Science unscripted

With Europe gearing up to vaccinate, people's willingness seems low — and is even going down in some countries. Why? In part, it's because people here remember what happened in 2009.

A dark milestone has been reached in Germany, with confirmed COVID-19 cases crossing the 1 million mark, as well as a record number of people dying this week. The government has extended the partial lockdown with apparently one thing in mind – saving Christmas.

What's the difference between a vaccine's efficacy and effectiveness? And how do the recent vaccine candidates from Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and BioNTech stack up compared to existing vaccines for polio, measles and other diseases?

An announcement for our regular listeners: Conor and Gabe are in quarantine due to emergency protocols at DW with regard to the coronavirus. They will be back in the office next Thursday, December 3.

Gabe makes a house call with Conor in quarantine to find out he's tested negative for the coronavirus. But he's not out of the woods yet. Also, why do some COVID-19 patients have symptoms long after the infection is gone? And we talk about loneliness and the pandemic.

Around a third of COVID-19 patients suffer symptoms well after the infection is gone, according to a German doctor who has been studying "Long Covid" since March. We hear from Götz Richter and one of his patients about a disease that won't go away.

It's a simple enough question. And yet a stunning number of people are either saying 'no,' or they aren't sure how to answer. Follow us to the streets of Mainz, Germany — to the spot where one of the most promising vaccines was developed — to find out how Germans are thinking about it.

Surely, in the face of a deadly pandemic, people would give anything to get a vaccination. Right? Think again. On this show, you'll hear from people who fall in that "not so sure" zone — and whether their questions, and legitimate concerns, can be answered.

Will the 'mink mutation' make our new vaccines less effective? And what percentage of people are NOT planning get vaccinated in the first place? Also, what's with the rumors of a 'coronavirus vaccine app'?

Lonely people die earlier. That much is known. And with new studies showing increased levels of isolation for older adults during the pandemic, it means the elderly are now facing dual threats to their health. But what if you could improve their chance at a long and healthy life, right this second, without the use of medicine?