FEATURING JULIEN MERCILLE – President Joe Biden’s plan to tackle the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. appears refreshingly straightforward, and relative to the lack of a plan under Donald Trump, seems to have lulled Americans into a false sense of security that the pandemic will soon end. But there is no plan to eliminate the virus, only to spread out infections and deaths over a long enough time to buy hospitals the breathing room they need and allow vaccinations to continue. 

In other nations, especially Asian and some African ones where experience with deadly infectious disease has informed their approach, Covid-19 elimination is well under way. We turn today to Ireland, where a group of scientists and academics has launched an ambitious effort to outline a clear path forward – a “Covid-zero” plan that includes ideas like “one lockdown to end them all.”

For more information on the ‘Covid-Zero’ effort visit https://www.isagcovid19.org.

Julien Mercille, Associate Professor in the School of Geography at University College Dublin, Ireland, and the author of a number of books including The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland; Europe’s Treasure Ireland: Deepening Neoliberalism, Austerity, and Crisis; and Cruel Harvest: US Intervention in the Afghan Drug Trade. He is involved in a newly launched “Covid Zero” effort in Ireland.

** This segment was originally broadcast on February 2, 2021.