One year later: how has the US dealt with the pandemic this past year? We look back at the good and bad of the United States’ pandemic response.

GUEST: Dr. Rodney Rohde, Professor and Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the College of Health Professions with Texas State University

While the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc across the country, when it comes to personal finances, young and unemployed Canadians have been the hardest-hit, a new poll has found.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos exclusively for Global News, found that 35 per cent of 1,000 Canadians surveyed indicated their overall financial situation has worsened over the past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

But nearly half (49 per cent) of the respondents said they have experienced no change in their financial situation the last year, while 15 per cent said their situation improved.

GUEST: Darrel Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Today is the one-year anniversary since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We look back on what we as a society and the science community have learned, and what the future holds moving forward for society and public health post pandemic.

Infectious disease: how has our knowledge of COVID-19 grown as members of the public? How has science evolved? What have scientists learned this past year?

Vaccines and vaccination: what have we learned about the development of vaccines and the process of vaccinating the public over the past year?

Public Health messaging: What has worked? What could be improved moving forward:

Gaps in public health: what can be improved in public health after one year of a pandemic?

GUEST: Dr. Zain Chagla, an Infectious Disease Specialist with St. Joseph’s Hospital and an Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Medicine with McMaster University

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Stats Canada has released a one-year update which provides data and insights on the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic at both the national and provincial levels including Canadians’ response, indirect health impacts, uneven social and economic impacts, and an assessment of the recovery.

GUEST: Guy Gellatly, Principal Researcher for Statistics Canada

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Some Ontarians aged 60 to 64 will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine at their doctor’s office as soon as this weekend, the government said Wednesday as it further expanded its immunization effort.

The initiative will start in Toronto, Peel Region, Hamilton, Guelph, Peterborough, and Simcoe-Muskoka, with doctors administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot. The province plans to expand the program as vaccine supply increases.

GUEST: Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacist Association

Today marks one year from the day the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the toll it has taken on lives and livelihoods, it has also sped the demise of one of the bedrocks of our democracy: local journalism. In the weeks following widespread pandemic lockdowns, roughly 2,000 employees were laid off from news outlets in Canada. About 50 outlets closed temporarily or permanently — almost all of those were community newspapers. That followed decades of decline in the news sector.

In response to last year's lockdowns, about a dozen former newsroom workers at the Waterloo Region Record formed ink-stainedwretches.org and launched a campaign to encourage MPs to quickly build an ecosystem/environment in which local journalism can survive and thrive to serve all Canadians.

As a result, so far 16 municipal councils in Ontario and BC — representing nearly 4.5 million residents — have passed the group's journalism-support motion. Yesterday, (March 10) Toronto city council passed the motion, which was moved by Mayor John Tory.

GUEST: Mirko Petricevic, Coordinator of ink-stainedwretches.org