The Heat: Vaccine inequality and Brazil battles COVID-19

The Heat

A nurse prepares a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 at a vaccination center where elderly people are being inoculated, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, in Medellin, Colombia, on April 7, 2021. – Colombian President Ivan Duque on Sunday reinforced the curfews he recently imposed in the cities with the highest hospital occupancy to contain a new wave of covid-19 infections and deaths. (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP)

As rich nations snap up vaccine injections, poorer countries are struggling to meet demand.

Vaccinations are ramping up in the U.S., but President Joe Biden warns the country is still in a war against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, hospitals and morgues are being stretched to the limit, and the prognosis for other low-income countries is similarly grim, as vaccine distribution continues to be a major challenge.

To discuss:

  • William Haseltine is the Chair and President of ACCESS Health International and the author of “Variants — The Shape-Shifting Challenge of COVID-19.”
  • Dr. Gary Richwald is a Communicable and Infectious Disease Expert and the medical director of Curative California Vaccination Project.
  • Gustavo Ribeiro is a journalist and founder of The Brazilian Report.
  • Yaneer Bar-Yam is the Co-founder of the COVID Action Group and President of the New England Complex Systems Institute.

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