Coronavirus Weekly

Christina Pascucci heads out to Death Valley for an adventure to break the monotony of life amid coronavirus. She shares the natural wonders that can be found at one of the hottest places in the world, and learns about what the Oasis at Death Valley is doing to help keep people safe during their visits.

XPRIZE is a non-profit organization that hosts competitions intended to encourage technological development to benefit humanity. The foundation is giving away a $5,000,000 prize to the team who can develop a rapid, reliable, and affordable COVID-19 test. The goal is to accelerate radical solutions to solving COVID-19 and future pandemics. Christina speaks with XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari about their latest competition.

The race is on to develop a vaccine to fight off COVID-19. Biotech company Moderna says they're on track to finish enrollment for a Phase-3 study of its vaccine by the end of September. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says he remains "cautiously optimistic" in regards to the vaccine. He spoke with KTLA with more information about its development, when it can be expected, who will receive it, and more.

Since the begining of the pandemic, doctors and scientists around the world have been hard at work trying to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. Cardiologist Dr. Norman Lepor is involved in the COLCORONA study, a government-funded clinical trial to get the answer as to the effectiveness of the drug called colchicine, which doctors hope may help patients diagnosed with COVID-19 avoid complications like hospitalizations, the need for ventilator assisted breathing, or even death. Christina Pascucci speaks with Dr. Lepor to learn more about the COLCORONA Study.

On March 5th, 2020 Gregg Garfield checked himself into St. Josephs Providence Hospital in Burbank after a ski trip in Northern Italy. He would come to be known as "Patient Zero," the hospital's first COVID-19 patient. While in the hospital, Gregg's health went into a rapid decline, and his chances of survival appeared to be slim to none. In the end, however, even after seemingly knocking on death’s door, Gregg would be a survivor. He shares his story with Christina Pascucci.

This week, the spotlight during the worsening COVID-19 pandemic fell on the question of whether or not studenst and faculty should return to school campuses in the Fall. While Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest public school system in California, announced students would not return to classrooms in the Fall, The Orange County Board of Education approved its recommendation that districts reopen schools without requiring the use of masks or social distancing. The guidelines were met with contention and controversy. Christina Pascucci speaks with the president of the Orange County Board of Education, who explains the reasoning for why the board put forth their recommendations for reopening schools.

Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo is a physician, health policy researcher, and associate professor of medicine at UCLA. He recently wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal arguing that political leaders and health experts have politicized the pandemic response by sending mixed messages, implementing hypocritical policies, and becoming distracted with areas of controversy rather than focusing efforts on more pragmatic goals. Christina Pascucci speaks with Dr. Ladapo about how leaders have sown distrust, and what they must do to correct course.

COVID-19 cases across the country are on the rise heading into the July 4th weekend. In response, state leaders have begun slowing or rolling back reopening efforts. Christina Pascucci speaks with Dr. William A. Haseltine about the basic practices people should take to reduce the likelihood of catching the disease. He also reveals some of the lesser talked about ways people may be putting themselves at risk.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise, stoking concerns across the state in the midst of reopening. The outbreak presents increased risks and dangers for communities of color. Christina Pascucci speaks with Nourbese Flint of the Black Women for Wellness. The organizations commitment is to the health and well-being of Black women and girls through health education, empowerment and advocacy. Nourbese explains what needs to be done for equality within our healthcare system.

Besides causing a global health crisis and economic turmoil, one of the other major effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is the shift it has lead to in our world view and the social upheaval it has influenced. With people having a sharpened focus towards important issues, the Black Lives Matter movement and their fight against racial injustice is receiving long overdue attention. On this episode, Christina is speaking with Dr. Malina Abdula, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, about how the coronavirus has given way for this uprising, and why they are calling for a defunding of the Los Angeles Police Department. Christina also speaks with former LAPD Detective Moses Castillo, who explains why he thinks defunding the police wouldn’t be such a good idea.