You're listening to shortwave from NPR.

Hey short waivers, this is Lauren Summer here, Climate Correspondent, and I'm hosting a

few episodes for shortwave in the coming weeks.

And let me be the first to say hello Lauren.

Hey, and hey, do you Jason Bobian, Global Health and Development Correspondence.

Today, we wanted to take a look at COVID outside the US because as we've seen over and

over, the pandemic means we're all connected.

Yeah, during the pandemic, I've been reporting on the world health organization.

I've been watching this pandemic's trajectory all around the world.

In fact, in the very early part of the pandemic, I was in Hong Kong last summer.

I did a stint in West Africa.

I recently returned from Peru.

And next month, I'm heading to the Middle East.

Okay, wow.

And it's an intense time to travel.

Absolutely.

And it's also interesting because there's a huge range of strategies out there as different

governments are dealing with the pandemic in different ways.

You know, some countries are still trying to keep COVID out completely.

Others are starting to look ahead to when the virus might become endemic.

So today on the show, we'll talk to Jason about where the disease is spreading.

What vaccination rates look like globally and two years into the pandemic, what the WHO

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