Covid Fatigue Meets the Delta Variant
The world is exhausted with this pandemic. Yet, the virus perseveres, mutating in ways that have made it far more contagious. This has created a dangerous situation. Many communities want restrictions lifted, even as the need to curb the virus has never been greater. David Nabarro, special envoy of the World Health Organization for Covid-19, explains in this episode that it is vital to reduce the presence of the virus now before it mutates further to evade vaccines. Colleagues have told him that the Delta Variant could be within two mutations of being able to do that, Nabarro reports. The Delta Variant is spreading rapidly in Africa, where very few people have yet to be vaccinated, as well as among the unvaccinated even in rich countries with relatively high levels of vaccination. Dr. Lucky Aziken, an optometrist in Nigeria, is one of many health providers working to hold back the spread. He describes how he organized safety measures for one of Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations, inmates in the country’s 240 prisons. Co-host Claudia Romo Edelman talks with Dr. Nabarro about how she lost her own mother to Covid-19 and how each of us has a role to play in stopping the spread of the virus. While we cannot vaccinate our way out of the crisis, greater vaccine supply must be part of the long term solution. Co-host Edie Lush speaks with the CEO of the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, Adar C. Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India during the India Global Forum. He urges a global plan to have vaccine manufacturing capacity standing by in the next pandemic. Also appearing in this episode are South African nutritionist Jane Badham and Holly Wheeler, a global health advocate.