Which countries are most sceptical about vaccines?

Gloss over

Should we be worried that the head of research into respiratory drugs at AstraZeneca is called Dr Pangalos, given that his near namesake, Dr Pangloss, is a byword for foolish optimism? Dr Pangloss was tutor to Candide in Voltaire’s satire on Gottfried Leibniz’s work on theodicy: the attempt to reconcile why a benevolent and all-powerful God should allow evil, tragedy — or a pandemic — to exist. Dr Pangloss’s favourite phrase, ‘all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds’, encapsulates Leibniz’s belief that the Earth, for all its apparent faults, was the best that God could possibly have created. Dr Pangloss’s belief collides with the horrible reality of the Lisbon earthquake, which occurred in 1755, four years before Candide was published. In spite of earning Voltaire’s derision, Leibniz played an important role in the evolution of scientific method, and would have appreciated AstraZeneca’s drug trials.

Calling the shots

Where are people most sceptical about vaccines? Percentage disagreeing with the general statement ‘vaccines are safe’:

MOST SCEPTICAL

France | 33%

Gabon | 26%

Russia | 24%

Red alert

The Institute for Fiscal Studies expects public sector borrowing this year to reach £351 billion, or 17% of GDP. How does it compare with peaks of the past 60 years?

2009-10 | 10% GDP

1993-94 | 6.6%

1975-76 | 6.3%

1967-68 | 3.9%

1963-64 | 2.7%

Source: OBR