Coronavirus: Vaccine approved

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2020

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nuala McGovern talks to Kerry. She has muscular dystrophy and has been shielding, or isolating, at home in England since March. We also hear from Dr Joseph Varon, Chief of Critical Care at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He has been working without a break for 258 days. A photo of him cradling an elderly man on a Covid ward went viral this week. He explains the picture and shares his experiences of working non-stop due to the virus. Joe Biden has this week called on Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days as US president. Nuala also talks to two campaigners in the US who are sceptical of face coverings and other coronavirus restrictions.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Nula McGovern, and for the BBC World Service, this is BBC OS.
0:05.6	Conversations About Coronavirus.
0:08.4	Vaccine Approved. As the UK becomes the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19,
0:18.0	we talk to women who've been shielding in their homes for nine months
0:22.0	and a doctor who's worked without a break for
0:25.1	258 days. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. My staff is exhausted. Yes, you know, a
0:32.0	vaccine is very well appreciated and we want it but I'm also realistic and I also
0:37.0	understand that it's not going to be easy to vaccinate all the people that
0:41.2	need to be vaccinated.
0:56.6	Within the next few days, some of the most vulnerable people in the UK will receive their first dose of a newly approved COVID-19 vaccine. There is a priority list with those living and working in care homes followed by the most elderly receiving the free
1:01.4	vaccine first. Elsewhere, China and Russia are also running
1:05.3	vaccination programs. It is undoubtedly good news, but as coronavirus cases in
1:11.8	many parts of the world continue to rise, public health officials
1:16.0	are sounding a note of caution, warning that it's going to be months before we can start to relax
1:21.3	controls and our behavior.
1:24.7	That's particularly true for Kerry.
1:26.9	She's in her 40s and lives just north of London.
1:30.0	Kerry has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair and she has not been able to leave her house since March,
1:37.0	to protect her against the serious consequences if she was infected.
1:42.0	In Britain, the instruction to stay at home is known as
1:45.6	shielding, but other countries call it isolating or cocooning. I asked Carrie what
1:51.6	her reaction was when she heard that the first vaccine had been approved.
	...

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