Vaccine Values

For the 36 countries with the lowest vaccination rates, supply isn’t the only issue

In the United States and other wealthy countries, free COVID vaccinations can be had in any number of places.

That’s not the case in other countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia.

In all, 36 countries have fewer than 10% percent of their population immunized. Some have fewer than 2%, including the central African countries of Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.

By contrast, many wealthy countries have fully vaccinated more than 80% of their citizens.

The South Africa-based African Alliance says many factors affect vaccination rates in Africa but the biggest is simply that African nations have struggled to get doses.

This interactive map shows the countries where less than 10% of its population is vaccinated.

Here’s a tweet showing the U.S. lagging behind other wealthy countries:

The United States has a lower vaccination rate than any other country tracked besides Russia. https://t.co/86cWoe9o07 pic.twitter.com/GHopSXSXJH

— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) January 17, 2022

Here’s what you can do:

As the COVID-19 pandemic surges on with a new surge from the omicron variant, journalists need to continue to put as much truth into the world to combat all the misinformation that is out there.

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma put together a list of tips for journalists covering COVID-19 at the state and local level as a reminder that it’s not only a global pandemic, but a community wide crisis.

Here are some of those tips:

• Interpret how city, state and federal policies are being implemented at the local level.
• View your coverage through a Covid-19 lens.
• Investigate the past, and use that as context in your future reporting.

Calling Out Covid Qualms

NYC High Schoolers Walk Out Of Classes Demanding Remote Learning During COVID Surge

Students at several New York City high schools walked out of classes last week. Their hope? Remote learning because they don’t want to walk into unsafe learning conditions in their schools  because COVID cases surged just as a new semester began last week.

Students across some of New York’s most popular high schools walked out shortly before noon on Tuesday.

Organizers claim that hundreds of students participated, and that 400 students walked out at one Brooklyn school.

The students say in-person learning isn’t effective if so many students are missing class that instructors have to constantly re-introduce and explain material, or if teachers miss extended periods of time quarantining.

Here’s what you can do:

How do the students at your school feel about the way this new wave of COVID is being handled in the community? Do they feel safe, or what do they think should be changed?

How are you teachers handling disruptions to their teaching? Do they find themselves having to work harder because of large numbers of absences? What are the attendance numbers this year compared to the two previous years, both before and during the pandemic? How many sub days have teachers requested over the same time?

Reporting on science can be difficult and confusing but don’t worry scientists love talking about their work. Ask a lot of questions and even request that they explain things to you in simple terms so you can help your readers understand, no matter their reading level.

When reporting on scientific discoveries or technologies: 

• Examine the credibility of your source. See what other projects or research they have been a part of and reach out to their superior if needed. 
• Use numbers that sources give you, but don’t be misleading. Seeing numbers in a story can be helpful for visualizing really complicated things but make sure you give the necessary context and background for those numbers. 
• Understand the details. It can be hard to report on something if you’re unsure about it yourself. So, do as much research as you can and read other reports on the topic before jumping right in. Any leftover questions should be answered by your sources. 

Voting and the Filibuster

Two Democratic senators won’t change the rules that would allow a vote on voter rights legislation

You’ve probably heard the word “filibuster” rolling around the news ecosphere the last several weeks — if not the last several years.

The U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule requires at least 60 of 100 senators to approve of any bill coming to the entire Senate for a vote. If a bill can’t get a vote, it can’t become law.

Currently, there are two major bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that are waiting for the Senate’s vote.

The first is President Biden’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure plan that adds to a bill signed into law late last year. That law provides federal funds for physical projects such as roads and bridges. The new bill supports families through investment in people — child care, job training, and climate initiatives are just a few of the planks in the bill.

The second is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would reverse some of the restrictive laws passed last year by Republican state legislatures as a response to former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election.

Here’s what you can do:

How has your state legislature reacted to the former President’s lies and his push to make voting more restrictive? What were their concerns? Considering that voter fraud is extremely rare and that Trump’s own attorney general at the time confirmed that the 2020 election was safe and fair, is your state’s reaction logical?

Is your governor, as Florida’s governor is proposing, wanting to establish a special police force to crack down on alleged fraud?

This year, 2022, is another important national election year, and your seniors are turning 18, which makes them eligible to vote. How many are registered? How do teens register in your state? How does anyone vote in your state? Is ID required? How does mail-in voting work?

Answering these and other related questions would be a great service for your readers.