Original version

BBC World Service East Asia

Science in Action

Science In Action

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The BBC brings you all the week's science news.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Science In Action: Covid-19 defeats US Marines

Magazines & Reviews

Covid-19 defeats US Marines

12/11/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Covid-19 defeats US Marines

The virus spread amongst recruits despite a range of thorough precautions

The WHO is working with China to try and pinpoint the source of SARS- COV-2. Sian Griffiths, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong says there are lessons we can learn from the investigation she led into the original SARS outbreak back in 2003. That inquiry revealed how SARS had spread from bats to humans via civet cats. 

A Covid-19 vaccine claims to be 90% effective. It uses genetic material, messenger RNA. Daniel Anderson of Harvard MIT Health Science tells us about the huge potential of mRNA to provide treatments for many medical conditions.

However, rolling out such a vaccine globally faces a huge range of economic and practical obstacles as ethicist Nicole Hassoun of Binghamton University explains.

And a unique experiment shows despite a vast range of precautions including being isolated US Marines have contracted Covid -19. Stuart Sealfon, Professor of Neurology at Mount Sinai Hospitals says this study shows we need testing to be integrated more thoroughly into everyday life and that many of the precautions we currently use may not be enough to prevent transmission. 


(Image: Credit: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Julian Siddle

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Science In Action

Covid-19 defeats US Marines

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East Asia

About BBC World Service