How the world has changed six months into the coronavirus pandemic

Good morning from the financial times a day is Tuesday September 8th. This is your ft news briefing.

U-az and much of the West it's been almost six months since we went into various forms of lockdown 6 months since nearly everything in our lives was canceled many of us started working from home. We're lucky to still have a job. So to mark this Milestone we're doing something a little different today on the briefing talk to the FBI has Julian Ted and Hannah kuchler. How the pandemic is change the global economy in the medical industry in such a short amount of time.

we start with Gillian tett are us editor-at-large who points out the pandemic has led the finger-pointing and animosity is people try to place blame on the origins of the virus while race has clearly played a factor and how different communities have been affected by the pandemic we'll get to that but before we examine the human element started by asking Julian about government responses,

What I think was becoming very clear. Is that although you need competition to give you a reassuring message into play some kind of need a role in a crisis does a tremendous value to being simply competent and organized and able to execute policy and frankly watching in that respect a country. Like Germany has done a commendable job by simply being quietly efficient organized not making great Drama by client you go to a country like Italy which was the first or the UK which will the US which frankly is one of the most shameful examples on the wall station today in terms of handling or mishandling covid-19 prices.

Weather across too much of Asia organized and frankly more impressive response feeling regardless of how countries handle the crisis. We actually, you know, we seen Silver rest all over the world Germany what you just said to handle the crisis well as having protest the u.s. Sweden also having protest can we expect to see civil unrest continue?

What are three things going on really wanted that you're seeing a lot of economic pain and I got my pain decoration anger inevitably unrest and Croatia population that are pretty frustrated with the lack of competence in the government in history sample and a tax on the other. So when he looks different from yourself a try by the reason for that is that another collagist I started to work with you by Mary Douglas long time ago. He pointed out that pandemics associated with come to the pollution external threats coming in the corrupting the pure body inside that affect how we proceed.

In a crisis like with him today, there is a tendency to have a lot of finger-pointing xenophobia attack. The last six months and of course, you know, neither one of us have a crystal ball. But what can we expect in the next 6 months the idea of knowing which I think is very unlikely instead of vaccine suddenly comes fruit and something may the Lord with all the cheat money fishing around because it won't send a message on Note because I personally think I'm their dogs are that it seems to me to cost of a vaccine walking and being properly distributed. It's going to be quite a while.

Inserting in the US. It does not appear to be under control right now and more importantly that every chance that I see. It's stormy stemless Roloff. We're going to see over the winter and smoke you eat because

And central banks aren't the only institution is coming under pressure. The medical industry has had to think on his feet for the past six months in ways. I never thought possible hospitals pharmaceutical companies in the maker personal protective equipment have all had to Pivot quickly and a Chrysler is the ft's US pharmaceutical and biotech correspond it a Hannah like for you to spend a mess. It's been a political Mass has been an economic mess and I'm most crucially in horrific Lee. It's just recently on social media. There's been the challenges of asking people to post a picture of themselves and in January 2020 before all of this madness hits for you. What was it like being a reporter transitioning to what your beat has become what moment was that transition moment for you?

Yeah, it's really interesting to in January. I was at the healthcare conference, which is the JP Morgan conference in San Francisco. And actually I remember interviewing the CEO of Madonna is the company that is not making a covid-19. And as I went back and in February wrote a big piece about how they had become aware of the situation in China and acted very quickly to make sure that they would the fastest to have a vaccine in a bottle ready for testing. I became aware that when I was interviewing him. He you know, which one I think maybe January 10th. He was already in talks about preparing a covid-19 and yet it was not really on our agenda at all and then just before lockdown at the end of those 42 days. I ended up visiting Madonna's Factory just outside Boston in Massachusetts, and it was just a surreal visit when I look back on it.

You know, I was obviously not by this point of how dangerous covid-19 s aseri the vaccine they were making was but it still felt like people around me were unaware Hannah, you know, it's been a lot of learning the last 6 months from virtually no knowledge of covid-19 to a lot of things that we've learned in forgotten and just things that have become more commonplace. But you know, what to you is the main thing that we've learned about the virus how it spreads and and how people are responding to it from a health point of view.

So yeah, we've done a lot about the virus and how it spreads. I think 6 months ago. We sort of virus very much is a respiratory virus and Elvis. He does have those impacts but we've learned that it can also affect your heart your brain the toes even we've landed as unusual immune reactions in children Embassy that's quite a beginning to learn about how long immunity might lost because we're starting to see some early evidence of it fading in people. We've also in this is really important wild things that we may be suspected six months ago, but we didn't have soda more clear evidence on is just a huge degree of asymptomatic spreads that's people being able to spread the disease when they have no idea they have it cuz they didn't have symptoms and they may never even get them has been estimates is out so I can study to 40% of people and that's really important because of course it makes it harder to battle and understand where it is.

Johanna I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about the state of the vaccine race who's in the lead and what looks most promising at this moment.

Who is in the lead and I think the the idea of a race for vaccine? Is it myself? It's not at the moment at the stage where you can stable this one's going to walk in. This one isn't if we knew that then we'd be putting it in people's arms. There are several candidates. The largest stage of trials for this is a really important stage is great and it's been incredibly faster than go to this last stage. But without the stage you don't have any understanding of how effective is vaccine is going to be and you don't have any understanding of the rarest side effects of this lie, if it was, you know caused huge side effects in normal healthy people, then it would have been moved out already, but it's still pretty important and so any effort could be scuppered by the discovery of most significant side effects in a smaller population.

Coastal areas are us pharmaceutical and biotech correspond it. Thanks Hannah.

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