The Jab from The Economist

The race between infections and injections is in its most crucial phase. What life is like on the other side of the pandemic depends on three things: how well vaccines work, whether there are enough and how many people take them.Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist who has advised President Biden, tells us the world stands at an inflection point. After getting his jab in Jerusalem, our correspondent there says the vision of the future Israel offers other countries is not as rosy as it first seemed. James Fransham from The Economist data team unpicks the vaccination numbers so far. Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. Edward Carr, The Economist's deputy editor, joins them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe here: economist.com/thejabpodSubscribe to our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at www.economist.com/offthecharts

Three vaccines have been approved by stringent regulators. Ten are being used in one or more countries. How do they work and are they effective enough against new variants of the coronavirus?Sarah Gilbert, inventor of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine, tells us adapting to new variants should be easy. The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief David Rennie reports from China, which faces a huge test of its homegrown vaccine technology as it tries to re-open. James Fransham from our data team on how far the variants have spread.Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. Slavea Chankova, The Economist's health-care correspondent, joins them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod and sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience

It is one thing to design and test covid-19 vaccines. It is another to make them at sufficient scale to generate the billions of doses needed to vaccinate the world’s population. How are the vaccines produced, why is production so variable and will it meet demand this year?We speak to Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest supplier of vaccines. The Economist’s technology correspondent Hal Hodson explains why some vaccines take longer to produce than others. James Fransham from our data team discusses when supply will meet demand.Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. Oliver Morton, The Economist's briefing editor, joins them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod. Sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at economist.com/offthecharts

Large scale covid-19 vaccine trials have taken place at exceptional speed with unprecedented scrutiny. How do they work? And why are the results so politically charged? We speak to Andrew Catchpole, lead scientist on the first trial to infect volunteers with the virus intentionally. Jason Palmer, presenter of The Intelligence, assists in a trial. Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. Slavea Chankova, The Economist's health-care correspondent, and James Fransham, from our data team, join them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod. Sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at economist.com/offthecharts

The world has stumbled through the pandemic by nationalising risk. In heavily infected countries citizens have been ordered to stay home for weeks at a time. As covid-19 vaccination programmes spread, governments must gradually restore choice to the individual. How?We speak to Ozlem Tureci and Ugur Sahin—the couple who co-founded BioNTech which created the first covid-19 vaccine to get regulatory approval. Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. The Economist's deputy editor Edward Carr, Europe correspondent Vendeline Von Bredow and Dan Rosenheck from our data team join them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod. Sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at economist.com/offthecharts

The EU was slow to roll out covid-19 vaccines, then destroyed confidence in the Astrazeneca vaccine and is now embroiled in a row over supplies. Will America avoid Europe's pitfalls? Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, explains vaccination progress in America, the plateau of new infections and his plan to combat new variants. Also, how does America's federal system affect the vaccination programme?Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. Edward Carr, The Economist's deputy editor and our New York correspondent Rosemarie Ward join them.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod. Sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at economist.com/offthecharts