The Evidence: To boost or not to boost?
Discovery
BBC
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2021
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The divide between the Covid vaccine haves and have-nots has been described as “criminal”, with only 20% of people in low and middle income countries having had one dose, compared with 80% in higher income countries. Countries with high vaccination rates have been called on to give up their place in the vaccine queue.
The dual-track global vaccination programme has led to real anger, made worse by announcements of booster programmes in richer countries (despite the World Health Organisation calling for such plans to be put on hold).
Claudia Hammond and her panel of global experts discuss the scale of vaccine inequity and consider whether evidence of waning vaccine immunity justifies the rollout of booster jabs, or if the soundest scientific case dictates everybody in the world should be vaccinated first.
Claudia’s guests include Dr Yodi Alakija, co-chair of the African Union’s Delivery Alliance for Covid-19 in Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation’s Technical Lead for Covid in Geneva, Switzerland and two world leading immunologists, Dr Peter Openshaw, Professor of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College, London, UK and Dr Akiko Iwasaki, Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University in the US.
Produced by: Fiona Hill, Paula McGrath and Maria Simons Studio Engineers: Jackie Marjoram
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to tell you why I love podcasting. |
| 0:04.4 | I'm Sasha Johansson, I'm an Assistant Commissioner for the BBC and I work on making podcasts. |
| 0:10.9 | My real passion is discovering unbelievable unheard stories. |
| 0:15.6 | I'm working with the biggest stars who can really bring those stories to life. |
| 0:20.0 | I love the whole process of making podcasts from the spark of an idea to hearing the final edit. |
| 0:26.4 | There's nothing like it. |
| 0:27.6 | One makes BBC podcast special is that we're working for you. |
| 0:31.0 | So whatever we commission has to reflect the things that you care about and love, |
| 0:34.9 | wherever you are in the UK. |
| 0:36.8 | So if you like this BBC podcast, there's so much more to discover. |
| 0:40.4 | Have a listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:42.6 | Hello, I'm Claudia Hammond and a warm welcome back to the evidence from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:48.0 | Today we're looking at the ethical and the scientific case for vaccine equity, |
| 0:52.9 | COVID vaccines for all and it's a subject that has led to some real anger in the past few weeks |
| 0:59.0 | as the gap between rates of vaccination in rich and poor countries persists. |
| 1:03.7 | The divide between vaccine halves and have-nots has been described as criminal |
| 1:08.8 | and co-vax the body trying to get vaccines out to the world says that it is unacceptable. |
| 1:14.5 | That only 20% of people in low and middle income countries have had one dose |
| 1:19.0 | compared with 80% in higher income countries. |
| 1:22.8 | Countries they say with high vaccination rates should give up their place in the queue. |
| 1:28.0 | And announcements of booster programmes in some rich countries have added to the bitter debate. |
| 1:33.2 | The World Health Organization's Director General has asked for these plans to be abandoned |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.