The CommonHealth

Steve joined with CSIS Senior Vice President Heather Conley and Professor Judyth Twigg, Virginia Commonwealth University, to discuss the fast-breaking controversy of this week, as Russia announced it had registered the first Covid-19 vaccine, without first conducting large late-stage human trials, and would soon commence mass immunizations, in Russia and beyond. What domestic and international calculations are motivating Vladimir Putin? What are the risks and barriers? Might the vaccine succeed, might Putin succeed in changing the rules? What might this mean for the United States and China in their respective quest to be victors in the global race? For WHO as it strives to preserve common norms?

In this episode, Steve is joined by two members of the global health team to discuss their new commentary on the race for a Covid-19 vaccine: Katherine Bliss, GHPC Senior Fellow and Anna Carroll, GHPC Associate Fellow. Nationalism among the wealthier and more powerful countries dominates the global scramble for a vaccine. They have locked up much of the future production of promising vaccines, while low and middle income countries are at risk of being left empty-handed and uncertain, at the back of the queue. One emerging and promising initiative is the COVAX vaccine facility, led by Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which seeks to ensure timely access and equity to vaccines, under the broad umbrella of the ACT-Accelerator. What’s the rationale for these efforts, how are they structured and financed, and what is required to sustain them and put them on a path to success? Who are its strongest supporters? And what is the national security case for the United States pursuing a blend of both nationalism and internationalism, in support of COVAX. What specifically are we arguing that the United States should do?

What happens at the state level can be profoundly decisive. Steve sat with Rep. Peter Welch to discuss how Vermont became such a dramatic outlier, in its quick and effective control of the coronavirus, and the actions taken to preserve those gains. The conversation quickly migrated to Vermont’s state political leadership, the predisposition to respect science, the centrality of social trust and political culture, and those measures most effective in keeping families and businesses intact. “Everyone is eager for a vaccine.” Dr. Fauci represents “science, public health, and expertise.” Hope rests in solidarity, “collective mutual support.”  Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) was first elected to represent the citizens of Vermont in 2006.

Steve Morrison sat down with Dr. Beth Cameron, Vice President at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and former senior White House official responsible for health security and bio defense, to talk through what the accelerating race for vaccines for Covid-19 means. Should we be excited and hopeful? Should we feel cautious, skeptical? Perhaps both. We survey the landscape – the White House ‘Operation Warp Speed,’ China’s program, the ACT-Accelerator initiative launched to ensure the needs of low and lower middle income countries are met. How important is it for the United States to step forward on the world stage?Beth Cameron is Vice President for Global Biological Policy and Programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), based in Washington D.C.

Steve Morrison asks Marc Daalder, an incisive American reporter in New Zealand: how and why did New Zealand succeed in locking down the country, winning public support, and eliminating the virus? So, what now? Can tourists and other visitors ever return, even while the movie industry and other big earning events are exempted? How is New Zealand managing new cases of Covid-19? Marc Daalder is the political reporter at Newsroom in New Zealand.

J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, sat down for a conversation on July 24 with Dr. Anthony Fauci, as America’s runaway crisis continued to unfold. Will a return to basics be enough, or are lockdowns in our future? Do we really have reliable science on how Covid-19 impacts children, as we debate whether to reopen schools? Can we rely exclusively on an ‘America First’ approach to vaccines, when the least wealthy and powerful countries may be left at the side of the road? What happened with that first (wayward) pitch at Nationals stadium? And just how fragile is the return of professional sports?Dr. Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a member of the White House Covid-19 Task Force.

Andrew and Steve gathered with David Sanger to discuss the NYT's recent investigative team’s efforts, which chronicled the momentous White House decisions taken in early April to step back and push lead responsibility on to the states. This occurred at the same time that the President balked on any national testing strategy, refused to embrace masks, and persisted in escalating pressure upon states to reopen before they were ready. Overly optimistic scientific models created the false impression that the pandemic had peaked in the United States. A White House slow to recognize its mistakes as summer began permitted the virus to raced out ahead, ushering in today’s crisis, twice the scale of March and April. The NYT team concluded that these decisions are among the most catastrophic undertaken by any White House. David Sanger is a premier national security correspondent for the New York Times.

Dr. Peter Hotez joins us from Houston. How did Texas and many other wildfire states run so out of control? What needs to change in the federal response? How can scientists and the biomedical research community best contribute to escaping this spiral?Dr. Peter Hotez is Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development, both in Houston.

"This is a marathon." Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a renowned leader in Congress on racial justice and global health, discusses her proposed Commission on Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the awakening across America, this historic moment for elected Black women leaders, and this week’s virtual ‘AIDS 2020’ International AIDS Conference.Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) has served in Congress since 1998.

In this episode, Steve and Andrew invite Frances Stead Sellers, senior writer on the American desk at the Washington Post. Frances, through her eyes as an English immigrant to America -- and a renowned, veteran journalist -- has thought hard about what makes America what it is, in these days of a pandemic, economic pain and racial injustice. Her recent experiences in reporting have taught her about the deep divides in American society, the awakening within the business community, including at the Washington Post, people’s fear to come to the hospital, innovations in communications and delivery of medical services, and how journalism has evolved to capture these moments.