Coronavirus
A blockchain solution to Covid-19 vaccine scams
High global demand and a shortfall in supply for some Covid-19 vaccines have contributed to booming trade in counterfeits. Interpol has called out the risk of fake Covid-19…
Why politics and pandemics don’t mix
Book review: Michael Lewis The Premonition: A Pandemic Story (W. W. Norton & Company, 2021)
Way back in October 2019, before most anyone had heard of Covid-19, a group…
As Delta looms, PNG’s vaccine rollout challenges mount
As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds, more than 130,000 vaccines donated by the global facility COVAX doses have expired in Papua New Guinea. PNG is Australia’s largest aid recipient…
Australia should scale up its vaccine diplomacy
In the 1950s, an unlikely friendship grew between US medical researcher Albert Sabin and Soviet microbiologist and virologist Mikhail Chumakov. Their mutual trust and esteem…
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Jeffrey Sachs on global cooperation and sustainable development in the time of COVID-19
In this episode of Conversations, Alexandre Dayant talks with Prof. Jeffrey Sachs about global cooperation in the time of COVID-19, vaccine distribution and Australia’s…
Cruising into stormy weather
Cruise ships became an unhappy herald of global distress in the first weeks of the pandemic. The virus leapt from deck to deck in the close quarters of these huge floating palaces…
Press freedom more important than ever in the Asia–Pacific
The current Covid-19 pandemic has had an alarming impact on press freedom. Over the past 18 months, governments across the Asia–Pacific have – knowingly or not – used the health…
Indonesia cannot afford to put its economy before people
Since mid-May, Indonesia has faced a massive surge in Covid-19 infections with the number of reported positive daily cases increasing fivefold. As of the most recent update from…
Sun, surf and a sandbox escape from a pandemic
Before the pandemic, Thai island Phuket offered visitors the perfect blend of sun, beach and seedy-but-fun nightlife as one of the region’s best-known tourist destinations. Now,…
Covid crisis deepens in junta-ruled Myanmar
A worsening third wave of Covid-19 is a cruel new blow in Myanmar, still reeling from the human costs of the coup on 1 February, and with a military junta more focused on…