COVID-19 - Wednesday 12/30/2020

"Senate remains at a standstill over increased COVID relief checks" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  The struggle to provide additional COVID relief continues in the U.S. Senate.  The passage of $2,000 relief checks is stalled despite President Trump's repeated demands for larger direct payments.  Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

 

 

"Arizona health care workers face ‘catastrophic’ conditions amid surge in COVID cases" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  With the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations surging in many parts of the country, health care systems and their staff are becoming further strained, including many areas in Arizona.  In Phoenix, six hospitals are now diverting incoming emergency patients to other facilities.  Dr. Quinn Snyder, an emergency physician in Mesa, Arizona, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss his view from the frontline.

 

 

"U.S. struggles to distribute vaccinations, falling far short of projections" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  In the first two weeks of America's vaccination campaign, just 2 million people have received the first of the two required doses for their vaccinations -- far short of the Trump administration's projections of 20 million vaccinations by the end of this year.  William Brangham spoke to Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of global health at Emory University School of Medicine, to discuss.

 

 

"COVID-19 cases drop in rural Missouri, but vaccinations are still weeks away" PBS NewsHour 12/30/2020

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SUMMARY:  As the pandemic continues spiraling out of control in much of the U.S., the number of infections have declined in recent weeks in Scotland County, Missouri.  But despite that good news, medical professionals there may not receive any doses of the coronavirus vaccine until the end of January, and they fear their community could soon have another surge.  Special correspondent James Fox reports.

COVID-19 - Monday 12/28/2020

"‘We didn’t choose this.’ Unemployed man shares frustrations on COVID relief fight" PBS NewsHour 12/28/2020

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SUMMARY:  Millions of unemployed Americans watched the weekend fight over COVID relief play out with a sense of exasperation over feeling like pawns in a game of political football, said Michael West, 60, an Uber driver who has been out of work since the spring.  He talks to Amna Nawaz about the realities of pandemic job loss and what he thinks Americans like him need from Congress in the coming months.

 

 

"3 tragic mistakes that made the 2020 pandemic worse" PBS NewsHour 12/28/2020

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SUMMARY:  At key moments over the last year leaders around the globe made critical mistakes that worsened the pandemic and led to more deaths.  That’s the argument put forth by the New Yorker’s Lawrence Wright in “The Plague Year,” an article that fills the magazine’s entire January issue.  Wright explains what went wrong in an interview with Senior National Correspondent Amna Nawaz.

 

 

"Why it could be years before Africans have access to coronavirus vaccines" PBS NewsHour 12/28/2020

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SUMMARY:  The development of COVID-19 vaccines is raising questions about their rollout across the world.

As the richest nations buy up the lion's share of doses, how and when will developing countries be able to vaccinate their populations?

Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo are now wrestling with that reality in a nation that's already endured recent epidemics.