COVID-19 - Updates

"India’s COVID-19 crisis is far from over, and vaccines alone won’t help.  Here’s why" PBS NewsHour 5/3/2021

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SUMMARY:  The COVID-19 crisis in India shows little sign of slowing down.  As death tolls and infections skyrocket, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is under increasing political pressure and scrutiny.  The country is short on vaccines, and other life-saving supplies like oxygen and antiviral drugs.  William Brangham speaks to Indian reporter Barkha Dutt about what she's seeing on the ground.

 

 

"Dr. Vivek Murthy on new US inoculation strategy and distributing vaccines abroad" PBS NewsHour 5/4/2021

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SUMMARY:  U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, a key member of the president's team combating COVID-19, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss President Joe Biden's aims to vaccinate 70 percent of all U.S. adults with at least one dose by July 4, and how a focus on rural communities will help achieve that goal, and how the U.S. plans to distribute vaccines abroad.

 

 

"Waiving vaccine patent rights may be the ‘only way’ to end the pandemic" PBS NewsHour 5/5/2021

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SUMMARY:  President Biden announced that the U.S. will support waiving patent rights for the COVID vaccines — a major move that follows a call domestically, and internationally, for America to provide much quicker and greater assistance to the rest of the world.  William Brangham looks at the potential impact of this decision and the reaction to it with Madhavi Sunder of the Georgetown University Law Center.

 

 

"The government wants to pay for every COVID funeral.  Experts worry the process is flawed" PBS NewsHour 5/5/2021

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SUMMARY:  In the past few weeks, a new and large form of COVID-19 relief has opened in the U.S., with the federal government offering to pay for all or most of every funeral of those lost to the disease.  Lisa Desjardins reports on the unprecedented scale of help, how the rollout has fared so far, and the questions it raises about the cost of grief in America.

 

 

"Waiving the vaccine patent may come down to giving pharmaceutical companies incentives" PBS NewsHour 5/6/2021

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SUMMARY:  President Joe Biden has given the initial nod for the U.S. to waive patent rights on COVID vaccines to boost international production.  But there are real questions over how effective these moves would be, what other countries feel about it, and when this would translate into action.  William Brangham discusses the matter with Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development.

 

 

"Honoring 5 American lives lost to COVID-19" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2021

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SUMMARY:  Each week, the PBS NewsHour pauses to remember five Americans lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares memories and highlights from their lives.

 

 

"Serbia’s winning fight against COVID-19 raises questions about ‘vaccine diplomacy'" PBS NewsHour 5/8/2021

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SUMMARY:  Serbia has had considerable success in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with the third-highest rate in Europe; supply is mostly from China and Russia.  While Serbia's efforts have received high praise, experts are warning about unprecedented, growing Chinese influence in the country and the wider region through so-called 'vaccine diplomacy.'  Jorgen Samson and Aleksandar Papajic report from Serbia.