Welcome to our weekly newsletter highlighting The Economist’s best coverage of the pandemic and its effects. In a surprise move on Wednesday, America announced that it would support waiving some patent protections for covid-19 vaccines. Jaws dropped, along with the share prices of vaccine-makers. In India, the epidemic continues to worsen. On May 5th the country reported more than 412,000 new infections, its highest number yet. Half of all cases of covid-19 recorded around the world are in India, up from one in 25 at the start of March. The number of covid deaths in the country tripled in March, and then in April leapt by a factor of ten. The calamity is having political implications for India’s national government, which looks increasingly hapless. Within India, leaders in Delhi could learn useful lessons from Mumbai, which is handling its second wave far better than the nation’s capital. In our Graphic detail section we lay bare how India’s covid-19 crisis has spiralled out of control. The region is recording four times as many cases now as it was at the peak of the first wave. Covid-19 has exposed Africa’s dependence on vaccines from abroad. Until now there has been little incentive for countries on the continent to make vaccines themselves but, since the pandemic began, that calculation has changed. On “The Jab”, our podcast reporting from the sharp end of the vaccination race, we examine how vaccines have become a tool of global influence. China and Russia have sent millions of doses abroad, but the West has lagged behind in so-called “vaccine diplomacy”. What are the risks and rewards? In a related chart, we delve deeper into vaccine donations around the world and find that they are yet to take off—less than one dose for every 100 of the world’s people has been given away so far. Writing in our sister magazine, 1843, Ann Wroe can’t wait to get back to normal. But, given that “normal” is by definition meant to be dull, how long before she’s bored again? |