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Why are US Covid cases falling?

From herd immunity to the weather, Tim Harford explores the theories

Cases of Covid 19 began to soar in the US in the autumn. By early January there were around 300,000 new cases a day. But since then the numbers have fallen steeply. What caused this dramatic drop? From herd immunity to the weather, Tim Harford explores some of the theories with Derek Thompson of The Atlantic magazine and Professor Jennifer Dowd, deputy director of the Lever Hume Centre for Demographic Science at the University of Oxford.

(People with face masks walk through The Mall in Central Park, New York City. Credit: Noam Galai /Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Mon 1 Mar 2021 10:50GMT
BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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  • Sat 27 Feb 2021 02:50GMT
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  • Sat 27 Feb 2021 16:50GMT
    BBC World Service News Internet
  • Sun 28 Feb 2021 02:50GMT
    BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, East and Southern Africa, Online & West and Central Africa only
  • Sun 28 Feb 2021 15:50GMT
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  • Sun 28 Feb 2021 22:50GMT
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  • Mon 1 Mar 2021 10:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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Podcast

  • More or Less

    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life