Poor countries face deadly shortage of medical oxygen in struggle to treat increasing COVID-19 patients

The World

The novel coronavirus attacks the respiratory system, and access to ventilators and oxygen tanks can mean the difference between life and death. But in South Asia, Latin America and parts of Africa, access to medical oxygen is severely restricted. It is precisely those regions where COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Host Marco Werman speaks Dr. Baweye Mayoum Barka, who coordinates the COVID-19 emergency response in Democratic Republic of Congo, about the impacts of this oxygen shortage on the front lines of the pandemic.

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