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COVID-19 Vaccines: How Countries Are Approaching Vaccinating Their Populations : Consider This from NPR President-Elect Biden's plan to attack COVID-19 includes a $20 billion plan for vaccine distribution in the U.S., hiring 100,000 public health workers to do vaccine outreach and contact tracing, and funding to ensure supplies of crucial vaccine components like small glass vials.

But in order to truly contain and end the COVID-19 pandemic, every country needs to vaccinate its population. As of last week, at least 42 countries had started rolling out safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, but none of them were low-income countries. The World Health Organization says that's at least in part because rich countries have bought up the majority of the vaccine supply. In South Africa, health official Anban Pillay shares his country's challenge securing doses.

NPR correspondents Rob Schmitz in Berlin, Phil Reeves in Rio de Janeiro and Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem discuss how the vaccine rollout looks in Germany, Brazil and Israel.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Consider This from NPR

What The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Looks Like Across The World

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A medical worker in personal protective equipment seals a swab sample inside a South Africa Health Department mobile coronavirus testing unit at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg last week. Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A medical worker in personal protective equipment seals a swab sample inside a South Africa Health Department mobile coronavirus testing unit at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg last week.

Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President-Elect Biden's plan to attack COVID-19 includes spending $20 billion on vaccine distribution in the U.S., hiring 100,000 public health workers to do vaccine outreach and contact tracing, and funding to ensure supplies of crucial vaccine components like small glass vials.

But in order to truly contain and end the COVID-19 pandemic, every country needs to vaccinate its populations. At least 42 countries have started rolling out safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, but none of them are low-income countries. The World Health Organization says that's because rich countries have bought up the majority of the vaccine supply.

In South Africa, health official Anban Pillay shares how the delay is effecting frontline workers.

NPR correspondents Rob Schmitz in Berlin, Phil Reeves in Rio de Janeiro and Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem discuss how the vaccine rollout looks in Germany, Brazil and Israel.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, Lee Hale, Brianna Scott and Brent Baughman. It was edited by Sami Yenigun with help from Vikki Valentine and Wynne Davis. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.