The US has become the epicenter of the global pandemic, but COVID-19 remains a great threat to population health across the world and the response of nations has varied considerably over the past several months.

The US has become the epicenter of the global pandemic, but COVID-19 remains a great threat to population health across the world and the response of nations has varied considerably over the past several months.

This site is devoted to tracking these trends in the months ahead, comparing and contrasting policy responses among countries, analyzing the different results of these policies, and using this information to identify and discuss the policy options that might work best for the US.

Important Links

• Poor countries face long wait for vaccines despite promises (AP News)
• Mexico’s COVID-19 deaths average 55 years vs. 75 in Europe (AP News)
• Rich countries are hoarding Covid-19 vaccines and leaving the developing world behind, People’s Vaccine Alliance warns (CNN)
• The year of the pandemic: a view from South Korea (STAT)
• Someone in Europe is dying every 17 seconds from covid-19, WHO says (The Washington Post)
• The U.S. has absolutely no control over the coronavirus. China is on top of the tiniest risks. (The Washington Post)
• Don’t Ignore the Good News On Covid-19 From Asia (Bloomberg)
• Covid-19 cases surging in Europe, triggering tightening restrictions (NBC)
• Lesson not learned: Europe unprepared as 2nd virus wave hits (AP News)
• Germany, which had virus under control, sees a jump in cases (AP News)
• Pandemic Exposes Holes in Sweden’s Generous Social Welfare State (The New York Times)
• Italy imposes mask mandate outside and in as virus rebounds (AP News)
• New Zealand “beat the virus again,” PM Jacinda Ardern says (Axios)
• As Coronavirus Deaths Pass 1 Million, These Are the Countries Worst Affected (Newsweek)
• As virus surges, critics say UK hasn’t learned from mistakes (AP News)
• As US struggles, Africa’s COVID-19 response is praised (AP News)
• Sweden spared surge of virus cases but many questions remain (AP News)
• A Cataclysm of Hunger, Disease and Illiteracy (The New York Times)
• Doctors in hard-hit Madrid: ‘It’s like March in slow motion’ (AP News)
• France and Spain Fail the Coronavirus Test (Bloomberg)
• New report says Covid-19 pandemic has caused historic setbacks in global health (STAT)
• Israel heads to a second lockdown as coronavirus cases soar (The Washington Post)
• The Other Way Covid Will Kill: Hunger (The New York Times)
• Can Europe tame the pandemic’s next wave? (Science Mag)
• Sweden Shouldn’t Be America’s Pandemic Model (The Wallstreet Journal)
• Spain divided on pandemic response as coronavirus spreads (Politico)
• Pandemic pace slows worldwide except for southeast Asia, eastern Mediterranean: WHO (Reuters)
• Coronavirus cases rising again in Europe, and crowded events in U.S. raise concerns (The Washington Post)
• Asia Today: Seoul surge appears to spread around South Korea (AP News)
• Global COVID trend shows hint of plateau; NZ suspicion shifts to quarantine breach in flare-up (CIDRAP)
• South Korea Warns of Another Covid-19 Outbreak Tied to a Church (The New York Times)
• Experts warn Spain is losing the 2nd round in virus fight (AP News)
• UK scientists openly question government’s pandemic response (AP News)
• Worldwide virus cases top 20 million, doubling in six weeks (AP News)
• When COVID-19 Hit, Many Elderly Were Left to Die (The New York Times)
• Spain’s new wave of infections hits the young, middle-aged (AP News)
• Sweden’s renegade COVID-19 policy looks like a disaster — but the country is quietly determined to see it through despite the cost in lives (Business Insider)
• Coronavirus spikes in Asia spur warnings against complacency (Reuters)
• Latin America leads world in coronavirus cases, Reuters count shows (Reuters)
• Second COVID-19 wave forces new travel curbs around the globe (Reuters)
• Unequal consequences of COVID-19 across age and income: Representative evidence from six countries (Vox EU)
• Sweden hoped herd immunity would curb COVID-19. Don’t do what we did. It’s not working (USA Today)
• E.U. Adopts Groundbreaking Stimulus to Fight Coronavirus Recession (The New York Times)
• The Latest: Pope reassures those struggling with virus (AP News)
• Global surge in coronavirus cases is being fed by the developing world — and the U.S. (The Washington Post)
• Asia ramps up coronavirus curbs as new clusters erupt (Reuters)
• America has more coronavirus deaths than other countries. What can we learn? (Tampa Bay Times)
• Virus Gains Steam Across Latin America (The New York Times)
• Sweden starts to debate its coronavirus public health experiment (LA Times)
• Bleak UNICEF Report On Kids And COVID-19 … But There Is Hope (npr)
• South Korea says it is battling ‘second wave’ of coronavirus (Reuters)
• 8 Hospitals in 15 Hours: A Pregnant Woman’s Crisis in the Pandemic (The New York Times)
• Sweden, the pandemic and precarious working conditions (Social Europe)
• UK lockdown a week earlier could have halved COVID-19 death toll, scientist says (Reuters)
• Resurgence of virus threatens South Korea’s success story (AP News)
• The World Reopens, Despite Skyrocketing Coronavirus Cases (The New York Times)
• Closing in on all sides: Cuba nears declaring coronavirus victory (Reuters)
• With recovery of last case, New Zealand has eradicated virus (AP News)
• Brazil expunges virus death toll as data befuddles experts (AP News)
• Coronavirus Rips Into Regions Previously Spared (The New York Times)
• Latin America had time to prepare for the coronavirus. It couldn’t stop the inevitable. (The Washington Post)
• A Reporter’s Journey Across a Resuscitating, and Oddly Changed, Europe (The New York Times)
• ‘It’s Not the Virus’: Mexico’s Broken Hospitals Become Killers, Too (The New York Times)
• The pandemic’s second stage is here — and it’s getting ugly (The Washington Post)
• Its Coronavirus Caseload Soaring, India Is Reopening Anyway (The New York Times)
• New Zealand edges back to normal after quashing coronavirus in 49 days (The Washington Post)
• In one of the world’s largest slums, the fight against the coronavirus has turned into a struggle to survive (The Washington Post)

Image courtesy of Reuters / Jeenah Moon