats.

What rankles these observers is not that China and Russia are winning at vaccine diplomacy, it’s that the U.S. and others aren’t even in the game yet.

Washington and its allies have instead chosen to prioritize their domestic populations, keeping most doses at home.

“The United States, until recently, was the go-to country for any major health disaster,” said Thomas Shannon, the former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, the third-highest-ranking role in the State Department. “So to pull itself off the playing field is very disconcerting.”

The island is facing its worst rail disaster in decades after the train apparently hit a truck and derailed. It was carrying hundreds from the capital Taipei to the country’s southeast, many believed to be tourists and people heading home for the start of a long holiday weekend. By Max Burman | Read more

The death of a 16-year-old foster child who was restrained led Michigan officials to re-evaluate the care that children receive in state facilities. By Hannah Rappleye | Read more

The Emmy-winning documentarian said Thursday that he supports the goals of a group of filmmakers who criticized PBS over a lack of diversity and an “over-reliance” on his work. “Can we do better? Of course we can. Can PBS do better? Of course they can,” Burns said. By Daniel Arkin | Read more

A humorist writes a field guide to understanding the people who seemingly rocked the pandemic with “lockdown success” stories. By Rachel Greenblatt | Read more

Researchers at Osaka University compiled historical data using the diaries of emperors, aristocrats, governors and monks to show that this year’s peak bloom came earlier than ever before. Experts say the record-setting date is the result of climate change. By Salina Li and Erika Na | Read more

In the latest episode of our Into America podcast, host Trymaine Lee sits down with the daughters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X to discuss what it means to inherit a legacy of activism. By Trymaine Lee | Listen here

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SHOPPINGBack, side and stomach sleepers: Here’s how to pick the right pillow, according to experts.

Who said the first lady can’t have fun?

Jill Biden played an April Fools’ prank on members of the media on a flight back to Washington from California, dressing up as a flight attendant who passed out ice cream bars.

Biden, wearing a short black wig and a “Jasmine” name tag, went unnoticed during meal service.

“April Fools,” she said when she returned without the wig, according to a pool report.

The report says members of the media were fooled — but so were members of the first lady’s staff.

Read the full story here.

Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Happy Easter! If you are celebrating, I hope you have a lovely and safe weekend.

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Thanks, Petra