well to talk more about this milestone on joined by stephen morse he's a professor in epidemiology at columbia university medical center in new york and an expert in health diplomacy and early warning systems welcome to you professor i'm a pricing for they santa says i want to ask ag in a way closer to the end of this than we are to the beginning well in some ways i think we're really still in the thick of it but with vaccines now being rolled out and more on the horizon i think that will help to control it at the same time some of the other measures many of the things that germany through example have been successful in controlling it so i'm hopeful that even though we're not out of the woods yet we are going to be seeing some improvements in the next 6 months or less the emotional peaks and troughs recently built on the exciting news of vaccinations coming online and then the counter revelations of more infectious variants that seem to be a step ahead of the science are we right to be wary of these new variants and their ability to complicate our why out of this mess. oh absolutely

stephen morse is a professor of epidemiology at the columbia university medical center in new york we asked him earlier if the virus is here to stay like regular flu and whether restrictions will remain part of our lives you know i think the flu analogy is a very good one we probably will be taking that seems on a regular basis as new variants come out but we've had other corona virus 4 of them that we know about that have circulated in the human population and they came in and probably in similar ways within the last few 100 years so i'm hopeful that eventually you know there will be familiar again and like another 50 human coronavirus in till then we really do have to be careful because we don't know how long the immunity last with the vaccine and we don't know whether it's going to prevent transmission or so i think we'll be wearing masks for a while tiresome as it enters. let's get a check now of some of the other stories making news around the world. hong kong residents can now apply for a new visa which could lead to british citizenship the offer is in response to the controvers

well to talk more about this milestone on joined by stephen morse he's a professor in epidemiology at columbia university medical center in new york and an expert in health diplomacy and early warning systems welcome to day w professor among pricing for these and says i want to ask ag in a way closer to the end of this than we are to the beginning well in some ways i think we're really still in the thick of it but with vaccines now being rolled out and more on the horizon i think that will help to control it at the same time some of the other measures many of the things that germany gave through example have been successful in controlling it so i'm hopeful that even though we're not out of the woods yet we are going to be seeing some improvements in the next 6 months or less the emotional peaks and troughs recently built on the exciting use of vaccinations coming online and then the counter revelations of more infectious variants that seem to be a step ahead of the science are we right to be wary of these new variants and their ability to complicate our why a lot of this mis. oh absol

ok but we still will be saying yes stephen morse epidemiologist at columbia university medical center thank you so much for your time thank you the world health organization has warned against what it calls vaccine nationalism this after the european union launched a scheme that could block exports of coronavirus vaccines produced in its territory it's the latest development in a route between the e.u. and astra zeneca brussels says the drug maker is breaking its contract and failing to supply vaccine doses in the quantities promised after production problems at a belgian plant astra zeneca is prioritizing delivery to the united kingdom 1st from production facilities in that country. we're joined now by jacob kirkegaard a senior fellow at the german marshall fund welcome to the program sir the e.u. says its new measure is not an export ban is it. no it's not an export ban but it's obviously for 10 should be an export ban it and basically when you're asking private companies to to get certified or approval for any exports it's not quite there but it's certainly a 1st step and i think t

well to talk more about this milestone on joined by stephen morse he's a professor in epidemiology at columbia university medical center in new york and an expert in health diplomacy and early warning systems welcome to profess a pricing for these and says i want to ask ag in a way closer to the end of this than we are to the beginning well in some ways i think we're really still in the thick of it but with vaccines now being rolled out and more on the horizon i think that will help to control it at the same time some of the other measures many of the things that germany did through example have been successful in controlling it so i'm hopeful that even though we're not out of the woods yet we are going to be seeing some improvements in the next 6 months or less the emotional peaks and troughs recently built on the exciting news of vaccinations coming online and then the counter revelations of more infectious variants that seem to be a step ahead of the science we've brought to be wary of these new variants and their ability to complicate our why out of this mess. oh absolutely and i

ok but we still will be saying yes stephen morse epidemiologist at columbia university medical center thank you so much for your time thank you the world health organization is warning against what it calls vaccine nationalism this after the european union launched a scheme they could block exports of coronavirus vaccines produced in its territory it's the latest development in a row between the e.u. and astra zeneca brussel says the drug maker is breaking its contract and failing to supply vaccine doses in the quantities promised after production problems at a belgian plant astra zeneca is prioritizing delivery to the united kingdom 1st from production facilities in that country the head of the w.h.o. warned rich countries hoarding shots would harm the entire world. because expose and exploited the qualities of. the. buck scenes. but it's. cited and. we will not. the european union says new measures to oversee vaccine exports are needed to tackle a lack of transparency from drug makers and to protect the billions of euros they have invested in vaccine development but even before the

ok but we still will be saying yes stephen morse epidemiologist at columbia university medical center thank you so much for your time thank you. germany has imposed a travel ban on countries most affected by new coronavirus variants the measure affects among others britain portugal brazil and south africa restrictions will remain in place until at least until february 17th berlin says the ban is necessary to prevent a surge in new infections the measures include exceptions for people with the right to reside in germany medical personnel and urgent medical transports. meanwhile chancellor angela merkel has appealed to the public for patience during her country's grown a virus lockdown schools shops restaurants and leisure facilities have been closed since december in her weekly video podcast mikel noted some encouraging signs but urged people to stay vigilant. to all of our efforts the infection rate is dropping. we are making progress but at the same time we must be mindful of the danger posed by the new highly contagious mutation that fall in the coming weeks we must proceed with cau

ok but we still will be seeing yes stephen morse epidemiologist at columbia university medical center thank you so much for your time thank you. germany has imposed a travel ban on countries hit hardest by new krona virus variants the measure facts among others britain portugal brazil and south africa restrictions will remain in place until at least february 17th berlin says the ban is necessary to prevent a surge and new infections exceptions remain for people with the right to reside in germany medical personnel and urgent medical transfers by air meanwhile chancellor angela merkel has appealed to the public for patience during her country's groan of hours lockdown schools shops restaurants and leisure facilities have been closed since december in her weekly video podcast merkel noted some encouraging signs but urged people to stay vigilant. thanks to all of our efforts the infection rate is dropping. we are making progress but at the same time we must be mindful of the danger posed by the new highly contagious mutation that full in the coming weeks we must proceed with caution we'r