Russia is the first country to approve a vaccine for COVID-19 — reportedly by speeding through multiple steps in the testing process. Judy Twigg, a political scientist from Virginia Commonwealth University, talks about the state of medical research in Russia, and the political implications of this move.
Also, we hear about the people who want to get COVID, for science! And we discuss a new vaccine from an American biotech company that’s yielding promising early results.
Don’t want to miss an episode of PODCAST-19, FiveThirtyEight’s weekly look at what we know — and what we know we don’t know — about COVID-19? Subscribe on your favorite podcasting app. For example, here’s where to do it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.