You might expect people to line up to bare their arms, after months stuck at home. But the anti-vaxxer movement has been gaining steam in recent years, with some parents refusing to inoculate kids against once-eradicated diseases like polio and measles. "There is a general anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccine feeling among some people in this country -- an alarmingly large percentage of people, relatively speaking," the government's top infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN recently.

It's a symptom of the politicization of every layer of American life. Some conservatives balk on principle at the government ordering them to take a jab. Some are suspicious of the power of the pharmaceutical industrial complex. Others are swayed by false conspiracy theories that whip around the social media echo chamber. The results are clear: Last year, the US recorded the most cases of measles since 1992.

Much of the world's population, especially in poorer nations, worry about getting hold of the vaccine at all. But even if a coronavirus vaccine were cheap and easy to get, one third of Americans and 47% of Republicans told a CNN poll in May that they would not try to get vaccinated. Could that have changed now that the virus is raging in southern, conservative states and confounding Donald Trump's misinformation about its potency?

And given that the Trump administration has botched almost every aspect of the pandemic response so far, there's little reason to think it can handle the complex, ethical, regulatory, medical and societal issues that will come with a vaccine -- even if Americans did want it.

'The free world will need its own version of the whole-of-society approach'

In a speech that railed against China's growing influence with a distinct splash of Cold War nostalgia, US Attorney General William Barr on Thursday urged American businesses, universities and even Hollywood to join a "whole of society" effort to ensure US economic dominance. "In a globalized world, American corporations and universities alike may view themselves as global citizens, rather than American institutions," he said at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. "But they should remember that what allowed them to succeed in the first place was the American free enterprise system, the rule of law and the security afforded by America's economic, technological, and military strength."

Would you travel to America?

We received an inbox full of "No!" "Hell, no!" "No way!" and even "I would rather face a cage full of hungry lions" last week, in response to whether readers would consider visiting the US anytime soon. There were also some longer responses -- have a look below. (And condolences to the many Canadian snowbirds who wrote in lamenting missed vacations in sunny California, Florida and Hawaii.)

"Who in their right mind would travel to the USA at this time? Especially from New Zealand; one of the safest places on the planet. Perhaps after Covid-19 dies off, and the United S