Covid-19: how the world lived through the pandemic

The New York Times retrospectively covers the Covid-19 pandemic since the WHO declaration on 11 March 2020: over 7 million recorded deaths, economic collapse, widespread remote work. The paper documents US errors under Trump then Biden efforts, debate on virus origins in Wuhan and the vaccine race. Comparative analyses stress disproportionate US human cost versus other rich countries and whether the world is better prepared for the next pandemic.

Le Monde places the pandemic in French experience: 17 March lockdown, mask shortages, debates on liberties and Macron's management. The daily recalls saturated hospitals, applauded carers and EU tensions on borders and vaccines. Retrospectives question European solidarity — AstraZeneca, health pass — and compare French response to German or Swedish, critically but informed.

Al Jazeera covers the pandemic with a Global South focus: saturated hospitals in Yemen or Syria, migrant workers blocked in the Gulf, vaccines arriving late in Africa. The outlet criticises Western dose hoarding — 'vaccine apartheid' — and recalls Arab countries sometimes had to negotiate directly with Beijing or Moscow. Comparative analyses show Covid-19 amplified existing inequalities and relaunched debt and public health financing debates in the developing world.

TASS retrospectively approaches the pandemic highlighting Russia's response: rapid Sputnik vaccine development, aid to Italy in 2020, criticism of Western sanctions hindering cooperation. The agency denounces politicisation of virus origins and rich countries' vaccine nationalism. Comparative analyses stress Russia offered an alternative to the Western Pfizer-Moderna model — with debates on efficacy and international recognition of Russian vaccines.

Xinhua presents the pandemic as a test of global governance — China having contained the virus after Wuhan and exported vaccines and equipment. The agency criticises Washington's political blame of Beijing and defends progressive Chinese transparency. Retrospectives compare China's response — strict lockdown, zero-Covid then reopening — to Western chaos, while calling for multilateral cooperation to prepare the next global health crisis.