06/10/21 06/10/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! close $72.6 billion. that is how much the united states spent on nuclear weapons in 2020. taxpayer money during the worst global pandemic in this entry, financing weapons of mass destruction. amy: as president by prepares for the g7 and the nato summit and a meeting with vladimir putin, we will look at

how nuclear armed nations continue to spend leads on their weapons despite the covid-19 pandemic. we will speak to ican, winner of the nobel peace prize. then as president biden pledges to buy half a million vaccine doses to give to the rest of the world, we will look at why so many americans are refusing to get vaccinated. >> if we can galvanize that group that still for one reason or another does not want to get vaccinated, we can reach the 70 and go well beyond as we get into the summer. amy: we will speak to dr. syra madad of new york city health and hospital, the nation's largest public health care system. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. president biden has arrived in the united kingdom for his first

overseas trip since taking office. after meeting british prime minister boris johnson today, biden will take part in the g7 leaders meeting in cornwall and then head to the nato summit in brussels. he will and his trip in geneva, where he will meet russian president vladimir putin. during his trip, biden is expected to announce the u.s. will buy 500 million doses of pfizer's coronavirus vaccine and donate them to 92 lower-income countries. under the emerging plan, the first 200 million doses would be distributed by the end of this year. e rest, by june of 2022. wto members have agreed to begin negotiations next week on a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights for coronavirus vaccines. south africa and india first proposed the patent waivers in october as part of an urgent effort to increase the availability of vaccines in poor countries. the effort has languished for

more than eight months amidst opposition from drug companies and wealthy debbie geo members. -- wto members. on wednesday, the argentine president and the spanish prime minister said in a joint news conference they support a waiver for covid vaccine patents. this is prime minister sanchez. >> argentina and spain are defending the liberation of vaccines, making them a global public good and consequently, speeding up the distribution and increasing their production capacity for the whole of humanity to vaccinate all of our societies as quickly as possible and overcome this calamity that covid-19 represents. amy: divide administration initially opposed the patent waivers -- the admin and usually the patent waivers.

european union and several nations, including the u.k. and switzerland, remain opposed. any reported over 6100 deaths -- india reported 6148 deaths from covid-19 on thursday, the highest one-day death toll of any nation since the start of the pandemic. the high death tally came because one indian state reported thousands of previously unreported deaths, adding to evidence that india has vastly under-counted the number of people sickened and killed by the virus. haiti is experiencing its worst-ever surge of coronavirus cases, with hospitals stretched to their limits. a severe shortage of testing in haiti is masking the true scale of the outbreak. this comes as haiti has yet to administer a single shot of coronavirus vaccine. in france, parisians celebrated new freedoms wednesday as officials eased coronavirus restrictions -- reopening indoor restaurant service and rolling back curfews. covid-19 cases are plummeting in

france, where nearly one-in-five people are fully vaccinated. in afghanistan, masked gunmen killed at least 10 workers at a nine-clear nonprofit in northern baghlan province tuesday. the islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack after the government early on blamed the taliban. the head of the organization that was attacked, the british-based halo trust, said the assailants appeared to be targeting people from the shia hazara community. this is a survivor recounting the horrific attack. >> they shot two people in the camp compound and then people in the room. i was shot they got up and escaped. 10 people were murdered in 13 or 14 others were injured that have now been taken to the hospital. amy: in other news from afghanistan, the norwegian refugee council is warning a severe drought threatens 3 million afghans -- who are already vulnerable due to years of conflict, food insecurity, and the effects of the pandemic. meanwhile, "the new york times" reports the pentagon is

considering whether to intervene with warplanes or drones if kabul is in danger of falling to the taliban. human rights watch is calling on the colombian government to protect human rights and reform its police as ongoing popular protests demanding social reforms and an end to violence and inequality are now in their sixth week. human rights watch says at least 34 people have been killed during protests, at least 20 of those at the hands of the police, though local groups estimate the death toll is far higher. this is union leader carlos rivas at a demonstration in bogota wednesday. >> this is an indolent state, state that does not talk to the people. we want peace, democracy, life. we don't want a state of terror. we don't want a state where people are murdered. they cannot assassinate the youth or the future of the

country. amy: secretary of state antony blinken says the u.s. will maintain hundreds of sanctions on iran, even if a deal is reached between the two parties to relaunch the iran nuclear deal, known as the jcpoa. >> even in the event of a return to the compliance of the jcpoa, hundreds of sanctions will remain in place, including sanctions imposed by the trump administration if they're not inconsistent with the jcpoa, they will remain unless or until iran's behavior changes. amy: iran has said it will not come back into compliance with the agreement, which trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, unless the u.s. lifts all sanctions. talks between iran and other world powers are set to resume this weekend, just days ahead of iranian elections next friday. analysts say the results of the elections could complicate any progress made thus far as a host of conservative and hardline candidates are vying to succeed president hassan rouhani.

attorney general merrick garland is supporting the justice department's decision to defend former president trump against a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who accused trump of raping her in the 1990's. e. jean carroll filed the suit in 2019 after trump said he would not have assaulted her because "she's not my type." justice department lawyers told a federal court this week trump cannot be held personally liable for comments he made while he was president. attorney general garland defended the decision to a senate committee wednesday. >> the essence of the rule of law is what i said when i accepted the nomination for attorney general. it is that like cases be treated like, that they're not you one rule for democrats and another for republicans, that they're not be one rule for friends and another for foes. amy: e. jean carroll blasted the biden administration for defending trump, writing in a statement --

"as women across the country are standing up and holding men accountable for assault - the doj is trying to stop me from having that same right. i am angry! i am offended!" the canadian company tc energy says it is canceling construction of the 1200-mile keystone xl pipeline, which would have carried over 800,00 barrels of oil each day from canada'tar sands region across fragile ecosystems in the united states. the announcement came after the biden admistration revoked a key permit foreystone xl in january and follows years of indigenous-led resistance against the project. the cancellation came on the same day that indigenous water and land defender jasilyn charger avoided jail time as she pleaded no contest to trespassing charges for an act of nonviolent civil disobedience against keystone xl. another indigenous activist, oscar high elk, still faces up to 22 years in prison over what

his supporters say are trumped-up charges. meanwhile, protests continue against construction of the enbridge line 3 pipeline. prosecutors in minnesota say 179 people were arrested and charged with trespassing after a mass civil disobedience action on monday. another 68 were cited for public nuisance and unlawful assembly. in eastern arizona, fire crews are battling two massive wildfires that have consumed more than 177,000 acres. the fires come as climate scientists say the western united states is suffering the second worst drought in 1200 years, brought on by a combination of natural dry cycles and human-induced climate change. lake mead, the largest freshwater reservoir in the united states, along the colorado river, is less than 36% full -- its lowest level ever. meanwhile, nearly 2 million

people in the san francisco bay area were placed under a water shortage emergency wednesday as california's drought continues to worsen. a warning to our audience, this next story contains graphic footage and accounts of police violence. the louisiana state police unit that killed ronald greene, a 49-year-old black man, by tasering, punching, and dragging him during an arrest in 2019, is under an internal investigation looking into whether officers are systematically targeting black motorists for abuse. that's according to the associated press, which reports investigators are probing the violent arrests of three other black men by the same police unit -- one who was punched, stunned, and hoisted to his feet by his hair braids, another who was beaten after he was handcuffed, and yet another who was slammed 18 times with a flashlight. the investigation is focused on white officers with state police troop f -- a notorious unit in

northeastern louisiana whose officers have mislabeled body-camera videos, turned off their cameras during arrests, and otherwise worked to hide evidence from investigators. some of the troopers already face felony charges. a new report by public citizen finds 55 major u.s. corporations that paid no federal taxes last year spent a collective $450 million on political lobbying and campaigns since the 2016 election cycle. the companies also received $3.5 billion in tax rebates. of the top 25 congressional recipients of the companies' money, 20 are republicans and all voted for the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 -- which lowered the corporate tax rate. fedex was the biggest spender, followed by charter communications, american electric power, and duke energy. public citizen urged congress to close loopholes allowing for corporate tax avoidance, adding -- "while paying nothing to support the upkeep of our government, these companies have been

spending huge amounts of money to try to keep the game rigged in their favor." the white house revoked three trump administration executive orders that sought to ban popular social apps tiktok and wechat from operating in the united states. president biden issued a new order that would review possible securityisks for apps connected to foreign governments, in particular, china. this came one day after the senate passed a $250 billion bill designed to compete with technological, military, and industrial advances out of china. and pressure is growing on the university of north carolina at chapel hill to grant tenure to pulitzer prize-winning journalist nikole hannah-jones. she is best known for producing the 1619 project with "the new york times," an interactive project that reexamines the legacy of slavery. her work became the target of right-wing attacks last year after the trump administration threatened to pull federal funding from schools that use

the 1619 project in their curriculum. last friday, a major funding partner of the university joined calls to grant hannah-jones tenure. and university of maryland chemistry professor lisa jones declined a job offer by unc over its refusal to change hannah-jones' title. in a solidarity statement, dr. jones said -- "hearing of the delay of nikole hannah-jones' tenure decision led me to reconsider whether the environment at the university of north carolina would be conducive to the achievement of my academic aspirations, which include promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion." in related news, texas republican governor greg abbott signed into law the 1836 project monday. the name is a reference to the 1619 project and marks the year texas seceded from mexico. >> the 1836 project permits

patriotic education about texas and ensures the generations to come understand texas values. amy: nikole hannah-jones and others responded to the announcement of the 1836 project by highlighting the fact that texas had fully legalized slavery in its constitution and was guilty at that time of lynching black and mexican texans. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. when we combat, as president biden prepares for the g7 and nato summits as well as the summit with vladimir putin, we will look at how the u.s., russia, other nuclear armed nations continue to spend billions on nuclear weapons despite the covid-19 pandemic. we will speak with the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, winner of the nobel peace prize. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: the temptations. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined remotely by my co-host nermeen shaikh. hi, nermeen. nermeen: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: president biden has begun his first european trip as president. after meeting british prime minister boris johnson today, biden will take part in the g7 leaders meeting in cornwall and then head to the nato summit in brussels. he will end his trip in geneva, where he will meet russian president vladimir putin on june 16. on wednesday, president biden addressed u.s. air force personnel stationed in britain. pres. biden: we are not seeking conflict with russia. we want a stable, protectable relationship. our two nations share incredible responsibilities. among them, sharing strategic

stability and upholding arms control agreements. i take that responsibility serious. but i have been clear, the united states will respond in a robust and meaningful way when the russian government engages in harmful activities. amy: the biden-putin summit comes just weeks after the biden administration announced it would not rejoin the open skies treaty, a major international arms control deal signed by the george h.w. bush administration in 1992. vladimir putin then announced russia would withdraw as well. as a presidential candidate, joe biden criticized donald trump's decision to withdraw from the treaty. in may 2020, bidden said -- -- biden said -- "trump has doubled down on his short-sighted policy of going it alone and abandoning american leadership." biden is also continuing a number of trump's initiatives to expand the u.s. nuclear arsenal.

in his new budget, biden is seeking $43 billion for nuclear weapons, including money to devep a new submare-launched nuclear cruise missile -- which as a candidate, he described as a bad idea. meanwhile, the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, or ican, has just published a report revealing global spendinon nucar weapons increased by $1.4 billion despite the pandemic. the report found the world's nine nuclear armed countries spent $72.6 biion on nuclear weapons in 2020 -- that amounts to nearly $138,000 every minute. the united states spent by far the most, $37 llion -- three times more than the next country, china, which spent $10 billion. russia was next, $8 billion, followed by the united kingdom, france, india, israel, pakistan, and north korea.

ican released this short video to accompany its neweport. >> 72.6 billn dollars. that is how much the nine nuclear armed states spent on theireapons i2020. taxpayer money during the worst global pandemic in a century, financing weapons of mass destruction. although mostountries have a global band, these countries and companies spent aliens to keep nuclear weapons in business. 72.6 bilon dollars f government agencies and private companies that build nuclear weapons. these companies find think tanks and hire lobbyists to make sure policymakers approved enormous budgets the next year. this is a nuclear wean fuing cye, between governments, private mpanies,hink tanks and lobbyists -- all complicit inoday's massive stock of

weapons of mass destruction. it is time to stop the cycle. it is time for the ban. amy: that little report produced by ican. we are joined now by alicia sanders-zakre, policy and research coordinator for the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the organization won the nobel peace prize in 2017 for its work on the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. she is the co-author of the new report "complicit: 2020 global nuclear weapons spending." so you have a world where the wealthiest countries could not find the means to inoculate the world, to get the vaccines necessary for the world to be protected from covid-19, but are spending billions on their weapons. talk about how the whole system works. talk about your report. >> thank you so much for having

me on and for sharing the report. last year we did a report just on how much countries spit on nuclear weapons. they did the methodology to provide that estimate, which has not been done very much in the past. this year we wanted to show more of the big picture. why is that the nine countries are spending more than $70 billion on the nuclear weapons in the middle of a global pandemic? so we looked at all of the pieces of the puzzle. and the flow of money, the cycle of spending on weapons of mass destruction in just one year. it is pretty shocking. we saw after those countries decided to spend $72.6 billion on their new claire weapons, they gave billions of dollars, over $27 billion, in contracts to the defense companies that build and maintain these weapons. and then those companies kept spending money to make sure they kept getting money in years to come. so they spit over $117 million

lobbying policymakers to increase spending on defense and they also spent up to $10 million funding almost all of the major think tanks that research and write about nuclear weapons. so these are all of the actress, all of the players in this dirty nuclear weapons business that we wanted to highlight and start to hold accountable. nermeen:ou mentioned that companies. could you name them and tell us how much money they made off these contracts? >> absolutely. in the report, we feature all of them, more than 20 companies, that are currently involved in producing nuclear weapons. a lot of them have existing contracts that they are still fulfilling. but in 2020, 11 of those companies received new or

modified contracts to work on existing or new nuclear weapons systems, amounting to a total of more than $27 billion. there are a number of companies involved, just to name a few, raytheon, northrop grumman, honeywell international- noa lot of people may know about that. the full list of all of the companies and the amounts are in the report is that what were details, check that out. nermeen: despite the fact as you document the u.s. spent over $37 billion on nuclear arms in the last year, that figure is expected to exponentially increase according to the congressional budget office in the coming year because of technological upgrades to the nuclear arsenal in the u.s. could you talk about what we

know about the forthcoming increases in nuclear spending here? >> absolutely. we have been saying -- from year to year, they have been increasing the spending under their weapons. there was an increase in $1.4 billion on weapons, even ended the middle of a global pandemic. we know that number is going to continue to increase because of a recent report by the congressional budget office looking at tenure nuclear weapons because that founder would be an increase of $140 billion over those 10 years compared to previous 2019 report. despite biden's campaign promises of wanting to work for arms control, wanting to work for disarmament, we're saying that in reality he is going full steam ahead with trump's legacy nuclear weapons program and continuing to spend more money on these weapons of mass destruction. amy: can you talk, alicia

sanders-zakre, about the significance -- he is going to meet with the g7 countries come and what a nuclear weapons have to do with those countries, and then the nato summit? the report you put out ahead of this summit, ican is arguing that members of the transatlantic alliance should embrace the u.n. treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, which entered into force in january. so talk about how these two summit are critical to nuclear weapons and somehow turning the escalation of them around. >> absolutely. speaking of the nato summit in particular, we saw president biden wrote an opinion piece to "the washington post" recently that a real focus of this trip was to promote democratic values and to bring the power of democracy to these meetings.

i think that is very relevant when it comes to nuclear weapons issues in nato countries and in europe. because as this other report shows that we just released today, in most countries across the nato, there is overwhelming support for the country to join the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons when you ask the people what they think. but despite popular opinion, democratic support for this treaty, for banning new their weapons, these governments continue to say they don't support the treaty, to refuse to join it. this is a nato position that is really not in line with the democratic -- there democratic values and ideals. so i think this is an opportunity for nato to reevaluate their stance as a democracy that listens to what the people want on key issues

like nuclear weapons. nermeen: could you talk about the extent to which, if at all, the biden administration has departed from the trump administration on nuclear weapons policy? >> ihink so far we really have not seen the departure. and this is clear in the recent 2022 budget request. as you mentioned, keeps and continues to fund trump's new their weapons programs as well as the programs of record. so we really need to see more action from president biden. i think this upcoming meeting with president putin is an opportunity for both countries to recognize increasing risks of nuclear weapons, the devastating humanitarian consequences of these weapons, and take real

steps and tangible progress toward new the disarmament and toward joining the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. amy: not only the issue of at would happen if a new glare weapon was used -- of course, it would be devastating -- but the fact that money does not go, for example, did dealing with this global pandemic. i want to ask you about the report also naming think tanks which received funding from nuclear weapons manufacturers. the list includes the atlantic council, brookings institution, carnegie endowment for international peace, center for new american security, center for strategic and international studies, hudson institute, and the international institute of strategic studies. can you talk more about the role of think tanks and these nuclear corporations? >> absolutely. this is really new, shocking research in that it shows that upwards of 10 -- in just one

year, the companies that produced and work on nuclear weapons spent upwards of $10 million funding really almost all major think tanks that are writing and researching about nuclear weapons. it is not always possible to know exactly the extent of the influence of this fundi, but what is really concerning is i think the -- how widespread it is. it is not one thing 10, it is most of the think tanks that e doing substantial work on nuclear weapons. a systemic problem in the field that the tanks should be asking themselves, how can we shall he come together and address perhaps undue influence of nuclear weapons producing companies in this field and this sector. amy: as the biden administration ports million into developing

nuclear weapons, nuclear resistors are still going to present proposing the rest of the policy. on wednesday, a member of the kings bay plowshares seven reported to prison. was sentenced in april to 21 months in prison, breaking into the kings bay naval submarine base april 4, 2018, on the anniversary of the assassination of dr. king. he and six other activists entered the base armed with hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles taking their own blood, and indictment the was government with crimes against peace. two members, martha hennessey and carmen trotta, were recently released from prison. martha hennessey is the granddaughter of dorothy day, one of the founders of the catholic worker movement. your final comments on the role of activism when it comes to nuclear weapons? >> i think it is absolutely

essential. at the end of the day, these are weapons of mass destruction and they have now been made illegal under the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons due to the collaborative work of activists and scientists and people all around the world. we really need activism to change the status quo and to finally get rid of these weapons of mass destruction. amy: alicia sanders-zakre, thank you for being with us, policy and research or nader for the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. we will link to the report "complicit: 2020 global nuclear weapons spending." we continue to cover in the coming days the g7, nato summit, the summit with president biden and president putin. next up, as president biden pledges to buy half a billion -- vaccine doses to get to the world, why many are refusing to get vaccinated.

we will speak with dr. syra madad. why health care workers, number of them, are saying no. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "rate of fire" by johnny cash. people in the northern hemisphere, particular in the northeast united states, were able to see a ring of fire in the sky this morning as the solar eclipse moved across part of the planet. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. in the coming days, president biden is expected to engage in vaccine diplomacy at the g7 summit in the u.k. and announced

a vaccine plan for the world. reporters asked biden about the plan as he left the first foreign trip of his presidency. >> come out the vaccine strategy for the world? nine co. i have one and i will be announcing it. amy: today, president bible announced the united states plans to buy half a billion doses of pfizer's covid vaccine to donate to more than 90 countries. the administration is negotiating with moderna as well health experts oneaccination in equity could prolong the pandemic if the coronavirus continues to mutate, possibly making more infectious and resistant to vaccines. this comes as many americans are refusing to get vaccinated and thousands if not millions, of johnson & johnson shots will expire soon, including some 200,000 doses of the vaccine in ohio alone.

top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci acknowledged u.s. is struggling to make biden's goal of vaccinating 70% of americans by july 4. >> there are some states are falling well below the 50% come and those are the states that we are in many respects, use the word almost pleading with them on the basis of what i showed in my presentation just a few and it's a go of why it is so important to get vaccinated. and if we can galvanize that group that is still for one reason or another does not want to get vaccinated, we can reach the 70 and go well beyond it as we get into the summer. amy: in texas, houston methodist hospital has suspended 178 staff members who refuse to abide by its mandate that employees be fully vaccinated by monday. it is one of the first hospitals to require vaccinations. workers have filed a lawsuit alleging the policy violates

their rights. they spoke to abc 13 dung a protest mond. >> i am not willing to risk my life to save my job,ut i do what i do and i love you so methodists and it is unfortunate the are willing to let us go over something like this instead of giving us more time. >> he can choose to let go back to work but if he doesn't and we get fired, we are going to the supreme court for all wrongful termination lawsuit. and the lawsuit was filed by conservative lawyer and activist . the case is being closely watched by other hospitals and employers nationwide. on wednesday, many hospitals in washington, d.c., and marilyn announced they will soon start requiring employees to be vaccinated. for more we're joined by dr. syra madad, infectious disease epidemiologist. she leads the special pathogens program for nyc health and hospitals, the nation's largest public health care system. she recently wrote an opinion piece published in "the new york

times" headlined "why are so many of my fellow health workers unvaccinated?" so let's start there, dr. madad. we had you on toward the beginning of the pandemic. you worked throughout. it might surprise people to know the first people offered the vaccine, health care workers, the surprising percentage of them across the country that are saying no to vaccines. what have you found is the reason and what do you think needs to be done? >> health care workers have an offer -- had been offered the vaccine and now we are in june and nearly 50% of health-care workers remain unvaccinated, unprotected. this is a dilemma not just in the u.s., but around the world. some of the reasons we found health care workers are hesitant of the same reasons we find in the general public, the newness of the vaccine, long-term side effects.

we talk about vaccine hesitancy, we need to address it in all its forms and facets for health-care workers and the general public. the strategies and tactics continue which includes education, but also making strong recommendations for everybody to get vaccinated. one thing i will mention in we are seeing around the world, covid-19 pandemic is far from over, but one of the greatest threats to our current vaccination programs here domestically and around the world is not just vaccine hesitancy and slow rollout, it is the emergence of variants. we need to not only work on getting people vaccinated that are hesitant, but look at it from those that are not vaccinated and the variants circulating. we need to look at it from both fronts. nermn: could you say more, differentiate between the different kinds of health-care workers -- those who are mor likely to receive the vaccine

and those who are more hesitant or have outright refused to do so? >> absolutely. the term health-care workers a fully loaded term. what i mean is there are many different types of health-care workers. you have the gamut from providers like doctors and nurses to support staff. this could be medical assistance, individuals like home health aides. we talk about health-care workers, you look at it from a standpoint of those that provide diagnosis and treatment to patients like doctors and nurses and about seven out of 10 are vaccinated. a large chunk of individuals that are providers and nurses are vaccinated. but when you look at those that are health care workers that provide administrative support or help with bathing or feeding patients, about four in 10 are vaccinated. there is a stark divide within health care workers in the various categories as well. this also relates to educational levels. the difference in occupations, but also those that are less

educated are more hesitant to get the covid-19 vaccine. additional areas we have seen generally around the u.s. is race, ethnicity matters in terms of accepting the cover 19 vaccine. your political affiliation. these are different factors that go into the decision to get vaccinated. nermeen: the fact you mentioned earlier, of course we know the widespread phenomenon of variants, most recently the delta variant which was first identified in india in the only way come as many medical professionals say, yourself included, the only way to make sure people are safe from these variants is by getting vaccinated. do you think there should be a vaccine mandate, not just in hospitals and health care facilities, but also, for example, in schools teachers, students, anyone, really, who is

interacting regularly with the public? >> i do think my personal opinion is anyone that has a public facing occupation or role that comes in contact with other individuals, there should be amendedo get vaccinated. nobody has the right to read a deathly, highly infectious disease to other people. we still have a large population both in u.s. and around the world that are vulnerable to infection. now that we're talking about variants, like the delta variant, said to be more transmissible, over 40% to 50% more trans opposab -- transmissible than the alpha variant. the original virus strain. we are looking at individuals that are not vaccinated are now at higher risk of getting infections, succumbing to disease, require hospitalization. we need to make sure we are looking at it from that le. we want to do a much better job domestically and around the

world to get more people vaccinated. this also includes -- we look at the global equitable sharing of cover 19 vaccines, the u.s. is not absent from it. the u.s. is one of the leading countries that is supporting equitable vaccine distribution. you've seen president biden's announcement providing tens of billions of pfizer vaccines to many different countries. at this time other countries step up. the world health organization mentioned we need about 11 billion vaccines to vaccinate about 70% of the population around the world. as of today, we have only administered to billion. we need to make sure we are in the face of this pandemic where we look at how these vaccines are available, they need to go into arms of people around the world if we are to truly end this pandemic for everybody. amy: before we go to the rest of the world, can we stay in your own family?

you begin your "new york times" op-ed sink in april of last year, i along with my entire family, my husband, three children, laws, at least one of our four home health aides, came down with covid-1 can you talk about what happens, so often one family is a microcosm of what happens in the world but here you are an epidemiologist is leading the new york city response, and explain how the whole issue of vaccine hesitancy, talking to the home health care aides, how you believe you came down with it? >> i think no one is -- we talk about the virus, anybody can get infected. even when you're are applying these preventative measures, there still a chance of getting infected if there is a slip-up. in my own household early on last year, it was hard to see who brought the vis into our home. many of us have occupations where we are in hospitals, interacting with many different

people. we have quite a home health aides that care for a family member that requires assistance around the clock. they were living in some of the hardest hit areas, experiencing very high poems of -- volumes of covid-19. in april we started to have all of us come down with this disease and it was probably one of the most frightening experiences. as been this has been one of the experiences were it involved my family, my children. when we look at the early days and how i responded at home, kate was someone to help i was looking at it from hospital standpoint. ensuring that we were limiting transmission, opening windows, having less people in the kitchen were areas where we were congregating more. it was a challenge. someday like myself who is knowledgeable, innate

epidemiologist, it was a challenge for me so i can imagine other households. now that we are in a phase where we have vaccinations available, my fr home out they've, that they are reluctant. they don't want to get vaccinated. even though they know the complications and saw it firsthand what was happening in new york city. i have been working actively since december when these vaccines have been made available. as of today, we have two health aides that are vaccinated, one that has made an appointment, one is on the fence. when i talk to them about the vaccines, spun with empathy and caring and not being judgmental, asking them the concerns and providing tailored information. i do that on an ongoing basis, probably every day that i speak to those that are not vaccinated to encourage them to make informed decision providing benefits of why it is important for them and the community,

especially with the variant circulating. these e not one and done conversations. it is another to mandate employment restrictions. personally, decision that i think mandating it is the way to go. amy: earlier this month, the africa's cdc director dr. john nkengasong said in an interview that people on the continent are watching in amazement as americans turned down vaccines. >> this is a continent of 1.2 billion people. as we speak today, less than 2% of the population has been immunized. we are desperate to get more vaccines. we can see the continent is eager to get our vaccines, to get vaccinated. we're watching what is going on in the u.s. in total amazement

and we really hope president biden will help us and enable us to rollout vaccines in a timely fashion. amy: that is the director of africa's cdc. you can go to democracynow.org for our several interviews with him. this is white house coronavirus adviser dr. anthony fauci talking earlier this month about people in the u.s. refusing vaccines. >> onef the real ironic things are? we have people in the rest of t world, in india, south america, in southern africa, who are pleading for vaccines because they don't have enough doses. we have more doses than we need in this country. what a shame and tragedy that we don't make use of something that is for our benefit when others throughout the world would do anything to have what we have.

amy: dr. syra madad, what do you endorse? we have the situation now where there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of johnson & johnson vaccines that are going to go bad throughout the united states in the next few weeks because they're just not being used in states. then you have some of the wealthiest countries in the world, not the u.s. now, opposing this wto waiver that drug companies have to share the recipe so that other drug companies that don't invent the vaccine but have the capacity to make the vaccine can get these vaccines around the world -- now you have president biden today announcing half a billion vaccines to over 90 of the poorest countries in the world. what needs to happen? how is it we have these vaccines that are about to expire and you have just to the south of us, mexico, begging us for vaccines? >> i think there are two parts.

first, these surges are happening right now so it behooves us to make sure we are taking the surplus vaccines we have in the u.s. and donating it to countries that are in need and we need to be strategic about it. weant to provide vaccines to the entire world but right now we have countries that are experiencing surges, countries and at the precipice of experiencing surges. we need to be strategic to help over many more deaths in the future. with the j&j vaccine that we have many that are looking to expire this month, i think the is a game plan from the federal government to look at it and see if we can use it here domestically or send internationally. i think the biden administration is doing what they can and they're looking at this closely. it is not as if they are oblivious to what is happening. i think it is just as important to note they are looking at it and seeing what they can do about these vaccines that are

about to expire with the j&j. with that said, the game plan should be providing surplus vaccines to countries around the world because the pandemic is happening right now. on top of that, we need to look at with the transfer and the waiver of the intellectual-property patent, just one obstacle. or transferring the technology and capacity and capability to manufacture vaccin. that will not happen over nit. heakes timto develop these companies that can manufacture the vaccines. that needs to also happen in parallel. we know the pandemic is going to go on for the foreseeable future. while providing the vaccines right now as a stopgap, we can make sure they have not just the recipe, but the technology infrastructure they need to develop their own vaccines. it is like giving food for now but then a seed to grow in the future. we are in a better position but we have to work very fast

because as we know this virus moves fast. nermeen: dr. madad, in the u.s., despite there are levels of numbers of people who are not receiving the vaccine, the virus is abating here and the country is opening up. but in much of the rest of the world or in many parts of the world, the pandemic and its effects are worse now than they were last year, inuding in india and many parts of latin america as well. if i could ask, do you think in the u.s., given the almost absurd levels of incentives that are now being offered to people who are vaccine hesitant, in your experience, are you seeing of those people not receiving the vaccine -- i mean, they're being offered everything from millions of dollars in lottery prices and most remarkably in west virginia, officials offering a chance to win rifles

for those who agree to take the vaccine. >> first, i am baffled the fact we have to give americans money and incentives to take a lifesaving preventative vaccine that blades around the world are dying for -- billio run the world are dying for. it is really, really sad to see the current state of affairs we are in and over 30% of americans remain unvaccinated. i think individuals are getting vaccinated but it has slowed down quite a bit. only about 1.3 million shots are going into arms every day, which is one of the lowest we have been -- a 50% decrease since the peak in april. we are very slow in terms of those in the wait-and-see category that are getting vaccinated. i think that is where a lot of us are working very hard to address individuals that are vaccine hesitant to get them to

accept vaccis but it will not happen overnight. we need to continue to chip away at it. this is not something that is going away the next wee u can ofr them aillion llar but iwill n be an upper many individuals who don't want to get the vaccine. we need to continue with our creativity and innovation to get more americans vaccinated. at the same time, give a global virus raging around the world so need to continue to work globally to ensure these vaccines are getting to where they need to go if americans don't want them. as i may have this year, 75% of the covid-19 doses were being administered in only 10 countries, including the u.s. there countries in africa that have less than 1% of the population vaccinated. in the u.s., over 50% that have received one dose. we know make sure we are looking at it from the lens there are americans that are hesitant and we need to continue to work with them to have them make more

informed decisions, but we also need to take our surplus vaccines and continue to donate it -- which is happening right now with the biden administration. it is not is and then, us versus them. it is these types of issues we need to work concurrently and continue to chip away at it. vaccine hesitancy is not new. it has not been new for this vaccine. it is been around for tickets. i saw the antenna back screw come out with the measles outbreak in 2018 -- i saw the anti-vaxxers come out with the measles up it in 2018. we need to protect all people from getting infected with covid-19 and now that we have this lifesaving vaccine, we need to ensure where people understand this is the benefit for them and those around them to end the pandemic for all of

us. nermeen: dr. madad, one of the reasons given in the u.s. of people refusing the vaccine is the fact that three vaccines in use here still only have emergency use ahorization by the fda. when do you expect the vaccines to be fully authorized and what is holding that up? >> both moderna and pfizer have submitted for full approval from the fda. the process can take a few months for the fd had to go through all the data. i think the important part is the step has been taken to get full approval. many americans, if you look at their savior, they feel it is because it is an emergency use authorization. we are going to probably see many more americans get vaccinated once that flip people is given by the fda. the good thing is the step has been taken with both pfizer and moderna. within the next couple of months, we may see the approval come through.

this will also mean these companies can advertise on tv, can directly contact consumers to get vaccinated. right now they cannot do that with the emergency authorization they have. we will see much more marketing, promotion of these vaccines once they are reproved and probably see more americans wanted to get vaccinated based on survey results because they're waiting for that approval. amy: dr. syra madad, now companies are looking at younger and younger children. 12 up for moderna and pfizer and now moderna is looking at from six months up. can you talk about some of the complications that children are having right now as the hospitalization goes down for those who are vaccinated and does go down in the united states, for children, some of those hospitalizations are going up. >> well, that is exactly correct. what we're seeing is many adults

are fully vaccinated and we are looking at adolescence, they are so vulnerable and the virus is still circulating in our communities and families. your sing the virus is trying to find someone to infect. you have a higher number of adolescents getting infected, requiring hospitalizations. lowercase is generally of severe illness and deaths, you are seeing more cases of the younger population getting infected and that is what it is important for the adolescence and older to get vaccinated. not just because of risk to themlves and the implications of long covid but they can harbor the virus and spread to others that are vulnerable. for example, we have about 3% to 4% of the american population that are immunocompromised. while they are vaccinated, they don't have a great, robust

immune response. they are still vulnerable to infection. we want to make sure the adolescents are also looking to get vaccinated. amy: we have to leave it there. dr. syra madad

may both mother and child lead a healthy, happy life. ♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in new york. the leaders of the world's most advanced economies have wrestled with problem after problem in a year that was unprecedented. they're set to share their challenges at a summit of the group of seven nations. they'll address the pandemic, of course. but also climate change, trade, and security. g7 leaders are gathering in cornwall, england,