captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the biden agenda-- the president continues to push for covid relief and a minimum wage increase as a cabinet nominee faces opposition in the senate. then, getting the vaccine-- as the first shipment of doses arrives in africa, global disparities and uneven distribution become more visible and, a painful legacy-- the pandemic highlightthe discrimination faced by african americans in the health system as black patients struggle for equal access to medical care. >> it has laid bare the inequities in american society. it has laid bare inequities in

terms of access to health care. it has laid bare inequities in terms of employment. who are the first line workers? it has led to inequities in terms of like vaccine allocation. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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thank you. >> woodruff: there's been movement on several fronts in the pandemic today. the white house announced plans to deliver more than 25 million face masks to hard-hit minority communities. and, the food and drug administration reported johnson & johnson's vaccine is 66% effective against moderate and severe symptoms. the company, we should note, is a newshour funder. the f.d.a. could grant emergency approval for the new vaccine on friday. >> if authorized, we are ready to roll out this vaccine without delay. we anticipate allocating three to four million doses of johnson & johnson vaccine next week. johnson & johnson has announced it aims to deliver a tal of 20 million doses by the end of march. >> woodruff: officials also

announced the national institutes of health will research lingering symptoms of covid, including breathing trouble, malaise and brain fog. and, ghana became the first nation to receive vaccine shipments from the covax initiative, designed to aid poor nations. we'll focus on vaccine equity later in the program. president biden signed an executive order today to review u.s. supply chain weaknesses for critical goods like surgical masks and computer chips. the president's attempt to halt most immigrant deportations for 100 days is now on hold indefinitely. late tuesday, a federal judge in texas barred enforcement of the moratorium. the state had claimed that the pause would violate federal law and cost the state more money.

the same judge initially issued a temporary order against the moratorium. president biden also faces growing questions about neera tanden's chances of leading the office of management and budget. two senate panels abruptly postponed votes on the nomination today. but the white house dismissed questions about a possible replacement. >> the stage we're in is working to continue to fight for her nomination. and, as you know, it's a numbers game, right? it's a matter of getting one republican to support her nomination. we're continuing to do that outreach, answer questions they have and continue to reiterate her qualifications. >> woodruff: key republican moderates and one democrat have come out against tanden over her combative tweets. we'll look at her nomination fight after the news summary. the nominee for c.i.a. director, william burns, says the u.s. must confront what he calls "predatory" leadership in china. burns is a former ambassador to

russia. he told his senate confirmation hearing today that, unlike the old soviet union, china has both technological and economic power. >> the challenge posed by xi jinping's china, by an adversarial china, it's hard for meo see a more significant threat or challenge for e united states as far out as i can see into the 21st century than that one. it is the biggest geo-political test that we face. >> woodruff: burns also called for closing chinese-backed cultural centers known as "confucius institutes" at u.s. universities. he charged they are, essentially, propaganda tools. a former staffer for new york governor andrew cuomo has escalated her accusation against him of sexual harassment. lindsey boylan posted online today that cuomo kissed her, repeatedly touched her and once joked they should play strip poker. cuomo's office said the claims

are "quite simply false." a federal grand jury in minneapolis will hear testimony in the death of george floyd, in a renewed civil rights investigation. "the new york times" and others report a main focus is derek chauvin, the white former police officer who held floyd down as he struggled to breathe. chauvin already faces state murder charges. more than 80,000 victims of california wildfires sued former managers of pacific gas and ectric today for dereliction of duty. the utility's equipment ignited fires that killed more than 100 people and destroyed 25,000 homes in 2017 and 2018. the suit names nearly two dozen former executives and board members. on wall street, bank stocks helped lift the broader market, as interest rates rose. the dow jones industrial average gained 424 points to close at 31,961.

the nasdaq rose 132 points, and, the s&p 500 added 44. and, fanne foxe, the stripper at the center of one of washington's most infamous scandals, has died. her affair with powerful arkansas congressman wilbur mills burst into public view in 1974, when police pulled over their limousine, and foxe leaped out of the car and into the washington tidal basin. the incident ultimately ended mills' career. fanne foxe was 84 years old. still to come on the newshour: we speak to a key senator in the negotiations for a massive covid relief bill. outcry over global disparities revealed by the uneven distribution of covid vaccines. the pandemic highlights discrimination faced by african americans in the u.s. health care system. and much more.

>> woodruff: it's a busy week on capitol hill, with a full slate of confirmation hearings on biden nominees and a possible house vote on the american rescue plan. here to help us understand it all is our congressional correspondent, lisa desjardins. so, hello, lisa. as the house now getting ready to vote on this big $1.9 trillion package, remind us what are the big items in this and what arehe sticking points, still? >> reporter: that's right, the house of representatives is set to vote on this on friday, just a couple of days from now. and i want to remind people-- this will affect most americans if it gets through. it looks like some parts of this

will. here's what's in the house bill. first, $1,0 direct payments to most americans. also, unemployment, those on unemployment, would get an added $400 per week. that's up from the $300 per week that is set to run out in march. finally, for vaccines and testing, tens of billions of dollars, over $70 billion, to help manufacture vaccines, get them out, and, also, to test americans and kind of really try and have the first full-throated effort at contact tracing throughout this country. so it is a vigorous, huge bill. but anotheissue in this bill that we're watching closely this week, of course, is the fight about the minimum wage. democrats would like to double, so democrats, double the minimum wage to $15 per hour. and right now, that is in this house coronavirus relief measure. but the fate of that probably rests with the senate. here's what's going to happen. there is a single person who will make this decision, because democrats in the senate want to

use a 50-vote process called budget reconciliation. and that's a way to get around the filibuster that requires 60 votes. but in order to use that process, the senate parliamentarian, of all people, will decide if the minimum wage hike actually qualifies. well, what's the criteria here? the key issue, judy, is whether or not the minimum wage hike directly affects the budget. does it change revenues? does it add to costs? therefore, will it qualify? and today, this morning, democrats and republicans held a rare behind-closed-door meetings, staffers each making their case, almost "law & order" style to the parliamentarian, liz mcdonough. she will decide what she will do and the entire congress is waiting on her decision to see if the minimum wage hike has a good shot in the senate or not. >> woodruff: a lot riding on

that. and the president very focused getting his nominees for the cabinet through. almost halfway through with the confirmation process. remind us where all that stands right now. >> reporter: so far, president biden has gotten-- let me look at my numbers-- nine of his cabinet-level nominees have been confirmed. but there are another 14 still waiting to go through. some of them, like merrick garland for the attorney general spot, look like they're on a glide path. and even tonight, energy nominee passed a key procedural vote in the senate easily. as you reported earlier, there is one that seems to be having the most trouble. that is neera tranden, who has been nominated for the office of management and budget, because of her partisan and sharp tweets. right now, there is a democrat, joe manchin who says he will not support her. that means they need a republican to get on board. all eyes on lisa murkowski. another note, the interior

secretary. however, joe manchin, the key senator again in the neera tranden fight, said he supports her. so it looks like the de b holland nomination is on a better path. but as you reported, president biden is not back down from either one. >> woodruf and you are watchingvery bit of it. lisa desjardins, thank you so much. and with the senate >> woodruff: and with the senate evenly split, moderate senators are key to getting the president's covid bill passed and his cabinet minees approved. a short time ago i spoke with one of those lawmakers. he's democrat jon tester of montana. senator jon tester, welcome back to the newshour. let's start by asking you about president biden's covid economic relief plan. it looks as if pretty much all of the republicans are opposed. what do you think needs to be done to it to make sure that all 50 democrats in senate are on board? >> well, look, i thi that-- i

think the democrats are on board with the package. i think there are some modifications that can be made to the $1.9 trillion package in the terms of accountability. but in the end, i think this package is needed. it's needed to get vaccines in people's arms. it's needed to help businesses that have really been hit hard by this pandemic. it's important for the working folks who can't find a job. and it's important for education, because distance learning and in-person learning at the same time, which is happening in many places in this country, costs a lot of money. so i think the package is a good package. i think it's a needed package. chairman powell, the head of the federal reserve, yesterday talked about the fact that we needed this topush the economy forward. so i think we're going to get all democrats. i think if changes are made-- and it's probably going to be around accountability, and i certainly don't have any problem with that. >> woodruff: you said, senator, in the past that you think the aid should be more targeted toward people at the

lower end of the income sale. is it sufficiently targeted now? >> well, i think it is. i mean, i think after talking with the experts, i think it's fine. i think moving forward, i think there is a possibility we could come out of this economic downturn that we're in now, in really good fashion. i think there's a lot of pent-up demand. so just moving forward, i think we ought to keep that in mind. we certainly need the package now. maybe in six months, we need to take another look and see if the money is still being spent in a wise fashion. in the end, i think those dollars going to those working families, i think they're really important. and hopefully, we can-- we can give them the support they need. >> woodruff: and, senator, another part of the plan that's getting a lot of attention, of course, is the president's proposal to raise the minimum wage, federal wage, $15 an hour. you've said that you think this eds to be modified by states, by regions.

what do you think the minimum wage should be? >> well, look, i supported a minimum wage increase in the past. and i think that the debate we're going to have on the minimum wage-- if it ends up in the package by the way, and we still don't know if the department of interior is going to see it path the bird bath or not. let's say it ends up in the package. well, then i think we need to figure out how it's going to be implemented, and in what manner. i think, my opinion is this impacts small business in a very big way. they've been impacted by the coronavirus and the pandemic in a very big way. so i think the minimum wage needs to come up. but i think we need to extend it out a ways before it hits the $15 figure. how long that time frame is is going to be up for debate, and i look forward to having that debate. >> woodruff: is there an amount you have in mind where it should start, i mean a base level? >> yeah, i mean, look, i'm pretty flexible, and i'm pretty

workable on this. but 10, 11 buck an hour as a base level and moving from there seems to be reasonable for me. >> woodruff: it sounds like you're a hard no on $15 an hour. >> well, i don't think it's going to be $15 an hour implemented tomorrow, even if it is in the bill. i think that there will be plenty of debate on how this gets implemented moving forward. i think there is some merit to bringing the minimum wage up. i think we've just got to be careful so we don't put our small business in a bad situation. and, you know, montana is a small-business state. we need to make sure that our small businesses continue to grow and move forward. but we also need to make sure that folks are getting a fair wage for the work that they perform. and that's really the crux of it all, walking that line, trying to find the sweet spot so both can happen. >> woodruff: senator, i also want to ask you about president biden's nominees for his cabinet. most of them seem to be moving through smoothly. a few, though, are running into

opposition, in particular, the nominee to run the office of management anbudget, neera tranden. you've said you know her. you support her. but as you know, rpublicans are being-- they're saying they don't like the nomination. even a democrat is saying he won't vote for her. the republican argument that she's been too partisan, too negative in her tweets, what do yomake of that argument? some people say republicans are being hypocritical because of what went down the last few years. >> look, i think it's a double standard. there are plenty of nominees from the trump administration that isupported that, qui frankly, said a lot of really bad things. and if you're going to use that as your reason not to confirm people, i think it's important you try to stay consistent and think back of at you did with some of the nominees that president trump put forth. i want to tell you, i worked with neera tranden. i think she is a good person. she speaks her mind.

i kind of like that. i like to know where people stand. i hope she gets confirmed, because i think she deserves to be confirmed. i think she's a talented lady that will do a marvelous job at o.m.b. and hopefully some people will change their minds and we'll get her confirmed. >> woodruff: but at this point, do you think she will be confirmed? i mean, how concerned should the white house be? >> i think they should be concerned, and i think they should be trying to work this nomination as much as they can. >> woodruff: one other question, senator, and that is republicans in the senate, their willingness to work with this new president, how wouldou characterize that right now? do you think he has the right approach to working with them? >> well, look, joe biden is a creature of the united states senate, and i like joe a lot. and i think joe's going to reach his hand out across the aisle, as much as he possibly can. joe also knows that this country has some things that have to be done. that's why he put forth the $1.9

trillion package. and i applaud him for his leadership. and he's been there since the-- since he-- since he was sworn in on the 20th of january. and he is going to try to get folks to work with him. in the end, he understands that we've got to get some things done, and we'll do what we need to do to get things done. in the end, it's going to have to work out for the country, and i think joe's priorities are right. but just as with everybody, judy, we're going to be giving him input, constructive criticism when we don't agree, and try to move him in a direction that works for both the state and, for montana, and the country as a whole. >> woodruff: senator jon tester of montana. very good to see you again. thank you so much. >> judy, it's a pleasure. thank you. >> woodruff: who gets the

vaccine, how, and how fast are now major global questions. as just a few rich countries buy up billions of doses, as nick schifrin reports, the united nations is stepping into t breach with its own plan to increase vacne equity. >> schifrin: on a tarmac in western africa, ghanians welcome a european vaccine, delivered by an arab airline, manufactured in india, sponsored by the united nations. that global effort is the un's covax program, and anne-claire dufay is unicef's ghana representative. >> this is really a historic moment. today we are very happy to receive the first batch of covid-19 vaccines through the covax facility. >> schifrin: the 600,000 doses of astrazeneca vaccine is the beginning of what the u.n. calls the largest procurement and distribution and supply operation, in world history. it's designed to deliver 1.3 billion vaccines this year to more than 90 low- and middle- income countries. vaccine equity has been a global call.

from south africa, which has recorded half of the continent's deaths, president cyril ramaphosa. >> we are all not safe if some countries are vaccinating their people and other countries are not vaccinating. >> schifrin: to mexico, which last week received the pfizer vaccine. president andres manuel lopez obrador: >> ( translated ): these are things that we want to see in the u.n., that there be equity >> schifrin: the u.n. says residents in just 10 countries, have received 80% of the world's shots. europe has ordered 2.5 billion doses, for only half a billion residents. covax is hampered by that limited supply, and logistical challenges. and the u.n. calls that a“ catastrophic moral failure.” secretary general antonio gueterres. >> ( transled ): the latest moral outrage is the failure to ensure equity in vaccination efforts. >> schifrin: but countries ahead of the curve are pursuing vaccine diplomacy. israel has vaccinated a higher percentage of its population than any country. and now prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who visited a gym on

sunday, promises to share excess vaccine with partners in the region, and world. russia launched an english language campaign, v for victory, for its sputnik v vaccine. >> sputnik v is the first registered vaccine against covid-19 in the world. >> schifrin: the biggest effort comes from china, whose state television broadcasts deliveries of chinese vaccines, all over the world. in the u.s., last week president biden pledged $4 billion to help covax. >> competition must not lock out cooperation on issues that affect us all. >> schifrin: for more on all of this we turn to dr. nahid bhadelia, medical director of the special pathogens unit at boston medical center, and an associate professor of infectious diseases at boston university school of medicine. she also served as a clinician during the ebola outbreaks in west and east africa in 2014 and 2015. dr. bhadelia, welcome to the newshour. how important is it that vaccine distribution is equitle globally? >> hi there, nick. it's critical, and it's not just

critical because it's the right thing to do because, you know, you ve now a setup where a majority of the world, or parts of the world that may not get this vaccine for years. what you see is with a protracted pandemic, you can't recover the economy and you continue tlose the gains that have been made and health indicators and education indicators, because it's all related. the longer you see turmoil. and not only, that you have countries, entire countries that have not vaccinated any of their healthcare workers, and as you see loss of healthcare workers that might affect health indicators as well. there are selfish reasons to do this as well. one is the variant. we're seeing now that these variants with increased transmission of this disease anywhere in the world, you're going to see new variants up here, and that's why equity is important for us, as well as for others. >> schifrin: western countries have bought more vaccines than they have people, but there is still a supply shortage. there is still a lot of pressure in individual countries, on governments to vaccinate their

own people, of course. how quickly should western governments releasing supply? >> well, i think a big part of this is every country is going to have to make a decision. but i would say, as soon as we can. you know, last week's dedication, the commitment that president biden made was important because it also then made further commitments possible from the european union and others. but money is actually not the only issue, right. because what the director general of the w.h.o. has said is it's just the availability of the vaccines. so part of this is going to be tied to how quickly the richer countries camake manufacturing capacity grow, not just for their own constituents but also for the global community. i think we should be donating a portion, personally, as we go along, because this will help ensurehe resilience remains in the rest of the world and it protects us from those variants as i said. >> schifrin: part of the question of that supply, of course, is the newer vaccines.

just today, johnson & johnson got pretty good marks from the the f.d.a., and it does not need the ultra-cold storage that we've seen previous vaccines need. how important is it that new vaccines come along to try and solve that supply problem? >> well, the big good news about johnson & johnson is not just the fact that it can handle, you know, refrigeration at normal rates versus the pfizer vaccine, which currently requires ultra-freezing temperatures, which may actually-- may change, because they submitted new data to f.d.a. for warmer temperatures. but it's also that it's one dose. and it can actually reduce risk for death and hospitalization to 100% after 28 days. and so it's both the dosing, but also because in many resource-limited settings, maintaining that cold chain to get to the last mile is going to be important. so absolutely important. we have candidates that do that now, that astrazeneca and johnson & johnson, and we're hoping potentially novavax as well. >> schifrin: at the end of our

story, we noted the vaccine diplomacy, vaccine nationalism we're seeing out of russia and china. in russia, more than 200 countries have signed up for sputnik "v," but russia is struggling creating enough supply and vaccinating their own people. are there countries overpromising distribution of vaccine and under-delivering? >> currently i think it's a little too early to tell. i think part of this will be how-- how not only how much can be sent but how much can be actually timely d distributed in the resource-limited countries. the thing that worries me in some of these setups of more well-resourced countries, we need to be sure it's not tied to other commitments. i think in all global health diplomacy, you kind of have this give-and-take. but one would nope these settings, particularly in a public health emergency, where vaccinating everybody is important, that secondary gains and political commitments are

not part of the game that occurs. >> schifrin: dr. nahid bhadelia. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: iquities around the world clearly also exist here. black americans have faced discrimination and even abuse by medical professionals throughout history. and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, these problems have only been magnified. first, we hear from americans who have directly experienced medical discrimination. and then yamiche alcindor speaks with a doctor who has studied this painful legacy. >> about 10 years ago, when i was in college, i just started fainting pretty regularly. the very fst doctor i saw would kind of ignored everything

that i said because she wanted to focus on an s.t.d. panel because she was convinced that i had tertiary syphilis at the age of 22. and i asked her, i said, don't you have to have that for like 10 years before that would happen? and she said, yeah. i was like, well, i wasn't having sex when i was 12. she refused to believe that at that point in my life i'd only had one partner. and she just was adamant, would not look at any other options. and then at some point in time, i just stopped going to the doctor and i dealt with not knowing what was wrong with me. two years ago, i was at work and i started. i couldn't me sentences. i couldn't read. i got rushed to the hospital. they thought i was having a stroke. and it was only then that they determined that i have complex migraines which mimic other things. >> i had my gallbladder removed. i noticed after i left the hospital, i was in a lot more pain than i thought i should be in. by the fifth day, i was not able to keep any food down. i had a fever of about 103. i reached out to the surgery

team. he was just so dismissive and he wouldn't run any test. i came home that evening and emailed my doctor and she made an appointment at a hospital. so they did the proper bloodwork and everything and determined that i was septic. and the doctor told me, once i made it to the hospital, you couldn't have survived another night like that. >> i had to get a laparoscopic procedure. i remember sitting in the bathroom and feeling like something like my something was falling out and what i saw like protruding, i was like terrified. so we went to the e.r. the supervising doctor was abl to remove it, d it was like a curved metal thing and the resident comes down and it's a young white girl. and so she was just, as matter of fact, like, oh, don't worry, it was sterile when we put it

in. there was no like, you know, regard for hey that was put in on thursday and it's not meant to stay there. a couple of days later, mind you, i'm there. i'm still feeling pain. and i called the doctor's office. so the doctor calls back and she goes, well, i don't want to give you any more opioids, because i don't want you to develop a habit. i don't know, i just felt like it was disrespectful, it was dismissive. >> i felt that it had a lot to do with me being a black woman. and i just wasn't in a position to really advocate for myself at that time. i was sick. i was barely standing up. >> i know 100% that the treatment that i would have gotten, the dismissiveness of my symptoms and my health history and not believing me would not have happened had i not been a woman of color. >> so i think race sometimes is

a roblock for some people where they're not able to feel empathy. you know, i would have felt better if. she had a reaction to it, you know, and asked me how i was doing. >> i have a seven year old who i've taken him. he had a very severe medical issue and we were repeatedly ignored over and over and over and over again. and it took me bringing his white father to repeat what i've been saying for the three previous appointments, for them to take it seriously. >> i've been so terrified of getting sick because i don't want to end up needing a doctor, needing to go into a hospital like the thought of it gives me so much anxiety. if i end up there again, there's no way that i'm going to survive. like i got lucky this time. >> my dad got really, really sick from covid. and he was in the i.c.u. for 10 days. and for me there was a fear because, you know, at this point, nobody was able to go with him.

i can't advocate for my dad. i don't know what his experience is. so it is a fear of like, how are they going to treat him? you don't want to have to if you're ever that sick, to put your life in the hands of somebody who might not care about your life. >> alcindor: as we just heard, there is a deep distrust among many african-americans for the medical community. for more on this, i'm joined by dr. vanessa northington gamble. she's a professor at george washington university and a historian of american medicine. thank you so much for being here, dr. gamble. what is the danger in focusing too much on the distrust of black people, for the medical community, for medical health care system, then rather focusing on the untrustworthiness of the system? >> i think the problem is with this focus on the distrust of african-americans, it becomes like this inherent trait of african-americans that these distrustful black people, as opposed to focusing on a health care system that does not have

trustworthiness. so what has the healthcare system done to engender the trust of african-americans? and by talking about trustworthiness, iputs the onus on the medical care system to change. >> alcindor: and there's been a history of the medical system not treating african-americans equally. how is that trauma been passed down by generations of african- americans in this country? >> i think the trauma has been passed down by family stories and family histories. one of the major historical events that people talk about is the united states public health service, syphilis study at tuskegee, but it's not the only history. and so i think famils passed down the stories maybe of the syphilis study, but it might be how their grandmother was treated in the hospital, how their aunt w treated by a physician. the relationship of the african-

american community with the medical and public health communities did not begin or end with the syphilis study. there has been hundreds of years of mistreatment of african- americans within the health care system. >> alcindor: both the covid-19 pandemic that we're living through now, as well as the 1918 flu pandemic, they both exposed how we treat african-americans in its health care system. tell me a little bit about how those two events relate. >> in 1918 when the flu epidemic hit the united states, first of all, it was the nadir of race relations in the united states, as historians have said. and so this is a time of legal segregation. there is a this is the time of the rise of the klan. this is the time of disenfranchisement of black people. and so in comes this epidemic in 1918. it laid bare the racial inequities in health care so

african americans could not get care in predominantly white hospitals. in washington they either had to go to a black hospital such as freedman's hospital or the public health service paid to have separate hospitals, say, in a school here in washington. >> alcindor: and what echoes do we see from the 1918 flu pandemic today as we live through the covid-19 pandemic? >> it has laid bare inequities in terms of access to health care. it has laid bare inequities in terms of employment. who are the first line workers? it has led to inequities in terms of like vaccine allocation. the other thing that the 1918 influenza epidemic did, it showed how the black community took care of itself. so you had black doctors and nurses and laypeople taking care of the sick. and you're finding that now with covid-19, where you have black

organizations either taking care of black people or advocating for black people. >> alcindor: there's also this idea that black bodies are viewed differently, that they're also treated differently by the health care system. talk a bit about that and what that means when you look at present day, how people are dealing with things. >> there is a long history of black bodies being seen as different within the medical sphere, that black bodies are inferior, that black people are susceptible to particular diseases because of their bodies. you see it and at the end of the civil war, where there was a high incidence of tuberculosis in black people. the medical and public health community said, well, that's because their bodies are inferior. when people say, well, african- americans have more covid 19 because of their pre preexisting conditions, but what's causing those preexisting conditions? so people say, well, black

people have more hypertension, but there's no discussion about health care. some people want to focus on there's something about the black body as opsed to where do people work, where the people live and where do people get their health care. >> alcindor: people are also being told, especially african- americans who told trust the system, get this vaccine. there are some african-americans who feel like this is being rushed, that they don't worry about this. how do you think officials can thread the line between not talking down to people, but also trying to get them to trust the system that historically has not been kind to african-americans? >> first of all, i tell people, don't get the vaccine if your questions have not been answered. i urge people to take it, but at the same time, people have to feel comfortable taking it. you know, one of my concerns is that there has been such a focus on vaccine hesitancy that we

don't see the images as much as what happened in philadelphia this weekend. an organization called the black doctors covid-19 consortium had a 24 hour walk up vaccine distribution clinic. it was jammed packed people sometimes for 10 hours to get the vaccine. >> alcindor: as you noted, the system that has treated african- amerans unfairly at times it was not built overnight. that being said, in the middle of a pandemic, what can the health care system do to better treat african-americans in this country? >> one, i think that the health care system, when they think about things such as vaccine allocation, they have to go to where the people are, that you cannot have a vaccine distribution's clinic and a place where people need to take two busses to get to.

the healthcare system also has to be more vocal. to recognize that this is a long standing issue and that racism exists in american medicine. but the also needs to be a discussion that this is just not about covid-19, that we also have to talk about inequities in other parts of the american healthcare system. >> alcindor: well, dr. northington gamble, thank you so much for this robust conversation about inequality in the health care system. >> thank you very much for having me. >> woodruff: today a german court issued a landmark ruling, sentencing a forr syrian intelligence officer to prison for crimes against humanity. it's the first case over state- sponsored torture under president bashar al-assad's

regime meanwhile as the ten year anniversary of the civil war looms, syria is ill-equipped to handle an invisible threat: covid-19, and as producer ali rogin reports, it targets the most vulnerable. >> reporter: inside idlib's largest covid-19 hospital, doctors are stretched to their limits. as soon as one bed frees up, a new patient enters. bodybags line the corridors. in the syrian opposition's final stronghold, medical workers say they have no means to battle the pandemic. >> ( translated ): we need the international community to increase its support. we've reached a point where the medical system has collapsed and the resources we have are not enough to control the widespread impact of the virus. >> reporter: in the last four

months infection rates in idlib infection rates in idlib have increased over 50%. since the start the pandemic, there have been over 20,000 confirmed covid 19 cases in northwest syria. an uneasy ceasefire last year means fewer war-wounded bodies. but critical care units are overwhelmed with patients gasping for air. the u.n. says there are 162 ventilators and 234 i.c.u. beds available for idlib's four million residents. after ten years of war, syria is ill-prepared to handle covid. half of all hospitals are out of service or partially functioning. the u.n. says in the last two years russia and the regime have targeted more than 80 medical facilities. >> because of the shelling and regimes attacks on hospitals we have not enough hospitals for treatment and people have been displaced from their towns and cities and living in crowded camps without healthcare, healthy water, social

distancing. they feeling disappear because the international community abandoned them and did not prevent regime attacks on them. >> ( translated ):e told us i will get better, i will eat fruits and honey and hopefully in two or three days i will get better >> reporter: the virus left yahya arja's family grieving. his uncle ahmed arja died fr covid-19 complications within ten days. >> ( translated ): we told him, let's take you to the hospital so someone can take a lookt you, but he refused to go. he didn't even believe the virus was real, he thought it was just something there to scare people. >> reporter: misinformation is widespread. in this busy idlib city market, few people wear masks. no one stays six feet apart. >> ( translated ): i'm asking people to wear masks, to stop going to social gatherings, to stop taking this lightly because seriously the virus is dangerous. and if you don't get it, or if you don't get serious symptoms,

then it's gog to impact those older than you that are around you. >> reporter: but lockdowns are difficult to enforce when closed markets mean no income. 80% of syrians are now below the poverty line. one box of masks here costs twice a day's wage. 20 miles north in idlib's countryside, masks are nonexistent. infections here are rising. these makeshift tents house nearly one million people who fled russian and regime airstrikes. fresh snow covers plastic tents this winter. the season winter brings fierce wind and rain, flooding their homes. as temperatures sink children chop down olive trees for firewood. ahmed daboul burns the branches with plastic and cardboard to keep his 20 day old newborn warm. >> ( translated ): i don't have anything else to keep him warm. it's very difficult here in the winter. burning plastic of course impacts me and my children, it's not good for our respiratory health. >> reporter: shared public

bathrooms are a breeding ground for disease. hand-washing signs are posted on public sinks thousands use. fawziya khalifa rocks her newborn near a fire but worries about her future. she says it's been five months since they've received aid. >> ( translated ): we have no bread, no food, nothing, no heater, no blankets. no oven for us to cook. we have nothing. go look inside that tent over there, everyone is sick. >> reporter: but as covid takes hold, young children try to learn about a disease they have little control over. >> ( translated ): they gave us these papers and told us to read them and to stay away from each other. when we go to school they tell us to wear masks and stay away from each other and to not cough anyone's face because you could get coronavirus. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm ali rogin.

>> woodruff: in a time when statues and monuments around the country are being removed for what they represent, the shaw memorial in boston is receiving attention of a different sort. it is being fully restored, th pride that the monument depicting black soldiers marching off to battle in the civil war, stands the test of time. special correspondent jared bowen of gbh boston has our story, part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> reporter: for nearly 125 years, the shamemorial has stood across from the massachusetts state house. it depicts colonel robert gould shaw and the soldiers of the 54ene of tir groups of black troops formed during the civil war-as they march off to battle. >> i see men who are determined to have their freedom and the freedom of those who are coming after them and their families.

so for me, it is a walk to triumph. >> reporter: l'merchie frazier, director of education for the museum of african american history is a consultant on the monument's current restoration. for the moment bronze has been replaced by photographic brawn. do you still make discoveries when you look at the pictures? >> oh, absolutely. there's a reveal that happens almost every time. that, you know, you find the mastery of the angel and components of the flight that she's taken to guard the men and to protect. >> reporter: right now, the real thing is taking the winter lying since, august the monument been at skylight studios, a wonderland of sculpture. here, statuary abounds from a horse approaching the size of a trojan one to the gold eagle normally perched atop boston's old statehouse. but the piece de resistance, of course, is the monument which robert shure and his team have

been conserving for months. >> we totally stripped all the previous coatings that were on it and refinished it, repatinated it. >> reporter: this is a $3 million effort sponsored by the national park service, friends of boston's public garden, the city of boston, and the museum of african american history. at skylight, conservators take the project piece by piece, shoring up the seams of the monument's some 20 different parts. >> a couple of nuts and bolts missing, but it was in structurally great condition for a piece that was over 100 years old. >> reporter: the monument is the creation of sculptor augustus saint-gaudens, who originally intended to depict the colonel astride his horse. but after shaw's family of abolitionists asked the artist to also depict the men who elevated shaw's fame, saint- gaudens turned the project into a 14-year endeavor. laboring over details, some which can never even be seen when the memorial is upright.

it's a monument to perfection says shure, who is also a sculptor. >> just the faces, really, of the infantrymen. the way the sculptor rendered them with such emotion. you could see in their faces fear, you could see the determination, you could see the dedication. >> reporter: in july of 1863, under the cover of darkness, the 54th stormed fort wagner in south carolina. the regiment was defeated with nearly half of the troops killed or wounded including shaw. but that moment, the regiment's ferocious battle for liberty, would be memorialized-in remembrances, testimonials and even in hollywood in the 1989 film "glory." some 20 years after the battle, saint-gaudens began work on the memorial. we first reported on the monument in 2014 when the national gallery of art and the

massachusetts historical society presented tell it with pride, an exhibition that told the story stories behind the monument. for saint-gaudens, an internationally known artist, the sculpture was a labor of love said curator anne bentley. do we know why he so obsessive about this? >> that was just the way he worked. after the monument was unveiled he wasn't terribly happy with it he continued to tinker for several years. >> reporter: it is a piece rich in detail-- 23 men marching off to battle. guns hoisted, packs tugging and fabric folding. but they are not the real soldiers. long after the war's end, saint- gaudens hired some 40 models for inspiration. the exhibition introduced us to many of the regiment's real men, well represented in photographs they themselves commissioned said the society librarian peter drummey. >> it's wonderful to see people who were proud of their uniforms and the accoutrements of their ranks non-commissioned officers. their instruments as musicians.

often they paid to have the photograph hand colored. >> reporter: all so that they could remember their days. but today it's posterity and a monument that remember them. and during this time of racial reckoning, l'merchie frazier says their valor can be even more deeply understood. >> how would they have reacted to their names being engraved in a monument in a permanent way in american history? so, i think that we have a grand opportunity once this is restored to expand the narrative of american history. >> reporter: for the pbs newsho, i'm jared bowen in boston, massachusetts. >> woodruff: black history month expands students' understanding of the black experience in america. at the i promise school in akron, ohio, teacher angela

whorton wanted her students to see that black history isn't something that only happened in the past, it happens every single day through each of them. she worked with our student reporting labs program to record these reflections. here they are in their own words. >> we challenged our sixth graders to find someone in black history that they admire, not just someone from their textbooks, but modern-day heroes and family members who help inspire them to find their own inner greatness. >> my name is ariana miller, i am in sixth grade and i love cheerleading. i look up to simone biles because she is not afraid to try new tricks. as a gymnast, simone went through racism. all through that simone stayed positive. and if i was in her place, i would, too. i feel like i'm just like simone because we don't care what people think about us. earlier this school year, i had a cheerleading competition and we got second place. i felt really happy because it's a brand new gym with new people

and i did really good. >> hi everyone. my name is j'adore smith and i am in sixth grade and this is my big sister, daetaesha. she has her own hair salon where she helps peop feel beautiful and happy by doing their hair. i don't own my salon yet, but i do use my creativity by doing other people's nails and making themeel beautiful and happy, too. i love how i can inspire other black women by making them feel beautiful. my sister reached her dreams by being a hair salon person and i feel like i could do the same, too. >> my name is braelyn starks and this is my papa, lester lewis. i am inspired by my papa because we both have the same passion-- building and creating things from our imagination. when he started as an apprentice for goodyear tires in 1972, he was in the first group of black men accepted to their apprenticeship program. he never gave up, and now i can follow my dream, becoming an

engineer because he broke down those barriers. my grandma says that sometimes the things you love to do can determine the road you will travel in life. my papa did that even though people said it wasn't allowed, and that makes me want to follow in his footsteps. >> my a name is braelyn starks. >> im ariana miller. >> my name is j'adore smith and i am black history. >> and i am black history. >> and i am black history. >> woodruff: and we could listen to each one of of you all day long. thank you so much for sharing. on the newshour online right now, billie holiday and her most famous song get fresh attention in a new movie starring andra day as the late singer. what keeps drawing us to her story? we explore that on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs

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hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. >> when i'm traveling on a one-way road to freedom. >> the u.k. vaccine minister and the scientist advising israel's government on covid. talking about winning the vaccine race and i.d. passes. then. >> oh, my, i've been told you're guilty. not for something i've done but because of suspicions and associations. i am innocent. >> the new film shining a line on guantanamo bay. i'm joined by the director, the detainee and guantanamo guard behind the mauratania. also ahead. >> it lies ahead in the republican party. >>