vaccinedistribution

The famed power-sharing deal did its work of sharply reducing sectarian violence, but a quarter-century on it has led to depressingly dysfunctional politics. The next generation of vaccines is already on the way—and the first thing to do is get them out of the freezer. And why the long-frothy market for works by Pablo Picasso may at last be cooling.

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Wales has given one vaccination dose against Covid 19 to a larger proportion of their population than any other country except a couple of super tiny ones. They’ve given one vaccine dose to over 80% of their adult population. We explore some reasons why they seem to be doing so well.

The UK continues to do poorly at Eurovision – we take a look back over the years to examine why the UK used to do well, and why it doesn’t any more.

Waiting lists for NHS treatment across the UK have grown – but why are things so bad in Northern Ireland?

Is it true that 42% of young people are living at home with their parents? We find out what a young person is and why they haven’t flown the nest.

The United States has never undertaken a vaccination campaign of the scale and speed of the Covid-19 program. Despite a few glitches, the country appears to be on track to offer shots to all adults who want one by May 1.

We look at the ups and downs in the American vaccination campaign and describe what life after inoculation might look like.

Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• It’s not clear how easily vaccinated people may spread the virus, but the answer to that question is coming soon. Until then, scientists urge caution.
• Many scientists are expecting another rise in infections. But this time, vaccinations should help to counter the surge. By summer, Americans may be looking at a return to normal life.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

 Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Conservative pundits heap scorn on President Biden, Dr. Atul Gawande discusses U.S. COVID-19 challenges, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Leonard Fournette reflects on his Super Bowl win.

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Coronavirus vaccination in the U.S. is plagued by chaotic distribution, a cat's birthday party leads to a COVID-19 outbreak in Chile, and China uses anal swabs to test for the virus.

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I’ve never covered a moment that simultaneously merits so much despair and so much hope. It’s dizzying. The Biden administration takes office with over 25 million Covid-19 cases nationwide, over 420,000 Americans dead, and new, highly contagious variants of the virus stalking our future. It’s as grim a situation as I’ve seen.

But for the first time, we can do more than hide. We can immunize. Getting a population of 330 million to herd immunity is a hellishly difficult undertaking in the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. Still, speed matters: Getting to herd immunity a few months faster could save hundreds of thousands of lives.

Dr. Vivek Murthy was surgeon general under Barack Obama, and is Joe Biden’s nominee for the same position. He’s also co-chair of Biden’s coronavirus task force.

In this episode, Murthy walks me through the Biden administration’s plan to beat the coronavirus. We discuss America’s botched vaccine rollout efforts, what the choke points are now, whether the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be approved, why the U.S. government should be shipping out free masks, what’s blocking 24/7 vaccination sites, the F.D.A.’s overly conservative approach to at-home testing kits, what we can and can’t do after getting the vaccine, the vaccine failures in blue states, how to change the minds of the nearly third of Americans who are vaccine-skeptical, why persuasion is as much about listening as talking, the new coronavirus variants, and much more.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Ezra Klein Show" at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein.

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“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Rogé Karma and Jeff Geld; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld.

Jon, Jon and Tommy kick off 2021 by examining the last ditch attempts by Donald Trump and Republicans to subvert November’s election, the latest in the Senate races in Georgia, and what it will take to fix the Trump administration’s bungled vaccine rollout. Then, they share an installment of Alyssa Mastromonaco’s video series, “Let’s Break it Down,” exploring the presidential transition. For more episodes, check out: YouTube.com/CrookedMedia

The Trump administration rejected an opportunity to buy more vaccine doses from Pfizer, South African police shame maskless citizens, and the WHO declares Santa Claus immune from COVID-19.

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For Americans, months of collective isolation and fear could soon be winding down. A coronavirus vaccine may be just weeks away.

According to Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to accelerate vaccine development, the first Americans could receive the vaccine in mid-December.

With the vaccine within reach, we turn to more logistical questions: Who will receive the shots first? Who will distribute them? And what could go wrong?

Guest: Katie Thomas, who covers the drug industry for The New York Times.

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Background reading:

• Promising clinical trials have buoyed hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight. But even if the vaccines are authorized, only a sliver of the American public will be able to get one by the end of the year.
• In mid-December, 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are expected to be shipped across the United States in an initial push.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo reflects on the chaotic early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, his state's concerted efforts to rein in the spread of the virus and his book "American Crisis."

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