♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by.. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. woman: and now, "bbc world news". america.

ghana gets the first delivery of vaccines, but make no mistake, the rich wld still has nearly all of the supplies. the u.s. is going to a prove a third vaccine, just a single dose. the johnson & johnson does is described as highly effective. japan's new olympic chief insists games will go ahead, we ke a look at canada. welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. , and west africa has become the first country to receive vaccines. a delivery of 600,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine arrived earlier today. the first recipients are going to be health care workers.

the scheme aims to reduce the divide between rich countries and poor nations. the goal is to deliver some 2 billion doses globally by the end of this year. here is our science editor david. rerter: live coverage of a momentous delivery in donna. a scheme known as kovacs aims to reach 20% of people in the poorest countries. this consignment is just the start. >> the ambition to reach that first 20% is to have, and do so within this first year. maybe within the next 12 months. to go beyond that, i think that thinking is to achieve that as fast as possible. reporter: these first doses are of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. many more will follow. vaccinating the whole world is a

daunting challenge. what is the likely timeframe for vaccinating 75% of people in different countries? based on doses that have been ordered, that should happen this year in the u.k., many other nations, all of them wildly. it is likely to be next year for several dozen middling income countries. as things stand, it is said to be 2023 for the majority of african countries, and that is with all of the vaccines being donated. the longer it all takes, the greater the risk of new variantss of the virus emerging. that is why there is such pressure for every country to get the vaccines. >> it is going to be seen as a vicious cycle. again, it puts risk, because new variants are going to come. reporter: meanwhile, some governments see diplomatic

value. china is offering them around the world, such as herein set about. russia is doing the same, even though the who has yet to approve them. the hope is that all the initiatives will help to build up immunity as quickly as possible. katty: let's take a look at the rest of the confident. joining me is the bbc's health reporter. thanks very much for joining me. of course, this is good news, but it is only 600,000 doses of the vaccine for a country of 30 million people. they are a long way off. our deck? -- our date? reporter: they have to vaccinate the front and health care workers. it's a start. what they need to ensure is that every dose get to a health care

worker and know vaccine is wasted. then thewill see if they can get e pandemic under control, by ensuring 20% of the population is vaccinated, the rest will be vaccinated gradually because more vaccines will still be coming in from international partnerships. katty: when do other countries in africa think that they will receive their doses of the vaccine? reporter: according to the directors, it is expected that many african countries are to get there vaccine by the end of this weekend also next week, and vaccinations are to start between march and july. this of course will be the same concept that ghana as. katty: do countries have to

guarantee that they have the infrastructure available in order to distribute the vaccine? we have seen here in the united states that it is one thing to have the supply, quite a differt thing to actually get the vaccine into people's arms. reporter: according to the policy, every country that has to get the vaccine has to give data or policy. they have places where they can store the vaccine, because this is something that is being saw after. -- soft after. also, they have a number of people who are going to be vaccinated. every vaccine will be used, every bile, every shot will get to someone's arm.

katty: this is being distributed just anews is coming in that infection rates may be higher than we previously thought. tell us a little bit about the new data. reporter: the new data that is coming out from the confident, right now there are about 4 million covid-19 cases. the rise is being spearheaded by two factors. the lack of people following the measures, such as wearing masks and observing how this public health measures. and the other is the mutation of the virus. the variant identified in south africa, also being identified in about nine countries. this has also given the rise of covid-19 cases. katty: thank you very much for the update.

] there is some encouraging news here in the u.s. today regarding vaccines. the food and drug administration says johnson & johnson's vaccine appears safe and effective. the new data from the fda is extreme and promising. it shows that the vaccine is 100% effective at stopping hospitalizations. when it comes to preventing moderate to severe cases, it ranges from 66% to 86%, depending on which variant it encounters. overall, great news on the vaccine front. hopefully more people will be able to get vaccinated if this new drug is approved in the days to come. when it comes to vaccinations and distribution, one country stands out. israel has already given nearly half its population at least one dose. as the country starts to ease restrictions, the government has rolled out what they are calling a green bad policy. once a person is vaccinated or

has recovered from covid-19, they get a scannable code on the phone that allows them to do certain things, like go to jim's, hotels, swimming pulls. thank you for joining the program. >> here it is. katty: what does that allow people to do? >> at the moment it allows people to use gym's, hotels, cinemas. places of worship can opt in.

if you have that you can use those facilities. if not, you can't. you can't go to the gym, you can't go to the hotel. it looks like restaurants wi be included. katty: do you think this is what the rest of the world is going to be looking at as more and more countries start rolling out vaccines? we are looking at a passport type scenario. you either have that green badge or you don't have it. people who have it can respond them alive. -- people who have it can resume normal life. >> on the one hand it is a transitional thing. a lot of things in this world are not open to everyone. once you have vaccinated most of your population, maybe you don't need to give people who are vaccinated special privileges. in that middle period, then yes.

i think something like this is extremely useful. the other place it will become very important is travel. katty: does it provide -- promote any political queasiness? one part of the population that has a special id, another part that don't. >> even though the vaccination is completely available and accessible, in that sense, there are people who are still a few days from getting their second shot. but it is open to pretty much all. where it gets problematic is actually for children, because children are not being vaccinated just yet. no vaccine yet has been signed up for use in children. how society will moveorward,

when the children can go to cinemas. katty: you mentioned travel. as we get to summer everyone is going to be thinking of that. what is going to be the global implications? does israel's green badge allow people to fly? >> israel is in negotiations with some of the nearby countries, including the european countries, greece and cyprus in particular, where there is a lot of tourism, they are very close neighbors. they all recognize each other's vaccinations certificates? [indiscernible] it is not reasonable. on the other hand countries like the united states, it's ing to be very challenging.

katty: thank you very much for joining us. congratulations on getting your vaccination. japan's newly appointed olympic chief says that tokyo is pressing ahead with plans to open the olympic games on july 23. but, will there be any spectators? will foreigners be allowed to travel to the games? and how ready are the people of tokyo themselves to welcome this event, given the impact of the run bars? >> they are a very long way from home. the south sudan olympic team arrived here in japan long before any of us had heard of covid-19. 41.5 years, they -- for a year

and a half they have been training. >> we are waiting for it. we are far from our family. we hope it is held on july. >> the good news is that despite just losing its controversial chief, the tokyo admitted committee is adamant rumors the games will be canceled are not true. >> no one has ever discussed it. all of the parties. we are absolutely focused on the games. reporter: it really does seem that the japanese government and the olympic committee are now determin to go ahead with the olympics in some form this year. regardless of what happens now with the pandemic. the problem now is that many

experts, and the overwhelming majority of the japanese public, think that is a very bad idea. >> i don't think so. cobit is far from over and preparation to stop infection is not complete. >> i don't think it is possible to hold olympics this year. we don't know when the pandemic will end. >> i don't think it is manageable. the variant is already circulating. on top of that, it will be delayed. all of which lead to a situation where the olympics will be really challenging. reporter: this is the frontline in japan's war against covid.

last month this unit was overflowing with very sick patients, as japan was hit by a third wave of the virus. this doctor is worried that the new strain entering japan from abroad could unleash a fourth wave. >> we don't know that the new vaccination works for new strains. there is no evidence. if a new strain comes to japan it will be disasous. reporter: the key now to hosting the olympics should be vaccinations. but even the staff in this covid unit don't know when they look at their first shot. meanwhile, the rest of japan is being told it will have to wait until april or even may for vaccinations to begin. katty: some skepticism there in japan. joining out from toronto is david.

the secretary-general of canada's olympic committee. what do you think? well the whole olympic team be going? >> we sure are planning on it. we have derived a lot of confidence from the plans that have been put in place, countermeasures as the ioc and tokyo organizers like to call them. they are borrong a lot from what we have learned over the course of the last year in professional sport, about how sport can be staged and conducted in a safe manner. we will listen to our chief medical officer as we plan for tokyo, as we plan for july, and the health and safety of our team and canadians is paramount. katty: do you think you are going to be able to send athletes who are not vaccinated by the summer? >> we absolutely not only think that we can sd athletes that are not vaccinated, we are

planning for it. the vaccine situation in canada is such that only 1.6 million canadians so far have been vaccinated. we are still vaccinating the most vulnerable and frontline workers. our position and the position of virtually every canadian athlete is that we need to wait our turn. we think the most responsible thing to be doing is to be planning on an assumption that we are not vaccinated, and that is how we are going about our business. katty: you won't be trying to push to get athletes to the front of the queue. >> no we are not. we have relayed to the canadian government the ioc's desire to see a look at teams from around the world vaccinated. but, our athletes believe that the priority here in canada is to get those most vulnerable, frontline workers, and frankly several others vaccinated long before the should be any consideration to olympic

empowerment for catholics. katty: with lockdown situations different, training opportunities must be widespread and diverse around the world. how are canadians doing when it comes to training? are some countries managing to train more effectively than others? >> canadian athletes, like many around the world are innovative and resilient. we are now almost at the one-year anniversary of the date when canadian athletes put up their hand back in march of 2020 and said ts is untenable, we can't train for an olympic games in a way that is safer our community, when pools are being closed, gyms are being shuttered. let's make our way in. we have at a year to plan for itit is still quite challenging. as you can imagine, some sports are you dear than others -- easier than others.

individual versus team sports, indoor versus outdoor. some sports or managing much better than others. katty: best of luck for the olympic games in tokyo. we wish you all of the very best. katty: you are watching bbc world news america. still to come. protests in danmark as activists have influenced international allies. we have a report on the ground from landmark -- emr -- myanmar. reporter: katty: laura: katty: laura: katty: [indiscernible] has generated online discussion about the value of domestic work. reporter: people think that there is an expectation in china that when you break up with

somebody, that you should be compensated. there is a trend in china for a number of years known as breakup fees. when two people breakup, compensation is normally given from the boyfriend to the girlfriend before effective -- for effectivelwasting her time. he was actually the one who filed for divorce back in 2020. his ex-wife decided to take advantage. it allows her to seek coensation for childcare and household work. it is a very new case, a very new procedure in chinese courts. katty: indonesia's foreign minister has met a high-ranking myanmar ke perry official to discuss the coup.

because because protesters e protected. our correspondent was at the protest, and filed this report just moments before the internet was shut down. reporter: outside the embassy, protesters chant to make their voices heard. ey are calling on indonesia's leaders to abandon diplomatic ties with the ruling military. and for the release of their democratically elected leader. >> please respect our votes and hear our voices. i came here to ask indonesia to pressure them to transfer the power back to the civilian government. reporter: indonesia has been the main support.

the indonesian foreign minister was due to visit the country to meet with the general, but the plan has been abandoned for now. instead, they met in neighring bangkok where the tide foren minister was als present. >> the safety and well-being is number one priority. before we asked her not use violence to avoid casualties and bloodshed. indonesia continues to emphasize the importance of an inclusive democratic transition process. reporter: the flurry of diplomacy between neighboring southeast asian neighbors has caused concerns from protesters, who believe that talks with jeremiah the military coup --

legitimize the military to. it has now been three weeks, and in the latest protests, people from different backgrounds and faiths took to the streets. they say they are united in their fight for democracy. katty: we are lucky to have seen those pictures and images coming out of myanmar, as we set the internet was shut down just moments after that. a new story about a very old painting, a piece of art from vincent van gogh has been unveiled in paris ahead of its sale by auction. the picture is from 1887, a street scene and has been private since 1920. it's going to be put on display in london and amsterdam. it is expected to fetch up to 8 million euros, $9.7 million.

if you have money to spare. during this pandemic, a lot of people have had to forgo getting haircuts. spare a thought for one sheep whose need for a trim surely trumps all of ours. his name is barack. he was lost in the outback. the shearers removed a whopping 35ilos, that is 77 pounds of will -- wool. he is now settling in. his caretaker say it all goes to show what incredibly brazilian and brave animals sheep early are. we could not love them anymore if we tried. good for barack. you can get the rest of the day'news on our website. thanks so much for joining us. i am katty kay. narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by.. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation.

pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. ♪ ♪ man: you're watching pbs. narrator: stream the best of pbs on any device with the pbs video app. all your favorite drama, history, science, news, and documentaries all in one place. watch your pbs station live or catch up on the shows you missed. discover new favorites from pbs and locally produced shows from your station. get the pbs video app now and stream the best of pbs anytime. anywhere.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the biden agenda-- the president continues to push for covid relief and a minimum wage increase as a cabinet nominee faces opposition in the senate. then, getting the vaccine-- as the first shipment of doses arrives in africa, global disparities and uneven distribution become more visible and, a painful legacy-- the pandemic highlightthe discrimination faced by african americans in the health system as black patients struggle for equal access to medical care. >> it has laid bare the inequities in american society.