With rising Covid-19 numbers across the world, spikes threaten the new norms of relaxed vaccination-induced bliss.

This episode features the song “Aside” by Normcore, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Links to this weeks stories :

00:10 AstaZeneca International Doses 

• US to begin stockpiling doses of AtraZeneca vaccine 
• The vaccines are not approved for US use
• Importantly, AstraZeneca vaccine already approved in India, the latest country to have a massive outbreak 
• Intended to be sent worldwide amid clamoring for help 
• US previously called into question amidst refusal to share patent for vaccines in circulation 

06:39 Gavin Newsom

• Recall election is now all-but-guaranteed, as enough signatures have been gathered to force the vote 
• 1,495,709 signature push the tally over the threshold according to Secretary of State Shirley Weber
• Intervention through the court system may block the elections initiative, but is unlikely at this time 
• Polls show the majority of Californians oppose the effort, and this bodes well for Newsom’s effort to stay in place. 60/40 in favor of Newsom
• The effort going through does show the weakness of a prominent national democrat, which could potentially open up new issues for democrats on a national scale 

12:24 India Outbreak 

• Relaxed atmosphere regarding COVID-19
• General disregard for Covid-19 rules and regulations 
• Dense population 
• 350,000 cases as a new daily record 
• Oxygen shortage and mass cremations 
• 2-3 weeks from the peak
• Slow response from the government fueled a harsher climb in cases