Pandemi‪c‬ RTÉ

Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Murder is an emotive word. Could it -should it- ever be applied to policy failures in handling a pandemic? Could "social murder" be more appropriate? Kamran Abbasi, Executive Editor of the British Medical Journal, thinks there is an need for strong language, as he wrote in the BMJ. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n314

Host: Colm Ó Mongáin The WHO's Dr Mike Ryan called on rich countries to prioritise vaccinating the vulnerable in the developing world before their own younger, healthier citizens. We hear from MSF's Southern Africa Advocacy Co-ordinator on why vaccine supply has to be the right vaccine for the dominant local variant, not just any vaccine. 

The EU's approach to vaccination has attracted flak of some member states and MEP's, so European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faced the European Parliament to explain the Commission's approach. Europe Editor Tony Connelly has a detailed look.

Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Russia's Sputnik V vaccine received a glowing review in The Lancet this week. One of the article's authors, Professor Polly Roy of London of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains how it works, its benefits and why her initial concerns over transparency have been addressed.  

Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Israel is rolling out vaccinations apace. Haaretz journalist Amos Harel analyses the politics, pressures and successes of the programme.

Host: Colm Ó Mongáin One year on from the complete lockdown in Wuhan, the WHO's inquiry team is in town. What can they find out? RTÉ reporter Yvonne Murray looks at the limits of the mission and China's alternative virus narrative.