Andy gets back to basics with Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett. They get into how and why viruses mutate, why the variants don't seem to be causing too much trouble for the mRNA vaccines, and how our actions are, as Laurie puts it, "aiding and abetting" COVID. Plus, her big takeaways for how a little empathy at home and in our systemic approach can change the trajectory of the pandemic.

Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt and Instagram @andyslavitt. 

Follow Laurie @Laurie_Garrett on Twitter.

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Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

• Learn more about Laurie: https://www.lauriegarrett.com/
• Read more on the hunt for a “universal” COVID-19 vaccine: https://fortune.com/2021/08/18/universal-covid-vaccine-delta-variant-gritstone-cepi/
• Check out the status of coronavirus vaccinations around the world: vaccinations-tracker.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html
• Learn more about Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: https://www.gavi.org/
• Find a COVID-19 vaccine site near you: https://www.vaccines.gov/ 
• Order Andy’s book, Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165 

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