The characters of the vaccine story, and the risks of ‘vaccine nationalism’

On Tuesday, the world’s media turned to Britain, the first country to administer a clinically tested and authorized coronavirus vaccine. Coverage was full of local color: Margaret Keenan, a ninety-year-old woman, became the first person to be vaccinated, then she drank a cup of tea. “She’s celebrating by ‘avin’ a spot of tea, a nice cuppa,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said, in an excruciating English accent. (Maddow described Keenan as “very, very British”; the Irish press begged to differ.)...