The Graphic Truth: The unequal road to herd immunity

The unequal road to herd immunity
Graphic by Ari Winkleman

When will we return to a pre-pandemic normal by achieving COVID-19 herd immunity? Well, that depends where you live. While a host of wealthy nations that stockpiled vaccines and have already started rolling them out are planning for a post-COVID recovery in the near-term, the bulk of middle-income states will have to wait many months until the vaccine is rolled out to large swaths of the population. Most developing nations, meanwhile, as well as countries that will only get drugs through the global COVAX facility, may still be living with the coronavirus for three more years, according to predictions by The Economist Intelligence Unit. We compare when the pandemic is likely to end in different groups of countries, based on their access to vaccines and rollout plans.

More from GZERO Media

Photo illustration showing Elon Musk's post on X on a mobile phone, with a Union Jack in the background. Elon Musk has posted a stream of online attacks on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his platform X, formerly Twitter.

Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Musk has written a number of recent social media posts to show his support of far-right populists in Europe and to attack politicians on the left. Now, European leaders believe, is the time to brush him back.

Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab has unveiled SPARROW – Solar-Powered Acoustic and Remote Recording Observation Watch – a revolutionary AI-powered solution to measure and protect Earth’s biodiversity. Operating autonomously in remote locations, SPARROW collects and processes biodiversity data in real time using solar-powered sensors and edge computing. Data is transmitted via low-Earth orbit satellites directly to the cloud, enabling researchers worldwide to gain critical insights without disturbing ecosystems. This open-source innovation empowers conservationists, NGOs, and citizen scientists to accelerate biodiversity protection on a global scale. You can learn more here.

When his daughter was born, Johnny was able to use Walmart’s paid parental leave to spend six weeks bonding with her: “I’m a living example of the benefits Walmart provides.” Walmart’s comprehensive benefits — including paid parental leave, healthcare, tuition coverage, and more — help associates live better at work and at home. With a $1 billion investment in career-driven training and development, Walmart is creating pathways to higher-paying, higher-skilled jobs, so associates like Johnny can build better lives for themselves and their families. Learn why it pays to work at Walmart.

- YouTube

What do you make of Meta ending its fact-checking program? What is the fallout from Justin Trudeau's resignation? As Trump is about to kick off his second term, who are his friends around the world? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

The Meta AI logo appears on a smartphone screen in this illustration photo in Reno, United States, on December 30, 2024.
(Photo by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto) via Reuters

Meta faced its first major controversy just days into the new year – all due to AI characters.

FILE PHOTO: A man takes a photo of a CES sign as setup continues for CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

Artificial intelligence will take center stage at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, aka CES, which runs Jan. 7–10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The US Treasury Department last week sanctioned a Russian organization and its founder for attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election using artificial intelligence.