Episodes
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Outbreaks driven by the Delta variant in Israel are being watched closely around the world. How will a population, where almost all adults are vaccinated, defend itself against the latest coronavirus threat? Amos Harel, Defence Analyst with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz looks at the approach to the rise in case rates.
Published 07/08/21
Published 07/08/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin A seven year conflict, mass malnutrition and a cholera epidemic: How is Yemen coping with the added strain of Covid-19? MSF/Doctors Without Border Head of Mission in Sana'a Ahmed Mahat gives Pandemic an up-close view from Yemen.
Published 07/01/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin EU leaders meet amid mounting concern over the Delta variant of the virus & the strange and tragic case of Juergen Conings – the trained sniper who caused a nationwide manhunt in Belgium after stealing weapons with the apparent intention of targeting a leading virologist. Europe Editor Tony Connelly has the details.
Published 06/24/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin After 20 years of war and over half the country living in poverty, Afghanistan has been hit with a third wave - its worst yet - of Govid-19. Pandemic spoke to Rohullah Sorush of the Afghan Analysts' Network in Kabul, author of a recent detailed briefing paper on the impact of the virus.
Published 06/17/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Having kept its death rate below 10 until March, Taiwan has seen cases of Covid-19 and deaths soar since May. One year on from our last conversation in better times, Bloomberg's Taipei Bureau Chief Samson Ellis has a detailed look at what has gone wrong.
Published 06/10/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Did Sars-CoV-2 leak from a lab? The WHO says it's unlikely, so why is the US President talking about this theory now? To discuss this and more, Pandemic spoke to Shane Harris, who covers intelligence and national security for the The Washington Post (and hosts the Rational Security podcast)
Published 06/03/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin If delayed supplies of the Astra Zeneca or Janssen vaccines arrive when younger people still need to be vaccinated, could they sign a waiver to take them for quick access to doses? Medical law expert Simon Mills SC gives his view and looks at some other legal issues that have arisen during the course of a pandemic.
Published 05/27/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin An expert group - the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response - produced a blunt report on global response to Covid-19 and strong recommendations for dealing with the next pandemic. We have a detailed look at the report with panel member Dr Joanne Liu, a former president of MSF/Doctors Without Borders.
Published 05/20/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin India's runaway coronavirus rates have led to scenes the WHO has described as "beyond heartbreaking". Journalist Nilanjana Bhowmick gave Pandemic an overview of how the crisis evolved and ultimately came to her family's door.
Published 04/29/21
Host Colm Ó Mongáin Gaza-based journalist, producer and cameraman Fady Hanona tells Pandemic how Covid-19 and the lockdown have affected an already-impoverished Gaza strip, why vaccines are urgently needed and about the effects on his family.
Published 04/22/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Hungary is using seven different vaccines and has given first doses to nearly half of its population. So why are case rates and fatalities still so high? Science journalist and documentary maker Kata Karáth has an in-depth look at how the country has handled the pandemic.
Published 04/15/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Reaching conflict zones with vaccines and relief is a major international challenge. Despite its divisions, what role could the UN Security Council, on which Ireland now sits, play in the aid effort? Richard Gowan, UN Director of the International Crisis Group joins us to discuss his view on what the UNSC should do.
Published 04/08/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Israel's leads the world in vaccination rates by some distance. What impact has it had? Will it roll out surplus vaccines more widely to Palestinians in the Occupied Territories under its control? Pandemic has an in-depth look at these questions and more with the defence analyst with Israel's Haaretz newspaper Amos Harel.
Published 04/01/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Why has Astra Zeneca honoured its contract with the UK more than the one agreed with the EU? For a detailed look, Pandemic talked to Gavin Barrett, Professor at UCD Sutherland School of Law and Jean Monnet Professor of European Constitutional and Economic Law.
Published 03/25/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Europe Editor Tony Connelly has a detailed look at the European Medicines Agency's thumbs-up for Astra Zeneca after several countries suspended use of the vaccine due to concerns over possible links to blood clots.
Published 03/18/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin The contrast of the EU's vaccine programme with those of the UK and Israel is generating frustration in member states. So what's a fair assessment of the bloc's centralised procurement plan? This week Senior Fellow with the Petersen Institute for International Economics Jacob Kirkegaard gives his view.
Published 03/11/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Joe Biden made tackling the coronavirus a big plank of his presidential campaign - now he has the opportunity to show he can do it. Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan looks at the challenges facing him. 
Published 03/04/21
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
Published 02/24/21
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. 
Published 02/18/21
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.
Published 02/11/21
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.  
Published 02/04/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin Israel is rolling out vaccinations apace. Haaretz journalist Amos Harel analyses the politics, pressures and successes of the programme.
Published 01/28/21
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.
Published 01/21/21
Host: Colm Ó Mongáin In this episode we hear from Ross Galvin and Patrick Quinn Byrne - two young people infected in the latest upsurge. Both were interviewed by RTÉ's Sharon Tobin.
Published 01/14/21